Chapter 3.14, Verses 11–17

Yoga Vashishtha 3.14.11–17

(Because no Real helping Causes exist, the same Consciousness is both the Cause and the effect; there is never a second thing)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।

संकल्प एव संकल्पात्किलैति क्ष्मादिवर्जितः ।

आदिमादिव निःशून्यः स्वप्नात्स्वप्नान्तरं यथा ॥ ११ ॥

अस्मादेकप्रतिस्पन्दाज्जीवाः संप्रसरन्ति ये ।

सहकारिकारणानामभावाच्च स एव ते ॥ १२ ॥

सहकारिकारणानामभावे कार्यकारणम्।

एकमेतदतो नान्यः परस्मात्सर्गविभ्रमः ॥ १३ ॥

ब्रह्मवाद्यो विराडात्मा विराडात्मेव सर्गता ।

जीवाकाशः स एवेत्थं स्थितः पृथ्व्याद्यसद्यतः ॥ १४ ॥

श्रीराम उवाच ।

किं स्यात्परिमितो जीवो राशिराहो अनन्तकः ।

आहोस्विदस्त्यनन्तात्मा जीवपिण्डोऽचलोपमः ॥ १५ ॥

धाराः पयोमुच इव शीकरा इव वारिधेः।

कणास्तप्तायस इव कस्मान्निर्यान्ति जीवकाः ॥ १६ ॥

इति मे भगवन्ब्रूहि जीवजालविनिर्णयम् ।

ज्ञातमेतन्मया प्रायस्तदेव प्रकटीकुरु ॥ १७ ॥

3.14.11: Maharishi Vasishta said - Pure imagination alone, just by imagining, becomes this entire world that has no earth or any solid thing in it. It has no real beginning and no real middle, yet it is not empty at all. It is exactly like one dream turning into another dream inside the same sleep.

3.14.12: From that one single throb of imagination, many individual souls (jivas) spread out and appear. Because there are no other helping causes present at all, that same imagination alone becomes those souls.

3.14.13: When there are no helping causes, the one imagination itself acts both as the Cause and as the effect. Therefore, there is only this one thing; there is no second thing at all. The idea that a whole Universe is created by something outside is only a confusion.

3.14.14: The Supreme Reality (Brahm) that great Knowers speak about is the same as the vast Cosmic Being (Virat). The whole appearance of the world is nothing but that same Virat. The individual soul (jiva) is only Space-like Awareness. In this way, it remains as it is, while earth and everything else that seems to appear is actually unreal.

3.14.15: Sriram said - Is the individual soul limited in size, like a small bundle, or is it endless? Or is there one endless soul-mass that is unmoving like a huge mountain?

3.14.16: Why do countless individual souls not flow out from it continuously, like streams flowing from a rain-cloud, like tiny water drops flying from the ocean, or like sparks shooting out from red-hot iron?

3.14.17: O Blessed Lord, please tell me clearly how this huge net of individual souls really works. I have already understood most of it, but kindly make the remaining part completely clear to me.

Summary of the Teachings:

In these verses, Sage Vasishta teaches the purest form of non-dual Advaita: the entire world, including all bodies and minds, arises only from one imaginary thought (sankalpa) in the Infinite Consciousness. Just as one dream scene effortlessly turns into another dream scene without any real material or external Cause, the whole Universe appears only because Consciousness imagines it. There is no Real earth, water, or any substance; everything is empty of solid Reality yet appears full because of imagination alone.

When the mind asks how many souls exist, Vasishta answers that there is truly only One Consciousness. From its single vibration or throb, countless individual souls seem to come out, but no other Causes (like Time, Space, or matter) are needed or even present. That same One Consciousness itself becomes the many souls, just as the one ocean appears as many waves without any second thing helping it.

Because no Real helping Causes exist, the same Consciousness is both the Cause and the effect; there is never a second thing. The idea that an external God or power creates the universe is only a mistaken notion born of Ignorance. In Truth, Brahm (the Limitless Reality), Virat (the Cosmic Form), and the individual jiva are not different. The jiva is nothing but Pure Awareness-Space; all objects like earth, mountains, and bodies that seem to appear in it are completely unreal, like objects seen in a dream.

Rama then asks a natural doubt: if everything is One Infinite Consciousness, is the individual soul tiny and limited, or is it infinite like a boundless sky, or is there just one unchanging mountain-like mass of soul from which all beings should constantly pour out like water from a cloud or sparks from hot iron? This question shows the common confusion about whether souls are many separate limited Beings or one single Unlimited Reality.

Vasishta will answer (in the verses that follow) that the soul is neither limited nor many, but the One Infinite Consciousness alone appears as many due to imaginary limitation, exactly like One Space appearing as many pots when pots are made. These verses firmly establish that the world and the crowd of souls have no real birth; they are only the play of imagination in the One Unchanging Brahm, and Realizing this ends all sorrow and confusion.

Chapter 3.14, Verses 1–10

Yoga Vashishtha 3.14.1–10

(From this one Source, all souls appear in a shining line, lighting up one by one)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।

इत्थं जगदहंतादिदृश्यजातं न किंचन ।

अजातत्वाच्च नास्त्वेव यच्चास्ति परमेव तत् ॥ १ ॥

परमाकाशमेवादौ जीवतां चेतति स्वयम् ।

निःस्पन्दाम्भोधिकुहरे सलिलं स्पन्दतामिव ॥ २ ॥

आकाशरूपमजहदेवं वेत्तीव हृद्यताम् ।

स्वप्नसंकल्पशैलादाविव चिद्वृत्तिरान्तरी ॥ ३ ॥

पृथ्व्यादिरहितो देहो यो विंराडात्मको महान् ।

आतिवाहिक एवासौ चिन्मात्राच्छनभोमयः ॥ ४ ॥

अक्षयः स्वप्नशैलाभः स्थिरस्वप्नपुरोपमः ।

चित्रकृत्स्थिरचित्तस्थचित्रसैन्यसमाकृतिः ॥ ५ ॥

अनिखातमहास्तम्भपुत्रिकौघसमोपमः ।

ब्रह्माकाशेऽनिखातात्मा सुस्तम्भे शालभञ्जिका ॥ ६ ॥

आद्यः प्रजापतिः एवं स्वयंभूरिति विश्रुतः ।

प्राक्तनानां स्वकार्याणामभावादप्यकारणः ॥ ७॥

महाप्रलयपर्यन्तेष्वाद्यकालपितामहाः ।

मुच्यन्ते सर्व एवातः प्राक्तनं कर्म तेषु किम् ॥ ८ ॥

सोऽकुड्य एव कुड्यात्मा दृश्यादृश्यः स्वयंस्थितः ।

न च दृश्यं न च द्रष्टा न स्रष्टा सर्वमेव च ॥ ९ ॥

प्रतिशब्दपदार्थानां सर्वेषामेष एव सः ।

तस्मादुदेति जीवाली दीपाली दीपकादिव ॥ १० ॥

Maharishi Vashishta said:

3.14.1: In this way, the world with its "I" and all seen things is nothing at all. Because it is never born, it does not exist even a little. What truly exists is only the Supreme Reality.

3.14.2: At the very beginning, the Supreme Space itself thinks and becomes the living souls, like still ocean water that seems to move and form waves in a quiet cave.

3.14.3: It takes the form of Space but never leaves its True Nature. It seems to Know things in the Heart, like the inner working of the mind in dreams, wishes, or tall mountains made in the imagination.

3.14.4: The body of the great king-like soul has no earth or other elements. It is only the subtle body that carries over after death. It is made purely of Consciousness, like soft snow.

3.14.5: It never ends, like a dream mountain. It is steady like a dream city. It looks like painted armies standing still in the mind of a calm painter.

3.14.6: It is like a crowd of doll children around big pillars that have no base. In the Space of the Absolute, the soul has no fixed place. It is like a carved wooden girl figure leaning on a strong pillar.

3.14.7: The first Creator of people, known as the Self-born One, is like this. He has no cause, even though past actions are missing for him.

3.14.8: The first grandfathers of time, who last until the great final end of the world, are all freed. So, what past actions can there be for them?

3.14.9: He stays by himself as the wall-like soul. He can be seen and not seen. There is no seen thing, no Seer, no Creator—everything is Him alone.

3.14.10: He is the true meaning behind every word and every thing. From Him, the line of living souls rises, like a row of lamps lighting up one after another from a single lamp.

Summary of the Teachings:

These verses explain that the world we see, including our sense of "I" and all objects, is not Real in any true way. It has no birth, so it does not exist at all. The only thing that really exists is the Supreme Reality, which is Pure and Unchanging. 

This teaching helps us understand that what seems solid and lasting is just an appearance, like a mirage in the desert. By seeing this, we stop holding on to false ideas and find Peace in the Truth that never changes.

The Supreme Reality, compared to endless Space, wakes up on its own and becomes all living souls. It is calm and still at first, like quiet ocean water, but then seems to move and create waves of life. This shows that souls are not separate from the One Reality—they come from it without any outside help. The mind inside works like thoughts in a dream or ideas in the imagination, making us feel we know things in our heart, but it never leaves its Space-like Nature.

The soul has a great king-like body that is not made of earth, water, fire, or other elements. It is a subtle body that continues after death, built only from Pure Consciousness, soft and white like fresh snow. This body never ends, strong like a mountain seen in a dream or a city built in sleep. It looks like bright painted soldiers frozen in place by a steady artist. Or it is like many toy children gathered around tall pillars with no roots in the ground. In the vast Space of the Absolute, the soul has no fixed spot, like a beautiful carved figure resting against a solid post.

The First Creator, called the Self-born Lord of all people, has this same Nature. He needs no Cause because no past actions exist for him at the start. The early grandfathers of Creation, who live through many great endings of the world, are completely free. They have no old karma to bind them. This means at the Pure beginning, everything is fresh and without chains from before.

In the end, the Supreme stays alone as the wall of the soul—both seen and unseen. There is no object to see, no one to see it, and no one to make it. All is just that One Reality. It is the Real meaning hidden in every sound, word, and thing we know. From this one Source, all souls appear in a shining line, lighting up one by one, just as lamps in a row get their flame from the first light. This teaches full Oneness and ends all ideas of separation.

Chapter 3.13, Verses 44–54

Yoga Vashishtha 3.13.44–54

(Brahm alone in the Universe, shines purely within itself, by itself, as itself)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।

अनाद्यनुभवस्त्वित्थं योऽत्रास्ति वनिकादिके ।

स्वप्नानुभूतं पृथ्व्यादि प्रबोधे यादृशं भवेत् ॥ ४४ ॥

स्मृतः स व्योममात्रात्मा सर्वदैव स्मृतं जगत् ।

यत्र यत्र यथा तोये द्रवत्वं नाम भिद्यते ॥ ४५ ॥

तत्र तत्र तथा नान्यः सर्गोऽस्ति परमात्मनि ।

सृष्टिरेवमियं प्रौढा सम एव त्वयं स्थितः ॥ ४६ ॥

भात्येवं नाम ब्रह्माण्डं व्योमात्मेवातिनिर्मलम् ।

दृश्यमेवमिदं शान्तं स्वात्मनिर्मितविभ्रमम् ॥ ४७ ॥

निराधारं निराधेयमद्वैतं चैक्यवर्जितम् ।

जगत्संविदि जातायामपि जातं न किंचन ॥ ४८ ॥

परमाकाशमाशून्यमच्छमेव व्यवस्थितम् ।

सर्वसंसारता नास्ति यदेव तदवस्थितम् ॥ ४९ ॥

नाधेयं तत्र नाधारो न दृश्यं न च द्रष्टृता।

ब्रह्माण्डं नास्ति न ब्रह्मा न च वैतण्डिका क्वचित् ॥ ५० ॥

न जगन्नापि जगती शान्तमेवाखिलं स्थितम् ।

ब्रह्मैव कचति स्वच्छमित्थमात्मात्मनात्मनि ॥ ५१॥

चित्त्वाद्द्रवत्वात्सलिलमिवावर्ततयात्मनि ।

असदेवेदमाभाति सदिवेहानुभूयते ॥ ५२ ॥

विनश्यत्यसदेवान्ते स्वप्ने स्वमरणं यथा ।

अथवा स्वस्वरूपत्वात्सदेवेदमनामयम् ।

अखण्डितमनाद्यन्तं ज्ञानमात्राम्बरोदरम् ॥ ५३ ॥

आकाश एव परमे प्रथमः प्रजेशो नित्यं स्वयं कचति शून्यतया समो यः ।

स ह्यातिवाहिकवपुर्नतु भूतरूपी पृथ्व्यादि तेन न सदस्ति यथा न जातम् ॥ ५४ ॥

Maharishi Vashishta concluded:

3.13.44: The endless experience that exists in this way for the merchant and others is just like the earth and other things that one experiences in a dream. When one wakes up, those things are remembered as nothing but empty Space. In the same way, the whole world that is remembered is always nothing but Pure empty Awareness.

3.13.45: The world is remembered as pure sky-like Consciousness. Just as the quality of liquidity is not different from water wherever and however it appears, in the same way, there is no other Creation separate from the Supreme Self.

3.13.46: This creation is fully grown and mature in this way, yet you remain the same, unchanged. The Universe appears in this manner as nothing but extremely Pure sky-like Consciousness.

3.13.47: This visible world is calm and peaceful, a mere illusion created by one’s own Self. It has no real support, nothing to place upon it, no duality, and no sense of Oneness with anything else.

3.13.48: Even when the Awareness of the world arises, nothing has truly been born. The Supreme Space is empty, Pure, and Unchanging. There is no trace of worldly existence at all; only That remains as it is.

3.13.49: In That, there is nothing to place, no support, no seen object, and no Seer. There is no Universe, no Creator Brahma, and no illusory play anywhere.

3.13.50: There is no world and no earth; everything is completely calm and still. Brahm alone shines purely in this way within itself, by itself, as itself.

3.13.51: Due to the nature of mind, just as water appears with whirlpools within itself, this unreal world shines here as if Real and is experienced as such.

3.13.52: In the end, the unreal vanishes just like one’s own death in a dream. Or, because it is truly one’s own Real Nature, this world is ever-free from disease, unbroken, without beginning or end, and filled only with Pure Knowledge within the sky of Consciousness.

3.13.53: It is unbroken, without beginning or end, made only of Pure Knowledge, filling the vast sky of Consciousness. 

3.13.54: In the Supreme Reality, the very first Lord of all Beings is nothing but Pure Space itself. He eternally shines on his own, completely by himself, in perfect emptiness, remaining ever the same and unchanging. That Lord has only a subtle body made of Pure Awareness — not a gross, physical body made of earth or other material elements. Because of this, nothing Real ever truly exists through him, just as nothing is ever actually born.

Summary of the Teachings:

The verses begin by comparing the world-experience to a dream. Just as objects seen in a dream—such as the earth—are recalled upon waking as mere empty space, the entire remembered world is nothing but Pure Consciousness. This Consciousness is like the sky: vast, Formless, and Unchanging. The Creation we perceive is not a separate event happening outside the Supreme Self; it is the Self itself appearing in various forms, just as water cannot be separated from its wetness. No matter where or how the world seems to arise, it is never apart from the One Reality.

The teaching stresses that the mature, fully developed Universe is still the same untouched Self. The Cosmos shines as Pure, spotless Consciousness. What we see as the world is a calm, self-made illusion with no real foundation, no objects to rest upon, and no duality or forced unity. Even when the mind becomes aware of a world, nothing new has actually come into Being. The Supreme Space remains empty and clear, free from all traces of worldly activity. Only the One Reality abides.

In this Ultimate Reality, there is no container, no contents, no seen, and no Seer. The Universe, the creator-god Brahma, and all dramatic play are absent. The world and its ground do not exist; everything is perfectly still. Brahm alone radiates clearly within itself, through itself, as itself. The mind’s nature causes the unreal to appear Real, like whirlpools forming in water yet never separate from it. This appearance is experienced as solid, yet it is empty.

The unreal finally dissolves, just as death in a dream vanishes upon waking. 

Alternatively, recognizing the world as one’s own true nature reveals it as ever-pure, unbroken, beginningless, and endless—Pure Knowledge filling the sky of Awareness. The first creator is Space itself, eternally shining in emptiness, with a subtle Awareness-body, not a physical form. Nothing Real arises from this; nothing is ever truly born.

These verses thus guide the seeker to see the world as a harmless, Self-created appearance within Unchanging Consciousness. By understanding this, one rests in the peaceful, non-dual Reality where no Creation, destruction, or separation ever occurs.

Chapter 3.13, Verses 36–43

Yoga Vashishtha 3.13.36–43

(Creation is only a memory shaped by the Creator's own thought)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।

आत्मगर्भगृहं चित्ताद्यथासंकल्पमात्मनः ।

देशकालक्रियाद्रव्यकल्पनावेदनं स तत् ॥ ३६ ॥

भावयञ्छब्दनिर्माता शब्दैर्बध्नाति कल्पितैः ।

आतिवाहिकदेहोऽसावित्यसत्यजगद्भ्रमे ॥ ३७ ॥

असत्य एव कचति स्वप्ने खोड्डयनं यथा ।

इत्यनुत्पन्न एवासौ स्वयंभूः स्वयमुत्थितः ॥ ३८ ॥

आतिवाहिकदेहात्मा प्रभुराद्यः प्रजापतिः ।

एतस्मिन्नपि संपन्ने ब्रह्माण्डाकारिणि भ्रमे ॥ ३९ ॥

न किंचिदपि संपन्नं न च जातं न दृश्यते ।

तद्ब्रह्माकाशमाकाशमेव स्थितमनन्तकम् ॥ ४० ॥

संकल्पनगराकारमेतत्सदपि नैव सत् ।

अनिर्मितमरागं च एतद्वै चित्रमुत्थितम् ॥ ४१ ॥

अकृतं चानुभूतं च न सत्यं सत्यवत्स्थितम् ।

महाकल्पे विमुक्तत्वाद्ब्रह्मादीनामसंशयम् ॥ ४२॥

स्मृतिर्न प्राक्तनी काचित्कारणं वा स्वयंभुवः ।

तेन यादृक्स्वयंभूः स्यात्तादृक्तज्जमिदं स्मृतम् ॥ ४३ ॥

Maharishi Vashishta continued:

3.13.36: The mind is like a room inside the True Self. The Self makes up ideas about place, time, actions, and things. The Self feels these made-up ideas as if they are Real.

3.13.37: A person thinks of sounds and makes them. Then those same made-up sounds tie the person up. This body that carries feelings from life to life is like that. All this happens in the false idea of the world.

3.13.38: Something false shines like a dream where a person flies through the sky. In the same way, this self-born creator was never really born. He rises up by himself.

3.13.39: This Self-born creator has the body that carries feelings. He is the first Lord, the father of all people. Even when this big mistake grows into the shape of the whole Universe,

3.13.40: nothing has really happened. Nothing has been born. Nothing can be seen. Only the endless sky of the Great Self stays there, like empty Space.

3.13.41: This looks like a city made by thoughts. Even if it seems real, it is not Real at all. Nothing built it. It has no strong likes or dislikes. Still, it rises up in a strange way.

3.13.42: It was not made, yet it is felt. It is not true, but it stands as if it were true. At the time of the great ending of the world, gods like the Creator become Free. This is certain.

3.13.43: There is no old memory and no reason for the Self-born Creator. So, whatever the Self-born Creator becomes, the world that comes from him is remembered in the same way.

Summary of the Teachings:

The verses teach that the mind creates everything inside the True Self. Ideas of place, time, actions, and objects come only from the Self 's own thoughts. 

The Self experiences these ideas as Real, but they are not. This shows the world is like a thought-picture made by the mind.

The verses explain how thoughts trap a person. When someone imagines sounds or forms, those same imaginations bind the person. The subtle body that moves feelings from one life to another works the same way. All this happens inside the false belief in a Real world. Nothing outside the Self truly exists.

The Self-born Creator appears without any Real birth, like a dream figure flying in the sky. He is the first Lord with a subtle body and Father of all Beings. Even when the mistake grows into a full Universe, nothing has truly happened. The endless Self alone remains, like Pure empty Space with no limits.

The world looks like a city built by imagination, but it is never Real. It has no builder, no strong desires, and yet it rises in a surprising way. It feels Real without being made or True. At the great end of the world, even gods become Free because everything was always empty.

No past memory or cause starts the Self-born Creator. The world matches exactly what he imagines himself to be. This means the whole Creation is only a memory shaped by the Creator's own thought, with no outside reason or beginning.

Chapter 3.13, Verses 26–35

Yoga Vashishtha 3.13.26–35

(Inner Space of the jiva holds the Mind, Heart, Knowledge, and True Existence in a tiny shell)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।

स्वप्नसंकल्पयोः संविद्वेत्त्येतज्जीवकोऽणुके ।

स्वरूपतारकान्तस्थो जीवोऽयं चेतति स्वयम् ॥ २६ ॥

तदेतद्बुद्धिचित्तादिज्ञानसत्तादिरूपकम् ।

जीवाकाशः स्वतस्तत्र तारकाकाशकोशगम् ॥ २७ ॥

प्रेक्षेऽहमिति भावेन द्रष्टुं प्रसरतीव खे ।

ततो रन्ध्रद्वयेनैव भाविबाह्याभिधं पुनः ॥ २८ ॥

येन पश्यति तन्नेत्रयुगं नाम्ना भविष्यति ।

येन स्पृशति सा वै त्वग्यच्छृणोति श्रुतिस्तु सा ॥ २९ ॥

येन जिघ्रति तद्घ्राणं स स्वमात्मनि पश्यति ।

तत्तस्य स्वदनं पश्चाद्रसना चोल्लसिष्यति ॥ ३० ॥

स्पन्दते यत्स तद्वायुश्चेष्टा कर्मेन्द्रियव्रजम् ।

रूपालोकमनस्कारजातमित्यपि भावयत् ॥ ३१ ॥

आतिवाहिकदेहात्मा तिष्ठत्यम्बरमम्बरे ।

एवमुच्छूनतां तस्मिन्भावयंस्तेजसः कणे ॥ ३२ ॥

असत्यां सत्यसंकाशां ब्रह्मास्ते जीवशब्दवत् ।

इत्थं स जीवशब्दार्थः कलनाकुलतां गतः ॥ ३३ ॥

आतिवाहिकदेहात्मा चित्तदेहाम्बराकृतिः ।

स्वकल्पनान्त आकारमण्डं संस्थं प्रपश्यति ॥ ३४ ॥

कश्चिज्जलगतं वेत्ति कश्चित्सम्राट्स्वरूपिणम् ।

भाविब्रह्माण्डकलनां पश्यत्यनुभवत्यपि ॥ ३५ ॥

Maharishi Vashishta further says:

3.13.26: In dreams and in thoughts that we make up ourselves, a tiny spark of Awareness knows all these things inside a very small living being. This living being stays in its own true form, right up to the shining stars at the end of everything, and it thinks and feels by itself.

3.13.27: All of this – the mind, the heart, knowledge, what really exists, and other such things – takes shape like that. The space of the living being is naturally inside there, hidden like the sky full of stars inside a small shell.

3.13.28: With the feeling “I am looking,” it seems to spread out into the open sky to see. Then, through two small openings (eyes), it again plans the outside world that will come later.

3.13.29: The pair of eyes that it uses to see will be called the two eyes. The skin that it uses to touch is the skin. What it uses to hear is the hearing.

3.13.30: The nose that it uses to smell is the nose. It sees its own self inside itself. After that, its own mouth will appear, and the tongue will shine forth to taste.

3.13.31: What moves is the air inside, and the actions come from the group of organs that do work. Think also that shapes, light, and the mind’s attention all come together in this way.

3.13.32: The Self that carries the subtle body stays like water in the sky. In the same way, imagine a tiny spark of fire swelling up in that subtle body.

3.13.33: Even though it is not Real, it looks like something true, just like the word “Living Being” that stands for Brahm. In this manner, the meaning of the word “Living Being” becomes full of imagined ideas and gets mixed up.

3.13.34: The Self that has the subtle body looks like the sky made of mind. At the end of its own imagining, it sees a whole circle of shapes standing there.

3.13.35: One kind of Living Being knows only the water it is in. Another kind, like a great king in its true form, sees and even experiences the future plan of the whole universe egg.

Summary of the Teachings:

The verses explain how a tiny Living Being (jiva) creates its own world inside dreams and thoughts. The Awareness in the jiva knows everything by itself, even though it stays in a very small space. This Awareness is like a spark that shines from its True Nature all the way to the stars. The teaching shows that the jiva does not need anything outside to think or feel – it does everything on its own.

Next, the verses describe the Inner Space of the jiva. This Space holds the mind, heart, Knowledge, and True Existence. It is like a small shell that contains the whole starry sky. From this Space, the jiva starts to imagine an outside world. It feels “I want to see,” and its awareness spreads out through two openings (which later become eyes). In the same way, it plans all the other senses – skin for touch, ears for hearing, nose for smell, tongue for taste, and the moving air for actions.

The verses then show how the subtle body forms. This body is not solid; it is like water floating in the sky or a tiny fire that grows bigger. The jiva imagines senses, light, shapes, and the mind’s focus. All these things appear step by step from its own imagining. Even though the subtle body and its world are not real, they look real, just like the word “jiva” points to the unchanging Brahm but seems to be a separate person.

After that, the teaching says the jiva gets lost in its own made-up ideas. The subtle body is like a sky made of mind, and inside its imaginations, it sees a full circle of shapes – a whole Universe. Some jivas only know the small world they live in, like a fish that knows only water. But a jiva that acts like a great king sees its true form and even experiences the future plan of the entire Universe.

Overall, these verses teach that the jiva, the mind, and the world all come from the same Awareness. Nothing is truly separate or outside. Dreams, thoughts, senses, and the Universe are all imagined by the jiva inside itself. When the jiva understands this, it stops being confused by false ideas and rests in its Real Nature, which is the same as Brahm.

Chapter 3.13, Verses 18–25

Yoga Vashishtha 3.13.18–25

(Freedom comes from knowing the soul was never trapped – it only dreamed it was a Star inside a body)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।

जीवाकाशस्त्विमं देहं यथा विन्दति तच्छ्रुणु ।

जीवाकाशः स्वमेवासौ तस्मिंस्तु परमेश्वरे ॥ १८ ॥

अणुतेजःकणोऽस्मीति स्वयं चेतति चिन्तया ।

यत्तदेवोच्छूनमिव भावयत्यात्मनाम्बरे ॥ १९ ॥

असदेव सदाकारं संकल्पेन्दुर्यथा न सन्।

तमेव भावयन् द्रष्ट्रदृश्यरूपतया स्थितः ॥ २० ॥

एक एव द्वितामेति स्वप्ने स्वमृतिबोधवत् ।

किंचित्स्थौल्यमिवादत्ते ततस्तारकतां विदन् ॥ २१ ॥

यथाभावितमात्रार्थभाविताद्विश्वरूपतः ।

स एव स्वात्मा सततोप्ययं सोहमिति स्वयम् ॥ २२ ॥

चित्तात्प्रत्ययमाधत्ते स्वप्ने स्वामिव पान्थताम् ।

तारकाकारमाकारं भाविदेहाभिधं तथा ॥ २३ ॥

भावयत्येति तद्भावं चित्तं चेत्यार्थतामिव ।

परित्यज्यैव तद्बाह्यं ततस्तारककोटरे ॥ २४ ॥

अन्तर्भाति बहिष्ठोऽपि पर्वतो मुकुरे यथा ।

कूपसंस्थो यथा देहः समुद्गकगतं वचः ॥ २५ ॥

Maharishi Vashishta continues:

3.13.18: Listen now to how the living Soul-Space enters this body. The living Soul-Space is nothing but the Supreme Lord Himself. It is that very Supreme Lord who exists within the body.

3.13.19: The living soul thinks, “I am a tiny spark of light.” It imagines this with its own thoughts. Then, it swells up that same idea, just like a bubble grows in the sky of the Self.

3.13.20: Something that does not really exist takes on the look of something Real – just like the moon in a dream is not truly there. The living soul keeps thinking about that unreal thing and stands as both the Seer and the seen.

3.13.21: One thing alone becomes two, like in a dream when a person feels both dead and awake at the same time. It takes on a little grossness, a solid feel. Then, knowing itself as a star-like point, it stays that way.

3.13.22: From the form that the mind has fully imagined, the living soul – which is always the same as the great world-form – thinks by itself, “I am this, I am that.” It keeps saying “I am” all the time.

3.13.23: The mind takes on an idea from itself, like a traveler in a dream who feels he is the owner of the road. In the same way, the mind imagines a body-shape that looks like a star and gives it a name.

3.13.24: The mind creates that idea and turns it into a felt thing, almost like a knowable object. It completely leaves behind anything outside that idea. Then, inside the tiny hole of the star-point, the mind shines.

3.13.25: Even something outside appears inside, just like a mountain shows up in a mirror. Or like the body that stays in a well, yet its voice echoes out into a box high above.

Summary of the Teachings:

The verses explain that the individual soul (jiva) is not separate from the Supreme Lord (Parameshvara). The Soul-Space is the same as the Infinite Divine Space. It enters the body not by moving from somewhere else, but by the Lord imagining Himself as a limited being inside the body. This is the first key teaching: there is only One Reality, and the soul is that Reality playing a role.

The soul begins with a single thought: “I am a tiny point of light.” This thought is like a Seed. The mind blows it up like a bubble, making it seem big and real, even though it starts from nothing. The unreal idea becomes the Seer (who looks) and the seen (what is looked at). In a dream, the moon looks Real but is not; here, the body and world look Real but come from a false thought.

Next, the one soul splits itself into two – the Knower and the Known – just as in a dream a person can feel dead yet still watch the scene. The soul takes on a slight thickness, a gross form, and sees itself as a star-like point of light. From this imagined world-shape, the soul keeps repeating “I am this body, I am this person,” even though its True Nature never changes.

The mind creates the body-image like a traveler who dreams he owns the path. It gives the star-point a name and shape, then treats it as a real object to know. The mind drops all ideas of “outside” and shines only within that tiny point, like a mountain reflected inside a small mirror or a voice from a well echoing into a distant box. This shows how the Infinite appears limited inside the soul’s self-made boundary.

The core teaching is that the world, body, and personal Self are all made by thought alone. They have no true existence apart from the one Supreme Self. By understanding this, a person sees the bubble of “I” and “mine” burst, leaving only the endless sky of Pure Consciousness. Freedom comes from knowing the soul was never trapped – it only dreamed it was a star inside a body.

Chapter 3.13, Verses 10–17

Yoga Vashishtha 3.13.10–17

(The five elements lack true reality because they are mere mental constructs, like swelling bubbles in empty Space)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।

यद्बीजं तत्फलं विद्धि तस्माद्ब्रह्ममयं जगत् ।

एवमेष महाकाशे सर्गादौ पञ्चको गणः ॥ १० ॥

चिच्छक्त्या स्वाङ्गभूतात्मा कल्पितोस्ति न वास्तवः ।

अनेनोच्छूनतामेत्य यदपीदं वितन्यते ॥ ११ ॥

तदप्याकाशरूपात्मकल्पनात्मनि सन्मयम् ।

क्वचिन्न नाम तत्सिद्धं यदसिद्धेन साध्यते ॥ १२ ॥

स्वरूपं यद्विकल्पात्म कथं तत्सत्यतामियात् ।

अथ चेत्पञ्चकं ब्रह्म ब्रह्मात्मकतया धिया ॥ १३ ॥

तत्पञ्चकं विद्धि प्रौढो ब्रह्मैव त्रिजगत्क्रमः ।

यथा स्फुरति सर्गादावेष पञ्चकसंभवः ॥ १४ ॥

तथैवाद्येह भूतत्वे याति कारणतां स्वयम् ।

 एवं न जायते किंचिज्जगज्जातं न लक्ष्यते ॥ १५ ॥

स्वप्नसंकल्पपुरवदसत्सदनुभूयते ।

 ब्रह्माकाशपराकाशे जीवाकाशत्वमात्मनि ॥ १६ ॥

इति चित्यवदातात्मा पृथ्व्यादीनामसंभवात् ।

 इत्येष जीवः कथितो व्योम्नि स्वात्मा इवोदितः ॥ १७ ॥

Maharishi Vashishta continued: 

3.13.10: Know that the fruit comes from the Seed. That is why the whole world is made of Brahm alone. In this way, at the very beginning of Creation, inside the great empty space of Pure Consciousness, a group of five elements appears.

3.13.11: This group of five (panch-tattva) is imagined by the Power of Consciousness, using the Self as its own body-part. It is not Real in Truth. Yet, because of this imagination, the world swells up and spreads out widely, even though the five elements seem to grow and expand.

3.13.12: Even that spreading world has the nature of empty Space. It is imagined inside the Real Self, which is Pure Existence. Nowhere does this imagination truly succeed or become perfect, because something unreal is trying to prove or create what is already real and complete.

3.13.13: How can something whose true form is nothing but imagination ever become truly Real? Now, if you think of the group of five elements as Brahm itself, and see them with the understanding that they are made of Brahm,

3.13.14: Then know that this mature and fully grown group of five (panch-tattva) is Brahm alone, and the three worlds follow in order from it. Just as this group of five shines and comes into being at the start of Creation,

3.13.15: In the same way, even today, it reaches the State of being the five gross elements and becomes the cause by itself. In this manner, nothing is ever truly born, and no world that seems born can actually be seen or found as Real.

3.13.16: Like a city seen in a dream or imagined in the mind, what is unreal is experienced as Real. In the Brahm-Space which is beyond all other spaces, the Self takes on the form of the individual Soul-Space within itself.

3.13.17: Thus, because the Pure and shining Self is made only of Consciousness, earth and the other elements have no Real coming into Being. In this way, the individual soul has been explained – it rises in the great empty Space of Consciousness just like the Self itself.

Summary of the Teachings:

These verses teach the core idea that the world arises from Brahm as its Seed produces fruit, making everything fundamentally Brahm alone. At creation's start, five elements (space, air, fire, water, earth) emerge in the vast Consciousness-Space, but they are not separate – they form a single group imagined by Consciousness itself. This imagination uses the Self as its material, showing that Creation is an inner play, not an external event.

The five elements lack true reality because they are mere mental constructs, like swelling bubbles in empty Space. Even when the world expands through them, it remains formless and unreal, existing only in the imagination of the Pure Self. No imagined thing can ever achieve true existence, as the unreal cannot prove or create the Real – this highlights the illusory nature of all apparent growth and diversity.

True understanding comes by seeing the five elements as Brahm itself, not as separate entities. When viewed with mature wisdom, they reveal themselves as Brahm, and the three worlds (physical, subtle, mental) unfold from this Unity. Just as the elements appear at creation's dawn, they continue today as gross forms, yet they self-cause without any real birth, emphasizing that causality is also an appearance.

Nothing in the world is ever actually born or visible as independently Real, much like dream-cities or mind-made palaces that feel solid but vanish upon waking. The individual soul (jiva) is the Self appearing as limited space within the Infinite Brahm-Space, a self-imposed role in the play of Consciousness. 

This analogy shows how everyday experience mirrors dream-like unreality.

Ultimately, earth and other elements never truly arise because the Self is Pure, shining Consciousness without parts or change. The jiva is thus the Self "rising" within its own vastness, like a wave in the ocean. These teachings guide the seeker to discard belief in separate existence, recognize all as Brahm, and rest in the Unchanging Reality beyond imagination and birth.