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Yoga Vashishtha 3.100.38–43
(Mind is the root of all experience)
श्रीराम उवाच।
मनो यं निश्चयं याति तत्तद्भवति नान्यथा।
तेन काल्पनिको नास्ति बन्धः कथमिह प्रभो ॥ ३८॥
श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।
मिथ्या काल्पनिकीवेयं मूर्खाणां बन्धकल्पना।
मिथ्यैवाभ्युदिता तेषामितरा मोक्षकल्पना ॥ ३९॥
एवमज्ञानकादेव बन्धमोक्षदृशोऽस्मृतेः।
वस्तुतस्तु न बन्धोऽस्ति न मोक्षोऽस्तिमहामते ॥ ४०॥
कल्पनाया अवस्तुत्वं संप्रबुद्धमतिं प्रति।
रज्ज्वहेरिव हे प्राज्ञ तत्त्वबुद्धमतिं प्रति ॥ ४१॥
बन्धमोक्षादिसंमोहो न प्राज्ञस्यास्ति कश्चन।
संमोहबन्धमोक्षादि ह्यज्ञस्यैवास्ति राघव ॥ ४२॥
आदौ मनस्तदनु बन्धविमोक्षदृष्टी पश्चात्प्रपञ्चरचना भुवनाभिधाना।
इत्यादिका स्थितिरियं हि गता प्रतिष्ठामाख्यायिका सुभग बालजनोदितेव ॥ ४३॥
Sriram asked:
3.100.38
> Whatever firm conviction the mind reaches, that becomes so and not otherwise. Therefore, O Lord, how can there be no imaginary bondage here?
Sage Vasistha answered:
3.100.39–43
> This imagination of bondage by the foolish is false and imaginary. In the same way, the other imagination of liberation that arises in them is also false.
> Thus, from ignorance alone, because of forgetfulness, the views of bondage and liberation arise. But in Reality, O great-minded one, there is neither bondage nor liberation.
> The unreality of imagination is clear to a fully awakened mind, just as the unreality of a snake seen in a rope is clear to a mind that has understood the Truth, O wise one.
> There is no delusion at all about bondage, liberation and such things for the wise person. Indeed, the delusion of bondage, liberation and the rest exists only for the ignorant, O Raghava.
> First comes the mind, then the views of bondage and liberation, and after that the Creation of the World called the Universe. This sequence has become firmly established, just like a charming story told by children for amusement.
Detailed summary of the teachings:
These verses teach that the mind is the root of all experience. Whatever the mind firmly decides or believes becomes Real for the person. Because of this power of the mind, people create the idea of bondage in their own imagination. The feeling of being bound is not a Real outer chain; it is only a thought that the mind has accepted as true.
Vasistha explains that both bondage and liberation are false ideas that arise only in the minds of the ignorant. The foolish invent the notion of being trapped and then invent the opposite idea of becoming free. These two ideas support each other and keep the person confused. They have no real existence outside the mind’s imagination.
In Truth there is neither bondage nor liberation. These ideas appear only because of ignorance and forgetfulness of one’s real nature. When a person forgets the Pure Consciousness that is already free, the mind begins to invent stories of binding and freeing. Once Knowledge arises, both stories disappear.
For a person whose mind is fully awake, the emptiness of all mental constructions becomes clear. Just as someone who knows a rope is only a rope no longer fears the snake that was imagined on it, the wise person sees that bondage and liberation are only imagined pictures. They hold no Real power.
The final teaching is that the whole process begins with the mind. From the mind arise the ideas of bondage and liberation, and from those ideas the entire World-appearance is built. This whole sequence is as unreal and temporary as a story invented by children for fun. When the mind is understood and quieted, the entire drama of bondage and liberation comes to an end, and the natural freedom that was always present is recognised.
