Yoga Vāsiṣṭha I · 1.1the invocationSaara Sangrah 1.1
Salutation to the Truth that is the Self
यतः सर्वाणि भूतानि प्रतिभान्ति स्थितानि च ।
यत्रैवोपशमं यान्ति तस्मै सत्यात्मने नमः ॥
yataḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni pratibhānti sthitāni ca |
yatraivopaśamaṃ yānti tasmai satyātmane namaḥ ||
Word by word
yataḥfrom which
sarvāṇi bhūtāniall beings
pratibhāntishine forth, appear
sthitāni caand in which they exist
yatra evain which alone
upaśamam yāntithey come to rest, dissolve
tasmaito that
satya-ātmaneTruth which is the Self
namaḥsalutation
MeaningSalutation to that Truth, the Self, from which all beings shine forth, in which they abide, and into which alone they return to rest.
ContextThe opening verse of the whole Yoga Vāsiṣṭha. It echoes the Taittirīya Upaniṣad’s definition of Brahman — “that from which beings are born, by which they live, into which they enter” — but with one telling change: beings do not “come into being”, they pratibhānti, they only appear.
Philosophical aspectIn three words — appearance, abiding, dissolution — the whole teaching is stated. The world is not created and destroyed; it shines in consciousness and subsides in it, like waves in the ocean. The salutation is not to a god outside but to satya-ātman, the Truth that is one’s own Self. The book’s last verse (6b.216.25) returns to the same idea.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha I · 2.3Vālmīki to BharadvājaSaara Sangrah 1.2
Who is fit to study this scripture
अहं बद्धो विमुक्तः स्यामिति यस्यास्ति निश्चयः ।
नात्यन्तमज्ञो नो तज्ज्ञः सोऽस्मिञ्छास्त्रेऽधिकारवान् ॥
ahaṃ baddho vimuktaḥ syāmiti yasyāsti niścayaḥ |
nātyantamajño no tajjñaḥ so'smiñchāstre'dhikāravān ||
Word by word
aham baddhaḥ“I am bound”
vimuktaḥ syām“may I be free”
itithus
yasya asti niścayaḥone who has this conviction
na atyantam ajñaḥnot utterly ignorant
no tat-jñaḥnor a knower of That
saḥhe
asmin śāstrefor this scripture
adhikāravānis qualified
MeaningOne who is convinced, “I am bound — let me be free”, who is neither utterly ignorant nor already a knower of the Truth: such a person is qualified for this scripture.
ContextThe definition of the adhikārī, the fit student. The utterly ignorant do not feel bondage; the enlightened no longer need the teaching. The scripture is for the one in between — who feels the pinch and wants out.
Philosophical aspectVedānta never teaches the unwilling. The first qualification is not learning but a niścaya, a clear conviction of one’s own bondage. Rāma himself will show this in Part I: his despondency is the very qualification that makes Vasiṣṭha’s teaching possible.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha I · 2.20Bharadvāja to VālmīkiSaara Sangrah 1.3
How did Rāma live in the world?
मह्यं च भगवन्ब्रूहि कथं संसारसंकटे ।
रामो व्यवहृतो ह्यस्मिन्भरतश्च महामनाः ॥
mahyaṃ ca bhagavanbrūhi kathaṃ saṃsārasaṃkaṭe |
rāmo vyavahṛto hyasminbharataśca mahāmanāḥ ||
Word by word
mahyam caand to me
bhagavanO revered one
brūhitell
kathamhow
saṃsāra-saṅkaṭein the narrow straits of worldly life
rāmaḥRāma
vyavahṛtaḥconducted himself
hi asminindeed in this
bharataḥ caand Bharata
mahāmanāḥthe great-minded
MeaningTell me, revered sir, how Rāma — and great-minded Bharata — conducted themselves in this perilous passage of worldly life.
ContextBharadvāja’s question frames the whole book. He does not ask what Rāma did (that is the Rāmāyaṇa) but how he lived — with what understanding he moved through the same world we live in.
Philosophical aspectThe Yoga Vāsiṣṭha is the inner Rāmāyaṇa. The outer epic shows the ideal conduct; this one shows the knowledge that makes such conduct effortless. Saṃsāra-saṅkaṭa — the narrow pass — is any life that must act without being trapped by its actions.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha I · 3.16Vālmīki to BharadvājaSaara Sangrah 1.4
Liberation while living — the promise of the book
जीवन्मुक्तिपदं प्राप्तो यथा रामो महामतिः ।
तत्तेऽहं शृणु वक्ष्यामि जरामरणशान्तये ॥
jīvanmuktipadaṃ prāpto yathā rāmo mahāmatiḥ |
tatte'haṃ śṛṇu vakṣyāmi jarāmaraṇaśāntaye ||
Word by word
jīvanmukti-padamthe state of liberation while living
prāptaḥattained
yathāhow
rāmaḥ mahāmatiḥthe wise Rāma
tat te ahamthat I to you
śṛṇulisten
vakṣyāmishall tell
jarā-maraṇa-śāntayefor the ending of old age and death
MeaningListen: I shall tell you how the wise Rāma attained the state of liberation while living — so that old age and death may cease for you.
ContextVālmīki states the goal at the outset: jīvanmukti, freedom here and now, not after death. The story of Rāma’s awakening is told so that the listener too may go beyond decay and death.
Philosophical aspect“Jarā-maraṇa-śānti” does not mean the body stops ageing; it means the identification with the body ends. The one who knows himself as consciousness sees the body age and fall as the space in a pot sees the pot break.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha I · 12.7Rāma to Viśvāmitra and the courtSaara Sangrah 1.5
Born to die, dying to be born
किंनामेदं बत सुखं येयं संसारसंततिः ।
जायते मृतये लोको म्रियते जननाय च ॥
kiṃnāmedaṃ bata sukhaṃ yeyaṃ saṃsārasaṃtatiḥ |
jāyate mṛtaye loko mriyate jananāya ca ||
Word by word
kim nāmawhat kind of
idam bata sukhamhappiness is this, alas
yā iyamthis which is
saṃsāra-santatiḥthe endless chain of worldly life
jāyateis born
mṛtayefor death
lokaḥthe world, people
mriyatedies
jananāya caand for birth
MeaningWhat kind of happiness is this endless chain of worldly life? People are born only to die, and die only to be born again.
ContextReturning from his pilgrimage, Rāma has withdrawn and grown thin. When Viśvāmitra asks for him, he is brought to the court and pours out what he has seen. This is his first conclusion.
Philosophical aspectThis is vairāgya born of observation, not of failure. Rāma is young, a prince, loved by all; nothing has gone wrong for him. He simply sees the pattern — birth and death chasing each other — and refuses to call it happiness. That clear seeing is the beginning of wisdom.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha I · 12.11Rāma
Deer chasing a mirage
असतैव वयं कष्टं विकृष्टा मूढबुद्धयः ।
मृगतृष्णाम्भसा दूरे वने मुग्धमृगा इव ॥
asataiva vayaṃ kaṣṭaṃ vikṛṣṭā mūḍhabuddhayaḥ |
mṛgatṛṣṇāmbhasā dūre vane mugdhamṛgā iva ||
Word by word
asatā evaby the unreal alone
vayamwe
kaṣṭamalas
vikṛṣṭāḥare dragged away
mūḍha-buddhayaḥdeluded in understanding
mṛga-tṛṣṇā-ambhasāby the water of a mirage
dūrefar off
vanein the forest
mugdha-mṛgāḥ ivalike bewildered deer
MeaningAlas, deluded, we are dragged far away by what is unreal — like bewildered deer in the forest drawn on by the water of a mirage.
ContextThe image of the mirage (mṛga-tṛṣṇā, literally “the deer’s thirst”) will run through the whole book. The more the deer runs, the farther the water.
Philosophical aspectThe mirage is the perfect image of mithyā: it is seen, it is not nothing, yet it is not water. Desire runs after objects as the deer runs after the mirage; the thirst is real, the water is not. The only cure is to see the mirage as mirage.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha I · 12.15RāmaSaara Sangrah 1.6
“Who am I? What is all this?”
किं मे राज्येन किं भोगैः कोऽहं किमिदमागतम् ।
यन्मिथ्यैवास्तु तन्मिथ्या कस्य नाम किमागतम् ॥
kiṃ me rājyena kiṃ bhogaiḥ ko'haṃ kimidamāgatam |
yanmithyaivāstu tanmithyā kasya nāma kimāgatam ||
Word by word
kim me rājyenawhat use to me is a kingdom
kim bhogaiḥwhat use are pleasures
kaḥ ahamwho am I
kim idam āgatamwhat is this that has come
yat mithyā evawhat is false
astu tat mithyālet it be false
kasya nāmato whom then
kim āgatamwhat has come
MeaningWhat use to me is a kingdom, what use are pleasures? Who am I, and what is all this that has come upon me? What is false, let it be false — to whom, then, has anything come?
ContextThe heart of Rāma’s despondency — and the first appearance in the book of the question “ko’ham?”, “Who am I?”. The question that Vasiṣṭha will spend five more parts answering is asked here by the student himself.
Philosophical aspectThis is ātma-vicāra, self-enquiry, in its seed form. Rāma is not asking how to get a better kingdom but what the one who has a kingdom really is. Ramaṇa Maharṣi took this question as the whole of spiritual practice. “Let the false be false” — once the unreal is seen as unreal, it no longer binds.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha I · 12.16RāmaSaara Sangrah 1.7
Joylessness, like a traveller in the desert
एवं विमृशतो ब्रह्मन्सर्वेष्वेव ततो मम ।
भावेष्वरतिरायाता पथिकस्य मरुष्विव ॥
evaṃ vimṛśato brahmansarveṣveva tato mama |
bhāveṣvaratirāyātā pathikasya maruṣviva ||
Word by word
evam vimṛśataḥas I reflected thus
brahmanO sage
sarveṣu evatowards all things
tataḥ mamathen in me
bhāveṣu aratiḥaversion to objects
āyātāarose
pathikasyaof a traveller
maruṣu ivaas in deserts
MeaningAs I reflected in this way, O sage, a distaste for all things arose in me — as a traveller loses all delight in the desert.
ContextRāma describes how dispassion arose: not by forcing himself to give things up but by reflection (vimarśa). Seeing clearly, the taste for objects fell away by itself.
Philosophical aspectTrue vairāgya is a by-product of viveka. Renunciation forced on the mind breeds resentment; renunciation that comes from understanding is natural, like a grown-up’s lack of interest in toys.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha I · 14.1Rāma
Life — a drop on the tip of a leaf
आयुः पल्लवकोणाग्रलम्बाम्बुकणभङ्गुरम् ।
उन्मत्तमिव संत्यज्य यात्यकाण्डे शरीरकम् ॥
āyuḥ pallavakoṇāgralambāmbukaṇabhaṅguram |
unmattamiva saṃtyajya yātyakāṇḍe śarīrakam ||
Word by word
āyuḥlife-span
pallava-koṇa-agraat the very tip of a leaf
lamba-ambu-kaṇaa hanging drop of water
bhaṅguramfragile as
unmattam ivaas if mad
santyajyaabandoning
yātigoes away
akāṇḍeuntimely, suddenly
śarīrakamthis poor body
MeaningLife is as fragile as a drop of water hanging from the tip of a leaf. Suddenly, as if crazed, it abandons this poor body and goes.
ContextThe opening verse of Rāma’s lament on the transience of life (sarga 14).
Philosophical aspectThe drop is real, shining, beautiful — and about to fall. Seeing life this way is not pessimism but urgency: if the drop must fall, let it be used now for what lasts. The Vedāntic answer, coming later, is that the one who watches the drop does not fall with it.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha I · 15.3Rāma
Ego is the root of every sorrow
अहंकारवशादापदहंकाराद्दुराधयः ।
अहंकारवशादीहा त्वहंकारो ममामयः ॥
ahaṃkāravaśādāpadahaṃkārāddurādhayaḥ |
ahaṃkāravaśādīhā tvahaṃkāro mamāmayaḥ ||
Word by word
ahaṅkāra-vaśātfrom the sway of ego
āpatcalamity
ahaṅkārātfrom ego
durādhayaḥgrievous mental pains
ahaṅkāra-vaśātfrom the sway of ego
īhācraving, striving
tu ahaṅkāraḥego indeed
mama āmayaḥis my disease
MeaningFrom the sway of ego comes calamity; from ego, grievous anguish; from the sway of ego, craving. Ego is my sickness.
ContextRāma’s analysis of egotism (sarga 15). He traces every misfortune, every mental pain and every desire back to one root — the sense of a separate “I”.
Philosophical aspectAhaṅkāra is not pride in the ordinary sense; it is the identification of consciousness with a limited body-mind, the feeling “I am this”. Every desire and fear follows from it. Rāma calls it a disease — and a disease can be cured. Vasiṣṭha’s whole teaching is that cure.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha I · 15.8Rāma
“I am not Rāma”
नाहं रामो न मे वाञ्छा भावेषु न च मे मनः ।
शान्त आसितुमिच्छामि स्वात्मनीव जिनो यथा ॥
nāhaṃ rāmo na me vāñchā bhāveṣu na ca me manaḥ |
śānta āsitumicchāmi svātmanīva jino yathā ||
Word by word
na aham rāmaḥI am not Rāma
na me vāñchāI have no desire
bhāveṣufor things
na ca me manaḥnor is my mind (in them)
śāntaḥtranquil
āsitum icchāmiI wish to remain
sva-ātmani ivaas if in my own Self
jinaḥ yathālike a Jina, a sage who has conquered
MeaningI am not Rāma; I have no desire for things, nor is my mind set on them. I wish only to rest in peace within myself, like a sage who has conquered all.
ContextOne of the most quoted verses of the book. The crown prince of Ayodhyā disowns his very name. (Jina, “conqueror”, is the title of an enlightened sage — used also of the Jain tīrthaṅkaras.)
Philosophical aspect“I am not Rāma” is the first step of neti neti: the name, the role, the history are not the Self. Rāma is not yet free — he still “wishes” to rest — but he has seen that the person called Rāma is a garment. Vasiṣṭha will later show him that resting in the Self does not require giving up the world.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha I · 15.12Rāma
The cloud of ego and the flower of craving
ब्रह्मन्यावदहंकारवारिदः परिजृम्भते ।
तावद्विकासमायाति तृष्णाकुटजमञ्जरी ॥
brahmanyāvadahaṃkāravāridaḥ parijṛmbhate |
tāvadvikāsamāyāti tṛṣṇākuṭajamañjarī ||
Word by word
brahmanO sage
yāvatas long as
ahaṅkāra-vāridaḥthe rain-cloud of ego
parijṛmbhatespreads
tāvatso long
vikāsam āyāticomes into bloom
tṛṣṇā-kuṭaja-mañjarīthe blossom of the kuṭaja (monsoon flower) of craving
MeaningO sage, as long as the rain-cloud of ego spreads across the sky, so long does the kuṭaja blossom of craving keep flowering.
ContextThe kuṭaja flowers only in the rains. As long as the monsoon cloud of ego hangs over the mind, desires keep blooming.
Philosophical aspectYou cannot pluck desires one by one and hope to finish; new ones flower as long as the season lasts. End the season — dissolve the ego — and craving stops by itself. This is why the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha goes for the root, not the branches.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha I · 16.25Rāma
The mind is the cause of the three worlds
चित्तं कारणमर्थानां तस्मिन्सति जगत्त्रयम् ।
तस्मिन्क्षीणे जगत्क्षीणं तच्चिकित्स्यं प्रयत्नतः ॥
cittaṃ kāraṇamarthānāṃ tasminsati jagattrayam |
tasminkṣīṇe jagatkṣīṇaṃ taccikitsyaṃ prayatnataḥ ||
Word by word
cittamthe mind
kāraṇamis the cause
arthānāmof all objects
tasmin satiwhen it exists
jagat-trayamthe three worlds (exist)
tasmin kṣīṇewhen it wanes
jagat kṣīṇamthe world wanes
tattherefore it
cikitsyammust be treated
prayatnataḥwith effort
MeaningThe mind is the cause of all objects. When it is there, the three worlds are there; when it is dissolved, the world dissolves. So the mind must be healed with every effort.
ContextFrom Rāma’s sarga on the mind (16). Already in his questions, the student has arrived at the thesis the whole book will develop.
Philosophical aspectThis is the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha’s signature teaching: the world we experience is mind-made. In deep sleep, with the mind withdrawn, the world is not experienced at all. Hence the practice is not to fix the world but to treat the mind — cikitsā, as a physician treats a patient.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha I · 31.20RāmaSaara Sangrah 1.9–10
Rāma’s fast of the spirit
न भोक्ष्ये न पिबाम्यम्बु नाहं परिदधेऽम्बरम् ।
करोमि नाहं व्यापारं स्नानदानाशनादिकम् ॥
na bhokṣye na pibāmyambu nāhaṃ paridadhe'mbaram |
karomi nāhaṃ vyāpāraṃ snānadānāśanādikam ||
Word by word
na bhokṣyeI will not eat
na pibāmi ambuI will not drink water
na aham paridadheI will not put on
ambaramclothes
karomi na ahamI will not do
vyāpāramany activity
snāna-dāna-aśana-ādikambathing, giving, eating and the rest
MeaningI will not eat, I will not drink water, I will not dress; I will do nothing — not bathe, not give, not eat.
ContextRāma ends his long discourse with a vow: until his question is answered, he will take no part in life.
Philosophical aspectThis is the intensity the scripture asks for — tīvra mumukṣutva, burning longing. It is not a hunger strike against the world but a refusal to go on living mechanically. Vasiṣṭha will not condemn the vow; he will answer it.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha I · 31.21RāmaSaara Sangrah 1.9–10
Until I find that rest
स्वयं चैव न चाप्नोमि तां विश्रान्तिमनुत्तमाम् ।
तदहं त्यक्तसर्वेहो निरहंकारतां गतः ॥
svayaṃ caiva na cāpnomi tāṃ viśrāntimanuttamām |
tadahaṃ tyaktasarveho nirahaṃkāratāṃ gataḥ ||
Word by word
svayam ca evaand of myself
na ca āpnomiI do not attain
tām viśrāntimthat repose
anuttamāmunsurpassed
tat ahamtherefore I
tyakta-sarva-īhaḥhaving given up all striving
nirahaṅkāratām gataḥhave become free of ego
MeaningBy myself I cannot reach that supreme repose. So, giving up all striving, I have become free of the sense of “I”.
ContextThe last words of Rāma’s discourse. He recognises the limit of his own effort and turns to the sages.
Philosophical aspectA turning point in any spiritual life: “I cannot do this alone.” It is not despair but humility, and it opens the door to the guru. Part II begins with Vasiṣṭha’s answer.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha II · 1.2Viśvāmitra to RāmaSaara Sangrah 2.1
“You already know — only confirm it”
न राघव तवास्त्यन्यज्ज्ञेयं ज्ञानवतां वर ।
स्वयैव सूक्ष्मया बुद्ध्या सर्वं विज्ञातवानसि ॥
na rāghava tavāstyanyajjñeyaṃ jñānavatāṃ vara |
svayaiva sūkṣmayā buddhyā sarvaṃ vijñātavānasi ||
Word by word
na rāghavaO Rāghava, there is not
tava asti anyatfor you anything else
jñeyamto be known
jñānavatām varabest among the wise
svayā evaby your own
sūkṣmayā buddhyāsubtle intelligence
sarvameverything
vijñātavān asiyou have understood
MeaningO Rāghava, best of the wise, there is nothing more for you to know. By your own subtle intelligence you have understood everything.
ContextViśvāmitra’s response to Rāma’s despondency. Like Śuka, whose story follows, Rāma has seen the truth but does not yet trust it; what remains is confirmation from a teacher.
Philosophical aspectThe teacher does not give the Self — no one can; it is already one’s own. He removes doubt (saṃśaya). The story of Śuka in the next sarga makes the point: Śuka knew, but was not at rest until Janaka confirmed it.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha II · 2.5ViśvāmitraSaara Sangrah 2.2
Liberation and bondage defined
वासनातानवं राम मोक्ष इत्युच्यते बुधैः ।
पदार्थवासनादार्ढ्यं बन्ध इत्यभिधीयते ॥
vāsanātānavaṃ rāma mokṣa ityucyate budhaiḥ |
padārthavāsanādārḍhyaṃ bandha ityabhidhīyate ||
Word by word
vāsanā-tānavamthe thinning of vāsanās (latent tendencies)
rāmaO Rāma
mokṣaḥ iti ucyateis called liberation
budhaiḥby the wise
padārtha-vāsanā-dārḍhyamthe hardening of tendencies towards objects
bandhaḥ itias bondage
abhidhīyateis described
MeaningThe thinning of the vāsanās, O Rāma, is what the wise call liberation; the hardening of tendencies towards objects is called bondage.
ContextThe most practical definition in the book. Liberation is not a place one goes to; it is the loosening of the inner grip on objects.
Philosophical aspectVāsanās are the residues of past desire and action that push the mind outward. Bondage and freedom are therefore matters of degree, measurable in daily life: am I less compelled today than yesterday? This makes mokṣa something one can start now.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha II · 4.8VasiṣṭhaSaara Sangrah 2.3
Everything is attained by effort
सर्वमेवेह हि सदा संसारे रघुनन्दन ।
सम्यक्प्रयुक्तात्सर्वेण पौरुषात्समवाप्यते ॥
sarvameveha hi sadā saṃsāre raghunandana |
samyakprayuktātsarveṇa pauruṣātsamavāpyate ||
Word by word
sarvam evaeverything
iha hi sadāhere always
saṃsārein this world
raghunandanaO joy of the Raghus
samyak prayuktātrightly applied
sarveṇaby everyone
pauruṣātfrom self-effort
samavāpyateis attained
MeaningO joy of the Raghus, in this world everything, always, is attained by everyone through rightly applied self-effort.
ContextVasiṣṭha opens his teaching not with metaphysics but with pauruṣa — human effort. Sargas 4–9 are a sustained argument against fatalism.
Philosophical aspectSurprising for a book that calls the world a dream — but deliberate. Liberation is the fruit of effort too: enquiry, discipline and practice must be undertaken. What is called fate (daiva) is only one’s own past effort bearing fruit; present effort can overcome it.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha II · 4.18Vasiṣṭha
Effort can swallow mountains
यत्नवद्भिर्दृढाभ्यासैः प्रज्ञोत्साहसमन्वितैः ।
मेरवोऽपि निगीर्यन्ते कैव प्राक्पौरुषे कथा ॥
yatnavadbhirdṛḍhābhyāsaiḥ prajñotsāhasamanvitaiḥ |
meravo'pi nigīryante kaiva prākpauruṣe kathā ||
Word by word
yatnavadbhiḥby the diligent
dṛḍha-abhyāsaiḥwith firm practice
prajñā-utsāha-samanvitaiḥendowed with wisdom and enthusiasm
meravaḥ apieven Merus (great mountains)
nigīryanteare swallowed
kā evawhat then
prāk-pauruṣeof past effort (fate)
kathāto speak of
MeaningBy the diligent, steady in practice and endowed with wisdom and zeal, even mountains like Meru are swallowed — what then to speak of past effort (called fate)?
ContextVasiṣṭha’s answer to those who say “it is my destiny”. Destiny is only prāk-pauruṣa, one’s own earlier effort.
Philosophical aspectThree ingredients of effective effort are named: dṛḍha-abhyāsa (steady practice), prajñā (intelligence) and utsāha (enthusiasm). The Gītā’s “abhyāsena tu kaunteya” is the same insight.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha II · 7.2Vasiṣṭha
Turn fate back with effort
दैवं पुरुषकारेण यो निवर्तितुमिच्छति ।
इह वामुत्र जगति स संपूर्णाभिवाञ्छितः ॥
daivaṃ puruṣakāreṇa yo nivartitumicchati |
iha vāmutra jagati sa saṃpūrṇābhivāñchitaḥ ||
Word by word
daivamfate
puruṣakāreṇaby human effort
yaḥ nivartitum icchatiwhoever wishes to turn back
iha vā amutrahere or hereafter
jagatiin the world
saḥhe
sampūrṇa-abhivāñchitaḥhas all his wishes fulfilled
MeaningWhoever resolves to turn back fate by human effort — here or hereafter — has all his wishes fulfilled.
ContextFrom the sarga that compares fate and effort to two rams butting heads: the stronger wins.
Philosophical aspectFatalism is the subtle laziness of the mind. Vasiṣṭha’s view: present karma is always stronger than past karma, because the past is finished and the present is alive. This is the scripture of the free will that leads to freedom.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha II · 9.30VasiṣṭhaSaara Sangrah 2.4–6
The river of vāsanās
शुभाशुभाभ्यां मार्गाभ्यां वहन्ती वासनासरित् ।
पौरुषेण प्रयत्नेन योजनीया शुभे पथि ॥
śubhāśubhābhyāṃ mārgābhyāṃ vahantī vāsanāsarit |
pauruṣeṇa prayatnena yojanīyā śubhe pathi ||
Word by word
śubha-aśubhābhyāmby the pure and the impure
mārgābhyāmtwo channels
vahantīflowing
vāsanā-saritthe river of tendencies
pauruṣeṇaby self-effort
prayatnenawith diligence
yojanīyāshould be directed
śubhe pathiinto the pure channel
MeaningThe river of vāsanās flows in two channels, the pure and the impure. By self-effort and diligence it must be turned into the pure channel.
ContextOne of the best-known verses of the book. The mind’s tendencies are not to be dammed but redirected — as a farmer steers water into the right field.
Philosophical aspectThe Yoga Vāsiṣṭha’s method in one image. First, replace impure vāsanās (greed, anger) by pure ones (dispassion, kindness, enquiry). Then, as the next verse says, even the pure vāsanās are given up in knowledge. A thorn removes a thorn, and then both are thrown away.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha II · 9.42VasiṣṭhaSaara Sangrah 2.7
Even good tendencies are finally let go
ततः पक्वकषायेण नूनं विज्ञातवस्तुना ।
शुभोऽप्यसौ त्वया त्याज्यो वासनौघो निराधिना ॥
tataḥ pakvakaṣāyeṇa nūnaṃ vijñātavastunā |
śubho'pyasau tvayā tyājyo vāsanaugho nirādhinā ||
Word by word
tataḥthen
pakva-kaṣāyeṇaby one whose impurities have ripened and fallen
nūnamsurely
vijñāta-vastunāby one who has known the Reality
śubhaḥ apieven the good
asauthis
tvayā tyājyaḥshould be given up by you
vāsanā-oghaḥflood of tendencies
nirādhināfree of anxiety
MeaningThen, when your impurities have ripened and fallen away and you have known the Reality, you should give up even this flood of good tendencies, free of all anxiety.
ContextThe second step after redirecting the river. Good vāsanās are a ladder, not a home.
Philosophical aspectEven virtue held as “my virtue” is a subtle bondage. The knower acts well not from good habits but from the Self — spontaneously, without a doer’s claim. The Gītā calls this rising above the guṇas, even sattva.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha II · 11.57Vasiṣṭha
Keep the wise close, the foolish far
अविवेकिनमज्ञानमसज्जनरतिं जनम् ।
चिरं दूरतरे कृत्वा पूजनीया हि साधवः ॥
avivekinamajñānamasajjanaratiṃ janam |
ciraṃ dūratare kṛtvā pūjanīyā hi sādhavaḥ ||
Word by word
avivekinamthe undiscriminating
ajñānamthe ignorant
asat-jana-ratimone who delights in bad company
janamsuch a person
ciramfor long
dūratare kṛtvākeeping far away
pūjanīyāḥ hiare indeed to be honoured
sādhavaḥthe good, the wise
MeaningKeep far away, for a long time, the undiscriminating, the ignorant and those who delight in bad company; the good are to be honoured.
ContextJust before the verse of the four gatekeepers, Vasiṣṭha stresses satsaṅga.
Philosophical aspectCompany is the climate of the mind; it slowly becomes what it lives among. The fourth gatekeeper, sādhu-saṅga, is the most practical — it is the one we can choose today.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha II · 11.59VasiṣṭhaSaara Sangrah 2.8
The four gatekeepers of liberation
मोक्षद्वारे द्वारपालाश्चत्वारः परिकीर्तिताः ।
शमो विचारः संतोषश्चतुर्थः साधुसंगमः ॥
mokṣadvāre dvārapālāścatvāraḥ parikīrtitāḥ |
śamo vicāraḥ saṃtoṣaścaturthaḥ sādhusaṃgamaḥ ||
Word by word
mokṣa-dvāreat the door of liberation
dvāra-pālāḥgatekeepers
catvāraḥfour
parikīrtitāḥare declared
śamaḥcalmness
vicāraḥenquiry
santoṣaḥcontentment
caturthaḥthe fourth
sādhu-saṅgamaḥthe company of the wise
MeaningFour gatekeepers stand at the door of liberation: calmness, enquiry, contentment, and the fourth, the company of the wise.
ContextThe most famous verse of Part II. Sargas 12–16 then take up each gatekeeper in turn. Vasiṣṭha adds: win the friendship of even one, and he will let you in to meet the others.
Philosophical aspectA complete spiritual discipline in four words. Śama steadies the mind; vicāra clears the intellect; santoṣa ends craving; satsaṅga supplies the climate in which the other three grow. They support one another, so one may begin with whichever is easiest.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha II · 14.53Vasiṣṭha
From enquiry, truth; from truth, rest
विचाराज्ज्ञायते तत्त्वं तत्त्वाद्विश्रान्तिरात्मनि ।
अतो मनसि शान्तत्वं सर्वदुःखपरिक्षयः ॥
vicārājjñāyate tattvaṃ tattvādviśrāntirātmani |
ato manasi śāntatvaṃ sarvaduḥkhaparikṣayaḥ ||
Word by word
vicārātfrom enquiry
jñāyateis known
tattvamthe truth
tattvātfrom the truth
viśrāntiḥrepose
ātmaniin the Self
ataḥfrom that
manasiin the mind
śāntatvampeace
sarva-duḥkha-parikṣayaḥthe end of all sorrow
MeaningFrom enquiry the truth is known; from the truth comes rest in the Self; from that, peace of mind and the end of all sorrow.
ContextThe sarga on vicāra, the second gatekeeper, praises enquiry as the eye that sees in the dark.
Philosophical aspectA chain of causes: enquiry → knowledge → abidance → peace → end of sorrow. Peace is not chased directly; it is the fruit of knowing. This is why Vedānta calls itself jñāna-mārga: understanding is the practice.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha II · 16.19Vasiṣṭha
The four supremes
संतोषः परमो लाभः सत्सङ्गः परमा गतिः ।
विचारः परमं ज्ञानं शमो हि परमं सुखम् ॥
saṃtoṣaḥ paramo lābhaḥ satsaṅgaḥ paramā gatiḥ |
vicāraḥ paramaṃ jñānaṃ śamo hi paramaṃ sukham ||
Word by word
santoṣaḥcontentment
paramaḥ lābhaḥis the highest gain
satsaṅgaḥgood company
paramā gatiḥis the highest refuge
vicāraḥenquiry
paramam jñānamis the highest knowledge
śamaḥ hicalmness indeed
paramam sukhamis the highest happiness
MeaningContentment is the highest gain, good company the highest refuge, enquiry the highest knowledge, and calmness the highest happiness.
ContextThe summary verse after the four gatekeepers have been described (sarga 16). Often quoted on its own.
Philosophical aspectEach gatekeeper is identified with something the world chases: gain, refuge, knowledge, happiness. Vasiṣṭha shows where each is really found. A verse to memorise and live by.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha II · 18.3Vasiṣṭha
Accept what is reasonable, even from a child
युक्तियुक्तमुपादेयं वचनं बालकादपि ।
अन्यत्तृणमिव त्याज्यमप्युक्तं पद्मजन्मना ॥
yuktiyuktamupādeyaṃ vacanaṃ bālakādapi |
anyattṛṇamiva tyājyamapyuktaṃ padmajanmanā ||
Word by word
yukti-yuktamwhat is reasonable
upādeyamshould be accepted
vacanama statement
bālakāt apieven from a child
anyatthe other (unreasonable)
tṛṇam ivalike a blade of grass
tyājyamshould be rejected
api uktameven if spoken
padma-janmanāby the lotus-born (Brahmā)
MeaningA reasonable statement should be accepted even from a child; an unreasonable one should be rejected like a straw, even if spoken by Brahmā himself.
ContextVasiṣṭha’s principle of method, stated as he begins the main teaching (sarga 18). He asks Rāma to test everything he says by reason and experience.
Philosophical aspectA remarkable verse for a scripture. Truth is not true because of who says it; it is accepted because it stands examination (yukti) and is confirmed in one’s experience (anubhava). The Yoga Vāsiṣṭha argues by stories and reasons, never by mere authority.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 1.10Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 3.4
The seen is like a dream in deep sleep
यदिदं दृश्यते सर्वं जगत्स्थावरजंगमम् ।
तत्सुषुप्ताविव स्वप्नः कल्पान्ते प्रविनश्यति ॥
yadidaṃ dṛśyate sarvaṃ jagatsthāvarajaṃgamam |
tatsuṣuptāviva svapnaḥ kalpānte pravinaśyati ||
Word by word
yat idamthis which
dṛśyateis seen
sarvamall
jagatworld
sthāvara-jaṅgamammoving and unmoving
tatthat
suṣuptau iva svapnaḥlike a dream in deep sleep
kalpa-anteat the end of the age
pravinaśyativanishes completely
MeaningThis whole world that is seen, moving and unmoving, vanishes at the end of the cosmic age, as a dream vanishes in deep sleep.
ContextThe opening thesis of the book on creation. Before showing how the world arises, Vasiṣṭha shows its nature: it is the kind of thing that appears and disappears, like a dream.
Philosophical aspectWhat comes and goes cannot be the ultimate reality; the Real is what remains through both. The dream is the master analogy of the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha: vivid, coherent, felt — and yet seen through on waking.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 1.12Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 3.6
Many names for the one Essence
ऋतमात्मा परं ब्रह्म सत्यमित्यादिका बुधैः ।
कल्पिता व्यवहारार्थं तस्य संज्ञा महात्मनः ॥
ṛtamātmā paraṃ brahma satyamityādikā budhaiḥ |
kalpitā vyavahārārthaṃ tasya saṃjñā mahātmanaḥ ||
Word by word
ṛtamthe Right, cosmic order
ātmāthe Self
param brahmathe supreme Brahman
satyamthe Truth
iti ādikāḥthese and other
budhaiḥby the wise
kalpitāḥare conceived
vyavahāra-arthamfor the sake of discourse
tasyaits
saṃjñāḥnames
mahātmanaḥof that great Being
MeaningṚta, the Self, the supreme Brahman, Truth — these and other names have been given by the wise to that great Being for the sake of speaking about it.
ContextAfter describing what remains when the world subsides, Vasiṣṭha names it — and adds at once that names are only conventions.
Philosophical aspectThe Real is beyond words; words point. Different schools fight over names — Brahman, Śiva, Śūnya, Puruṣa — while the knower smiles. The Yoga Vāsiṣṭha is notably undogmatic: it uses Vedāntic, Śaiva, Sāṅkhya and Buddhist vocabulary freely.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 1.13Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 3.7
How the Self seems to become a jīva
स तथाभूत एवात्मा स्वयमन्य इवोल्लसन् ।
जीवतामुपयातीव भाविनाम्ना कदर्थिताम् ॥
sa tathābhūta evātmā svayamanya ivollasan |
jīvatāmupayātīva bhāvināmnā kadarthitām ||
Word by word
saḥ tathā-bhūtaḥ evathat very one, remaining as it is
ātmāthe Self
svayamitself
anyaḥ iva ullasanshining forth as if another
jīvatāmindividuality
upayāti ivaseems to attain
bhāvi-nāmnāby a name yet to be
kadarthitāmand is (seemingly) afflicted
MeaningThat Self, remaining exactly as it is, shines forth as though it were something else, and seems to become an individual soul — troubled by a name it takes on.
ContextHow individuality arises: not by a real change in the Self, but by seeming.
Philosophical aspectNote the repeated iva, “as if”. The Self does not become the jīva; it appears as the jīva. This is vivarta — apparent transformation, like the rope that appears as a snake without changing — the doctrine on which Advaita rests.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 1.17Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 3.10
Gold and the bracelet
यथा कटकशब्दार्थः पृथक्त्वार्हो न काञ्चनात् ।
न हेम कटकात्तद्वज्जगच्छब्दार्थता परे ॥
yathā kaṭakaśabdārthaḥ pṛthaktvārho na kāñcanāt |
na hema kaṭakāttadvajjagacchabdārthatā pare ||
Word by word
yathājust as
kaṭaka-śabda-arthaḥwhat the word “bracelet” means
pṛthaktva-arhaḥ nacannot be separated
kāñcanātfrom gold
na hemanor gold
kaṭakātfrom the bracelet
tadvatso
jagat-śabda-arthatāwhat the word “world” means
parein the Supreme
MeaningAs the thing meant by “bracelet” cannot be separated from gold, nor gold from the bracelet, so is the meaning of the word “world” in the Supreme.
ContextThe classic Vedāntic example of gold and ornament.
Philosophical aspectThe world is not a second thing beside Brahman; it is Brahman with a name and form, as the bracelet is gold with a shape. Melt the bracelet and nothing is lost but a name. This is why the knower can live in the world: he sees the gold in every ornament.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 1.19Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 3.8
The world is a magic show of the mind
सती वाप्यसती तापनद्येव लहरी चला ।
मनसेहेन्द्रजालश्रीर्जागती प्रवितन्यते ॥
satī vāpyasatī tāpanadyeva laharī calā |
manasehendrajālaśrīrjāgatī pravitanyate ||
Word by word
satī vā api asatīwhether real or unreal
tāpa-nadyā ivalike a mirage-river
laharī calāa moving wave
manasāby the mind
ihahere
indrajāla-śrīḥthe splendour of a magic show
jāgatīthe world
pravitanyateis spread out
MeaningWhether you call it real or unreal, like a rippling wave on a mirage-river, the splendid magic show of the world is spread out by the mind.
ContextThe world is called an indrajāla — a conjurer’s show. It is seen, it is enjoyed, and it is not what it seems.
Philosophical aspectThe question “is the world real?” has two wrong answers. It is not real, because it changes and depends; it is not nothing, because it is experienced. It is anirvacanīya — indescribable as either — the status of a dream or a mirage.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 1.20Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 3.9
The many names of illusion
अविद्या संसृतिर्बन्धो माया मोहो महत्तमः ।
कल्पितानीति नामानि यस्याः सकलवेदिभिः ॥
avidyā saṃsṛtirbandho māyā moho mahattamaḥ |
kalpitānīti nāmāni yasyāḥ sakalavedibhiḥ ||
Word by word
avidyāignorance
saṃsṛtiḥtransmigration
bandhaḥbondage
māyāillusion
mohaḥdelusion
mahat tamaḥthe great darkness
kalpitāniare given
iti nāmānithese names
yasyāḥto which
sakala-vedibhiḥby all the knowers
MeaningIgnorance, transmigration, bondage, illusion, delusion, the great darkness — these are the names the wise have given to that (magic power).
ContextAs the Real has many names, so does the power that veils it.
Philosophical aspectAvidyā (ignorance) and māyā (illusion) are two sides of one thing: seen from the individual, it is not-knowing; seen from the cosmos, it is the power of appearance. Neither is a second reality; both end in knowledge, as darkness ends in light.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 1.21Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 3.1
First understand bondage
बन्धस्य तावद्रूपं त्वं कथ्यमानमिदं शृणु ।
ततः स्वरूपं मोक्षस्य ज्ञास्यसीन्दुनिभानन ॥
bandhasya tāvadrūpaṃ tvaṃ kathyamānamidaṃ śṛṇu |
tataḥ svarūpaṃ mokṣasya jñāsyasīndunibhānana ||
Word by word
bandhasyaof bondage
tāvatfirst
rūpamthe nature
tvamyou
kathyamānam idamas it is being told
śṛṇuhear
tataḥthen
svarūpam mokṣasyathe nature of liberation
jñāsyasiyou will know
indu-nibha-ānanaO moon-faced one
MeaningFirst hear the nature of bondage as I describe it; then, O moon-faced one, you will know the nature of liberation.
ContextVasiṣṭha’s method: diagnosis before cure.
Philosophical aspectLiberation is not something to be added; it is what remains when bondage is understood and dropped. Understand the knot and it unties itself.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 1.22Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 3.2
Bondage is the reality given to the seen
द्रष्टुर्दृश्यस्य सत्ताङ्ग बन्ध इत्यभिधीयते ।
द्रष्टा दृश्यबलाद्बद्धो दृश्याभावे विमुच्यते ॥
draṣṭurdṛśyasya sattāṅga bandha ityabhidhīyate |
draṣṭā dṛśyabalādbaddho dṛśyābhāve vimucyate ||
Word by word
draṣṭuḥfor the seer
dṛśyasya sattāthe (believed) reality of the seen
aṅgadear one
bandhaḥ iti abhidhīyateis called bondage
draṣṭāthe seer
dṛśya-balātby the force of the seen
baddhaḥis bound
dṛśya-abhāvewhen the seen is absent (as a reality)
vimucyateis freed
MeaningDear one, for the seer, the reality of the seen is what is called bondage. The seer is bound by the power of the seen; when the seen ceases (to be taken as real), he is free.
ContextThe central definition of Part III.
Philosophical aspectThe Self is never really bound; it is bound by believing the seen to be independently real. Liberation does not destroy the world; it removes the false reality we have given it. This is the dṛg-dṛśya viveka, the discrimination of seer and seen.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 1.23Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 3.3
“World, you, I” — the false seen
जगत्त्वमहमित्यादिर्मिथ्यात्मा दृश्यमुच्यते ।
यावदेतत्संभवति तावन्मोक्षो न विद्यते ॥
jagattvamahamityādirmithyātmā dṛśyamucyate |
yāvadetatsaṃbhavati tāvanmokṣo na vidyate ||
Word by word
jagat tvam aham“world”, “you”, “I”
iti ādiḥand so on
mithyā-ātmāfalse in nature
dṛśyam ucyateis called the seen
yāvatas long as
etat sambhavatithis exists (is held)
tāvatso long
mokṣaḥ na vidyatethere is no liberation
Meaning“World”, “you”, “I” and the like — this false appearance is what is called the seen. As long as it is held to be real, there is no liberation.
ContextNote that “I” — the ego — is listed among the seen.
Philosophical aspectThe ego is an object, not the subject; it is witnessed. The true “I” is the seer of the ego as well as of the world. This is the turn that makes Vedānta different from all psychology: it does not improve the ego but sees through it.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 3.39Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 3.11
The seed and the sprout
यथाङ्कुरोऽन्तर्बीजस्य संस्थितो देशकालतः ।
करोति भासुरं देहं तनोत्येवं हि दृश्यधीः ॥
yathāṅkuro'ntarbījasya saṃsthito deśakālataḥ |
karoti bhāsuraṃ dehaṃ tanotyevaṃ hi dṛśyadhīḥ ||
Word by word
yathājust as
aṅkuraḥthe sprout
antaḥ bījasyawithin the seed
saṃsthitaḥabiding
deśa-kālataḥin due place and time
karoti bhāsuram dehamtakes on a bright form
tanoti evam hiso indeed spreads out
dṛśya-dhīḥthe notion of the seen
MeaningAs the sprout lying within the seed takes on a bright form when place and time are right, so the notion of the seen spreads itself out.
ContextCreation is the unfolding of what lay latent in consciousness as tendency (vāsanā).
Philosophical aspectThe world is not made from outside; it sprouts from the seed of latent ideas. This is why the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha calls creation saṅkalpa, ideation. To burn the seed is to end rebirth.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 7.10Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 3.14
The knots of the heart are cut
भिद्यते हृदयग्रन्थिश्छिद्यन्ते सर्वसंशयाः ।
क्षीयन्ते चास्य कर्माणि तस्मिन्दृष्टे परावरे ॥
bhidyate hṛdayagranthiśchidyante sarvasaṃśayāḥ |
kṣīyante cāsya karmāṇi tasmindṛṣṭe parāvare ||
Word by word
bhidyateis cut
hṛdaya-granthiḥthe knot of the heart
chidyanteare cut away
sarva-saṃśayāḥall doubts
kṣīyante caand are destroyed
asya karmāṇihis actions (karmic results)
tasmin dṛṣṭewhen That is seen
para-avarethe higher and the lower
MeaningWhen That — both the highest and the lowest — is seen, the knot of the heart is cut, all doubts are dispelled, and all one’s karma is exhausted.
ContextVasiṣṭha quotes the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (2.2.8) verbatim — the scripture’s seal on what realisation does.
Philosophical aspectThree results of knowledge: the knot (granthi) of identification of Self with body is cut; doubts end; and karma, which needs a doer to bind, finds no doer. “Higher and lower” (parāvara): it is seen both as the Absolute and as all this.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 9.2Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 4.1
Liberation while living, and after the body
तेषां ज्ञानैकनिष्ठानामात्मज्ञानविचारिणाम् ।
सा जीवन्मुक्ततोदेति विदेहान्मुक्ततैव या ॥
teṣāṃ jñānaikaniṣṭhānāmātmajñānavicāriṇām |
sā jīvanmuktatodeti videhānmuktataiva yā ||
Word by word
teṣāmfor those
jñāna-eka-niṣṭhānāmdevoted to knowledge alone
ātma-jñāna-vicāriṇāmwho enquire into the Self
sāthat
jīvanmuktatā udetiliberation while living arises
videhātwhich, after the body falls,
muktatā eva yāis liberation itself
MeaningFor those devoted only to knowledge and to enquiry into the Self, there arises liberation while living — the same freedom that, when the body falls, is called liberation without a body.
ContextThe beginning of the great description of the jīvanmukta (sarga 9).
Philosophical aspectJīvanmukti and videhamukti are not two freedoms but one, before and after the body’s end. The body falling adds nothing to the knower’s freedom; it only removes the appearance of limitation.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 9.4Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 4.5
Busy outside, space-like within
यथास्थितमिदं यस्य व्यवहारवतोऽपि च ।
अस्तं गतं स्थितं व्योम जीवन्मुक्तः स उच्यते ॥
yathāsthitamidaṃ yasya vyavahāravato'pi ca |
astaṃ gataṃ sthitaṃ vyoma jīvanmuktaḥ sa ucyate ||
Word by word
yathā-sthitam idamthis (world) remaining as it is
yasyafor whom
vyavahāravataḥ api caeven while engaged in activity
astam gatamhas set, subsided
sthitam vyomaremaining as space
jīvanmuktaḥliberated while living
saḥ ucyatehe is called
MeaningFor whom, even while engaged in activity, this world — though it remains as it is — has subsided, and who abides like space: he is called liberated while living.
ContextThe jīvanmukta does not need the world to disappear. It continues; only its hold has vanished.
Philosophical aspectThe knower’s activity is like the wind moving through the sky — the sky is untouched. Freedom is not withdrawal but a different relationship to experience.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 9.6Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 4.2
His face does not change in joy or sorrow
नोदेति नास्तमायाति सुखे दुःखे मुखप्रभा ।
यथाप्राप्तस्थितेर्यस्य जीवन्मुक्तः स उच्यते ॥
nodeti nāstamāyāti sukhe duḥkhe mukhaprabhā |
yathāprāptasthiteryasya jīvanmuktaḥ sa ucyate ||
Word by word
na udetidoes not rise
na astam āyātinor set
sukhe duḥkhein pleasure or pain
mukha-prabhāthe brightness of the face
yathā-prāpta-sthiteḥof one who abides in whatever comes
yasyawhose
jīvanmuktaḥ saḥ ucyatehe is called liberated while living
MeaningHe whose face neither brightens in pleasure nor darkens in pain, who rests content with whatever comes — he is called liberated while living.
ContextA mark of the jīvanmukta that anyone can recognise.
Philosophical aspectThis is Rāma at the exile in the Rāmāyaṇa — “no change was seen in him as he gave up the earth”. The epic shows it; the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha explains how it is possible. Yathā-prāpta, “as it comes”, is the Gītā’s yadṛcchā-lābha-santuṣṭa.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 9.7Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 4.3
Awake as if in deep sleep
यो जागर्ति सुषुप्तस्थो यस्य जाग्रन्न विद्यते ।
यस्य निर्वासनो बोधः स जीवन्मुक्त उच्यते ॥
yo jāgarti suṣuptastho yasya jāgranna vidyate |
yasya nirvāsano bodhaḥ sa jīvanmukta ucyate ||
Word by word
yaḥ jāgartiwho is awake
suṣupta-sthaḥabiding as if in deep sleep
yasyafor whom
jāgrat na vidyatethe waking world does not exist (as a reality)
yasyawhose
nirvāsanaḥ bodhaḥawareness is free of vāsanās
saḥ jīvanmuktaḥ ucyatehe is called liberated while living
MeaningHe who, while awake, abides as in deep sleep; for whom the waking world is not (a binding reality); whose awareness is free of latent tendencies — he is called liberated while living.
ContextDeep sleep is peaceful because there are no desires and no second thing. The knower has that peace while awake.
Philosophical aspectThe Māṇḍūkya’s three states (waking, dream, deep sleep) are transcended: the jīvanmukta lives in the turīya, the fourth, which pervades all three. Awake to the world, asleep to its claims.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 9.8Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 4.4
Acting with feelings, untouched like space
रागद्वेषभयादीनामनुरूपं चरन्नपि ।
योऽन्तर्व्योमवदच्छस्थः स जीवन्मुक्त उच्यते ॥
rāgadveṣabhayādīnāmanurūpaṃ carannapi |
yo'ntarvyomavadacchasthaḥ sa jīvanmukta ucyate ||
Word by word
rāga-dveṣa-bhaya-ādīnāmof attachment, aversion, fear and the rest
anurūpam carann apieven while acting in accordance with them
yaḥ antaḥwho within
vyomavat accha-sthaḥremains clear like the sky
saḥ jīvanmuktaḥ ucyatehe is called liberated while living
MeaningHe who, even while acting as if moved by attachment, aversion, fear and the rest, remains within as clear as the sky — he is called liberated while living.
ContextThe jīvanmukta may appear to be angry, afraid or attached, as the situation requires; inwardly nothing sticks.
Philosophical aspectThis answers a common puzzle: did Rāma really grieve for Sītā? The Yoga Vāsiṣṭha says the knower can play every emotion without being stained, like an actor or like the sky that holds clouds. Inner clarity, not outer impassivity, is the mark.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 9.11Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 4.6
No one fears him; he fears no one
यस्मान्नोद्विजते लोको लोकान्नोद्विजते च यः ।
हर्षामर्षभयोन्मुक्तः स जीवन्मुक्त उच्यते ॥
yasmānnodvijate loko lokānnodvijate ca yaḥ |
harṣāmarṣabhayonmuktaḥ sa jīvanmukta ucyate ||
Word by word
yasmātfrom whom
na udvijate lokaḥthe world is not disturbed
lokātby the world
na udvijate ca yaḥand who is not disturbed
harṣa-amarṣa-bhaya-unmuktaḥfree from elation, anger and fear
saḥ jīvanmuktaḥ ucyatehe is called liberated while living
MeaningHe from whom the world does not shrink and who does not shrink from the world, free from elation, indignation and fear — he is called liberated while living.
ContextAlmost the same words as Bhagavad Gītā 12.15 — the marks of the devotee dear to Kṛṣṇa.
Philosophical aspectFearlessness both ways: he harms no one and is threatened by nothing. Both come from seeing no “other” — dvitīyād vai bhayaṃ bhavati, fear comes only from a second.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 9.14Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 4.7
As the wind becomes still
जीवन्मुक्तपदं त्यक्त्वा देहे कालवशीकृते ।
विशत्यदेहमुक्तत्वं पवनोऽस्पन्दतामिव ॥
jīvanmuktapadaṃ tyaktvā dehe kālavaśīkṛte |
viśatyadehamuktatvaṃ pavano'spandatāmiva ||
Word by word
jīvanmukta-padamthe state of liberation while living
tyaktvāleaving
dehewhen the body
kāla-vaśīkṛteis claimed by time
viśatienters
adeha-muktatvambodiless liberation
pavanaḥas the wind
aspandatām ivaenters stillness
MeaningWhen time claims the body, the knower leaves the state of liberation-in-life and enters bodiless liberation, as moving wind enters stillness.
ContextWhat happens at the death of a jīvanmukta.
Philosophical aspectThe wind moving and the wind still are the same air. The image removes the fear that liberation means annihilation: nothing is lost but movement.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 9.47Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 3.5
What remains — still and deep
ततः स्तिमितगम्भीरं न तेजो न तमस्ततम् ।
अनाख्यमनभिव्यक्तं सत्किंचिदवशिष्यते ॥
tataḥ stimitagambhīraṃ na tejo na tamastatam |
anākhyamanabhivyaktaṃ satkiṃcidavaśiṣyate ||
Word by word
tataḥthen
stimita-gambhīramstill and deep
na tejaḥneither light
na tamaḥnor darkness
tatamall-pervading
anākhyamunnameable
anabhivyaktamunmanifest
sat kiñcita certain Being
avaśiṣyateremains
MeaningThen there remains a certain Being — still and deep, neither light nor darkness, all-pervading, unnameable and unmanifest.
ContextDescribing what remains at the end of the cosmic dissolution — and in the knower’s vision now.
Philosophical aspect“Neither light nor darkness”: it is not an experience among experiences but the awareness in which light and darkness appear. The phrase stimita-gambhīram was a favourite of Swami Chinmayananda and gives the Saara Sangrah one of its headings.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 9.49Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 4.8
Fuller than the full
किमप्यव्यपदेशात्म पूर्णात्पूर्णतराकृति ।
न सन्नासन्न सदसन्न भावो भवनं न च ॥
kimapyavyapadeśātma pūrṇātpūrṇatarākṛti |
na sannāsanna sadasanna bhāvo bhavanaṃ na ca ||
Word by word
kim apisomething
avyapadeśa-ātmawhose nature cannot be described
pūrṇāt pūrṇatara-ākṛtifuller than the full
na sat na asatneither being nor non-being
na sat-asatnor both
na bhāvaḥnot an existent
bhavanam na canor a becoming
MeaningIt is something indescribable, fuller than the full; neither being nor non-being, nor both; neither a thing nor a becoming.
ContextWhat the liberated soul becomes after the body falls — answered by negation.
Philosophical aspectThe fourfold negation (catuṣkoṭi) — not being, not non-being, not both, not neither — is shared with Buddhist Madhyamaka. Here it serves Vedānta: the Absolute cannot be an object of any category, because it is the subject of all.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 17.10Sarasvatī to Queen Līlā
The three spaces — told to Līlā
चित्ताकाशं चिदाकाशमाकाशं च तृतीयकम् ।
द्वाभ्यां शून्यतरं विद्धि चिदाकाशं वरानने ॥
cittākāśaṃ cidākāśamākāśaṃ ca tṛtīyakam |
dvābhyāṃ śūnyataraṃ viddhi cidākāśaṃ varānane ||
Word by word
citta-ākāśamthe space of mind
cit-ākāśamthe space of consciousness
ākāśam ca tṛtīyakamand the third, physical space
dvābhyāmthan these two
śūnyataramemptier, subtler
viddhiknow
cit-ākāśamthe space of consciousness
varānaneO fair-faced one
MeaningThere is the space of mind, the space of consciousness, and a third, physical space. Know, fair lady, that the space of consciousness is subtler than the other two.
ContextIn the Līlā story, the goddess Sarasvatī teaches the grieving queen how her dead husband can be in another world within the same room: worlds exist in the space of consciousness.
Philosophical aspectThe key to all the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha’s fantastic stories. Physical space holds bodies; mind-space holds dreams and thoughts; consciousness-space (cidākāśa) holds all worlds and is held by none. Travel there is instantaneous because it is not travel.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 67.17Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
All is a play of the mind
सर्वमेव मनोमात्रभ्रान्त्युल्लासविजृम्भणम् ।
इदं जगत्तया राम प्रस्फुरत्यम्बुभङ्गवत् ॥
sarvameva manomātrabhrāntyullāsavijṛmbhaṇam |
idaṃ jagattayā rāma prasphuratyambubhaṅgavat ||
Word by word
sarvam evaall this
manaḥ-mātramind alone
bhrānti-ullāsa-vijṛmbhaṇamthe blossoming of a delusion
idam jagatthis world
tayāby that
rāmaO Rāma
prasphuratiflashes forth
ambu-bhaṅgavatlike ripples on water
MeaningAll this is only the mind, the blossoming of a delusion; by it, O Rāma, this world flashes forth like ripples on water.
ContextFrom the “teaching of truth” (satyopadeśa) that closes the story of Līlā (sarga 67): the worlds Līlā travelled through were all appearances in consciousness.
Philosophical aspectThe ripple is nothing but water moving. The world is consciousness moving as mind. Seen thus, the world need not be fought; it needs to be understood.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 96.59Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
Bound mind, bound person; free mind, free
आलोक इव रूपाणामर्थानां कारणं मनः ।
बध्यते बद्धचित्तो हि मुक्तचित्तो हि मुच्यते ॥
āloka iva rūpāṇāmarthānāṃ kāraṇaṃ manaḥ |
badhyate baddhacitto hi muktacitto hi mucyate ||
Word by word
ālokaḥ ivalike light
rūpāṇāmfor forms
arthānāmof things
kāraṇam manaḥthe mind is the cause
badhyateis bound
baddha-cittaḥ hione whose mind is bound
mukta-cittaḥ hione whose mind is free
mucyateis free
MeaningAs light is the cause of seeing forms, the mind is the cause of all things. One whose mind is bound is bound; one whose mind is free is free.
ContextFrom the sargas on the nature of the mind (96–97).
Philosophical aspectCompare the Amṛtabindu Upaniṣad: mana eva manuṣyāṇāṃ kāraṇaṃ bandha-mokṣayoḥ. Bondage and freedom are not locations but states of mind; the same world is a prison to one and a playground to another.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 112.21Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
Cut the mind with the mind
मनसैव मनश्छित्त्वा पाशं परमबन्धनम् ।
उन्मोचितो न येनात्मा नासावन्येन मोक्ष्यते ॥
manasaiva manaśchittvā pāśaṃ paramabandhanam |
unmocito na yenātmā nāsāvanyena mokṣyate ||
Word by word
manasā evaby the mind alone
manaḥ chittvācutting the mind
pāśamthe noose
parama-bandhanamthe supreme bondage
unmocitaḥ nais not freed
yena ātmāby whom the self
na asauhe is not
anyenaby anyone else
mokṣyatefreed
MeaningHe who has not freed himself by cutting with the mind itself the noose of the mind — that supreme bondage — will not be freed by anyone else.
ContextThe book’s great principle of self-reliance (repeated in 5.13.35).
Philosophical aspectThe mind is both the poison and the antidote. The purified mind (enquiry, discrimination) dissolves the impure mind (desire, ego), and then itself subsides — as a stick used to stir a funeral pyre is finally thrown into the fire. No god or guru can do this for us; they can only show how.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 114.23Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
“I am not Brahman” binds; “all is Brahman” frees
नाहं ब्रह्मेति संकल्पात्सुदृढाद्बध्यते मनः ।
सर्वं ब्रह्मेति संकल्पात्सुदृढान्मुच्यते मनः ॥
nāhaṃ brahmeti saṃkalpātsudṛḍhādbadhyate manaḥ |
sarvaṃ brahmeti saṃkalpātsudṛḍhānmucyate manaḥ ||
Word by word
na aham brahma“I am not Brahman”
iti saṅkalpātfrom this conviction
su-dṛḍhātfirmly held
badhyate manaḥthe mind is bound
sarvam brahma“all is Brahman”
iti saṅkalpātfrom this conviction
su-dṛḍhātfirmly held
mucyate manaḥthe mind is freed
MeaningFrom the firm conviction “I am not Brahman” the mind is bound; from the firm conviction “All is Brahman” the mind is freed.
ContextFrom the closing sargas of Part III.
Philosophical aspectBondage and liberation are both ideas (saṅkalpa) — the first false, the second true. That is why they can be changed by understanding. The practice of brahma-bhāvanā — dwelling on “all is Brahman” — replaces the binding notion with the freeing one, until even that dissolves.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 118.5Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
The seven stages of knowledge — named
ज्ञानभूमिः शुभेच्छाख्या प्रथमा समुदाहृता ।
विचारणा द्वितीया तु तृतीया तनुमानसा ॥
jñānabhūmiḥ śubhecchākhyā prathamā samudāhṛtā |
vicāraṇā dvitīyā tu tṛtīyā tanumānasā ||
Word by word
jñāna-bhūmiḥthe stage of knowledge
śubhecchā-ākhyācalled “the good wish”
prathamāis the first
samudāhṛtāis declared
vicāraṇāreflection
dvitīyā tuis the second
tṛtīyāthe third
tanu-mānasāthe thinning of mind
MeaningThe first stage of knowledge is called śubhecchā, the good wish; vicāraṇā, reflection, is the second; the third is tanu-mānasā, the thinning of the mind.
ContextThe famous teaching of the seven bhūmikās (sarga 118, repeated and expanded at the end of VI.1).
Philosophical aspectA map of the whole journey, from the first stirring of the wish for freedom to complete abidance. Its value is that the seeker can locate himself and know the next step.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 118.6Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
The seven stages — completed
सत्त्वापत्तिश्चतुर्थी स्यात्ततोऽसंसक्तिनामिका ।
पदार्थाभावनी षष्ठी सप्तमी तुर्यगा स्मृता ॥
sattvāpattiścaturthī syāttato'saṃsaktināmikā |
padārthābhāvanī ṣaṣṭhī saptamī turyagā smṛtā ||
Word by word
sattva-āpattiḥattainment of pure being
caturthī syātis the fourth
tataḥthen
asaṃsakti-nāmikāthe one named non-attachment
padārtha-abhāvanīnon-perception of objects
ṣaṣṭhīthe sixth
saptamīthe seventh
turyagā smṛtāis called “gone to the fourth”
MeaningThe fourth is sattvāpatti, attainment of pure being; then asaṃsakti, non-attachment; the sixth is padārthābhāvanī, the fading of objects; the seventh is called turyagā, abiding in the fourth.
ContextThe second half of the list.
Philosophical aspectThe first three are sādhana — the seeker working; the fourth is the dawn of knowledge; the last three are degrees of its deepening. The map makes clear that knowledge (stage 4) is not the end of growth but its turning point.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 118.8Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 5.1
Stage 1 · Śubhecchā — the good wish
स्थितः किं मूढ एवास्मि प्रेक्ष्येऽहं शास्त्रसज्जनैः ।
वैराग्यपूर्वमिच्छेति शुभेच्छेत्युच्यते बुधैः ॥
sthitaḥ kiṃ mūḍha evāsmi prekṣye'haṃ śāstrasajjanaiḥ |
vairāgyapūrvamiccheti śubhecchetyucyate budhaiḥ ||
Word by word
sthitaḥ kimwhy do I remain
mūḍhaḥ eva asmia fool as I am
prekṣye ahamI shall look (for truth)
śāstra-sajjanaiḥwith the help of scriptures and the good
vairāgya-pūrvampreceded by dispassion
icchā itithis wish
śubhecchā itias “the good wish”
ucyate budhaiḥis called by the wise
Meaning“Why do I remain a fool? I shall seek the truth with the help of scripture and good people” — this wish, born of dispassion, the wise call śubhecchā, the good wish.
ContextThe first stage — Rāma’s state in Part I.
Philosophical aspectEverything begins with an honest admission (“I am still a fool”) and a turning (“I will seek”). The two aids are named at once: śāstra and sajjana, scripture and good company.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 118.9Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 5.2
Stage 2 · Vicāraṇā — reflection
शास्त्रसज्जनसंपर्कवैराग्याभ्यासपूर्वकम् ।
सदाचारप्रवृत्तिर्या प्रोच्यते सा विचारणा ॥
śāstrasajjanasaṃparkavairāgyābhyāsapūrvakam |
sadācārapravṛttiryā procyate sā vicāraṇā ||
Word by word
śāstra-sajjana-samparkacontact with scripture and good people
vairāgya-abhyāsa-pūrvakamwith dispassion and practice
sadācāra-pravṛttiḥ yāthe engaging in good conduct which
procyateis called
sā vicāraṇāthat, reflection
MeaningEngagement in good conduct, through contact with scripture and the wise, with dispassion and practice — that is called vicāraṇā, reflection.
ContextThe second stage: study and living what is studied.
Philosophical aspectReflection here is not mere thinking but a way of life: study (śāstra), company (sajjana), dispassion (vairāgya), practice (abhyāsa) and conduct (sadācāra) together.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 118.10Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 5.3
Stage 3 · Tanu-mānasā — the thinning of the mind
विचारणाशुभेच्छाभ्यामिन्द्रियार्थेष्वसक्तता ।
यात्र सा तनुता भावात्प्रोच्यते तनुमानसा ॥
vicāraṇāśubhecchābhyāmindriyārtheṣvasaktatā |
yātra sā tanutā bhāvātprocyate tanumānasā ||
Word by word
vicāraṇā-śubhecchābhyāmthrough reflection and the good wish
indriya-artheṣutowards sense objects
asaktatānon-attachment
yā atrawhich here
sā tanutā bhāvātfrom the thinning (of the mind) it brings
procyate tanu-mānasāis called “thin-mindedness”
MeaningThe non-attachment to sense objects that arises from the good wish and reflection is called tanu-mānasā, because the mind becomes thin.
ContextThe third stage: the mind’s grip on objects loosens.
Philosophical aspectA thin mind is not a weak mind but a transparent one: fewer desires, less noise, so the light behind it shines through. This corresponds to the “thinning of vāsanās” that Part II called liberation itself.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 118.11Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 5.4
Stage 4 · Sattvāpatti — abiding in pure being
भूमिकात्रितयाभ्यासाच्चित्तेऽर्थे विरतेर्वशात् ।
सत्यात्मनि स्थितिः शुद्धे सत्त्वापत्तिरुदाहृता ॥
bhūmikātritayābhyāsāccitte'rthe viratervaśāt |
satyātmani sthitiḥ śuddhe sattvāpattirudāhṛtā ||
Word by word
bhūmikā-tritaya-abhyāsātby practice of the three stages
citte arthein mind and objects
virateḥ vaśātthrough withdrawal
satya-ātmani sthitiḥabidance in the true Self
śuddhewhich is pure
sattva-āpattiḥ udāhṛtāis called attainment of pure being
MeaningThrough the practice of the first three stages, and withdrawal from the mind and its objects, abidance in the pure, true Self arises — this is called sattvāpatti.
ContextThe fourth stage: the dawn of Self-knowledge.
Philosophical aspectHere the seeker becomes a knower (brahmavid). The later stages are only the deepening of this abidance until it is effortless and unbroken.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 118.12Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 5.5
Stage 5 · Asaṃsakti — non-attachment
दशाचतुष्टयाभ्यासादसंसङ्गफलेन च ।
रूढसत्त्वचमत्कारात्प्रोक्ताऽसंसक्तिनामिका ॥
daśācatuṣṭayābhyāsādasaṃsaṅgaphalena ca |
rūḍhasattvacamatkārātproktā'saṃsaktināmikā ||
Word by word
daśā-catuṣṭaya-abhyāsātby practice of the four stages
asaṃsaṅga-phalena caand by the fruit of non-association
rūḍha-sattva-camatkārātfrom the wonder of firmly established being
proktāis declared
asaṃsakti-nāmikāthe stage named non-attachment
MeaningFrom practice of the four stages, the fruit of non-association, and the wonder of firmly established being, comes the stage called asaṃsakti, non-attachment.
ContextThe fifth stage: the knower no longer gets entangled at all.
Philosophical aspectCamatkāra — wonder: the abidance becomes natural and joyous, not effortful. The world is no longer resisted; it simply does not stick.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 118.13Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 5.6–7
Stage 6 · Padārthābhāvanī — objects fade (i)
भूमिकापञ्चकाभ्यासात्स्वात्मारामतया दृढम् ।
आभ्यन्तराणां बाह्यानां पदार्थानामभावनात् ॥
bhūmikāpañcakābhyāsātsvātmārāmatayā dṛḍham |
ābhyantarāṇāṃ bāhyānāṃ padārthānāmabhāvanāt ||
Word by word
bhūmikā-pañcaka-abhyāsātby practice of the five stages
sva-ātma-ārāmatayāthrough delight in one’s own Self
dṛḍhamfirmly
ābhyantarāṇāmof inner
bāhyānāmand outer
padārthānāmobjects
abhāvanātthrough non-perception (as real)
MeaningThrough practice of the five stages and firm delight in one’s own Self, inner and outer objects are no longer conceived —
ContextThe sixth stage is described across two verses (13–14).
Philosophical aspectObjects do not vanish physically; they cease to be bhāvita, held in the mind as separate realities. The knower is now so absorbed in the Self that he needs others to rouse him for bodily needs, as the next verse says.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 118.14Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 5.6–7
Stage 6 · Padārthābhāvanī — objects fade (ii)
परप्रयुक्तेन चिरं प्रयत्नेनार्थभावनात् ।
पदार्थाभावनानाम्नी षष्ठी संजायते गतिः ॥
paraprayuktena ciraṃ prayatnenārthabhāvanāt |
padārthābhāvanānāmnī ṣaṣṭhī saṃjāyate gatiḥ ||
Word by word
para-prayuktenaprompted by others
ciramfor long
prayatnenawith effort
artha-bhāvanātfrom the conceiving of objects
padārtha-abhāvanā-nāmnīthe stage named non-perception of objects
ṣaṣṭhīthe sixth
sañjāyate gatiḥis attained
Meaning— and objects are conceived only with long effort, at the prompting of others: this is the sixth stage, padārthābhāvanī.
ContextThe knower in this stage engages with things only when roused by others.
Philosophical aspectThis is the condition of the great absorbed sages of the tradition — Ramaṇa Maharṣi in his early years at Arunachala, fed by others, is the classic modern example.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 118.15Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 5.8
Stage 7 · Turyagā — abiding in the fourth
भूमिषट्कचिराभ्यासाद्भेदस्यानुपलम्भतः ।
यत्स्वभावैकनिष्ठत्वं सा ज्ञेया तुर्यगा गतिः ॥
bhūmiṣaṭkacirābhyāsādbhedasyānupalambhataḥ |
yatsvabhāvaikaniṣṭhatvaṃ sā jñeyā turyagā gatiḥ ||
Word by word
bhūmi-ṣaṭka-cira-abhyāsātby long practice of the six stages
bhedasya anupalambhataḥfrom non-perception of difference
yat svabhāva-eka-niṣṭhatvamthe sole abidance in one’s own nature
sā jñeyāthat is to be known
turyagā gatiḥas the state of the fourth
MeaningFrom long practice of the six stages, when difference is no longer perceived, there is sole abidance in one’s own nature — know this as turyagā, the seventh stage.
ContextThe summit.
Philosophical aspectTurīya, the fourth, is not a fourth state after waking, dream and sleep; it is the consciousness in which all three appear. The seventh stage is to remain as that, with no sense of difference at all.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 118.16Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 5.10
The fourth and beyond the fourth
एषा हि जीवन्मुक्तेषु तुर्यावस्थेह विद्यते ।
विदेहमुक्तिविषयस्तुर्यातीतमतः परम् ॥
eṣā hi jīvanmukteṣu turyāvastheha vidyate |
videhamuktiviṣayasturyātītamataḥ param ||
Word by word
eṣā hithis indeed
jīvanmukteṣuin the liberated while living
turya-avasthāthe state of the fourth
iha vidyateexists here
videha-mukti-viṣayaḥthe domain of bodiless liberation
turya-atītambeyond the fourth
ataḥ paramis after this
MeaningThis state of the fourth exists here in those liberated while living; beyond the fourth, after this, is the domain of liberation without a body.
ContextVasiṣṭha distinguishes the knower’s state in life from that after the body falls.
Philosophical aspectTuryātīta, beyond the fourth: once there is no body-mind to which the Self seems to appear, even the word “fourth” (which counts against three) no longer applies.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha III · 118.17Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 5.9
Those who reached the seventh stage
ये हि राम महाभागाः सप्तमीं भूमिकां गताः ।
आत्मारामा महात्मानस्ते महत्पदमागताः ॥
ye hi rāma mahābhāgāḥ saptamīṃ bhūmikāṃ gatāḥ |
ātmārāmā mahātmānaste mahatpadamāgatāḥ ||
Word by word
ye hithose who
rāmaO Rāma
mahā-bhāgāḥgreatly blessed
saptamīm bhūmikām gatāḥhave reached the seventh stage
ātma-ārāmāḥdelighting in the Self
mahā-ātmānaḥgreat souls
tethey
mahat padam āgatāḥhave attained the great state
MeaningO Rāma, those greatly blessed ones who have reached the seventh stage — great souls who delight in the Self — have attained the supreme state.
ContextThe praise that closes the teaching of the seven stages in Part III.
Philosophical aspectĀtmārāma — one whose pleasure-garden is the Self. Note the pun on Rāma’s name: Vasiṣṭha is telling Rāma what his name truly means.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha IV · 22.25Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
He who sees “I am all this” truly sees
अपारपर्यन्तनभो दिक्कालादिक्रियान्वितम् ।
अहमेवेति सर्वत्र यः पश्यति स पश्यति ॥
apāraparyantanabho dikkālādikriyānvitam |
ahameveti sarvatra yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati ||
Word by word
apāra-paryanta-nabhaḥthe boundless sky
dik-kāla-ādi-kriyā-anvitamwith space, time and all action
aham eva iti“it is I alone”
sarvatraeverywhere
yaḥ paśyatione who sees
saḥ paśyatihe (truly) sees
MeaningHe who sees everywhere — in the boundless sky with its directions, time and all activity — “This is I alone”: he truly sees.
ContextFrom the Sthiti Prakaraṇa’s teaching on the vision of the knower (sargas 21–23, the story of Dāma, Vyāla and Kaṭa and its teaching on ego).
Philosophical aspectThe Gītā says “he who sees the Lord dwelling equally in all beings truly sees” (13.27). This verse goes further: the knower sees space, time and action themselves as his own Self. The limited “I” is replaced by the infinite “I”.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha IV · 35.46Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
When the mind rests there, the goal is reached
सबाह्याभ्यन्तरं त्यक्त्वा सर्वां दृश्यदृशं यदा ।
मनस्तिष्ठति तल्लीनं संप्राप्तं तत्पदं तदा ॥
sabāhyābhyantaraṃ tyaktvā sarvāṃ dṛśyadṛśaṃ yadā |
manastiṣṭhati tallīnaṃ saṃprāptaṃ tatpadaṃ tadā ||
Word by word
sa-bāhya-abhyantaramtogether with outer and inner
tyaktvāgiving up
sarvām dṛśya-dṛśamall perception of the seen
yadāwhen
manaḥ tiṣṭhatithe mind remains
tat-līnamabsorbed in That
samprāptamis attained
tat padam tadāthat state then
MeaningWhen the mind, giving up all perception of the seen, inner and outer, remains absorbed in That — then that state is attained.
ContextA definition of samādhi in the Sthiti Prakaraṇa.
Philosophical aspectBoth outer objects and inner images are “the seen”. Absorption (laya) is the mind resting in its source instead of running to either.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha IV · 45.14Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
In truth nothing is born or dies
न जायते न म्रियते इह किंचित्कदाचन ।
परमार्थेन सुमते मिथ्या सर्वं तु विद्यते ॥
na jāyate na mriyate iha kiṃcitkadācana |
paramārthena sumate mithyā sarvaṃ tu vidyate ||
Word by word
na jāyateis not born
na mriyatedoes not die
ihahere
kiñcitanything
kadācanaever
paramārthenafrom the standpoint of ultimate truth
sumateO wise one
mithyāfalsely
sarvam tu vidyateeverything appears
MeaningIn ultimate truth, O wise one, nothing here is ever born or dies; everything merely appears, falsely.
ContextOne of several statements of ajāti-vāda, the doctrine of non-origination, in the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha (compare 6a.113.19).
Philosophical aspectThe highest teaching of Gauḍapāda’s Māṇḍūkya-kārikā (2.32): no birth, no death, no bondage, no seeker. It is not a denial of experience but a statement from the standpoint of the Real (paramārtha), as the waker says of the dream-tiger: “it was never born”.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha IV · 56.44Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
Give up everything — be what you are
सर्वं त्यक्त्वा मनःपीत्वा योऽसि सोसि स्थिरो भव ।
अहं सोऽहमयं नाहं करोमीदमिदं तु न ॥
sarvaṃ tyaktvā manaḥpītvā yo'si sosi sthiro bhava |
ahaṃ so'hamayaṃ nāhaṃ karomīdamidaṃ tu na ||
Word by word
sarvam tyaktvāgiving up everything
manaḥ pītvādrinking up the mind
yaḥ asiwhat you are
saḥ asithat you are
sthiraḥ bhavabe steady
aham saḥ aham“I am I”
ayam na aham“I am not this”
karomi idam“I do this”
idam tu na“not this”
MeaningGive up everything, drink up the mind, and be steady as what you are. “I am that I am; I am not this; I do this, not that” — let all such notions go.
ContextFrom the sarga on enquiry into doership (kartṛtva-vicāra, 56), in the closing teaching of Part IV.
Philosophical aspect“Drink up the mind” — swallow the thinking process back into its source. What remains is not a new identity but what one always was (yo’si so’si). Even “I am That” is a thought to be dropped in the end.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha IV · 58.5Kaca, son of Bṛhaspati — the Kaca-gāthā
Kaca’s song — what shall I do, where shall I go?
किं करोमि क्व गच्छामि किं गृह्णामि त्यजामि किम्।
आत्मना पूरितं विश्वं महाकल्पाम्बुना यथा ॥
kiṃ karomi kva gacchāmi kiṃ gṛhṇāmi tyajāmi kim|
ātmanā pūritaṃ viśvaṃ mahākalpāmbunā yathā ||
Word by word
kim karomiwhat shall I do
kva gacchāmiwhere shall I go
kim gṛhṇāmiwhat shall I take
tyajāmi kimwhat shall I give up
ātmanāby the Self
pūritam viśvamthe universe is filled
mahā-kalpa-ambunā yathāas by the waters of the great deluge
MeaningWhat shall I do, where shall I go, what shall I take, what give up? The whole universe is filled with the Self, as with the waters of the cosmic flood.
ContextThe song of Kaca (Kaca-gāthā, sarga 58). Bṛhaspati’s son, having realised the Self, sings it alone in a mountain cave. One of the most famous exclamations of the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha, often sung on its own.
Philosophical aspectFor one who sees only the Self, all coming and going, getting and giving up, lose meaning — there is no second place to go to and no second thing to take. This is the joy of fullness (pūrṇatā), not the despair of having nothing to do.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha V · 8.10the Siddhas, overheard by King Janaka
Song of the Siddhas — beyond seer, seeing and seen
द्रष्टृदर्शनदृश्यानि त्यक्त्वा वासनया सह ।
दर्शनप्रथमाभासमात्मानं समुपास्महे ॥
draṣṭṛdarśanadṛśyāni tyaktvā vāsanayā saha |
darśanaprathamābhāsamātmānaṃ samupāsmahe ||
Word by word
draṣṭṛ-darśana-dṛśyānithe seer, the seeing and the seen
tyaktvāleaving aside
vāsanayā sahatogether with the vāsanās
darśana-prathama-ābhāsamthat which shines before the first act of seeing
ātmānamthe Self
samupāsmahewe worship
MeaningLeaving aside the seer, the seeing and the seen, together with all latent tendencies, we worship the Self that shines before the very first act of seeing.
ContextKing Janaka, walking in his pleasure garden, overhears hidden Siddhas singing. Each verse of their song (5.8.10–19) ends “ātmānaṃ samupāsmahe” — “we worship the Self”. Janaka is so shaken that he withdraws and awakens.
Philosophical aspectThe triad (tripuṭī) of seer, seeing and seen is the structure of all experience. The Self is not one of the three; it is the light in which the triad itself appears — “before” it, not in time but in nature.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha V · 8.11the Siddhas
Song of the Siddhas — between “is” and “is not”
द्वयोर्मध्यगतं नित्यमस्तिनास्तीति पक्षयोः ।
प्रकाशनं प्रकाश्यानामात्मानं समुपास्महे ॥
dvayormadhyagataṃ nityamastināstīti pakṣayoḥ |
prakāśanaṃ prakāśyānāmātmānaṃ samupāsmahe ||
Word by word
dvayoḥ madhya-gatamthat which lies between the two
nityameternal
asti-nāsti iti pakṣayoḥthe positions “it is” and “it is not”
prakāśanamthe illuminator
prakāśyānāmof all that is illumined
ātmānam samupāsmahewe worship the Self
MeaningWe worship the Self, the eternal, which lies between the two positions “it is” and “it is not” — the illuminator of all that is illumined.
ContextThe next verse of the same song.
Philosophical aspect“Between is and is-not”: the Self is not a thing that exists or does not exist; it is the awareness in which existence and non-existence are known. Like the gap between two thoughts, it is noticed only when the mind pauses.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha V · 13.35Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
Cut the mind with the mind, like a tree with an axe
मनसैव मनश्छित्त्वा कुठारेणेव पादपम् ।
पदं पावनमासाद्य सद्य एव स्थिरो भव ॥
manasaiva manaśchittvā kuṭhāreṇeva pādapam |
padaṃ pāvanamāsādya sadya eva sthiro bhava ||
Word by word
manasā evawith the mind itself
manaḥ chittvācutting the mind
kuṭhāreṇa ivaas with an axe
pādapama tree
padam pāvanamthe purifying state
āsādyareaching
sadyaḥ evaat once
sthiraḥ bhavabe steady
MeaningCutting down the mind with the mind itself, as a tree is felled with an axe, reach the purifying state and be steady in it at once.
ContextFrom Janaka’s self-instruction after hearing the Siddhas (sargas 9–13). It repeats the teaching of 3.112.21.
Philosophical aspectJanaka becomes his own teacher. The point is urgency: sadya eva, “right now”. Liberation is not postponed to a future when conditions will be better.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha V · 53.24from the Upaśama teaching (the story of Uddālaka)
“All is Brahman — this I contemplate”
आत्मनो व्यतिरेकेण न किंचिदपि विद्यते ।
सर्वं ब्रह्मेति मे तत्त्वमेतत्तद्भावयाम्यहम् ॥
ātmano vyatirekeṇa na kiṃcidapi vidyate |
sarvaṃ brahmeti me tattvametattadbhāvayāmyaham ||
Word by word
ātmanaḥ vyatirekeṇaapart from the Self
na kiñcit api vidyatenothing at all exists
sarvam brahma“all is Brahman”
iti me tattvamthis is my truth
etat tatthis, that
bhāvayāmi ahamI contemplate
MeaningApart from the Self nothing at all exists. “All is Brahman” — this is my truth; this I contemplate.
ContextA verse of contemplation (bhāvanā) from the later sargas of Part V.
Philosophical aspectA model for meditation: not emptying the mind forcibly but filling it with one true idea until other ideas fall away. Compare 3.114.23: the conviction “all is Brahman” frees.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha V · 56.33Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
Cool within, the world is cool
अन्तःशीतलतायां तु लब्धायां शीतलं जगत् ।
विज्वराणामिव नृणां भवत्याजीवितस्थितेः ॥
antaḥśītalatāyāṃ tu labdhāyāṃ śītalaṃ jagat |
vijvarāṇāmiva nṛṇāṃ bhavatyājīvitasthiteḥ ||
Word by word
antaḥ-śītalatāyām tuwhen inner coolness
labdhāyāmis gained
śītalam jagatthe world is cool
vijvarāṇām ivaas for those free of fever
nṛṇāmfor people
bhavatiit becomes
ā-jīvita-sthiteḥfor as long as life lasts
MeaningWhen inner coolness is gained, the whole world becomes cool — as it is for one whose fever has gone — for the rest of one’s life.
ContextFrom the sarga on antaḥ-śītalatā, inner coolness (sarga 56). Elsewhere in the same sarga: to one burning with craving inside, the world is a forest fire.
Philosophical aspectWe try to cool the world — change people, circumstances — while the fever is inside. Cure the fever and the same world feels different. The Yoga Vāsiṣṭha’s whole ethics flows from this: transform the seeing, not the seen.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha V · 78.8Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
Two ways to end the mind: yoga and knowledge
द्वौ क्रमौ चित्तनाशस्य योगो ज्ञानं च राघव ।
योगस्तद्वृत्तिरोधो हि ज्ञानं सम्यगवेक्षणम् ॥
dvau kramau cittanāśasya yogo jñānaṃ ca rāghava |
yogastadvṛttirodho hi jñānaṃ samyagavekṣaṇam ||
Word by word
dvau kramautwo methods
citta-nāśasyafor the dissolution of the mind
yogaḥyoga
jñānam caand knowledge
rāghavaO Rāghava
yogaḥyoga is
tat-vṛtti-rodhaḥ hithe restraint of its modifications
jñānamknowledge is
samyak-avekṣaṇamright seeing
MeaningThere are two ways to dissolve the mind, O Rāghava: yoga and knowledge. Yoga is the restraint of its modifications; knowledge is seeing rightly.
ContextThe opening of the long teaching on prāṇa, yoga and knowledge (sargas 78–80). It echoes Patañjali’s definition (Yoga Sūtra 1.2).
Philosophical aspectA key verse for comparing paths. Yoga stops the waves; jñāna sees that the waves were water all along. Vasiṣṭha says both lead to the same goal, but knowledge is easier for some and yoga for others — then shows how breath (prāṇa) and mind move together (5.78.14).
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha V · 78.14Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
Breath moves, mind moves
प्राणस्पन्दाच्चितः स्पन्दस्तत्स्पन्दादेव संविदः ।
चक्रावर्तविधायिन्यो जलस्पन्दादिवोर्मयः ॥
prāṇaspandāccitaḥ spandastatspandādeva saṃvidaḥ |
cakrāvartavidhāyinyo jalaspandādivormayaḥ ||
Word by word
prāṇa-spandātfrom the movement of prāṇa
citaḥ spandaḥthe movement of consciousness (as mind)
tat-spandāt evafrom that movement
saṃvidaḥof awareness
cakra-āvarta-vidhāyinyaḥcreating whirlpools
jala-spandāt iva ūrmayaḥlike waves from the movement of water
MeaningFrom the movement of the life-breath comes the movement of mind, and from that the movement of awareness creates whirlpools — as waves arise from the movement of water.
ContextVasiṣṭha explains the link between breath and thought, the basis of prāṇāyāma.
Philosophical aspectMind and prāṇa are two sides of one vibration (spanda). Calm the breath and the mind calms; calm the mind and the breath slows. This is why the yogic path works, and why the story of Bhuśuṇḍa (VI.1) praises prāṇa-awareness.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha V · 80.41the sage Vītahavya, in meditation
Salutation to myself
न शोकोऽस्ति न मोहोऽस्ति न चैवाहमहं स्वयम् ।
नच नाहं नचान्योऽहं मह्यमेव नमो नमः ॥
na śoko'sti na moho'sti na caivāhamahaṃ svayam |
naca nāhaṃ nacānyo'haṃ mahyameva namo namaḥ ||
Word by word
na śokaḥ astithere is no sorrow
na mohaḥ astithere is no delusion
na ca eva aham aham svayamnor even an “I” as “I”
na ca na ahamnor a “not-I”
na ca anyaḥ ahamnor am I other
mahyam evato myself alone
namaḥ namaḥsalutation, salutation
MeaningThere is no sorrow, no delusion, not even an “I” as “I”; nor a “not-I”, nor am I another — salutations, salutations to myself!
ContextFrom the story of Vītahavya, who sits in meditation for centuries; these are his words on awakening (sargas 79–80), each verse ending “mahyam eva namo namaḥ”.
Philosophical aspectNot self-worship of the ego but its opposite: when ego and its sorrows have dissolved, what remains is the one Self to whom all salutations go. Compare the Aṣṭāvakra Gītā (2.11), “aho ahaṃ namo mahyam”.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 29.118Śiva to Vasiṣṭha
“Who is God?” — Śiva asks Vasiṣṭha
कच्चिद्वेत्सि महाबाहो देवः कः स्यादिति द्विज ।
न देवः पुण्डरीकाक्षो न च देवस्त्रिलोचनः ॥
kaccidvetsi mahābāho devaḥ kaḥ syāditi dvija |
na devaḥ puṇḍarīkākṣo na ca devastrilocanaḥ ||
Word by word
kaccit vetsido you know
mahābāhoO mighty one
devaḥ kaḥ syātwho God really is
iti dvijaO twice-born
na devaḥGod is not
puṇḍarīka-akṣaḥthe lotus-eyed (Viṣṇu)
na ca devaḥnor is God
tri-locanaḥthe three-eyed (Śiva)
Meaning“Do you know, O twice-born, who God really is? God is not the lotus-eyed Viṣṇu, nor the three-eyed Śiva.”
ContextVasiṣṭha tells Rāma how Śiva himself once visited him in the forest and taught him the true worship of God (deva-pūjā, sargas 29–42). The Mughal miniature above shows Vasiṣṭha receiving Śiva and Pārvatī.
Philosophical aspectA startling verse: Śiva says that Śiva is not God — not the form. The forms are the Lord’s appearances; the Deva is the consciousness in which they appear. This is not a rejection of worship but its deepening.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 29.119Śiva to Vasiṣṭha
Not Brahmā, not Indra, not sun or moon
न देवः कमलोद्भूतो न देवस्त्रिदशेश्वरः ।
न देवः पवनो नार्को नानलो न निशाकरः ॥
na devaḥ kamalodbhūto na devastridaśeśvaraḥ |
na devaḥ pavano nārko nānalo na niśākaraḥ ||
Word by word
na devaḥGod is not
kamala-udbhūtaḥthe lotus-born (Brahmā)
na devaḥGod is not
tridaśa-īśvaraḥthe lord of the gods (Indra)
na devaḥ pavanaḥGod is not the wind
na arkaḥnor the sun
na analaḥnor fire
na niśākaraḥnor the moon
MeaningGod is not the lotus-born Brahmā, nor Indra, lord of the gods; God is not the wind, nor the sun, nor fire, nor the moon.
ContextThe negation continues through every deity.
Philosophical aspectA neti neti applied to the pantheon. Every named deity is an object of worship; the true Deva is the subject.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 29.120Śiva to Vasiṣṭha
Not body, not mind — God is consciousness
न ब्राह्मणो नाऽवनिपो नाहं न त्वं द्विजोत्तम ।
न देवो देहरूपो हि न देवश्चित्तरूपधृक् ॥
na brāhmaṇo nā'vanipo nāhaṃ na tvaṃ dvijottama |
na devo deharūpo hi na devaścittarūpadhṛk ||
Word by word
na brāhmaṇaḥnot a brāhmaṇa
na avanipaḥnot a king
na ahamnot I
na tvamnot you
dvija-uttamaO best of the twice-born
na devaḥ deha-rūpaḥ hiGod is not of the form of a body
na devaḥGod is not
citta-rūpa-dhṛkone bearing the form of a mind
MeaningNot a priest nor a king, not I nor you, O best of brāhmaṇas: God has no bodily form, nor the form of a mind.
ContextŚiva then reveals: the true God is pure consciousness (cinmātra), and the true worship is to rest as that, offering every experience to it.
Philosophical aspectThe worship taught in these sargas is bodha-pūjā: the flowers are equanimity, the lamp is understanding, the offering is whatever comes. It is available every moment, needs no temple, and makes all activity worship.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 55.14Kṛṣṇa to Arjuna (as foretold by Vasiṣṭha)
The Gītā within the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha — “therefore fight, Bhārata”
अन्तवन्त इमे देहा नित्यस्योक्ताः शरीरिणः ।
अनाशिनोऽप्रमेयस्य तस्माद्युध्यस्व भारत ॥
antavanta ime dehā nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ |
anāśino'prameyasya tasmādyudhyasva bhārata ||
Word by word
anta-vantaḥhaving an end
ime dehāḥthese bodies
nityasyaof the eternal
uktāḥare said to be
śarīriṇaḥembodied one
anāśinaḥindestructible
aprameyasyaimmeasurable
tasmāttherefore
yudhyasvafight
bhārataO Bhārata
MeaningThese bodies of the eternal, indestructible, immeasurable embodied one are said to have an end. Therefore fight, O Bhārata.
ContextSargas 52–58 of VI.1 contain an “Arjuna-upākhyāna”: Vasiṣṭha tells Rāma what Kṛṣṇa will one day teach Arjuna — and quotes Gītā 2.18 word for word.
Philosophical aspectThe two great Rāma–Kṛṣṇa teachings meet. Both are given to a warrior who wants to withdraw from duty, and both answer the same way: act, knowing that the Self neither kills nor is killed. The Yoga Vāsiṣṭha ends exactly so — Rāma returns to rule.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 93.43Cūḍālā (as the youth Kumbha) to King Śikhidhvaja
Cūḍālā: giving up the mind is giving up all
चित्तत्यागं विदुः सर्वत्यागं त्यागविदां वर ।
तस्मिन्सिद्धे महाबाहो सत्यं किं नानुभूयते ॥
cittatyāgaṃ viduḥ sarvatyāgaṃ tyāgavidāṃ vara |
tasminsiddhe mahābāho satyaṃ kiṃ nānubhūyate ||
Word by word
citta-tyāgamgiving up the mind
viduḥthey know as
sarva-tyāgamgiving up everything
tyāga-vidām varaO best of renouncers
tasmin siddhewhen that is accomplished
mahābāhoO mighty one
satyamtruly
kim na anubhūyatewhat is not experienced?
MeaningThe wise know that giving up the mind is giving up everything, O best of renouncers. When that is achieved, what truth is not experienced?
ContextQueen Cūḍālā attains realisation first; her husband, King Śikhidhvaja, abandons the kingdom for the forest. Disguised as a young brahmin, she teaches him that he has renounced everything except the one thing that mattered — the mind (sargas 77–110).
Philosophical aspectThe finest critique of outer renunciation in Indian literature. The king gave up palace, wealth and wife — and carried his ego into the forest. True sarva-tyāga is inner: the giving up of the sense of “I” and “mine”. Then he may rule again, free.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 113.19Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
Brahman alone appears as the world
न जायते न म्रियते क्वचित्किंचित्कदाचन ।
जगद्विवर्तरूपेण केवलं ब्रह्म जृम्भते ॥
na jāyate na mriyate kvacitkiṃcitkadācana |
jagadvivartarūpeṇa kevalaṃ brahma jṛmbhate ||
Word by word
na jāyateis not born
na mriyatedoes not die
kvacitanywhere
kiñcitanything
kadācanaat any time
jagat-vivarta-rūpeṇain the form of the world-appearance
kevalamonly
brahma jṛmbhateBrahman expands, plays
MeaningNothing is born or dies anywhere, at any time. Only Brahman unfolds itself in the form of the world-appearance.
ContextThe doctrine of non-origination again, now with its positive side.
Philosophical aspectVivarta: the world is Brahman’s appearance, not its product. Ramaṇa Maharṣi included this verse in his selection from the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 115.1Śiva to Bhṛṅgīśa (told by Vasiṣṭha)
Be a great doer, a great enjoyer, a great renouncer
महाकर्ता महाभोक्ता महात्यागी भवानघ ।
सर्वाः शङ्काः परित्यज्य धैर्यमालम्ब्य शाश्वतम् ॥
mahākartā mahābhoktā mahātyāgī bhavānagha |
sarvāḥ śaṅkāḥ parityajya dhairyamālambya śāśvatam ||
Word by word
mahā-kartāa great doer
mahā-bhoktāa great enjoyer
mahā-tyāgīa great renouncer
bhava anaghabe, O sinless one
sarvāḥ śaṅkāḥall doubts
parityajyagiving up
dhairyamcourage, steadiness
ālambya śāśvatamholding to the eternal
MeaningBe a great doer, a great enjoyer, a great renouncer, O sinless one — giving up all doubts and holding to eternal steadiness.
ContextŚiva’s teaching to the sage Bhṛṅgīśa, who asked how to live; sargas 115 onward describe each of the three vows in detail.
Philosophical aspectThe three mahā-vratas of the jīvanmukta. The great doer acts fully without attachment to results; the great enjoyer enjoys whatever comes without craving or aversion; the great renouncer has inwardly let go of everything, even of renouncing. Together they describe a life fully in the world and wholly free of it.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 126.11Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 6.15
True renunciation — dwelling on the One
शिवं सर्वगतं शान्तं बोधात्मकमजं शुभम् ।
तदेकभावनं राम सर्वत्याग इति स्मृतः ।
भावयञ्छश्वदन्तः स्वं कार्यं कर्म समाचर ॥
śivaṃ sarvagataṃ śāntaṃ bodhātmakamajaṃ śubham |
tadekabhāvanaṃ rāma sarvatyāga iti smṛtaḥ |
bhāvayañchaśvadantaḥ svaṃ kāryaṃ karma samācara ||
Word by word
śivamauspicious
sarva-gatamall-pervading
śāntampeaceful
bodha-ātmakamof the nature of awareness
ajamunborn
śubhampure
tat-eka-bhāvanamdwelling on That alone
sarva-tyāgaḥ iti smṛtaḥis called complete renunciation
bhāvayancontemplating
śaśvat antaḥ svamalways within, your own Self
kāryam karma samācarado the work that is to be done
MeaningTo dwell on That alone — auspicious, all-pervading, peaceful, of the nature of awareness, unborn, pure — is called complete renunciation, O Rāma. Contemplating your own Self always within, do the work that must be done.
ContextFrom the final teaching of VI.1.
Philosophical aspectRenunciation and action are reconciled. One renounces not work but the false self; then work continues, done by the body-mind while the heart rests in the Self. This is how Rāma will rule.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 126.43Rāma to VasiṣṭhaSaara Sangrah 6.1
Rāma asks: what of those who never met a sage?
मूढस्यासत्कुलोत्थस्य प्रवृत्तस्याधमस्य च ।
अप्राप्तयोगिसङ्गस्य कथमुत्तरणं भवेत् ॥
mūḍhasyāsatkulotthasya pravṛttasyādhamasya ca |
aprāptayogisaṅgasya kathamuttaraṇaṃ bhavet ||
Word by word
mūḍhasyaof the deluded
asat-kula-utthasyaborn in an unfavourable family
pravṛttasyaimmersed in worldly action
adhamasya caand of low conduct
aprāpta-yogi-saṅgasyawho has never had the company of a yogi
kathamhow
uttaraṇam bhavetcan there be crossing over
MeaningHow can the deluded one — born in an unfavourable family, immersed in worldly activity, of low conduct, who has never met a yogi — ever cross over?
ContextAfter the teaching of the seven stages, Rāma asks about those with no chance at all.
Philosophical aspectA compassionate question. Rāma thinks of others, not only himself — already a sign of maturity. The answer (next verses) is hopeful.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 126.45Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 6.2
By chance, after many births
मूढस्यारूढदोषस्य तावत्संसृतिरातता ।
यावज्जन्मान्तरशतैः काकतालीययोगतः ॥
mūḍhasyārūḍhadoṣasya tāvatsaṃsṛtirātatā |
yāvajjanmāntaraśataiḥ kākatālīyayogataḥ ||
Word by word
mūḍhasyafor the deluded
ārūḍha-doṣasyamounted on faults
tāvatso long
saṃsṛtiḥ ātatātransmigration extends
yāvatuntil
janma-antara-śataiḥafter hundreds of births
kāka-tālīya-yogataḥby a chance as of the crow and the palm-fruit
MeaningFor the deluded one bent on faults, transmigration goes on until, after hundreds of births, by sheer chance — as a crow alights just when a palm-fruit falls —
ContextKāka-tālīya, “crow and palm-fruit”, is a proverb for an unplanned coincidence.
Philosophical aspectNo one is excluded forever. Life itself, over many births, brings the moment of awakening. The next verse says what that moment is.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 126.46Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
Once dispassion rises, the stages follow
अथवा साधुसंगत्या वैराग्यं नाभ्युदेति हि ।
वैराग्येऽभ्युदिते जन्तोरवश्यं भूमिकोदयः ॥
athavā sādhusaṃgatyā vairāgyaṃ nābhyudeti hi |
vairāgye'bhyudite jantoravaśyaṃ bhūmikodayaḥ ||
Word by word
athavāor else
sādhu-saṅgatyāthrough the company of the good
vairāgyamdispassion
abhyudetiarises
vairāgye abhyuditewhen dispassion has arisen
jantoḥin a being
avaśyaminevitably
bhūmikā-udayaḥthe stages of knowledge dawn
Meaning— or through the company of the good, dispassion arises. Once dispassion has arisen in a being, the stages of knowledge inevitably dawn.
ContextThe completion of the answer.
Philosophical aspectTwo doors to the path: life’s own disappointments over time, or satsaṅga. Satsaṅga is the shortcut. And the guarantee: real dispassion never fails to lead on.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 126.48Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 6.4
Each stage burns past karma
भूमिकांशानुसारेण क्षीयते पूर्वदुष्कृतम् ।
ततः सुरविमानेषु लोकपालपुरेषु च ॥
bhūmikāṃśānusāreṇa kṣīyate pūrvaduṣkṛtam |
tataḥ suravimāneṣu lokapālapureṣu ca ||
Word by word
bhūmikā-aṃśa-anusāreṇain proportion to the stage reached
kṣīyateis destroyed
pūrva-duṣkṛtampast wrong action
tataḥthen
sura-vimāneṣuin the aerial cars of the gods
loka-pāla-pureṣu caand in the cities of the world-guardians
MeaningIn proportion to the stage attained, past wrongs are destroyed; then (the yogī who dies before completion enjoys) the celestial chariots and the cities of the world-guardians —
ContextWhat becomes of one who dies partway along the path.
Philosophical aspectThis repeats the Gītā’s assurance (6.40–45): no effort on this path is lost. Even partial progress burns karma; the remainder is enjoyed in subtler worlds.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 126.50Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 6.5
Reborn in a pure and prosperous home
भोगजाले परिक्षीणे जायन्ते योगिनो भुवि ।
शुचीनां श्रीमतां गेहे गुप्ते गुणवतां सताम् ॥
bhogajāle parikṣīṇe jāyante yogino bhuvi |
śucīnāṃ śrīmatāṃ gehe gupte guṇavatāṃ satām ||
Word by word
bhoga-jāle parikṣīṇewhen the net of enjoyments is exhausted
jāyanteare born
yoginaḥthe yogīs
bhuvion earth
śucīnāmof the pure
śrīmatāmof the prosperous
gehein the home
gupteprotected
guṇavatām satāmof the virtuous and good
MeaningWhen the store of enjoyments is exhausted, such yogīs are born on earth, in the protected homes of the pure, the prosperous, the virtuous and the good.
ContextAlmost exactly the Gītā’s śucīnāṃ śrīmatāṃ gehe yoga-bhraṣṭo’bhijāyate (6.41).
Philosophical aspectCircumstances favourable for practice are themselves the fruit of earlier practice. The next verse says such a person quickly resumes the path.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 126.52Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 6.6
The first three stages are “waking”
भूमिकात्रितयं त्वेतद्राम जाग्रदिति स्मृतम् ।
यथावद्भेदबुद्ध्येदं तज्जाग्रदिति दृश्यते ॥
bhūmikātritayaṃ tvetadrāma jāgraditi smṛtam |
yathāvadbhedabuddhyedaṃ tajjāgraditi dṛśyate ||
Word by word
bhūmikā-tritayam tu etatthese three stages
rāmaO Rāma
jāgrat iti smṛtamare known as “waking”
yathāvatas it is
bheda-buddhyāwith the sense of difference
idamthis (world)
tat jāgrat iti dṛśyateis seen — hence “waking”
MeaningThese first three stages, O Rāma, are called “waking”, for in them this world is seen as it is, with the sense of difference intact.
ContextThe seven stages mapped onto the states of consciousness: the first three are the seeker’s waking; the fourth is like dream (the world seen as dream); the fifth and sixth like sleep; the seventh the fourth state.
Philosophical aspectA sādhaka in the first three stages still sees a world of many — and that is fine; he is practising. Knowledge does not begin by abolishing perception but by changing its meaning.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 126.74Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 6.7
The wild she-elephant of desire (i)
आसामभ्यासयोगेन न दुःखमनुभूयते ।
अस्त्यत्यन्तमदोन्मत्ता मृदुमन्थरचारिणी ॥
āsāmabhyāsayogena na duḥkhamanubhūyate |
astyatyantamadonmattā mṛdumantharacāriṇī ||
Word by word
āsāmof these (stages)
abhyāsa-yogenathrough practice
na duḥkham anubhūyatesorrow is not experienced
astithere is
atyanta-mada-unmattāutterly drunk with passion
mṛdu-manthara-cāriṇīmoving softly and slowly
MeaningThrough practice of these stages, sorrow is no longer felt. But there is (within) a she-elephant, utterly drunk with passion, moving softly and slowly —
ContextVasiṣṭha warns of the one great enemy on the path.
Philosophical aspectDesire is pictured as a she-elephant: gentle in gait, enormous in destructive power. It does not charge; it ambles in.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 126.75Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 6.7
The wild she-elephant of desire (ii)
करिणी विग्रहव्यग्रा महादशनशंसिनी ।
सा चेन्निहन्यते नूनमनन्तानर्थकारिणी ॥
kariṇī vigrahavyagrā mahādaśanaśaṃsinī |
sā cennihanyate nūnamanantānarthakāriṇī ||
Word by word
kariṇīthe she-elephant
vigraha-vyagrāeager for battle
mahā-daśana-śaṃsinīwith huge tusks
sā cet nihanyateif she is slain
nūnamsurely
ananta-anartha-kāriṇīshe who causes endless calamity (is ended)
Meaning— eager for battle, with great tusks. If she is slain, the cause of endless calamity is surely ended.
ContextThe verse goes on to identify the elephant as icchā, desire.
Philosophical aspectEvery other obstacle is a calf of this elephant. Kill desire at its root and the path is clear. The weapon, the following verses say, is the sword of dispassion and enquiry.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 126.91Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 6.10
What “imagination” means
इदं मेऽस्त्विति संवेगमाहुः कल्पनमुत्तमाः ।
अर्थस्याभावनं यत्तत्कल्पनात्याग उच्यते ॥
idaṃ me'stviti saṃvegamāhuḥ kalpanamuttamāḥ |
arthasyābhāvanaṃ yattatkalpanātyāga ucyate ||
Word by word
idam me astu“let this be mine”
iti saṃvegamthis agitation
āhuḥ kalpanamthey call imagination (kalpana)
uttamāḥthe wise
arthasya abhāvanamnot dwelling on objects
yat tatthat which
kalpanā-tyāgaḥ ucyateis called renunciation of imagination
MeaningThe agitation “let this be mine” is what the wise call kalpanā, imagination; not dwelling on objects is called the renunciation of imagination.
ContextA precise definition of the word that the whole book uses for bondage — kalpanā or saṅkalpa.
Philosophical aspectImagination here is not creativity but the possessive thought: “I want this to be mine.” Every sorrow grows from it. Giving it up is not suppressing thought but not investing objects with the power to complete us.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 126.94Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 6.11
“I cry with arms raised — no one listens”
ऊर्ध्वबाहुर्विरौम्येष न च कश्चिच्छृणोति तत् ।
असंकल्पः परं श्रेयः स किमन्तर्न भाव्यते ॥
ūrdhvabāhurviraumyeṣa na ca kaścicchṛṇoti tat |
asaṃkalpaḥ paraṃ śreyaḥ sa kimantarna bhāvyate ||
Word by word
ūrdhva-bāhuḥwith arms raised
viraumi eṣaḥI cry out
na ca kaścitand no one
śṛṇoti tathears it
asaṅkalpaḥfreedom from ideation
param śreyaḥis the highest good
saḥ kimwhy is it
antaḥ na bhāvyatenot contemplated within
MeaningWith arms raised I cry out, and no one listens: freedom from imagination is the highest good — why is it not practised within?
ContextVasiṣṭha’s cry — echoing Vyāsa’s famous line in the Mahābhārata (“ūrdhvabāhur viraumy eṣa na ca kaścic chṛṇoti me”).
Philosophical aspectThe teaching is simple; the doing is rare. The sage’s frustration is the measure of how easily we hear and forget.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 126.97Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 6.13
Ideation is bondage; its absence, freedom
बहुनात्र किमुक्तेन संक्षेपादिदमुच्यते ।
संकल्पनं परो बन्धस्तदभावो विमुक्तता ॥
bahunātra kimuktena saṃkṣepādidamucyate |
saṃkalpanaṃ paro bandhastadabhāvo vimuktatā ||
Word by word
bahunā atrawith much here
kim uktenawhat is the use of saying
saṅkṣepātin brief
idam ucyatethis is said
saṅkalpanamideation
paraḥ bandhaḥis the supreme bondage
tat-abhāvaḥits absence
vimuktatāis liberation
MeaningWhat is the use of saying much? In brief: ideation is the supreme bondage, and its absence is liberation.
ContextVasiṣṭha’s own summary of the whole teaching.
Philosophical aspectIf one verse had to stand for the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha, it might be this. Saṅkalpa — the projecting, wanting, imagining mind — builds the world of bondage; when it rests, what remains is freedom.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 126.99Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 6.14
Established in yoga, act — or do not
अवेदनं विदुर्योगं शान्तमासितमक्षयम् ।
योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि निर्वासनोऽथ मा कुरु ॥
avedanaṃ viduryogaṃ śāntamāsitamakṣayam |
yogasthaḥ kuru karmāṇi nirvāsano'tha mā kuru ||
Word by word
avedanamnon-perception (of the world as other)
viduḥ yogamthey know as yoga
śāntampeaceful
āsitamabiding
akṣayamimperishable
yoga-sthaḥestablished in yoga
kuru karmāṇiperform actions
nirvāsanaḥfree of vāsanās
atha mā kuruor do not act
MeaningThe wise call yoga that peaceful, imperishable abidance in which the world is not perceived as other. Established in that yoga, free of vāsanās, act — or do not act.
ContextAn echo of Gītā 2.48, “yogasthaḥ kuru karmāṇi”.
Philosophical aspectFor the one established in the Self, action and inaction are equal; neither binds. The Gītā asks Arjuna to act from yoga; Vasiṣṭha adds the freedom: act or not, as the situation calls.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 127.4Vālmīki to BharadvājaSaara Sangrah 7.1–2
Rāma awakens
शक्तिपातवशोन्मेषप्रकटामलचिद्धनः ।
मुहूर्तमासीदुद्बुद्धश्चैतन्यानन्दसागरः ॥
śaktipātavaśonmeṣaprakaṭāmalaciddhanaḥ |
muhūrtamāsīdudbuddhaścaitanyānandasāgaraḥ ||
Word by word
śakti-pāta-vaśa-unmeṣaby the descent of grace, an opening
prakaṭa-amala-cit-ghanaḥmanifest as pure, dense consciousness
muhūrtam āsītfor a while he remained
udbuddhaḥawakened
caitanya-ānanda-sāgaraḥan ocean of consciousness and bliss
MeaningBy the descent of grace an opening came; Rāma, now manifest as pure, dense consciousness, remained for a while awakened — an ocean of consciousness and bliss.
ContextAfter hearing Vasiṣṭha’s teaching, Rāma sinks into silence (sarga 127).
Philosophical aspectŚaktipāta, the descent of grace, follows the long work of hearing and reflection. Effort prepares; grace completes. Bharadvāja’s astonished question follows: how can such a state be reached by people like us?
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 127.19Vālmīki to BharadvājaSaara Sangrah 7.5
Not before, not after, not now — a dream
प्राङ्नास्ति चरमे नास्ति वस्तु सर्वमिदं सखे ।
विद्धि मध्येऽपि तन्नास्ति स्वप्नवृत्तमिदं जगत् ॥
prāṅnāsti carame nāsti vastu sarvamidaṃ sakhe |
viddhi madhye'pi tannāsti svapnavṛttamidaṃ jagat ||
Word by word
prāk na astiit was not before
carame na astiit will not be at the end
vastuas a reality
sarvam idamall this
sakhefriend
viddhiknow
madhye apieven in the middle
tat na astiit is not
svapna-vṛttam idam jagatthis world is the happening of a dream
MeaningThis was not real before, it will not be at the end; know, friend, that it is not real even in the middle — this world is the happening of a dream.
ContextVālmīki’s summary to Bharadvāja.
Philosophical aspectThe classic Vedāntic test of reality: what is absent at the beginning and the end is absent in the middle too (Gauḍapāda, Kārikā 2.6). The dream is vivid now; it is still a dream.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 127.35Vālmīki to BharadvājaSaara Sangrah 7.6
From form to the formless
साकारं भज तावत्त्वं यावत्सत्त्वं प्रसीदति ।
निराकारे परे तत्त्वे ततः स्थितिरकृत्रिमा ॥
sākāraṃ bhaja tāvattvaṃ yāvatsattvaṃ prasīdati |
nirākāre pare tattve tataḥ sthitirakṛtrimā ||
Word by word
sa-ākāramthe (God) with form
bhajaworship
tāvat tvamso long
yāvatuntil
sattvam prasīdatithe mind becomes clear
nirākārein the formless
pare tattvesupreme reality
tataḥthen
sthitiḥ akṛtrimānatural abidance (comes)
MeaningWorship God with form until the mind becomes clear; then natural abidance in the formless supreme reality follows.
ContextPractical advice for those who find the formless difficult.
Philosophical aspectThe Yoga Vāsiṣṭha is often read as rejecting devotion. This verse shows otherwise: bhakti to a form purifies the mind; the purified mind recognises the formless without effort (akṛtrimā, “unforced”). Form and formless are stages, not rivals.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 127.57Vālmīki to Bharadvāja
Drop sorrow, think of the auspicious
त्यज शोकममङ्गल्यं मङ्गलानि विचिन्तय ।
चिदानन्दघनं स्वच्छमात्मानं च विभावय ॥
tyaja śokamamaṅgalyaṃ maṅgalāni vicintaya |
cidānandaghanaṃ svacchamātmānaṃ ca vibhāvaya ||
Word by word
tyajagive up
śokamsorrow
amaṅgalyamwhich is inauspicious
maṅgalāni vicintayareflect on what is auspicious
cit-ānanda-ghanamdense with consciousness and bliss
svacchamclear
ātmānam caand the Self
vibhāvayacontemplate
MeaningGive up inauspicious sorrow, reflect on what is auspicious, and contemplate the Self — clear, and dense with consciousness and bliss.
ContextThe positive side of the teaching: fill the mind with what is true and good.
Philosophical aspectGrief is called “inauspicious” — not wrong, but unhelpful. Meditation here is not emptiness but filling the mind with the Self’s nature (sat-cit-ānanda).
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 127.59Bharadvāja to Vālmīki
No friend like dispassion, no enemy like saṃsāra
ज्ञातं तव प्रसादेन सर्वमेतदशेषतः ।
न वैराग्यात्परो बन्धुर्न संसारात्परो रिपुः ॥
jñātaṃ tava prasādena sarvametadaśeṣataḥ |
na vairāgyātparo bandhurna saṃsārātparo ripuḥ ||
Word by word
jñātamit is known
tava prasādenaby your grace
sarvam etatall this
aśeṣataḥcompletely
na vairāgyātthan dispassion
paraḥ bandhuḥthere is no greater friend
na saṃsārātthan saṃsāra
paraḥ ripuḥno greater enemy
MeaningBy your grace I have understood all this completely: there is no greater friend than dispassion, and no greater enemy than saṃsāra.
ContextBharadvāja’s response after Vālmīki’s summary.
Philosophical aspectA verse for daily remembrance. Dispassion is called a friend because it protects; saṃsāra — the cycle of wanting — an enemy because it never stops taking.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 128.57Bharadvāja to VālmīkiSaara Sangrah 7.8
Why did the realised Rāma go back to work?
रामः प्राप्तः परं योगं स्वात्मनात्मनि हे मुने ।
कथं वसिष्ठदेवेन व्यवहारपरः कृतः ॥
rāmaḥ prāptaḥ paraṃ yogaṃ svātmanātmani he mune |
kathaṃ vasiṣṭhadevena vyavahāraparaḥ kṛtaḥ ||
Word by word
rāmaḥRāma
prāptaḥattained
param yogamthe supreme yoga
sva-ātmanā ātmanithe Self in the Self
he muneO sage
kathamhow
vasiṣṭha-devenaby the divine Vasiṣṭha
vyavahāra-paraḥ kṛtaḥwas he made to engage in worldly action
MeaningO sage, Rāma attained the supreme yoga, the Self in the Self. How then did the divine Vasiṣṭha make him return to worldly activity?
ContextThe question that connects the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha to the Rāmāyaṇa: the awakened prince must still go with Viśvāmitra, marry, go into exile, fight Rāvaṇa and rule.
Philosophical aspectThe deepest question of practical Vedānta: what does a free person do? The answer is not withdrawal but action without bondage — the Gītā’s karma-yoga lived by the knower.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 128.96Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 7.9
“This is not the time to rest — bring joy to the world”
राम राम महाबाहो महापुरुष चिन्मय ।
नायं विश्रान्तिकालो हि लोकानन्दकरो भव ॥
rāma rāma mahābāho mahāpuruṣa cinmaya |
nāyaṃ viśrāntikālo hi lokānandakaro bhava ||
Word by word
rāma rāmaRāma, Rāma
mahābāhomighty-armed
mahā-puruṣagreat being
cinmayamade of consciousness
na ayamthis is not
viśrānti-kālaḥ hiindeed the time for rest
loka-ānanda-karaḥ bhavabe the one who brings joy to the world
MeaningRāma, Rāma, mighty-armed great one, made of consciousness — this is not the time for rest. Be the one who brings joy to the world.
ContextVasiṣṭha calls Rāma back from his absorption.
Philosophical aspectThe completion of the path is compassion. Having found the Self, the knower lives for the world’s good — loka-saṅgraha. This is the Rāma of the Rāmāyaṇa: free within, wholly given to others without.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 128.97Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 7.10
Samādhi is pure only when the world is included
यावल्लोकपरामर्शो निरूढो नास्ति योगिनः ।
तावद्रूढसमाधित्वं न भवत्येव निर्मलम् ॥
yāvallokaparāmarśo nirūḍho nāsti yoginaḥ |
tāvadrūḍhasamādhitvaṃ na bhavatyeva nirmalam ||
Word by word
yāvatas long as
loka-parāmarśaḥconsideration of the world
nirūḍhaḥ na astihas not become firm
yoginaḥfor a yogī
tāvatso long
rūḍha-samādhitvamestablished samādhi
na bhavati evadoes not become
nirmalamstainless
MeaningAs long as a yogī has not firmly embraced concern for the world, his established samādhi does not become stainless.
ContextVasiṣṭha’s argument for returning to the world.
Philosophical aspectA striking teaching: a realisation that must avoid the world is not yet complete. The test of samādhi is whether it remains unbroken in the marketplace.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 128.98Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 7.11
Rule, knowing all is passing — and be happy
तस्माद्राज्यादिविषयान्पर्यालोक्य विनश्वरान् ।
देवकार्यादिभारांश्च भज पुत्र सुखी भव ॥
tasmādrājyādiviṣayānparyālokya vinaśvarān |
devakāryādibhārāṃśca bhaja putra sukhī bhava ||
Word by word
tasmāttherefore
rājya-ādi-viṣayānkingdom and other objects
paryālokyaseeing clearly
vinaśvarānas perishable
deva-kārya-ādi-bhārān caand the duties to the gods and the rest
bhajatake up
putramy son
sukhī bhavabe happy
MeaningTherefore, seeing kingdom and its objects as perishable, take up your duties to the gods and the world, my son, and be happy.
ContextThe final instruction of the guru.
Philosophical aspectThe world is not denied; it is seen as it is — passing — and engaged with joy. Sukhī bhava: happiness is not the reward of action; it is the state from which the knower acts.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 128.102Rāma to VasiṣṭhaSaara Sangrah 7.12–14
Rāma accepts the guru’s word
न विधेर्न निषेधस्य त्वत्प्रसादादयं प्रभुः ।
तथापि तव वाक्यं तु करणीयं हि सर्वदा ॥
na vidherna niṣedhasya tvatprasādādayaṃ prabhuḥ |
tathāpi tava vākyaṃ tu karaṇīyaṃ hi sarvadā ||
Word by word
na vidheḥnot of injunction
na niṣedhasyanor of prohibition
tvat-prasādātby your grace
ayam prabhuḥthis one is (now) subject
tathā apieven so
tava vākyam tuyour word
karaṇīyam hi sarvadāmust always be carried out
MeaningBy your grace I am no longer subject to command or prohibition. Even so, your word must always be carried out.
ContextRāma’s reply. The following verse: “in the Vedas, Āgamas, Purāṇas and Smṛtis, the guru’s word is the injunction.”
Philosophical aspectThe knower is beyond rules — and therefore keeps them freely, as an example. This is the Rāma of the Rāmāyaṇa who “does not speak twice”: not bound by dharma but choosing to embody it.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 128.105Rāma to the assemblySaara Sangrah 7.16–17
Nothing higher than Self-knowledge — and its knower
सर्वे शृणुत भद्रं वो निश्चयेन सुनिश्चितम् ।
आत्मज्ञानात्परं नास्ति गुरोरपि च तद्विदः ॥
sarve śṛṇuta bhadraṃ vo niścayena suniścitam |
ātmajñānātparaṃ nāsti gurorapi ca tadvidaḥ ||
Word by word
sarve śṛṇutaall of you, listen
bhadram vaḥmay it go well with you
niścayenawith certainty
su-niścitamwell established
ātma-jñānātthan knowledge of the Self
param na astithere is nothing higher
guroḥ api caand than the guru
tat-vidaḥwho knows it
MeaningListen, all of you — may it go well with you: it is certain and well established that there is nothing higher than knowledge of the Self, nor than the guru who knows it.
ContextRāma, having touched Vasiṣṭha’s feet with his head, addresses the whole court.
Philosophical aspectThe disciple becomes the teacher — his first words are in praise of knowledge and of the one who gave it.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.1 · 128.109Vālmīki to BharadvājaSaara Sangrah 7.18
“Follow this path, Bharadvāja, and be happy”
एतत्ते सर्वमाख्यातं रामचन्द्रकथानकम् ।
अनेन क्रमयोगेन भरद्वाज सुखी भव ॥
etatte sarvamākhyātaṃ rāmacandrakathānakam |
anena kramayogena bharadvāja sukhī bhava ||
Word by word
etat tethis to you
sarvam ākhyātamall has been told
rāmacandra-kathānakamthe story of Rāmacandra
anenaby this
krama-yogenagraded path
bharadvājaO Bharadvāja
sukhī bhavabe happy
MeaningI have told you the whole story of Rāmacandra. By this graded path, O Bharadvāja, be happy.
ContextVālmīki closes the frame he opened in Part I.
Philosophical aspectKrama-yoga: the book is a ladder — dispassion, effort, understanding of creation and dissolution, liberation. Each part prepares for the next.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.2 · 1.14Vasiṣṭha to RāmaSaara Sangrah 6.12
In silence the supreme state is reached
किल तूष्णीं स्थितेनैव तत्पदं प्राप्यते परम् ।
परमं यत्र साम्राज्यमपि राम तृणायते ॥
kila tūṣṇīṃ sthitenaiva tatpadaṃ prāpyate param |
paramaṃ yatra sāmrājyamapi rāma tṛṇāyate ||
Word by word
kilaindeed
tūṣṇīm sthitena evaonly by remaining silent
tat padamthat state
prāpyate paramthe supreme is reached
paramam yatrain which the highest
sāmrājyam apieven an empire
rāmaO Rāma
tṛṇāyatebecomes like a blade of grass
MeaningIndeed, only by remaining silent is that supreme state reached, O Rāma — in which even the greatest empire becomes like a blade of grass.
ContextThe opening teaching of the second half of Nirvāṇa.
Philosophical aspectTūṣṇīm, silence, is not mere absence of speech but the stillness of the mind’s commentary. In that stillness the Self is recognised, and every worldly treasure is seen in proportion.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.2 · 10.6Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
No cause, so no world was ever born
अत्यन्तं कारणाभावान्न किंचिज्जायते जगत् ।
मरावम्ब्विव नास्त्येव दृष्टमप्यग्रतो जगत् ॥
atyantaṃ kāraṇābhāvānna kiṃcijjāyate jagat |
marāvambviva nāstyeva dṛṣṭamapyagrato jagat ||
Word by word
atyantamutterly
kāraṇa-abhāvātbecause there is no cause
na kiñcit jāyatenothing is born
jagatthe world
marau ambu ivalike water in the desert
na asti evait simply is not
dṛṣṭam apieven though seen
agrataḥ jagatthe world before our eyes
MeaningBecause there is no cause at all, no world is ever born. Like water in a desert, the world before our eyes simply is not, even though it is seen.
ContextAn argument for non-origination: Brahman, changeless, cannot be a cause that undergoes change; so nothing has truly been produced.
Philosophical aspectThe mirage returns — the first image of Part I is now the conclusion of Part VI. What began as Rāma’s intuition (“we run after mirages”) ends as the teacher’s demonstration.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.2 · 33.18Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
A universe inside an atom
संविन्मात्रं विदुर्जन्तुं तस्य प्रसरणं जगत् ।
परमाणूदरेऽप्यस्ति तच्छैलशतविस्तरम् ॥
saṃvinmātraṃ vidurjantuṃ tasya prasaraṇaṃ jagat |
paramāṇūdare'pyasti tacchailaśatavistaram ||
Word by word
saṃvit-mātrampure awareness alone
viduḥthey know
jantuma living being (to be)
tasya prasaraṇamits expansion
jagatis the world
parama-aṇu-udare apieven within the belly of an atom
astithere is
tatthat (world)
śaila-śata-vistaramvast as a hundred mountains
MeaningThe wise know a living being to be pure awareness, and the world its expansion; even within an atom there is such a world, vast as a hundred mountains.
ContextPrepares the story of the World Within the Rock (sargas 56–70).
Philosophical aspectSize is a property of the dream, not of the dreamer. Consciousness, being unextended, can hold infinite worlds in any point. Modern readers often compare these passages to the idea of many universes.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.2 · 70.14Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
Worlds everywhere, as in the rock
घटे पटे वटे कुड्ये खेऽनलेऽम्भसि तेजसि ।
जगन्ति सन्ति सर्वत्र शिलायामिव सर्वदा ॥
ghaṭe paṭe vaṭe kuḍye khe'nale'mbhasi tejasi |
jaganti santi sarvatra śilāyāmiva sarvadā ||
Word by word
ghaṭein a pot
paṭein a cloth
vaṭein a banyan
kuḍyein a wall
khein space
analein fire
ambhasiin water
tejasiin light
jaganti santiworlds exist
sarvatraeverywhere
śilāyām ivaas in the rock
sarvadāalways
MeaningIn a pot, in a cloth, in a banyan tree, in a wall, in space, fire, water and light — everywhere and always there are worlds, just as there were in the rock.
ContextThe moral of the World Within the Rock: Vasiṣṭha, meditating, found a whole universe inside a rock, with its own creator and inhabitants.
Philosophical aspectNot an astronomical claim but a lesson in perspective: every object, looked at as consciousness, is infinite. The ordinary — a pot, a wall — is as full of mystery as heaven.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.2 · 82.26Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
Neither ocean nor wave — only peace
ज्ञाने तु शान्तिं स तथोपयाति
यथा न सोऽब्धिर्न तरङ्गकोऽसौ ।
यथास्थितं सर्वमिदं च शान्तं
भवत्यनन्तं परमेव तस्य ॥
jñāne tu śāntiṃ sa tathopayāti
yathā na so'bdhirna taraṅgako'sau |
yathāsthitaṃ sarvamidaṃ ca śāntaṃ
bhavatyanantaṃ parameva tasya ||
Word by word
jñāne tuin knowledge
śāntimpeace
saḥ tathā upayātihe attains thus
yathāso that
na saḥ abdhiḥhe is not the ocean
na taraṅgakaḥ asaunor the wave
yathā-sthitamas it is
sarvam idam ca śāntamand all this is peace
bhavati anantambecomes infinite
param eva tasyathe Supreme alone, for him
MeaningIn knowledge one attains such peace that he is neither the ocean nor the wave; all this, just as it is, becomes peace — infinite, the Supreme alone.
ContextA verse in the longer upajāti metre from the later Nirvāṇa teaching.
Philosophical aspectEven the distinction between ocean (Brahman) and wave (jīva) falls away. The world is not removed; “as it is” (yathā-sthitam) it is seen as peace.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.2 · 106.11Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
Where seer, seeing and seen arise and set
द्रष्टृदर्शनदृश्यानां त्रयाणामुदयो यतः ।
यत्र वास्तमयश्चित्खं तद्विद्धि विगतामयम् ॥
draṣṭṛdarśanadṛśyānāṃ trayāṇāmudayo yataḥ |
yatra vāstamayaścitkhaṃ tadviddhi vigatāmayam ||
Word by word
draṣṭṛ-darśana-dṛśyānāmof the seer, seeing and seen
trayāṇāmthe three
udayaḥ yataḥfrom which is the rising
yatra vāand in which
astamayaḥthe setting
cit-khamthat space of consciousness
tat viddhiknow that
vigata-āmayamto be free of all ill
MeaningThat from which the triad of seer, seeing and seen arises and in which it sets — know that space of consciousness to be free of all affliction.
ContextReturns to Janaka’s song of the Siddhas (5.8.10) as a definition of the Self.
Philosophical aspectAll experience has the three-part structure; consciousness is not one of the parts but the space in which the triad comes and goes. To know oneself as that space is to be free of all ills (āmaya).
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.2 · 125.37Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
Weeping or laughing, untouched within
रुदतो हसतश्चैव जीवन्मुक्तमतेरिह ।
न दुःखं न सुखं किंचिदन्तर्भवति तत्स्थितम् ॥
rudato hasataścaiva jīvanmuktamateriha |
na duḥkhaṃ na sukhaṃ kiṃcidantarbhavati tatsthitam ||
Word by word
rudataḥof one who weeps
hasataḥ ca evaand of one who laughs
jīvanmukta-mateḥwhose mind is liberated
ihahere
na duḥkhamno sorrow
na sukhamno pleasure
kiñcitat all
antaḥ bhavatiis within
tat-sthitamestablished in That
MeaningWhether he weeps or laughs, the one whose mind is liberated, established in That, has no sorrow or pleasure at all within.
ContextThe preceding verse adds: even if his body is cut to pieces or he is given a kingdom.
Philosophical aspectThe knower’s face may weep or laugh as the world requires; the depth is unmoved. This explains Rāma’s tears for Sītā in the Rāmāyaṇa without doubting his freedom.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.2 · 145.7Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
Consciousness sees everything everywhere
सर्वत्र सर्वदा जीवः सर्वेन्द्रियमयः स्थितः ।
चिच्चिद्व्योमाव्ययस्तेन सर्वं सर्वत्र पश्यति ॥
sarvatra sarvadā jīvaḥ sarvendriyamayaḥ sthitaḥ |
ciccidvyomāvyayastena sarvaṃ sarvatra paśyati ||
Word by word
sarvatra sarvadāeverywhere, always
jīvaḥthe living being
sarva-indriya-mayaḥ sthitaḥexists as all the senses
cit-cit-vyomathe space of pure consciousness
avyayaḥimperishable
tenatherefore
sarvameverything
sarvatra paśyatiit sees everywhere
MeaningEverywhere and always the living being exists as all the senses; it is the imperishable space of pure consciousness, and so it sees everything everywhere.
ContextFrom the late sargas of Nirvāṇa on the nature of the jīva.
Philosophical aspectThe eye does not see; consciousness sees through the eye. Since consciousness is not located in one body, it is the one seer in all. The Kena Upaniṣad’s “eye of the eye”.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.2 · 203.50Rāma to Vasiṣṭha
Rāma: “I am free, I am at peace”
ब्रह्मन्नेवमहं मन्ये यथाहं कृतकृत्यधीः ।
निर्वाणोऽस्मि प्रशान्तोऽस्मि नाकाङ्क्षा मम विद्यते ॥
brahmannevamahaṃ manye yathāhaṃ kṛtakṛtyadhīḥ |
nirvāṇo'smi praśānto'smi nākāṅkṣā mama vidyate ||
Word by word
brahmanO sage
evam aham manyethus I consider
yathā ahamthat I am
kṛta-kṛtya-dhīḥone whose task is accomplished
nirvāṇaḥ asmiI am liberated
praśāntaḥ asmiI am at peace
na ākāṅkṣāno desire
mama vidyateremains in me
MeaningO sage, this is how I see it: I am one whose task is done. I am liberated, I am at peace; no desire remains in me.
ContextVasiṣṭha asks Rāma what remains for him to hear. This is Rāma’s answer.
Philosophical aspectThe disciple who at the beginning cried “Who am I?” (1.12.15) and “I cannot find rest” (1.31.21) now says “I am at peace”. Kṛta-kṛtya — nothing more to be done — is the traditional mark of liberation (compare Gītā 15.20).
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.2 · 213.50Vasiṣṭha to Rāma
Vasiṣṭha’s last word: rule with dharma, free of craving
तिष्ठंस्तदात्मनि परे विमलस्वभावे
सर्वात्मके तपति सर्वपदार्थमुक्तः ।
निर्वाणशान्तमतिरम्बरकोशकान्तो
धर्मेण राज्यमनुपालय तीर्णतृष्णः ॥
tiṣṭhaṃstadātmani pare vimalasvabhāve
sarvātmake tapati sarvapadārthamuktaḥ |
nirvāṇaśāntamatirambarakośakānto
dharmeṇa rājyamanupālaya tīrṇatṛṣṇaḥ ||
Word by word
tiṣṭhanabiding
tat-ātmani parein that supreme Self
vimala-svabhāvewhose nature is pure
sarva-ātmakewhich is the Self of all
tapatishining
sarva-padārtha-muktaḥfree from all objects
nirvāṇa-śānta-matiḥwith a mind tranquil in nirvāṇa
ambara-kośa-kāntaḥradiant like the sky
dharmeṇaby dharma
rājyam anupālayarule the kingdom
tīrṇa-tṛṣṇaḥhaving crossed beyond craving
MeaningAbiding in that supreme Self — pure in nature, the Self of all, shining — free of all objects, your mind at peace in nirvāṇa, radiant as the open sky: rule the kingdom with dharma, having crossed beyond craving.
ContextNear the very end of the book, Vasiṣṭha sends Rāma back to his life.
Philosophical aspectThe whole Yoga Vāsiṣṭha ends not in a cave but on a throne. The jīvanmukta rules “by dharma” — and that is the Rāma of the Rāmāyaṇa, Maryādā Puruṣottama: perfect in duty because free within.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.2 · 215.6VālmīkiSaara Sangrah 7.19
Even a child who hears this awakens
मोक्षोपायानिमान्पुण्यान्प्रत्यक्षानुभवार्थदान् ।
बालोप्याकर्ण्य तज्ज्ञत्वं याति का त्वादृशे कथा ॥
mokṣopāyānimānpuṇyānpratyakṣānubhavārthadān |
bālopyākarṇya tajjñatvaṃ yāti kā tvādṛśe kathā ||
Word by word
mokṣa-upāyānmeans to liberation
imān puṇyānthese holy
pratyakṣa-anubhava-artha-dānwhich give direct experience
bālaḥ apieven a child
ākarṇyahaving heard
tat-jñatvamknowledge of That
yātiattains
kā tvādṛśe kathāwhat to speak of one like you
MeaningEven a child who hears these holy means to liberation — which lead to direct experience — attains knowledge of That; what then to speak of one like you!
ContextPart of the phala-śruti, the closing praise of the book. Its old title was Mokṣopāya, “Means to Liberation”.
Philosophical aspectThe book claims to be not a philosophy to be believed but a means (upāya) to be used, yielding pratyakṣa-anubhava — direct experience.
Yoga Vāsiṣṭha VI.2 · 216.25the close of the scriptureSaara Sangrah 7.21
Salutation to Brahman — the closing verse
यत्सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म तज्जलानिति च स्फुटम् ।
श्रुत्वा ह्युदीर्यते साम्नि तस्मै ब्रह्मात्मने नमः ॥
yatsarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma tajjalāniti ca sphuṭam |
śrutvā hyudīryate sāmni tasmai brahmātmane namaḥ ||
Word by word
yatthat which
sarvam khalu idam brahma“all this is indeed Brahman”
tat-ja-la-anfrom That born, into That dissolved, by That living
iti ca sphuṭamas clearly
śrutvā hihaving been heard
udīryateis proclaimed
sāmniin the Sāma Veda
tasmai brahma-ātmane namaḥsalutation to that Brahman, the Self
MeaningSalutation to that Brahman, the Self, which the Sāma Veda clearly proclaims: “All this is indeed Brahman — from It born, into It dissolved, by It sustained.”
ContextThe last verse of the book quotes the Chāndogya Upaniṣad (3.14.1): sarvaṃ khalv idaṃ brahma tajjalān iti.
Philosophical aspectThe book ends where it began (1.1.1): with a salutation to the Truth in which all appears, abides and dissolves. In between lie thirty-two thousand verses — the long road that makes the short statement real.