Chapter 3.111, Verses 39–46

Yoga Vashishtha 3.111.39–46

(All the fearsome difficulties and confusions of life arise solely from the mind’s own imaginings, just as a Mirage appears in a waterless desert)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

भीमाः संभ्रमदायिन्यः संकल्पकदनादिमाः।

विपदः संप्रसूयन्ते मृगतृष्णा मराविव ॥ ३९॥

कल्पान्तपवना वान्तु यान्तु चैकत्वमर्णवाः।

तपन्तु द्वादशादित्या नास्ति निर्मनसः क्षतिः ॥ ४०॥

मनोबीजात्समुद्यन्ति सुखदुःखे शुभाशुभे।

संसारखण्डका एते लोकसप्तकपल्लवाः ॥ ४१॥

असंकल्पनमात्रैकसाध्ये सकलसिद्धिदे।

असंकल्पनसाम्राज्ये तिष्ठावष्टब्धतत्पदः ॥ ४२॥

प्रयच्छत्युत्तमानन्दं क्षीयमाणं मनः क्रमात्।

काष्ठक्षीणाङ्गकाङ्गारो यथाङ्गारक्षयार्थिनः ॥ ४३॥

अपि ब्रह्मकुटीलक्षं मनसश्चेत्समीहितम्।

तदणोरन्तरे व्यक्तं विभक्तं परिदृश्यते ॥ ४४॥

संकल्पमात्रविभवेन कृतात्यनर्थं संकल्पमात्रविभवेन सुसाधितार्थम्।

संतोषमात्रविभवेन मनो विजित्य नित्योदितेन जयमेहि निरीप्सितेन ॥ ४५॥

परमपावनया विमनस्तया समतया मतयात्मविदामपि।

शमितया मितयान्तरहंतया यदवशिष्टमजं पदमस्तु तत् ॥ ४६॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.111.39–46

> Terrible troubles that cause confusion, arising first from mental imagining, spring up just as a mirage appears in the desert.

> Let the winds of the end of a world-cycle blow, let the oceans merge into one, let the twelve suns blaze – the one free of restless mind suffers no harm.

> From the seed of the mind arise pleasure and pain, good and bad; these are the fragments of worldly life, the sprouts of the seven worlds.

> Stand firm, holding fast to that State, in the empire of non-imagining, which is achieved solely by the absence of mental constructs and which grants every success.

> As the mind gradually fades away, it gives the Highest Bliss – just as a glowing ember from wood, its parts shrinking, gives the brightest light to one who wants the ember to burn out completely.

> Even if the mind’s desire reaches a hundred thousand worlds of Brahma, that is still seen clearly and separately inside a single atom.

> By the mere power of mental imagining great harm is done; by the mere power of mental imagining a goal is also well achieved. Having conquered the mind through the mere power of contentment, attain victory by means of that ever-present State free of craving.

> Through the most purifying freedom from mind, through evenness of understanding held even by Knowers of the Self, through a quieted and measured inner sense of “I” – may that unborn State which then remains be ours.

Detailed Summary of the Teachings:

These verses teach that all the fearsome difficulties and confusions of life arise solely from the mind’s own imaginings, just as a mirage appears in a waterless desert. Once this is understood, the seeker realises that the root of suffering is not external events but the restless activity of thought itself.

A person whose mind has become still remains completely unharmed even if the most catastrophic cosmic events take place – the dissolving winds of world-end, the merging of all Oceans, or the blazing of the twelve Suns. Outer conditions lose their power to disturb one who is free of mental agitation.

Everything experienced as pleasure or pain, good or bad, and even the entire structure of the seven Worlds, sprouts from the single seed of the mind. Therefore the whole of Worldly existence is nothing but mental construction.

The only reliable means to complete success and the highest good is the simple absence of mental imagining. By remaining established in this “empire of non-thinking,” every goal is attained and the True State is securely held.

As the mind slowly diminishes it yields Supreme Joy, comparable to the final brilliant glow of a dying ember. Even the grandest objects of desire are seen to be contained within the tiniest particle of Consciousness. By the power of pure contentment the mind is conquered, and what finally remains is the Pure, Unborn, ever-present Reality free from all craving and sense of “I.”

Chapter 3.111, Verses 30–38

Yoga Vashishtha 3.111.30–38

(No teaching, scripture or external method can bring lasting peace or liberation unless the mind itself is first quieted)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

सति पथ्ये तते शुभ्रे चित्तोपशमनादृते।

तिर्यगूर्ध्वमधस्ताच्च भूयोभूयो विचारितम् ॥ ३०॥

यावन्नास्ति किलोपायश्चित्तोपशमनादृते।

ऋते तथ्ये तते शुभ्रे बोधे हृद्युदिते सति ॥ ३१॥

मनोविलयमात्रेण विश्रान्तिरुपजायते।

व्यायते हृदयाकाशे चिति चिच्चक्रधारया ॥ ३२॥

मनो मारय निःशङ्कं त्वां प्रबध्नन्ति नाधयः।

यदि रम्यमरम्यत्वे त्वया संविदितं विदा ॥ ३३॥

छिन्नान्येव तदाङ्गानि चित्तस्येति मतिर्मम।

अयं सोऽहमिदं तन्म एतावन्मात्रकं मनः ॥ ३४॥

तदभावनमात्रेण दात्रेणेव विलूयते।

छिन्नाभ्रमण्डलं व्योम्नि यथा शरदि धूयते ॥ ३५॥

वातेनाकल्पनेनैवं तथा तद्धूयते मनः।

भवन्ति यत्र शस्त्राग्निपवनास्तत्र भीर्भवेत् ॥ ३६॥

स्वायते मृदुनि स्वच्छे किमसंकल्पने भयम्।

इदं श्रेय इद नेति सिद्धमाबालमक्षतम् ॥ ३७॥

बालं पुत्रमिवोदारे मनः श्रेयसि योजयेत् ।

अक्षयं चानवं चेतःसिंहं संसृतिबृंहणम्।

घ्नन्ति ये ते जयन्तीह निर्वाणपददायिनः ॥ ३८॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.111.30–38

> Even when a proper, broad and pure path is present, nothing is of use without quieting the mind. This has been examined again and again from every side, above and below.  

> There is truly no other means except the quieting of the mind, once the true, broad and Pure Knowledge has arisen in the heart.  

> By the mere dissolving of the mind, rest arises. It spreads in the Space of the heart through the continuous flow of Pure Consciousness.  

> Kill the mind without any fear. Then the mental afflictions will not bind you, if you, the Knower, have truly understood the pleasant nature even within what seems unpleasant.  

> In my view, the limbs of the mind are then cut off. Thoughts such as “this is that,” “I am this,” “this is mine” — the mind is only this much.  

> By the mere non-thinking of them it is cut away as if by a sickle, just as a mass of torn clouds is scattered in the autumn sky.  

> In the same way the mind is scattered by the wind of non-imagining. Fear arises only where weapons, fire and storms are present.  

> When the mind settles in what is soft and clear, what fear can there be in the absence of mental imagining? The habit of judging “this is good, this is not” has been fixed unbroken since childhood.  

> One should gently turn the mind toward the good, just as one guides a child or a son. Those who destroy the undying, young mind-lion that expands the cycle of birth and death conquer here and bestow the state of nirvana.  

Detailed summary of the teachings:

These verses stress that no teaching, scripture or external method can bring lasting peace or liberation unless the mind itself is first quieted. All other paths remain useless until the restless activity of the mind is brought under control through clear understanding that arises within the heart.  

True rest and freedom appear the moment the mind dissolves. When mental activity ceases, Pure Awareness spreads naturally through the inner space of the heart, revealing an undisturbed state of Consciousness that needs no further effort.  

The mind must be decisively overcome without hesitation. Once a person clearly sees that even unpleasant situations contain an inherent pleasantness when viewed from Pure Knowledge, the usual torments of the mind lose their power to bind.  

The mind consists only of limited thoughts of identity and possession such as “I am this” and “this is mine.” Simply refusing to dwell on these thoughts causes the mind to dissolve completely, just as autumn winds scatter clouds that have already been torn apart.  

There is no danger in this process of non-imagining; fear belongs only to situations of external violence or upheaval. The mind should therefore be gently guided toward what is truly beneficial, like a child being led by a caring parent. Those who succeed in destroying this ever-young, expanding “lion” of the mind attain victory in this life and reach the State of final liberation.  

Chapter 3.111, Verses 21–29

Yoga Vashishtha 3.111.21–29

(The restless mind, though it appears unmoving because of confused perception, can be brought under control solely through personal effort and determination)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

संवेदनविपर्यासरूपिणी धीरिवाचला।

जेतुमाशु मनो राम पौरुषेणैव शक्यते ॥ २१॥

अनुद्वेगः श्रियो मूलमनुद्वेगात्प्रवर्तते।

जन्तोर्मनोजयो येन त्रिलोकीविजयस्तृणम् ॥ २२॥

न शस्त्रदलनोत्पातपाता यस्यां मनागपि।

स्वभावमात्रव्यावृत्तौ तस्यां कैव कदर्थना ॥ २३॥

अपि स्ववेदनाक्रान्तौ न शक्ता ये नराधमाः।

कथं व्यवहरिष्यन्ति व्यवहारदशासु ते ॥ २४॥

पुमान्मृतोऽस्मि जातोऽस्मि जीवामीति कुदृष्टयः।

चेतसो वृत्तयो भान्ति चपलस्यासदुत्थिताः ॥ २५॥

न कश्चनेह म्रियते जायते न च कश्चन।

स्वयं वेत्ति मृतं स्वस्य लोकमन्यं स्वकं मनः ॥ २६॥

इतो याति परं लोकं स्फुरत्यन्यतया मनः।

तत्तस्यैत्येतदामोक्षमतो मृतिभयं कुतः ॥ २७॥

इहलोकेन विचरत्विहलोके परत्र च।

चित्तमामोक्षमास्तेऽस्य रूपमन्यन्न विद्यते ॥ २८॥

मृते भ्रातरि भृत्यादौ क्लेश आक्रियतेऽनृतः।

तत्स्वचित्तं स्वचैतन्यव्यावृत्तात्मेति मे मतिः ॥ २९॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.111.21–24

> O Rama, the mind, which appears fixed like the intellect due to reversed perception, can be conquered quickly only through one’s own effort.

> Freedom from agitation is the root of all prosperity; everything proceeds from it. For one who has conquered the mind, victory over the three worlds is as insignificant as a blade of grass.

> In a State where there is not even the slightest cutting by weapons, rising, or falling, and which comes about merely by turning away from one’s natural tendencies, what possible trouble can there be?

> Those lowest of men who cannot even manage themselves when overtaken by their own feelings—how will they ever conduct themselves properly in worldly affairs?

3.111.25–29

> The false notions “I am dead,” “I am born,” and “I am alive” are merely the restless movements of a fickle mind arising from unreality.

> No one dies here, and no one is born. The mind itself imagines its own death and another World as belonging to itself.

> From here the mind goes to another World and appears in a different form. That very arrival is its liberation—so why fear death?

> Let the mind wander with this World, whether here or in the beyond. Until liberation is attained, it has no other form.

> The sorrow felt at the death of a brother, servant, or the like is unreal. In my view, that is only one’s own mind turned away from its Pure Consciousness.

Detailed summary of the teachings:

These verses teach that the restless mind, though it appears unmoving because of confused perception, can be brought under control solely through personal effort and determination. No external force or ritual is required; sincere human striving is enough to master it quickly. Once the mind is conquered, freedom from inner disturbance becomes the true foundation of lasting well-being, and even the greatest worldly or cosmic victories become trivial.

The text emphasises that genuine transformation of one’s nature involves no struggle, conflict, or violence of any kind. When the mind simply turns away from its habitual patterns, all difficulties dissolve. Those who cannot govern their own feelings and reactions remain incapable of handling ordinary life situations effectively, showing that self-mastery is the first and essential skill.

False ideas of birth, death, and continued existence are exposed as mere products of a fluctuating, unreal mind. In truth, no one is born and no one dies. The mind alone invents the experience of dying and of moving to other realms. When the mind shifts to another appearance, that shift itself is liberation; therefore the fear of death has no real basis.

Wherever the mind wanders—whether in this World or another—it remains the same until liberation is reached. Grief over the death of relatives or dependents is likewise unreal, arising only because the mind has turned away from its own pure awareness. The verses repeatedly stress that no other method exists for attaining clear, true knowledge except the calming and subduing of the mind.

Ultimately, the teaching insists that pure, luminous understanding arises in the heart only when the mind is quieted. All other paths and examinations prove incomplete without this Inner Stillness. Mastery of the mind is therefore presented as the single indispensable means to freedom from fear, sorrow, and delusion.

Chapter 3.111, Verses 11–20

Yoga Vashishtha 3.111.11–20

(The work is simply to master one’s own mind, and that this work is both possible and close at hand)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

स्वायत्तं च सुसाध्यं च स्वचित्ताक्रान्तिमात्रकम्।

शक्नुवन्ति न ये कर्तुं धिक्तान्पुरुषजम्बुकान् ॥ ११॥

स्वपौरुषैकसाध्येन स्वेप्सितत्यागरूपिणा।

मनःप्रशममात्रेण विना नास्ति शुभा गतिः ॥ १२॥

मनोमारणमात्रेण साध्येन स्वात्मसंविदा।

निःसपत्नमनाद्यन्तमनिङ्गनमिहोच्यताम् ॥ १३॥

ईप्सितावेदनाख्यात्तु मनःप्रशमनादृते।

गुरूपदेशशास्त्रार्थमन्त्राद्या युक्तयस्तृणम् ॥ १४॥

सर्वं सर्वगतं शान्तं ब्रह्म संपद्यते तदा।

असंकल्पनशस्त्रेण च्छिन्नं चित्तं गतं यदा ॥ १५॥

स्वसंवेदनसाध्येऽस्मिन्संकल्पानर्थशासने।

शान्तायामत्र वपुषि पुंसः कैव कदर्थना ॥ १६॥

नूनं दैवमनादृत्य मूढसंकल्पकल्पितम्।

पुरुषार्थेन संवित्त्या नय चित्तमचित्तताम् ॥ १७॥

तां महापदवीमेकां कामप्यधिगतं चिरम्।

चित्तं चिद्भक्षितं कृत्वा चित्तादपि परो भव ॥ १८॥

भव भावनया युक्तो युक्तः परमया धिया।

धारयात्मानमव्यग्रो ग्रस्तचित्तं ततः परम् ॥ १९॥

परं पौरुषमाश्रित्य नीत्वा चित्तमचित्तताम्।

तां महापदवीमेहि यत्र नाशो न विद्यते ॥ २०॥

Sage Vasistha said: 

3.111.11–14

> Shame on those jackals among men who cannot do what lies in their own power, is easy to achieve, and is nothing more than mastering their own mind.

> There is no good path except the calming of the mind. That calming is won only by one’s own effort, and it takes the form of giving up what one wants.

> By merely ending the mind — an ending reached through Knowledge of one’s own Self — let that State be known here which has no rival, no beginning, no end, and no restlessness.

> Apart from calming the mind, which means not feeling the things one longs for, a teacher’s instruction, the meaning of scripture, mantras, and other methods are only straw.

3.111.15–20

> When the mind is cut off and gone by the weapon of not forming wishes, then everything becomes the peaceful Brahm that is present everywhere.

> In this checking of the harm caused by mental wishes — a checking reached by one’s own awareness — when the body is quiet here, what real trouble remains for a person?

> Surely set aside fate, which is only imagined by a dull person’s fancies. By human effort and by clear awareness, lead the mind into the state of no-mind.

> Let Consciousness swallow the mind. Reach that one great path sought for so long, and become even beyond the mind.

> Be joined with steady contemplation and with the highest understanding. Hold the Self without agitation, the mind already swallowed, and then go beyond.

> Taking refuge in the highest human effort, and having led the mind into the State of no-mind, enter that great path where destruction does not exist.

Summary of the teaching:

These verses place the whole spiritual task inside a person’s own reach. Vasistha does not ask for rare powers or distant conditions. He says the work is simply to master one’s own mind, and that this work is both possible and close at hand. Those who will not attempt even this are compared to jackals among men: creatures who shrink from a task that is already theirs.

The method is equally plain. The mind is calmed by one’s own effort, and that effort consists in dropping desired objects rather than chasing them. Scripture, a teacher’s words, and mantras are not dismissed as useless in themselves, but they are called straw if they do not produce this quieting. What matters is the ending of the feeling of “I want this.” When longing is no longer felt, the mind loses its fuel.

The mind is treated as something that can be ended, not merely managed. Knowledge of one’s own Self is the means of that ending. The State that then remains has no rival passion, no beginning, no end, and no inner shaking. When the weapon of non-wishing cuts the mind away, what is left is not a blank, but the peaceful Reality present in everything. The body may still be here, yet once mental wishes no longer rule, the person is not truly afflicted.

Fate is set aside as a story made by dull imagination. Vasistha asks the listener to rely on human effort and clear awareness, and to carry the mind into a condition where it no longer functions as mind. Consciousness is said to swallow the mind. The seeker is told to stay joined to contemplation and to the highest understanding, holding the Self steady, and then to pass even beyond that swallowed mind.

The closing note is practical and final. Supreme effort is not opposed to freedom; it is the way into it. By that effort the mind is led to no-mind, and the person enters the great path where nothing is destroyed. The teaching of these verses is therefore one continuous instruction: stop feeding desire, cut off mental wishing by your own awareness, refuse the excuse of fate, and rest in the State that neither begins nor ends.

Chapter 3.111, Verses 1–10

Yoga Vashishtha 3.111.1–10

(The mind causes suffering, yet a reliable, pleasant and completely self-dependent cure is available)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

अस्य चित्तमहाव्याधेश्चिकित्साया महौषधम्।

स्वायत्तं श्रृणु वक्ष्यामि साधु सुस्वादु निश्चितम् ॥ १॥

स्वेनैव पौरुषेणाशु स्वसंवेदनरूपिणा।

यत्नेन चित्तवेतालस्त्यक्त्वेष्टं वस्तु जीयते ॥ २॥

त्यजन्नभिमतं वस्तु यस्तिष्ठति निरामयः।

जितमेव मनस्तेन कुदन्त इव दन्तिना ॥ ३॥

स्वसंवेदनयत्नेन पाल्यते चित्तबालकः।

अवस्तुतो वस्तुनि च योज्यते बोध्यतेऽपि च ॥ ४॥

शास्रसत्सङ्गधीरेण चिन्तातप्तमतापिना।

छिन्धि त्वमायसेनायो मनसैव मनो मुने ॥ ५॥

अयत्नेन यथा बाल इतश्चेतश्च योज्यते।

भावैस्तथैव चेतोन्तः किमिवात्रास्ति दुष्करम् ॥ ६॥

सत्कर्मणि समाक्रान्तमुदर्कोदयदायिनि।

स्वपौरुषेणैव मनश्चेतनेन नियोजयेत् ॥ ७॥

स्वायत्तमेकान्तहितं स्वेप्सितत्यागवेदनम्।

यस्य दुष्करतां यातं धिक्तं पुरुषकीटकम् ॥ ८॥

अरम्यं रम्यरूपेण भावयित्वा स्वसंविदा।

मल्लेनेव शिशुश्चित्तमयत्नेनैव जीयते ॥ ९॥

पौरुषेण प्रयत्नेन चित्तमाश्वेव जीयते।

अचित्तेनाप्रयत्नेन पदं ब्रह्मणि दीयते ॥ १०॥

Sage Vasistha said: 

3.111.1–5

> Listen to the great medicine for treating this great disease of the mind. It is under your own control, beneficial, very pleasant and certain.

> By your own effort in the form of self-awareness, the ghost-like mind is quickly conquered by abandoning the desired object.

> He who remains healthy by giving up the desired object has truly conquered the mind, which is then under control like a tuskless elephant controlled by its rider.

> By the effort of self-awareness the child-like mind is protected; it is directed from the unreal towards the Real and is also awakened.

> With firmness gained from the scriptures and the company of the good, and with the fire of reflective thought, O Sage, cut the mind with the mind itself, just as iron is cut by iron.

3.111.6–10

> Just as a child is directed this way and that without effort by various ideas, in the same way the mind within is directed; what is difficult about this?

> By one’s own human effort the mind should be engaged, with Awareness, in good actions that produce beneficial results.

> This knowledge of abandoning one’s own desires, which is under one’s control and solely beneficial, if it has become difficult for someone, shame on that insect-like man.

> By imagining the unpleasant in a pleasant form through one’s own awareness, the mind is conquered without effort, just as a child is overcome by a wrestler.

> By human effort and endeavour the mind is quickly conquered; through the absence of mind without effort the State of Brahm is attained.

Detailed Summary of the Teachings:

These verses say that the mind causes suffering, yet a reliable, pleasant and completely self-dependent cure is available. The remedy lies entirely within one’s own power and does not depend on external agents, rituals or circumstances. The central method is the deliberate use of self-awareness combined with the renunciation of objects of desire. By repeatedly applying conscious effort to let go of what the mind clings to, the restless and ghost-like mind is brought under control.

Abandoning attachment to desired objects is shown to be both the means and the mark of true mastery over the mind. Once desires are given up, the mind settles into a healthy, disease-free state and becomes as manageable as an elephant whose tusks have been removed. The mind is further described as child-like and therefore educable: through patient self-awareness it can be protected, guided away from false objects and directed toward what is Real. This educational process is gentle yet effective.

The verses stress that the mind must be used against itself. Firmness drawn from scriptural study and the company of the wise, together with the purifying heat of clear reflection, enable one to sever mental agitation with the mind’s own power, just as iron cuts iron. Redirecting the mind is not portrayed as an extraordinary feat; it is as natural and effortless as a child being guided by successive ideas during play. What appears difficult is only the initial reluctance to begin.

Human effort is essential: the mind must be consciously yoked to virtuous actions that yield lasting good results. Failure to practise the simple, self-controlled renunciation of desires is strongly condemned; anyone who finds this beneficial teaching too hard is called an insect-like creature, unworthy of the human opportunity. The same self-awareness that sees the unpleasant as pleasant can subdue the mind with the ease of a strong person handling a child.

Finally, once the mind is conquered through steady personal effort, a still deeper stage becomes possible. When mental activity itself ceases, without further striving, the seeker naturally enters the state of Brahman. Thus the teachings move from active self-discipline to effortless abiding in the ultimate reality, showing that mastery of the mind is both the path and the gateway to liberation.

Chapter 3.110, Verses 60–67

Yoga Vashishtha 3.110.60–67

(A person is not the body; excitement, joy, and restlessness are all movements of the mind)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

प्रशाम्यत्युल्लसत्येति याति नन्दति वल्गति।

मनःशरीरसंकल्पे फलिते न शरीरकम् ॥ ६०॥

नानास्फारसमुल्लासैः स्वसंकल्पोपकल्पितैः।

मनो वल्गति देहेऽस्मिन्साध्वीवान्तःपुराजिरे ॥ ६१॥

चापले प्रसरस्तस्मादन्तर्येन नदीयते।

मनोविलयमादत्ते तस्यालान इव द्विपः ॥ ६२॥

न स्पन्दते मनो यस्य शस्त्रस्तम्भ इवोत्तमः।

सद्वस्तुतोऽसौ पुरुषः शिष्टाः कर्दमकीटकाः ॥ ६३॥

यस्याचपलतां यातं मन एकत्र संस्थितम्।

अनुत्तमपदेनासौ ध्यानेनानुगतोऽनघ ॥ ६४॥

संयमान्मनसः शान्तिमेति संसारविभ्रमः।

मन्दरेऽस्पन्दतां याते यथा क्षीरमहार्णवः ॥ ६५॥

मानस्यो वृत्तयो या या भोगसंकल्पविभ्रभैः।

संसारविषवृक्षस्य ता एवाङ्कुरयोनयः ॥ ६६॥

चित्तं चलत्कुवलयं वलयन्त एते मूढा महाजडजवे मदमोहमन्दाः।

आवर्तवर्तिनि विलूनविशीर्णचिन्ताचक्रभ्रमे पुरुषदुर्भ्रमराः पतन्ति ॥ ६७॥

Sage Vasistha said: 

3.110.60–67

> The mind grows quiet, then it rises again. It goes, it rejoices, and it leaps about. All of this happens when the mind’s idea of a body bears fruit. The body itself does none of it.

> With many wide bursts of excitement, all made by its own will, the mind dances inside this body, like a good woman moving in the inner courtyard of a palace.

> When the spread of that restlessness is not allowed inside, the mind settles and fades away, like an elephant held still by its tying-post.

> The person whose mind does not move, standing firm like a strong iron pillar, is truly a human Being. The rest are only worms in the mud.

> O faultless one, the person whose mind has stopped wandering and stays fixed in one place is carried, by that steady meditation, to the Highest State.

> When the mind is held in check, the whirl of Worldly life grows calm, just as the Ocean of milk grows still when Mount Mandara stops churning it.

> Whatever movements rise in the mind from the confusion of enjoyment and desire, those very movements are the seeds from which the poison-tree of worldly life sprouts.

> The mind is like a blue lotus tossing in a current. These fools, dull and slow with pride and delusion, circle around it. Like unlucky bees, they fall into the whirlpool where the broken, scattered wheel of thought keeps turning.

Detailed summary of the teachings: 

These verses teach that a person is not the body. Quiet, excitement, going, joy, and restlessness are all movements of the mind. The body only seems to do them because the mind has already pictured a body and then treated that picture as real. When that mental picture “bears fruit,” life appears to happen in the body, yet the body itself remains a lifeless thing. What people call their life is the mind playing inside an idea it has made.

The image of the woman in the inner courtyard makes this play look ordinary rather than mysterious. The mind does not need an outside stage. With ideas formed by its own will, it leaps about inside the body, inventing near and far, pleasure and pain, action and rest. Worldly life is therefore not something forced on the mind from outside. It is the mind amusing itself with its own creations, and then forgetting that it made them.

The way out is not more movement, but the stopping of restlessness at its source. If the spread of fickleness is not given room inside, the mind loosens its grip and settles, as an elephant is held by the post to which it is tied. The person whose mind no longer throbs, firm like an iron pillar, is called a real person. Others, however busy or learned they appear, are compared to worms in the mud, because they are carried along by every impulse. When the mind becomes steady and stays in one place, meditation naturally follows, and that steadiness leads to the Highest State.

Restraint of the mind brings peace to the whole confusion of Worldly life. The comparison is with the Ocean of milk: while Mount Mandara keeps turning, the ocean is thrown into waves; when the mountain stops, the Ocean is calm. In the same way, the World does not have to be destroyed piece by piece. When the mind that stirs it is restrained, the apparent turmoil subsides. The movements born of enjoyment and desire are the sprouts of a poison-tree. Cut off those movements, and the tree of repeated sorrow has nothing from which to grow.

The closing image is a warning. The restless mind is like a blue lotus spinning in a stream. People dulled by pride and delusion circle that lotus and, like bees caught in a bad whirl, fall into a wheel of torn and scattered thoughts. The teaching of these verses is therefore simple and strict: watch the mind’s movements, refuse to feed its restlessness, and let it stand still. From that Stillness the illusion of Worldly life loses its force.

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.