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Yoga Vashishtha 3.81.71–80
(These verses teach the core idea of non-duality in which the apparent division between the observer and the observed is an illusion)
राजोवाच।
एकस्मिन्प्रतिभासे हि न स द्रष्टृदृश्ययोः।
पुंप्रत्ययप्रकचने क्व पशुप्रत्ययोदयः ॥ ७१॥
दृश्यं पश्यन्त्यमात्मानं न द्रष्टा संप्रपश्यति।
द्रष्टुर्हि दृश्यतापत्तौ सत्ताऽसत्तेव तिष्ठति ॥ ७२॥
बोधाद्गलितदृश्यस्य द्रष्टुः सत्तेव भासते।
अबुद्धे कटके स्वस्य हेम्नोऽकटकता यथा ॥ ७३॥
दृश्ये सत्यस्ति वै द्रष्टा दृश्यं द्रष्टरि भासते।
द्वयेन च विना नैकं नैकमप्यस्ति चानयोः ॥ ७४॥
सर्वं यथावद्विज्ञाय शुद्धसंविन्मयात्मना।
वाचामविषयं स्वच्छं किंचिदेवावशिष्यते ॥ ७५॥
आत्मानं दर्शनं दृश्यं दीपेनेवावभासितम्।
कृतं च सर्वमेतेन चिन्मात्रपरमाणुना ॥ ७६॥
मातृमानप्रमेयाख्यं बुधो निगिरति त्रयम्।
हेमेव कटकादित्वमसन्मयमुपस्थितम् ॥ ७७॥
यथा न जलभूम्यादेः पृथक्किंचिन्मनागपि।
तथैतस्मात्स्वभावाणोर्न किंचित्पृथगस्ति हि ॥ ७८॥
सर्वगानुभवात्मत्वात्सर्वानुभवरूपतः।
एकत्वानुभवन्याये रूढे सर्वैकतास्य हि ॥ ७९॥
अस्येच्छया पृथङ्नास्ति वीचितेव महाम्भसः।
इच्छानुरूपसंपत्तेर्भावितार्थैकता किल ॥ ८०॥
The King continued:
3.81.71–75
> In a single appearance or shining forth, there is truly no separation between the Seer and the seen. When the clear understanding of the Self as Pure Consciousness arises, where is any notion of an individual person or creature?
> The seen appears to perceive the Self, but the Seer does not truly see anything separate. When the Seer takes on the nature of the seen, existence itself appears like non-existence.
> For the Seer whose perception of the seen has dissolved through True Knowledge, only Pure Existence shines forth. This is like gold that remains unchanged, without any bracelet form, when the idea of the bracelet is not imagined.
> The Seer exists within the seen, and the seen appears within the Seer. Without these two, there is no one Reality, and neither can exist without the other.
> After Knowing everything as it truly is, through the Pure Self made of Consciousness, only something clear and pure remains, which is beyond the reach of words.
3.81.76–80
> The Self, the act of seeing, and the object seen are all illuminated like objects by a lamp. Everything is created by this subtle atom of Pure Consciousness.
> The wise person swallows up the three — the Knower, the Knowing, and the Known — just as gold absorbs the unreal forms of bracelets and such ornaments that merely appear.
> Just as nothing at all is truly separate from water, earth, or other elements in their essence, so too nothing whatsoever exists separately from this fundamental atom of one's own nature.
> Because of the Self that is the essence of all experiences and pervades everything, and because it is the form of all experiences, once the principle of experiencing Oneness is firmly established, all things become one for him.
> By its own will, there is no true separation, just as waves are not separate from the great ocean. Through the fulfillment according to its will, the manifested things achieve Oneness.
Summary of the Teachings:
Everything appears in One single Consciousness, and when one Realizes the Self clearly, all limited ideas of individual Beings or objects dissolve. The Seer and seen depend on each other like two sides of the same coin, but in truth, they are not two separate things. This understanding removes the root of suffering caused by seeing oneself as a limited person.
The teachings emphasize that True Knowledge causes the world of appearances to melt away, leaving only Pure Existence. Like gold that never really becomes a separate bracelet, the Self remains unchanged while forms appear and disappear. The wise one sees through these appearances and rests in the underlying Reality that is beyond names and descriptions.
All aspects of experience — the Knower, the process of Knowing, and what is Known — are unified in Consciousness. This Pure Consciousness is like a tiny spark that creates and illumines everything, much like a lamp lights up a room without being affected by what it shows. Nothing exists apart from this One Reality.
Once a person deeply experiences this Oneness, all diversity is seen as expressions of the same Essence, similar to waves in the Ocean. The will or intention within Consciousness shapes the World, but everything remains unified. There is no real separation; multiplicity is only a play of the One Self.
In summary, these verses guide the seeker to recognize the Self as the sole Reality. By letting go of dualistic thinking through Knowledge and direct experience, one attains Freedom and Peace, where the entire Universe is known as one's own Nature. This leads to a State where words fail, and only Blissful, Pure Awareness remains.
