Chapter 3.110, Verses 51–59

Yoga Vashishtha 3.110.51–59

(The mind is not a fixed thing but a Pure Power of construction)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

यद्यत्संवेद्यते किंचित्तेन तेनाशु भूयते।

मनो मनननिर्माणं यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु ॥ ५१॥

नानापुरसरिच्छैलरूपतामेत्य देहिनाम्।

तनोत्यन्तःस्थमेवेदं जाग्रत्स्वप्नमयं मनः ॥ ५२॥

सुरत्वाद्दैत्यतामेत्य नागत्वान्नगतामपि।

प्रतिभासवशाच्चित्तमापन्नं लवणो यथा ॥ ५३॥

नरत्वादेति नारीत्वं पितृत्वात्पुत्रतां गतः।

यथा क्षिप्रं प्रति नरः स्वसंकल्पात्तथा मनः ॥ ५४॥

संकल्पतः प्रम्रियते संकल्पाज्जायते पुनः।

मनश्चिरन्तनाभ्यस्ताज्जीवतामेत्यनाकृति ॥ ५५॥

मनो मननसंमूढमूढवासनमाततम्।

संकल्पाद्योनिमायाति सुखदुःखे भयाभये ॥ ५६॥

सुखं दुःखं च मनसि तिले तैलमिव स्थितम्।

तद्देशकालवशतो घनं वा तनु वा भवेत् ॥ ५७॥

तैलं तिलस्य चाक्रान्त्या स्फुटतामेति शाश्वतीम्।

चेतसो मननासंगाद्घनीभूते सुखासुखे ॥ ५८॥

देशकालाभिधानेन राम संकल्प एव हि।

कथ्यते तद्वशाद्यस्माद्देशकालौ स्थितिं गतौ ॥ ५९॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.110.51–59

> Whatever the mind comes to know or perceive, it quickly becomes that very thing. The mind is built only by its own thinking; shape it however you wish.

> Taking on the forms of many cities, rivers and mountains, this mind that dwells inside embodied Beings spreads outward what is really only within itself—the stuff of waking and dream.

> From the State of a god it becomes a demon; from a serpent it becomes a mountain. Under the power of mere appearance the mind falls into such States, just as happened with King Lavana.

> From being a man it becomes a woman; from being a father it becomes a son. Just as a person quickly changes through his own intention, so does the mind.

> By its own intention the mind dies; by intention it is born again. Through long-practised habits this formless mind takes on the State of living Beings.

> The mind, deluded by its own thinking and stretched by foolish impressions, enters a new birth through intention—into pleasure and pain, fear and fearlessness.

> Pleasure and pain sit inside the mind the way oil sits inside a sesame seed. According to place and time they become thick or thin.

> Oil becomes fully visible only when the sesame seed is crushed. In the same way, pleasure and pain grow dense and clear when the mind keeps thinking about them.

> What we call place and time, O Rama, is really only this same intention, because place and time come into existence only under its power.

Summary of the teachings:

These verses teach that the mind is not a fixed thing but a pure power of construction. Whatever it knows or thinks about, it instantly becomes. The entire visible World of cities, rivers, mountains, gods, demons, men and women is nothing but the mind’s own thinking projected outward. Because the mind is made only of thought, a person can deliberately reshape it; the choice of what to dwell upon is free and decisive.

The mind’s changes of State are illustrated by the story of King Lavana and by ordinary human experience. Just as Lavana seemed to live an entire life as an outcaste through a momentary appearance, the mind moves from godhood to demonhood, from manhood to womanhood, from fatherhood to sonship, purely by the force of its own resolve. Birth and death themselves are only successive intentions of the same mind.

Long-continued habits and latent impressions give the formless mind the appearance of a living Being. Through these deep-seated tendencies the mind enters new births, experiencing pleasure and pain, fear and security. The root of every new existence is therefore the mind’s own intention, not any external force.

Pleasure and pain are not outside the mind; they reside within it exactly as oil resides inside a sesame seed. Their intensity—whether thick or thin—depends on the circumstances of place and time. Only when the mind repeatedly presses and dwells upon them do they become fully manifest and solid, just as oil appears only when the seed is crushed.

Finally, the verses declare that even the notions of Space and Time are only names for the mind’s intention. Space and Time exist and continue solely because the mind’s resolve sustains them. Understanding this brings the teaching full circle: the whole framework of Worldly experience is a projection of thought, and therefore it can be mastered by changing the direction of thought itself.

Chapter 3.103, Verses 10–19

Yoga Vashishtha 3.103.10–19

(The mind is the sole creator and substance of the world we experience)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

चित्रां क्रीडनकश्रेणीं यथा पङ्काद्गृहे शिशुः।

करोत्येवं मनो राम विकल्पं कुरुते जगत् ॥ १०॥

मनःसर्वजनक्रीडा नृजम्बाललवेष्वतः।

किमेतद्धि पदार्थेषु रूढं जगति कल्प्यते ॥ ११॥

करोत्यृतुकरः कालो यथा रूपान्यथा तरोः।

चित्तमेवं पदार्थानामेषामेवान्यतामिव ॥ १२॥

मनोरथे तथा स्वप्ने संकल्पकलनासु च।

गोष्पदं योजनव्यूहः स्वासु लीलासु चेतसः ॥ १३॥

कल्पं क्षणीकरोत्यन्तः क्षणं नयति कल्पताम्।

मनस्तदायत्तमतो देशकालक्रमं विदुः ॥ १४॥

तीव्रमन्दत्वसंवेगाद्बहुत्वाल्पत्वभेदतः।

विलम्बनेन च चिरं नतु शक्तिमशक्तितः ॥ १५॥

व्यामोहसंभ्रमानर्थदेशकालगमागमाः।

चेतसः प्रभवन्त्येते पादपादिव पल्लवाः ॥ १६॥

जलमेव यथाम्भोधिरौष्ण्यमेव यथानलः।

तथा विविधसंरम्भः संसारश्चित्तमेव वा ॥ १७॥

सकर्तृकर्मकरणं यदिदं चेत्यमागतम्।

द्रष्टृदर्शनदृश्याढ्यं तत्सर्वं चित्तमेव च ॥ १८॥

चित्तं जगन्ति भुवनानि वनान्तराणि संलक्ष्यते स्वयमुपागतमात्मभेदैः।

केयूरमौलिकटकैश्च लसत्स्वरूपं त्यक्त्वैव काञ्चनधियेव जनेन हेम ॥ १९॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.103.10–19

> O Rama, just as a child at home makes a variety of toys from mud, so the mind creates the World as a mere conceptual fabrication.

> The mind, the creator of all, plays within these fragments of human existence (like mud for toys). Therefore, what among the objects of this World is truly fixed, and what is merely imagined?

> Just as Time, which brings the seasons, changes the forms of a tree, so the mind alters the nature of these objects, making them appear different.

> In mental fancies, in dreams, and in conceptual constructions, a cow’s hoof-print becomes an expanse of many miles in the mind’s own playful activities.

> The mind internally turns an age into a moment and stretches a moment into an age. Therefore, the order of Space and Time is known to depend on the mind.

> The sense of long duration comes from intensity or dullness of feeling, from differences of many or few, and from delay—not from any real power or lack of power.

> Delusion, confusion, misfortune, and the coming and going of Space and Time all arise from the mind, just as sprouts grow from a tree.

> Just as the Ocean is nothing but water, and fire is nothing but heat, so the various activities and the cycle of Worldly existence are nothing but the mind itself.

> Whatever appears as having agent, action, and instrument, and is full of the Seer, the seeing, and the seen—all of that is the mind alone.

> The mind itself appears as the Worlds, realms, and forests through its own distinctions. This is like people who, seeing gold only as armlets, crowns, and bracelets, overlook the pure shining nature of the gold itself.

Summary of the teachings:

These verses teach that the mind is the sole creator and substance of the world we experience. Just as a child freely shapes mud into many toys, the mind fabricates the entire Universe through its own conceptual activity. Nothing in the outer World has independent, fixed Reality; everything is a product of mental imagination and play.

The mind constantly changes the appearance of things, just as the seasons transform a tree. In dreams, daydreams, and mental constructions, distances and times lose all ordinary measure: a tiny space can seem vast, and long ages can shrink to moments. Space and Time themselves are therefore not absolute; they depend entirely on the mind’s activity.

Perceptions of duration, quantity, speed, and delay arise only from the mind’s varying intensity and focus, not from any external power. Delusion, confusion, suffering, and the movements of Space and Time all spring from the mind in the same natural way that leaves grow from a tree.

The whole cycle of worldly life, with all its varied activities, is nothing other than the mind, just as the ocean is only water and fire is only heat. Every element of experience—the doer, the deed, the means, the Seer, the seeing, and the seen—is simply the mind appearing in different forms.

Finally, the mind itself appears as the many Worlds and forests through its own self-divisions. People mistake these changing forms for independent realities, just as they overlook pure gold while focusing only on the shapes of ornaments. The teaching points toward recognizing the mind’s true nature and thereby seeing beyond the fabricated World.

Chapter 3.103, Verses 1–9

Yoga Vashishtha 3.103.1–9

(The mind alone is the source of the entire World we experience)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

परस्मादुत्थितं चेतस्तत्कल्लोल इवार्णवात्।

स्फारतामेत्य भुवनं तनोतीदमितस्ततः ॥ १॥

ह्रस्वं दीर्घं करोत्याशु दीर्घं नयति खर्वताम्।

स्वतां नयत्यन्यदलं स्वं तथैवान्यतामपि ॥ २॥

प्रादेशमात्रमपि यद्वस्तुभावनयैव तत्।

स्वयं संपन्नयेवाशु करोत्यद्रीन्द्रभासुरम् ॥ ३॥

लब्धप्रतिष्ठं परमात्पदादुल्लसितं मनः।

निमेषेणैव संसारान्करोति न करोति च ॥ ४॥

यदिदं दृश्यते किंचिज्जगत्स्थास्नु चरिष्णु च।

सर्वं सर्वप्रकाराढ्यं चित्तादेतदुपागतम् ॥ ५॥

देशकालक्रियाद्रव्यशक्तिपर्याकुलीकृतम्।

भावाद्भावान्तरं याति लोलत्वान्नटवन्मनः ॥ ६॥

सदसत्तां नयत्याशु सत्तां वा सन्नयत्यलम्।

तादृशान्येव चादत्ते सुखदुःखानि भावितम् ॥ ७॥

यदाप्तं स्वयमादत्ते यथैव चञ्चलं मनः।

हस्तपादादिसंघातस्तदा प्रयतते तथा ॥ ८॥

ततः सैव क्रिया चित्तसमाहितफलाफलम्।

क्षणात्प्रयच्छति लता कालसिक्तेव तादृशम् ॥ ९॥

Sage Vashishta said:

3.103.1–9

> The mind rises from the Supreme like a wave rising from the Ocean. Expanding, it spreads this whole World in all directions.

> It quickly turns what is short into long and what is long into short. It makes another thing its own and its own into another.

> Even a thing only a span long, by mere thought of its nature, it quickly makes as bright and great as a mighty mountain, as if completed by itself.

> The mind, firmly established and risen from the Supreme State, in a single moment both creates and does not create the cycles of Worldly life.

> Whatever is seen in this World—whether still or moving—all of it, full of every kind of variety, has come only from the mind.

> Agitated by place, time, action, substance and power, the restless mind moves from one State to another like an actor.

> It quickly turns the Real into the unreal or the unreal into the Real. And it experiences only those joys and sorrows that it itself has imagined.

> When the restless mind itself accepts something, then the group of hands, feet and other body parts also strives to act in the same way.

> Then that very action, according to the fruit or lack of fruit held in the mind, quickly gives the result, just as a creeper watered at the right time yields its fruit.

Summary of the teachings:

These verses teach that the mind alone is the source of the entire World we experience. Just as a wave rises from the ocean yet remains of the same nature, the mind arises from the Supreme Reality and then expands to create the appearance of the Universe with all its forms and movements. Nothing outside the mind has independent existence; the World is the mind’s own projection.

The mind possesses unlimited power to reshape reality according to its thoughts. It can make the small appear large, the distant near, the short long, and the Real unreal. By pure imagination it turns a tiny object into something majestic. In an instant it can create countless worlds of experience or dissolve them again.

All that we see—moving or unmoving, of every variety—originates solely from the mind. The mind is never still; disturbed by ideas of place, time, action and objects, it constantly shifts from one state to another like an actor changing roles. Because of this restlessness it fabricates every experience of joy and sorrow.

The body simply follows the mind. When the mind decides or accepts something, the limbs move accordingly. Actions themselves produce results only according to the ideas the mind holds about success or failure, just as a plant yields fruit when properly nourished.

Therefore the root of bondage and suffering is the restless, projecting mind. Understanding that the world is nothing but the mind’s creation, and learning to quiet and master the mind, is the way to freedom from the endless cycle of experience.

Chapter 3.102, Verses 21–31

Yoga Vashishtha 3.102.21–31

(The body is perishable while the Self is Eternal and Unchanging)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

यः कुण्डवदरन्यायो यो घटाकाशयोः क्रमः।

स्थितिर्देहात्मनोः सैव सविनाशाविनाशयोः ॥ २१॥

बदरं हस्तमायाति यथा स्फुटति कुण्डके।

आत्मा गगनमायाति तथा चलति देहके ॥ २२॥

कुम्भे गच्छत्यकुम्भत्वं कुम्भाकाशो यथाम्बरे।

तिष्ठत्येवमयं क्षीणे देहे देही निरामयः ॥ २३॥

मनोदेहो हि जन्तूनां देशकालतिरोहितः।

मुहुर्मृतिपटाच्छन्नः शठे किं परिदेवना ॥ २४॥

देशकालतिरोधाने मूढोऽपि मरणे नरः।

किं बिभेति महाबाहो नेह पश्यति कश्चन ॥ २५॥

अतस्त्वं वासनां राम मिथ्यैवाहमिति स्थिताम्।

त्यज पक्षीश्वरो व्योमगमनोत्क इवाण्डकम् ॥ २६॥

एषा हि मानसी शक्तिरिष्टानिष्टनिबन्धनी।

अनयैव मुधा भ्रान्त्या स्वप्नवत्परिकल्पना ॥ २७॥

अविद्यैषा दुरन्तैषा दुःखायैषा विवर्धते।

 अपरिज्ञायमानैषा तनोतीदमसन्मयम् ॥ २८॥

एषा तुच्छवदाकाशं तुषारमलिनं यथा।

परिपश्यति विभ्रान्ता स्वरूपस्य स्वभावतः ॥ २९॥

असदेवेदमारम्भमन्थरं सदिवोत्थितम्।

 कल्पितं जगदाभोगि दीर्घस्वप्न इवैतया ॥ ३०॥

भावनामात्र एवास्याः स्वरूपं कर्तृतां गतम्।

जगन्नामाविलं चक्षुर्व्योम्नि बिम्बरुचामिव ॥ ३१॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.102.21–31

> The same rule that applies to a berry inside a pot, and to the space inside a pot, also applies to the body and the Self: one is perishable, the other is not.

> Just as a berry comes into the hand when the pot breaks, so the Self enters Pure Space when the body moves or falls.

> Just as the space inside a pot becomes one with the open sky when the pot is broken, so the Self remains free from all harm when the body wastes away.

> The mind and body of living Beings are hidden by place and time, and are repeatedly covered by the veil of death. Why then grieve for the foolish?

> Even a foolish person fears death when place and time hide the body. O mighty-armed one, no one truly sees anything here.

> Therefore, O Rama, give up the false idea “I am this body,” just as a great bird leaves its egg-shell in its eagerness to fly through the sky.

> This power of the mind binds us to what is liked and disliked. Through this empty delusion it creates the World like a dream.

> This ignorance is endless and grows only to cause sorrow. When it is not understood, it spreads this unreal world.

> This ignorance, restless by nature, sees empty space as if it were filled with mist, just as a confused mind sees its own nature wrongly.

> This unreal World rises slowly and appears real. The whole expanse of the World is imagined by it, like a long dream.

> Its very nature is only thought, yet it takes on the role of the doer. The entire World is like the many images of the Sun that appear in the sky when the eyes blink.

Summary of the teachings:

These verses teach that the body is perishable while the Self is Eternal and Unchanging. The body is compared to a pot or a vessel that holds something greater; when the pot breaks, the space or the fruit inside is not destroyed. In the same way, when the body dies, the Self simply becomes free and remains pure, without any harm or change.

Fear of death and grief over the body arise only from ignorance and false identification with the body. The mind and body appear and disappear according to place and time, covered again and again by death. A wise person does not waste energy mourning what is temporary and has no real substance.

The root of suffering is the false sense of “I am the body.” This idea must be completely abandoned, just as a bird ready to fly leaves behind the shell of its egg. Once this false notion is dropped, the Self is free to rest in its True Nature.

The mind itself creates the appearance of the world through its own power. It binds us to likes and dislikes and projects a dream-like reality that seems solid. This ignorance is endless and keeps growing as long as it is not clearly understood, spreading an unreal World full of sorrow.

In truth, the World is nothing but a mental construction, like a long dream or like many Suns appearing in the sky when the eyes blink. Its only substance is thought. When this is seen clearly, the false sense of doership and the entire World of suffering dissolve, leaving the pure, unharmed Self.

Chapter 3.100, Verses 30–37

Yoga Vashishtha 3.100.30–37

(Everything we experience—action, the doer, birth, death and the World itself—is nothing other than Brahm, the Pure Self)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

करणं कर्म कर्ता च जननं मरणं स्थितिः।

सर्वं ब्रह्मैव नह्यस्ति तद्विना कल्पनेतरा ॥ ३०॥

न लोभोऽस्ति न मोहोऽस्ति न तृष्णास्ति न रञ्जना।

क आत्मन्यात्मनोलोभस्तृष्णा मोहोऽथवाकुतः ॥ ३१॥

आत्मैवेदं जगत्सर्वमात्मैव कलनाक्रमः।

हेमाङ्गदतयेवायमात्मोदेति मनस्तया ॥ ३२॥

अबुद्धं यत्परं धाम तच्चित्तं जीव उच्यते।

अपरिज्ञात एवाशु बन्धुरायात्यबन्धुताम् ॥ ३३॥

चिन्मयेनात्मनाऽज्ञेन स्वसंकल्पनया स्वयम्।

शून्यता गगनेनेव जीवता प्रकटीकृता ॥ ३४॥

आत्मैवानात्मवदिह जीवो जगति राजते।

द्वीन्दुत्वमिव दुर्दृष्टेः सच्चासच्च समुत्थितम् ॥ ३५॥

मोहार्थशब्दार्थदृशोरेतयोरत्यसंभवात्।

सत्यत्वादात्मनश्चैव क्वात्मा बद्धः क्व मुच्यते ॥ ३६॥

नित्यासंभवबन्धस्य बद्धोऽस्मीति कुकल्पना।

यस्य काल्पनिकस्तस्य मोक्षो मिथ्या न तत्त्वतः ॥ ३७॥

Sage Vashishtha continued:

3.100.30–37

> The means of action, the action itself, the doer, birth, death and the State of Being—all these are nothing but Brahm alone. There is nothing other than that which can be imagined.

> There is no greed, no delusion, no craving and no attachment. How can there be greed, craving or delusion in the Self for the Self, and from where would they arise?

> This entire World is the Self alone, and the sequence of mental creations is also the Self alone. Just as a golden bracelet appears as something separate, so the Self appears as the mind.

> That Supreme Abode which is not yet known is called the mind or the living Being. When it remains unrecognized, even a friend quickly becomes an enemy.

> Through its own imagination, the Pure Conscious Self that is still ignorant makes the State of individuality appear, just as emptiness appears through the sky.

> In this World the Self itself shines as if it were the non-Self—the living Being. Just as a person with defective sight sees two moons, both the Real and the unreal arise in the same way.

> Because the ideas of delusion and the meaning of words about them are completely impossible, and because the Self alone is Real, where is the Self bound and where is it liberated?

> For one who was never bound, the thought “I am bound” is a false imagination. For such a person whose bondage is only imaginary, liberation too is unreal and not true in Reality.

Summary of the Teachings:

These verses teach that everything we experience—action, the doer, birth, death and the World itself—is nothing other than Brahm, the Pure Self. There is no real second thing that exists apart from it; any idea of separation is only imagination.

They show that qualities such as greed, delusion, craving and attachment have no place in the True Self. These appear only when the Self is not known as it is. Once the Self is recognized, such limitations simply cannot arise.

The World and the mind are presented as appearances of the same Self, like a bracelet made of gold that seems different from the gold yet is gold alone. The mind and the individual soul are only the Pure Consciousness when it is not yet known in its true nature.

Ignorance causes the Self to imagine itself as a limited individual, just as empty Space seems to create emptiness. This limited sense of self is like seeing two moons because of defective vision; both the sense of Reality and unreality arise from the same imperfect seeing.

Finally the verses declare that bondage itself is impossible for the Eternal Self. The feeling “I am bound” is only a wrong idea. Therefore the idea of liberation is also imaginary. When the false notion of bondage is dropped, nothing remains to be freed, because the Self was never bound.