Chapter 3.114, Verses 1–10

Yoga Vashishtha 3.114.1–10

(Nature of the dense darkness of ignorance that grips every person)

श्रीराम उवाच।

अविद्याविभवप्रोत्थं निविडं पुरुषस्य हि।

महदान्ध्यमिदं ब्रह्मन्कथं नाम विनश्यति ॥ १॥

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

यथा तुषारकणिका भास्करालोकनात्क्षणात्।

नश्यत्येवमविद्येयं राघवात्मावलोकनात् ॥ २॥

तावत्संसारभृगुषु स्वात्मना सह देहिनम्।

आन्दोलयति नीरन्ध्रदुःखकण्टकशालिषु ॥ ३॥

अविद्या यावदस्यास्तु नोत्पन्ना क्षयकारिणी।

स्वयमात्मावलोकेच्छा मोहसंक्षयदायिनी ॥ ४॥

अस्याः परं प्रपश्यन्त्याः स्वात्मनाशः प्रजायते।

आतपानुभवार्थिन्याश्छायाया इव राघव ॥ ५॥

दृष्टे सर्वगते बोधे स्वयमेव विलीयते।

सर्वाशाभ्युदितेच्छाया द्वादशार्कगणे यथा ॥ ६॥

इच्छामात्रमविद्येह तन्नाशो मोक्ष उच्यते।

स चासंकल्पमात्रेण सिद्धो भवति राघव ॥ ७॥

मनागपि मनोव्योम्नि वासनारजनीक्षये।

कालिमा तनुतामेति चिदादित्यमहोदयात् ॥ ८॥

यथोदिते दिनकरे क्वापि याति तमस्विनी।

तथा विवेकेऽभ्युदिते क्वाप्यविद्या विलीयते ॥ ९॥

दृढवासनया बन्धो घनतामेति चेतसः।

बलाद्वेतालसंकल्पः संध्याकाले यथा शिशोः ॥ १०॥

Sriram asked: 

3.114.1

> O Brahman, this dense and great darkness that has arisen from the power of ignorance in a person—how exactly does it come to an end?

Sage Vasistha said: 

3.114.2–6

> Just as a tiny particle of frost vanishes in an instant when the sun’s light falls on it, so this ignorance disappears the moment one looks upon the Self, O Raghava.

> Until then it keeps tossing the embodied Being, together with his own sense of self, among the steep cliffs of Worldly existence that are thickly covered with unbroken thorns of sorrow.

> As long as the wish to look upon one’s own Self—the wish that itself destroys delusion—has not arisen, ignorance continues.

> When ignorance begins to look upon the Supreme, its own destruction takes place, just as a shadow that seeks the experience of sunlight is itself destroyed, O Raghava.

> Once the all-pervading Awareness is seen, ignorance melts away by itself, just as every hope-filled desire vanishes when the host of twelve suns rises.

3.114.7–10

> Ignorance in this world is nothing but desire; the ending of that desire is called liberation. And that liberation is accomplished simply by the absence of imagination, O Raghava.

> Even a slight thinning of the night of latent tendencies in the sky of the mind causes the darkness to grow thin when the great Sun of Pure Consciousness rises.

> Just as night disappears somewhere the moment the Sun rises, so ignorance dissolves and vanishes the moment right discrimination arises.

> Firm latent tendencies make the bondage of the mind dense and heavy, just as the forced imagination of a ghost takes hold of a child at twilight.

Detailed Summary of the Teachings:

These verses open with Rama’s direct question about the nature of the dense darkness of ignorance that grips every person. Vasistha answers by showing that this darkness is not a permanent substance; it is as fragile as frost before the Sun. The mere clear seeing of one’s own Self is enough to make it vanish instantly. Until that seeing occurs, however, the same ignorance continues to hurl the embodied being into the painful cliffs of samsara, where every step is covered with the thorns of unbroken sorrow.

The decisive turning point is the arising of the desire to look at the Self. As long as that desire has not appeared, ignorance remains. The moment it does appear, ignorance is already on the path to its own end. Vasistha compares this to a shadow that tries to experience sunlight: the very attempt dissolves the shadow. In the same way, when the all-pervading Awareness is recognised, ignorance melts of its own accord, just as every hope and longing dissolves when the twelve suns of intense light rise.

Liberation is therefore defined simply as the ending of desire, and desire is declared to be the whole of ignorance. That ending does not require elaborate effort; it is accomplished by the mere absence of mental imagination or projection. Even a slight weakening of the night of latent tendencies (vasanas) in the mind allows the Sun of Pure Consciousness to thin the remaining darkness. When discrimination truly rises, ignorance has nowhere to stay and disappears completely, exactly as night disappears when the Sun appears.

Finally, the verses warn that strong, fixed latent tendencies make the mind’s bondage dense and hard to shake, just as a child’s fearful imagination of a ghost becomes overwhelming at twilight. The teaching therefore points both to the power of right seeing and to the need to weaken the vasanas that keep the darkness thick. Once the Self is seen and the imagination ceases, the entire structure of ignorance collapses by itself.