Greatest Verses from Yoga Vasistha

When the truth is known, all descriptions cease, and silence alone remains. (III:84)
Only when one severs the very root of the mind with the weapon of non-conceptualization, can one reach the Absolute Brahman which is omnipresent, supreme peace.

First destroy the mental conditioning by renouncing cravings; and then remove from your mind even the concept of bondage and liberation. Be totally free of conditioning.
Ideas and thoughts are bondage; and their coming to an end is liberation. Therefore, be free of them and do whatever has to be done spontaneously. (III:111)
That mind is pure in which all cravings are in a state of quiescence. Whatever that pure mind wishes, that materializes.

The mind is purified by persistent contemplation of truth. Only when the mind is totally purified of all conditioning does it regain its utter purity; that pure mind experiences liberation. (IV:17)

Bondage is none other than the notion of an object. The notions of I and the world are but shadows, not truth. Such notions alone create objects; these objects are neither true nor false. Therefore abandon the notions of I and this and remain established in the truth. (IV:21)

It is only when the mind has become devoid of all attachment, when it is not swayed by the pairs of opposites, when it is not attracted by objects and when it is totally independent of all supports, that it is freed from the cage of delusion. (IV:22)

Wealth is the mother of evil. Sense-pleasure is the source of pain. Misfortune is the best fortune. Rejection by all is victory. Life, honor and noble qualities blossom and attain fruition in one whose conduct and behavior are good and pleasant, who is devoted to seclusion and who does not crave for the pleasures of the world, which lead to suffering. (IV:32)

O Rama, I shall declare to you the quintessence of all wisdom: listen and let it perfume your whole life. Bondage is the craving for pleasure; and its abandonment is liberation. (IV:35)

O Rama, the mind itself is the Individual Self; the mind experiences what it itself has projected out of itself. By that it is bound. It is the state of the mind that determines the nature of the reincarnation of the Individual Self.

When in a pure mind there arise concepts and notions, the world appearance comes into being. But, when the mind gives up the subject-object relationship it has with the world, it is instantly absorbed in the infinite.

When you are free from all concerns about the objects of the world, you will be established in non-dual consciousness, and that is final liberation. Live without being swayed by likes and dislikes, attraction and aversion, without any desires or cravings. Constantly seek to discover the supreme peace.

Rama, you are already a liberated being: live like one. (IV:62)

One should enjoy the delight that flows from peace. The man whose mind is well-controlled is firmly established in peace. When the heart is thus established in peace, there arises the pure bliss of the Self without delay. (V:8)

Consciousness free from the limitations of the mind is known as the inner intelligence: it is the essential nature of no-mind. That is the reality, that is supreme consciousness, that is the state known as the supreme self, that is omniscience. (V:50)

O mind, abandon this perception of diversity and realize the unreality of your own independence from the infinite consciousness: this is liberation. (V:52)

He is a sage liberated while living who has abandoned all motivated actions, who is free from conditioning and who has given up all desires and hopes. O Rama, abandon all desires and remain at peace within yourself. When you perceive the truth that the self alone is all this and that diversity is just a word without substance, you will become totally free from desire or hope.

Free from the least attachment he enjoys whatever comes to him unsought, even as the eyes perceive their objects without desire or aversion. (V:74)

He whose mind is firmly established in peace through the practice of yoga has the right vision of the truth. To see that the supreme self is without beginning or end, and that these countless objects are in fact the self and no other, is the right vision. Erroneous vision leads to rebirth; right vision ends rebirth. In it there is no subject-object (knower-knowable) relationship; for the self (consciousness) is the knower, knowledge and the knowable, too, and the division is ignorance. (V:79)

The state of mind of the liberated ones who are still living and who see both the supreme truth and the relative appearance, is known as satva (transparency). It is improper to call it the mind: it is really satva. These knowers of truth are mindless and are in a state of perfect equilibrium: they live their life here playfully. They behold the inner light all the time, even though they seem to be engaged in diverse actions. Concepts of duality, unity or such others do not arise in them, for there are no tendencies in their heart. The very seed of ignorance is burnt in the state of satva and it does not again give rise to delusion. (VI.1:2)

The wise ones say that one is established in pure being or Brahman only after one has investigated the nature of the truth as expounded in the scriptures, in the company and with the help of enlightened sages. (VI.1:10)

Death does not wish to kill one who does not have raga-dvesa (attraction and aversion) nor false notions and mental habits. Death does not wish to kill one who does not suffer from mental illness, who does not entertain desires and hopes which give rise to anxieties and worry, who is not poisoned by greed, whose

body and mind are not burnt by the fire of anger and hate, who is not churned and ground by the mill of lust, who is firmly established in the pure awareness of Brahman and the absolute and whose mind is not distracted like a monkey.

O sage, these evils do not even approach one whose heart has found the state of utter quiescence and tranquillity. Nor do illnesses of the body and the mind affect him. His awareness neither rises nor sets either in deep sleep or in the waking state. He whose mind and heart are established in supreme peace is not touched by the blinding evils born of lust and hate. He neither seeks nor does he spurn, neither gives up nor gathers, though he is constantly engaged in appropriate action. None of the evil forces afflict him. All joy and happiness and all auspicious qualities flow towards him.

Hence, O sage, one should remain firmly established in the imperishable and eternal self which is free from nescience and from all seeking. One should slay the ghost of duality or division and fix the heart on the one truth, which alone is sweet in the beginning, in the middle and in the end.

The best of all states, O sage, is indeed the vision of the one infinite consciousness. Even the contemplation of the self which is infinite consciousness banishes sorrow, terminates the long-dream vision of the world-appearance, purifies the mind and the heart, and dispels worries and misfortunes. That contemplation of the self is devoid of mentation. (VI.1:23)

If one practices kumbhaka (suspension of breath) after exhaling the prana to a distance farther from where the apana rises (the twelve finger-breadth distance), he is not subject to sorrow any more.

Or, if one is able to see the space within oneself where the inhaled breath turns into the impulse for exhalation, he is not born again. By seeing where the prana and apana terminate their motions and by holding fast to that state of peace, one is not subject to sorrow again.

If one keenly observes the place and the exact moment at which the prana is consumed by the apana, he does not grieve.

Or, if one keenly observes the place and the exact moment at which the apana is consumed by prana, his mind does not arise again.

Therefore, behold that place and that moment at which prana is consumed by apana and apana is consumed by prana inside and outside the body.

For that precise moment at which the prana has ceased to move and the apana has not begun to move, there arises a kumbhaka which is effortless: the wise regard that as an important state.

When there is effortless suspension of breath, it is the supreme state. This is the self, it is pure infinite consciousness. He who reaches this does not grieve.

I contemplate that infinite consciousness which is the indwelling presence in the prana but which is neither with prana nor other than prana.

I contemplate that infinite consciousness which is the indwelling presence in the apana but which is neither with apana nor other than apana.

That is the middle between prana and apana — I contemplate that infinite consciousness. I contemplate that consciousness which is the prana of prana, which is the life of life, which alone is responsible for the preservation of the body; which is the mind of the mind, the intelligence in the intellect, the reality in the ego-sense.

I salute that consciousness in which all things abide, from which they emerge, which is all and everywhere and which is meritorious.

I salute that consciousness in which prana ceases to move but apana does not arise and which dwells in the space in front (or, at the root) of the nose.

I salute the consciousness which is the source for both prana and apana, which is the energy in both prana and apana and which enables the senses to function.

I salute that consciousness which is in fact the essence of the internal and the external kumbhakas, which is the only goal of the contemplation of prana, which enables the prana to function and which is the cause of all causes. I take refuge in that supreme being.

By the regular and systematic practice of pranayama as described by me, I have gained the state of purity and I am not disturbed even when the mount Meru (or the north pole) is shaken. This state of samadhi or total equanimity is not lost whether I am walking or standing, whether I am awake, asleep or dreaming.

With my vision turned upon the self, I rest in the self, with the self in all conditions of life, whatever changes may take place in the world or in the environment. Thus have I lived right from the time of the previous cosmic dissolution.

I do not contemplate either the past or the future: my attention is constantly directed to the present. I do what has to be done in the present, without thinking of the results. Without considerations of being or non-being, desirable and undesirable, I remain in the self: hence I am happy, healyour and free from illness.

My state is the fruit of contemplation of the moment of union of the prana and the apana (when the self is revealed); I do not entertain vain notions like, I have obtained this and I shall gain that, too. I do not praise nor do I censure anyone (neither myself nor others) or anything at any time; my mind does not

exult on gaining what is considered good nor does it become depressed on obtaining what is considered evil; hence my state of happiness and health. I embrace the supreme renunciation, having renounced even the desire to live;

Thus my mind does not entertain cravings but is peaceful and balanced. I behold the one common substratum in all things ( a piece of wood, a beautiful woman, a mountain, a blade of grass, ice and fire and space) and I am not worried by thoughts like What shall I do now? or What shall I get tomorrow morning? I am not bothered by thoughts of old age and death, or by longing for happiness, nor do I regard some as mine and others as not-mine. I know that everything at all times, everywhere, is but the one cosmic consciousness. These are the secrets of my state of happiness and health. I do not think I am the body, even while engaged in physical activity as I know this world-appearance to be illusory and live in it as if fast asleep.

I am disturbed neither by prosperity nor by adversity when they are granted to me, as I regard them with equal vision (even as I look upon both my arms as arms). Whatever I do is untainted by desire or the mud of ego-sense; thus I do not lose my head when I am powerful or go begging when I am poor; I do not let hopes and expectations touch me and even when a thing is old and worn out I look upon it with fresh eyes as if it were new. I rejoice with the happy ones and share the grief of the grief-stricken, for I am the friend of all, knowing I belong to none and none belongs to me. I know that I am the world, all the
activities in it and its intelligence. This is the secret of my longevity. (VI.1:25)

Indeed only that cid-akasha (the infinite consciousness), which alone exists even after the cosmic dissolution, exists even now, utterly devoid of objectivity. The concepts and notions that are illumined by the consciousness within itself shine as this creation, on account of the movement of energy within consciousness, precisely as dreams arise during sleep. Otherwise, it is totally impossible for an object of perception to exist outside of the omnipresent infinite consciousness.

Even as the duality experienced in dream is illusory, the duality implied in the creation of the world is illusory. Even as the objects seem to exist and function in the inner world of consciousness in a dream, objects seem to exist and function in the outer world of consciousness during the wakeful state.  Nothing really happens in both these states. Even as consciousness alone is the reality in the dream state, consciousness alone is the substance in the wakeful state too. That is the Lord, that is the supreme truth, that you are, that I am and that is all. (VI.1:29)

[Lord Shiva:] It is the mind alone that is the root-cause of experiencing the world as if it were real; but it cannot be truly considered such a cause since there can be no mind other than pure consciousness. Thus, if it is realized that the perceiving mind itself is unreal, then it is clear that the perceived world is unreal too.

Consciousness does not truly undergo any modification nor does it become impure. The impurity itself is imaginary; imagination is the impurity. When this is realized, the imagination is abandoned and impurity ceases. However, even in those who have realized this, the impurity arises unless the imagination is

firmly rejected. By self-effort this imagination can be easily rejected: if one can drop a piece of straw, one can with equal ease also drop the three worlds! What is it that cannot be achieved by one’s self-effort?

This infinite consciousness, which is devoid of concepts and extremely subtle, knows itself. In self-forgetfulness this consciousness entertains thoughts and experiences perception, though all this is possible because of the very nature of infinite consciousness: even as one who is asleep is also inwardly awake! (VI.1:31)

[Lord Shiva:] Then the mind which is pure abandons conjuring up images of objects. It attains a state like deep sleep or the consciousness of homogeneity, thus going beyond the possibility of birth again. It rests in supreme peace. This is the first state.  
Now listen to the second state. Consciousness devoid of mind is all-light, free from darkness and beautiful like space. The infinite consciousness frees itself totally from all modification or duality and remains as if in deep sleep or as a figure in uncut marble. It abandons even the factors of time and space and transcends both inertness and motion; it remains as pure being beyond expression. It transcends the three state of consciousness and remains as the fourth or the state of undivided infinite consciousness.

Now comes the third state. This is beyond even what is termed Brahman, the self, etc. It is sometimes referred to as turiya-atita (beyond the fourth or turiya state). It is supreme and ultimate. It defies description, for it is beyond the practices which are described by those who undertake them.

O sage, remain forever in that third state. That is the real worship of the Lord. Then you will be established in that which is beyond what is and what is not. Nothing has been created and there is nothing to vanish. It is beyond the one and the two. It is the eternal, beyond the eternal and the transient; it is pure mass of consciousness. In it there is no question of diversity. It is all, it is supreme blessedness and peace, it is beyond expression. It is purest OM. It is transcendent. It is supreme.  (Valmiki said: Having said this, the Lord Shiva remained in silent and deep contemplation for some time.) (VI.1:34)

[Lord Shiva:] Now listen to the ways in which he is to be worshipped. First of all, one should abandon the body-idea (the notion that I am this body). Meditation alone is true worship. Hence one should constantly worship the Lord of the three worlds by means of meditation.

How should one contemplate him? He is pure intelligence, he is as radiant as a hundred thousand suns risen together, he is the light that illumines all lights, he is the inner light, the limitless space is his throat, the firmament is his feet, the directions are his arms, the worlds are the weapons he bears in his hands, the entire universe is hidden
in his heart, the gods are hairs on his body, the cosmic potencies are the energies in his body, time is his gate-keeper, and he has thousands of heads, eyes, ears and arms. He touches all, he tastes all, he hears all, he thinks through all though he is beyond all thinking. He does everything at all times, he bestows whatever one thinks of or desires, he dwells in all, he is the all, he alone is to be sought by all. Thus should one contemplate him.

This Lord is not to be worshipped by material substances but by one’s own consciousness. Not by waving of lamps nor lighting incense, nor by offering flowers nor even by offering food or sandalpaste. He is attained without the least effort; he is worshipped by self-realization alone. This is the supreme meditation, this is the supreme worship: the continuous and unbroken awareness of the indwelling presence, inner light or consciousness. While doing whatever one is doing — seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving, sleeping, breathing or talking — one should realize one’s essential nature as pure consciousness. Thus does one attain liberation.

Meditation is the offering, meditation is the water offered to the deity to wash his hands and feet, self-knowledge gained through meditation is the flower — indeed all these are directed towards meditation. The self is not realized by any means other than meditation. If one is able to meditate even for thirteen seconds, even if one is ignorant, one attains the merit of giving away a cow in charity. If one does so for one hundred and one seconds, the merit is that of performing a sacred rite. If the duration is twelve minutes, the merit is a thousand fold. If the duration is of a day, one dwells in the highest realm. This is the supreme yoga, this is the supreme kriya (action or service). One who practices this mode of worship is worshipped by the gods and the demons and all other beings. However, this is external worship.

I shall now declare to you the internal worship of the self which is the greatest among all purifiers and which destroys all darkness completely.

This is of the nature of perpetual meditation — whether one is walking or standing, whether one is awake or asleep, in and through all of one’s actions.
One should contemplate this supreme Lord who is seated in the heart and who brings about, as it were, all the modifications within oneself. (VI.1:38)

[Vasistha:] This world-illusion has arisen because of the movement of thought in the mind; when that ceases the illusion will cease, too, and the mind becomes no-mind. This can also be achieved by the restraint of prana. That is the supreme state. The bliss that is experienced in a state of no-mind, the bliss which is uncaused, is not found even in the highest heaven.

In fact, that bliss is inexpressible and indescribable and should not even be called happiness! The mind of the knower of the truth is no-mind: it is pure satva. After living with such no-mind for some time, there arises the state known as turiya-atita (the state beyond the transcendental, or the turiya state). (VI.1:44)

Sri Rama asked: If Brahman does not undergo any modification at all, how does this world-appearance, which is and is not real, arise in it?

Vasistha replied: True modification, O Rama, is a transformation of a substance into another; like the curdling of milk, in which case the curd cannot once again return to its milk-state. Such is not the case with Brahman which was unmodified before the world-appearance and which regains its unmodified state after the world-appearance. Both in the beginning and in the end, it is unmodified homogeneous consciousness. The momentary and apparent modification in this is but a mild disturbance of consciousness, not a modification at all. In that Brahman there is neither a subject nor an object of consciousness. Whatever a thing is in the beginning and in the end, that alone it is. If it appears to be something else in the middle, that appearance is regarded as unreal. Hence, the self is the self in the beginning and in the end and therefore in the middle, too! It never undergoes any transformation or modification.

Rama asked again: In that self which is pure consciousness, how does this mild disturbance arise?

Vasistha replied: I am convinced, O Rama, that that infinite consciousness alone is real and that there is no disturbance at all in its nature. We use words like Brahman just for the sake of communication or instruction, not to raise notions of one and two. You, I and all these things are pure Brahman: there is no ignorance at all. (VI.1:49)

Rama said: This fullness is filled with fullness. Fullness is born from fullness. Fullness fills fullness. In fullness fullness is ever established. However, for the further expansion of awareness, I ask again: pray bear with me. The sense-organs are obviously present in all: yet how is it that the dead person does not experience sensations, though while living he experiences their objects through those organs?

Vasistha continued: Apart from the pure consciousness there are neither the senses, nor the mind, nor even their objects. It is that consciousness alone which appears as the objects in nature and as the senses in the person. When that consciousness has apparently become the subtle body (puryastaka), it reflects the external objects.
The eternal and infinite consciousness is indeed free of all modifications; but when there arises the notion of I am in it, that notion is known as the Individual Self.

It is that Individual Self that lives and moves in this body. When the notion of I arises, it is known as egosense (ahamkara). When there are thoughts (manana), it is known as mind (manas). When there is awareness (bodha), it is intelligence (Intellect). When seen (drs) by the individual soul (indra) it is known as the sense (indriya). When the notion of body prevails it appears to be body; when the notion of object prevails it appears to be the diverse objects. However, through the persistence of these notions, the subtle personality condenses into material substantiality. The same consciousness thereafter
thinks I am the body, I am the tree, etc. Thus self-deluded it rises, until it attains a pure birth and is spiritually awakened. Then by being devoted to the truth, it attains self-knowledge. (VI.1:50)

Lord Krishna instructs Arjuna: Brahman is empty within and empty without (undifferentiated and homogeneous). It is not an object of observation, nor is it different from the observer. The world-appearance arises in it as an infinitesimal pare of it. Because the world is in fact only an appearance, it is in reality emptiness, void and unreal.

Mysteriously, there arises in all this a feeling I which is infinitesimal compared even to the world-appearance! The infinite is undivided by any of this, yet it appears to be divided on account of this I-feeling. Even as the I is non-different from the infinite consciousness, even so material objects like a

pot and living beings like a monkey are non-different from one another. Who would like to hang on to this I? Why not cling to the infinite consciousness, which alone appears as all this by its own mysterious energy? Such an understanding, and the consequent absence of craving for the enjoyment of the fruits of one’s natural activities, is known as renunciation (sanyasa). Renunciation is renunciation of hopes and aspirations. When one feels the presence of the Lord in all appearances and modifications and when one abandons all delusion of duality, that is regarded as surrender to the Lord, or offering of self and all to the Lord.

The inner light that shines as pure experiencing in all beings, that alone is the self which is indicated by the word I: this is for certain. (VI.1:53)

[Vasistha:] It is wrong perception that sees a bracelet in gold. The mere appearance becomes the cause for such wrong perception. This Maya (unreal appearance) is but a figure of speech, the appearance has the same relation to the supreme self that a wave has to the ocean. When one sees this truth, the appearance ceases to be a delusion. It is on account of ignorance that this long-dream world-appearance appears to be real: thus does the Individual Self come into being. But when the truth is realized, it is seen that all this is the self.

Whatever be the notion that one entertains, it is the self alone that appears as that notion. This universe is the result of the notions thus entertained by countless such individuals. The original notion entertained by one attains the purity of consciousness similar to that of Brahma, one sees all this as a long dream. (VI.1:67)

Valmiki – They who are fully awakened and who are constantly engaged in samadhi and who are thoroughly enlightened are known as samkhya-yogis. They who have reached the state of bodiless consciousness through pranayama, etc., are known as yoga-yogis. Indeed, the two are essentially the same. The cause of this world-appearance and bondage is indeed the mind. Both these paths lead to the End to the mind. Hence, by the devoted and dedicated practice of either the End to the movement of prana or the End to thought, liberation is attained. This is the essence of all scriptures dealing with liberation.
Rama asked: O sage, if the End to the movement of prana is liberation, then death is liberation! And all people attain liberation at death!

Vasistha replied: O Rama, when prana is about to leave the body it already makes contact with those elements with which the next one is to be fashioned. These elements are indeed the crystallization of the vasanas (psychological conditioning, memory-store, past impressions and predisposition) of the Individual Self, the reason why the Individual Self clings to those elements. When the prana leaves the body it takes with it all the vasanas of the Individual Self.

Not indeed until these vasanas have been destroyed will the mind become no-mind. The mind does not abandon the life-force till self-knowledge arises. By self-knowledge the vasanas are destroyed and thus the mind, too; it is then that the prana does not move. That indeed is the supreme peace.

It is by self-knowledge that the unreality of the concepts concerning worldly objects is realized. This puts an end to vasanas and to the link between the mind and the life-force. Vasanas constitute mind. Mind is the aggregate of the vasanas and naught else; if the latter cease, that itself is the supreme state. Knowledge is the knowledge of the reality. Vicara or inquiry itself is knowledge.

Total dedication to one thing, restraint of prana and the End to the mind — if one of these three is perfected, one attains the supreme state. The life-force and the mind are closely related like a flower and its fragrance, or sesame seed and oil.

Hence, if the movement of thought in the mind ceases, the movement of prana ceases, too. If the total mind is one-pointedly devoted to a single truth, the movement of mind and therefore of life-force ceases. The best method is by inquiring into the nature of the self which is infinite. Your mind will be completely absorbed. Then both the mind and the inquiry will cease. Remain firmly established in what remains after that.

When the mind does not crave for pleasure it is absorbed into the self, along with the life-force. Ignorance is non-existence: self-knowledge is the supreme state! Mind alone is ignorance when it appears to be a reality; the realization of its non-existence is the supreme state.

If the mind remains absorbed even for a quarter of an hour it undergoes a complete change, for it tastes the supreme state of self-knowledge and will not abandon it. The very seeds of samsara (world-appearance or cycle of birth and death) are fried. With them, ignorance is dispelled and the vasanas are utterly pacified; one who has reached this is rooted in satva (truth). He beholds the inner light and rests in supreme peace. (VI.1:69)
Rama, expand the mind with the mind. Remain at peace within your self, seeing the one infinite being in all. Like the king Bhagiratha you will achieve the impossible if you are able to remain firm in your knowledge of the truth and if you engage yourself in appropriate action in a life characterized by effortless experiencing of the natural course of events. (VI.1:73)

He (King Bhagiratha) approached his guru Tritala and prayed, Lord, how can one put an end to this sorrow and to old age, death and delusion which contribute to repeated birth here?

Tritala said: Sorrow ceases, all the bondages are cut and doubts are dispelled when one is fully established in the equanimity of the self for a long time, when the perception of division has ceased and when there is the experience of fullness through the knowledge of that which is to be known. What is to be known?

It is the self which is pure and which is of the nature of pure consciousness which is omnipresent and eternal.

Bhagiratha asked: I know that the self alone is real and the body, etc., are not real. But how is it that it is not perfectly clear to me?

Tritala said: Such intellectual knowledge is not knowledge! Unattachment to wife, son and house, equanimity in pleasure and pain, love of solitude, being firmly established in self-knowledge — this is knowledge, all else is ignorance! Only when the egosense is thinned out does this self-knowledge arise.

Bhagiratha asked: Since this egosense is firmly established in this body, how can it be uprooted?

Tritala replied: By self-effort and by resolutely turning away from the pursuit of pleasure. And by the resolute breaking down of the prison-house of shame (false dignity), etc. If you abandon all this and remain firm, the egosense will vanish and you will realize that you are the supreme being. (VI.1:74)

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