Nirvana Prakarana 59

I remember hundreds like this. I have seen the customs of Kali in

Krita aod vice versa; in the Treta aod the Dwap.ua also, lhey
became topsy-turvy. Gros~ rebellion against the Vedas and the
Vedic injunctions was the order of the day; every one beha·
ved as be or sbe liked or pleased. In some creations in Kritayoga
itself the good customs and systems deteriorated that
spoiled the order. Once Brahma spent four huudrcd Yugas in
contemplation. Then there was no creation of Suras as well as
asuras. I saw mind-creations; then there were no bodies of the
five elements, It was full with the bodies of the wind, I have seen
at the end or kalpas countriis with very peculiar things and ha-
ppenings of peculiar beings of peculiar worlds with very peculiar
dress and languages. I can recollect to my mind all." (1-53)

23. Rejection of the idea of replying

Just to find out from Bhusunda, Vasishtha asked "Though
you are roaming in the world, how is it that death does not snatch
you away?

Bhusunda :- '' Sir, you are the reaHsed soul, the knower
of every thing; still you ask me, It is usual for lords to make
their servants sf}eak and be pleased. I sha 11 tell you because
obeying the. orders of the elders is the duty of the good people.
One who does not wear the garland of the pearls of the dem -
erits of vasaoas, is not bit by death. One who does not have
the diseases of the mind, the deadly worms that ~nter into the
body..creeper and the cutting saw of the tree of inhaling, is not
harmed by death. Death can not kill one who is not burnt by the
poison-fire of the deadly desire-serpents living in the body·mol~­
hill with the hoods of woes and wotries. Death does not bit
one who is not bitten by the serpent of avarice living in the
molehill of the mind with the poison of passion and hatred!
Death will not hit one, who is not burnt by the badaba-fire of anger
of the body-sea, and the drinker of tbe water·vivcka in full .. Death
 60 Y oga Vasishtha

will not hit one, who is not crushed by kama, desire as the sesame
seed by the oil· cnac hine' is crushed. Death ca.a not bit one whom
se mind t:ver rests in the Param2.pada, tbe peerless, the pure and
the holy. D e11 tb will not strike if the mind-monkey is not fickle, r
fallen in the body-flower-garden. The great defects the cause for
the disease of samsara can not encroach upoa the mrnd of peace
and tranquillity. The woes pbysi~al aod mental born of passion
can not harm the man whose mind rests in peacie, .The man Of
peace of mind has neither rise nor set; neither remembrance nol'
fotg~tfuloess and neither waking nor sleepi ng- He is of peaceful
mind, wbo bas no worries tha t darken the heart- sky and tbat am
born from the vicissitudes of de sire and anger. H e is callc:d rbe
cool·mioJed who iias oocbiag to give and nothing to take, not·
hing to renounce and notbiog to desire but does act ions. He is
cctll~d tbe cnan of peace whose miad is not hit by moneys, bad
qualities bad efforts mean, examples foolish, methojs wrong and
behaviour barsh. fo one whose mind r<:ists in peace. on their own
accord come aod stay various good things, virtues great~ a nd all
gaios, Oae must make his milld devoid of illusions, and delu·
sions. full witb truth and passionlessness, devoid of •the plea.m
sures of ftestl ami prone to lb.~ ba.ppi Clc3s of S el f -realisationo
fo tne i .npJre mind, tbe Pctrct inap:i Ja is far away; tnerefore
one must make bis mind pure by dfiving away desires, tbe
ghost of complexity and by keeping it ever in the highest Self.
Oo~ must .sec tl:lat the mind is engaged in tbe a n aaumeat of knowle-
dge that will be ever aod anon ilappy ia the beginning,
bapipy ia tbe middle and happy at tbe end ever driving away all
sorrows and making its~lf ei:eraal. The mind must b~ engaged
ia atta.toiag tb~ Parar1npad1, wbich is eternal, ever true at all
tin>;, t he ·n)H sifo aa1 d~sir.ible, that which is attained by the
wisest and the higbest sages. The mind must be always attached
to the Pararnapada, the bigbest state of brilliance, ambrosia and
unequalled happiness. T here is no au3picious, per 01amnent bapp"'
I 'Nirvana Prakarana
I oess even in the Heaven of gods; in the abodes of de mons, gandharvas
vidyadbaras, k inoacas and the ladies of gods. On eart h with towns,
ci ties, kiagdoms, fore st·laods, rivers and oceans, there is no ausp-
icious permanent bappi ne ss. So it is in the net her world of
suras, nagas and the da msels; nay ia the whole Bra hmanda it-
sel f nowhere there is eternal happiness. Moving wj th the waves
woes, worries hnd diseases, having the whirlwinds of sorrows,
very mean ac~ion s the sea of sams ara offers no happiness at all.
Jo the activities that make the mind fickle, there is only a
bit of joy but no permanent happiness. In the samkalpas and
vikalpas, that make the mind - milk-ocean coufused and confoun·
ded, tbere is no permanent joy at all. All the pleasures of th~
Senses are a bit sweet in the beginning and poisoo;OiJSt.·:a t the end,
as sharp as the razor-edge and very peculiar. They never give
permanent hap piness. Ruling over the entire earth as its emperor
becomin g the highest of the gods, ruling over the three worlds are
· qu it~ inferior to the glory of the mind that is at peace within.
The scholarship of the Sastras, tactfulness in things done, the
capacity to narra te stories with descriprions and to win the app -
lause of the people is notbia g before the glory of the mind at
p eace. Longevity with sickness is undesirable, that does not mean
that death is better. fo think so is foolish indeed. Neither hell
nor heaven are desirable; they are transient. Peace o f mind alone
is desirable . The worldly things are beauti ful and sweet only to
t hey fools; are sh unned by the great souls; they ever remain in the
etrnal hap piness of the Self. (I - 36 )

44. VVhat i s Pra na ?

Devoid of danger and illusion, the all perfect and the hig-
hest is the only knowledge o f the Self. The Self.. knowledge is the
ore that destroys all sorrows and the illusion of samsara, th1 bad
dream, the result of actions with desires from a very long time.
This is born in the mind itself. This is not within the reach of
62 Yoga Vasishtha
every Tom, Dick vr Harry This destroys bad thoughts, deme-
rits, and all woes. The Self-thought, follo\Ved by ali rejection of
samkalpas, drives away the bad in mind, the illusion of delusion
jllst as the moonshine destroys da?:kness. In this Self-knowiedge,
the greatest of tbe achievements, there is no samkalpa; it is easy
to great men like you and very difficult to people like me,
the dullards. Men of wicked and sinful deeds can eot attain it;
there are many lady-friends to the lady-Self- knowledge in oo
way inferior to her, but equal to her. They are like the dewy
drops of the Moon of knowledge; they are easily accessibte more
e2sily than Self-knowledge. I made friends with one of tbem
called· the knowledge of Prana, which destroys aH woes, the upb"!
ringe; of virtues and tbe cause for life. I became a Cb1raujeevi,
long-lived by tlli~.' Vasistitna, t l1oa:~h kao wi ag every thing asked
again' What is Praaachinta ?

Bhusunda .- " Sir, you are the knower of all philosophy;

the dispeller of all doubts and the intcrpr~ter of it, For the sake
of fun you are askiug this crow; all right, l will tell so that I
will have clarity, I will tell you bow I attained the Pranasama-
dhi and the Self through it, pleas~ near . The beauliful bo::iy·
house has nine gates and lbree pillars. fbe nouse-h0lder Ego with
his wife Puryas.btaka aad bis kith and kin, the p.iac.bataamatras
look\> aftt;r it. Tbe ooJy-t:iuuse bas two ~ars covered wich hair·
grass; it has two ey.!- -VL1dows aad the face-cnaio gate, which is
decorated with the arch-like t~eth; there is a sub-building in be ..
tween the shoulders, Tbe five senses of kaowledge are the gate
keepers bringing news of the outer things like the form, touch "--
etc. The house shines bright by the light of the all·expansive
Self The owner of the house
I
d uriug the waking state lives in
the eyeball. The house is clean with the cleansing of blood-flesh
watery mud cow-dung The bone-sticks, the sinews·threads bind
the house hard. In the middle of the bojy-house, subtle sinews•
 Nirvana Prakarana 63
not seen, called Ida, Pingala, shine. In their middle is situated
the heart like a three·fold·lotus, delicate and full wi th bones and
flesh! Its pipes are spread above and bel cw; its petals are delicate
and beautiful, mutually intertwined. The petals biossomed from
the end of the nose to the feet ia the sky of the body by the
watering of the apana-wind called Chandra. As per the movement
of prana and apana, they some times blossom and some times
contracted. just as wind in the forest returned by the groups of
creepers spread to the four quarters, the p rana and apana winds
returned by or obstructed by the petal full with the wind in the
heart- machine, spread to the f"ur sides, enter the holes of the
sinews and grow. Having grown, creating different plac~s in the
body~house,attaining the five names prana, apana, vyana, udana
and samana, enter the groups of sin~ws, flowing in the body
•• perform different duties, Just a& rays come out of the Moon, the
power of prana comes out of the heart spreads in the middle of
the body and place:i above and below , The power of th·e prana
entering the group of slnews oaadis makes the body go, .come.
drag, let loose, fall, get raise up etc. The wise call .the wind in
the lotus of the heart as PRANA. By one of the powers of the
Prana wind. the eyes mov~, Another power enables one to feel
the touch; another power flows in the sinews of the nose; another
power digests the food that is eaten; another power makes one
speak. Why thousand words, Just as the driver of the engine
makes it move a s per his desir©, the wind-god in the body per·
forms mal'ly deeds, The praoa-wind goes up; the apana wiad
goes down. I follow their course ever, They reiucn in the sky be·
coming cool and bot. though they carry the body-machine, they
do not get tired. Both these winds are the Sun and the Moon to
the sky of the heart, These are the forms of fire and the moon;
they form as it were the two wheels of ·the chariot, the mind,
the protector of the body-town. These are the favourite horses to
the ego-king. I always follow the path of these two winds equa·
 64 Yoga Vasishtha
lly in th e waking, sleeping a nd dreaming st ates a od s peod the
days as if io sound sleepi I will do so forever. Tbeir course is
q uite invisi ble as invigible as tbat of the l / 10 00 th divisioa of
the thread of the Iolus chord. )n the middle of tbe heart t he
two winds always flow. Following the different courses of these
two winds as described in tbe different Scrip tures a nd worshipping
them man gets rid of the cl utches of d eath, attains th e highest
bliss and becomes birthless. (1-38 j

25. The Descriptj on of Samadhi

Vasishtha asked .llbusunda agai n about the very course of

lhe life·breatb, Pran "lvay u, Bousunda said ·• Sir: yo u know ~very
t biog bur ask roe Lo tt!ll you. [ obey you. please hear. Tbe life·
breath 1s of ever - movrng a nd enrywhere·5oin g, It spreads and
f1ows in, out above and below. So is the apaoa wind . To both
rn the tnree stages waking, sleeping and drea mi ng it is possible to
concrol thamselves1 fne c0miag out of tl:le 11 fo-b reatb from the
heart·cave naturally and witbout any effo rt is called Rechaka;
from tile enj of tb" no s~ to toe mi dj le of the b ead a oJ fr o m
tbere twelve in~bes dowawards the flo wing of the life-breath is
called Pooraka; with the non· blowing of the apana, the absence
of the life.breath io the mid dle o f the heart is caH:::l "kumbhaka; the
Yogis enjoy tbis. Thus the pranayama is of three kinds. Rechaka,
Pooraka and kumbbaka. From the gate of the a paoa to the middle
of the end of the n0se, a twelve inches space, this Pranayama
g oes on with noeffort whatsoever, fo this wind, the p ranayama is
happening in the outside i tsel f. fb~ ex is teace of t be apana, like
ttle unm1d ~ p;:>t iu ttle mu1, in the sky is called ba b yakumbhaka
t 1~ Nl d c.ut is a':JJ llt to blaw outside, blows or flo ws till the
end o( lhe oose; tbis process is called the fi rst outside
Pooraka; coming out from t h e en j of the nose existing in the
tw~lve· in~ h spice also is cilled b y the Yogis as Babyapooraka
Whea the life - IJre a t b b ~co'tl ~S cal n o u ts ide and before the apana
 Nirvana Prakarana 65
wind does not enter, t bis eq 11al stlt;:; is c1llcd Bahy:-kumbhaka
the unmoving apa11a's effort to move ts c lbd b ahyarecbaka;
one who enjoys this bahyarechak1, attains sa lvation, T be presence
of the apana wind is also called b1hyapooraka. one who ~ realises
t~e pranayarna inoer and outer will ave no further birth. These
are t he eight kinds of states of Pr lnaya ·na; one who practises
this day and night attains full moksha. By eonstant practice~
the winds in the body can be controUed in th ~ waking, sleeping
and dreaming stages, in coming a rid going and in every stage.
O ne who p ractises this, though eats, his mind remains objective,
never subjective. He attains salvation in a short time lea\Ting
aside the outside things. One who practi ses this; hates the sut·
ward things just as the Brahmio b ites the akin of tbe dog.
Those who p ractised this pran:icbio•a. the knowledge of the
...,., li fe-breath attained salvation. If this is pr!lctised io all . stages,
there will be no more bondage. Their mind becomes devoid
of the dirt of the physical body; tho ugh they do all deeds, they
re m1in p~aceful and eojoy hl~p i nes s. The glC>ry of the prana is its
r =sim.g fiotn th" lotus-petal of the heart t.o the twelve-ioch space
outside a nd being there calm. The glory of t he apaoa is to
rise from the t welve inch sp .L e e o f the outside and eater the
c:i ve of the heart and rem~io ca\ m t here. When the pra oa-wiod
flows in~ the twelve- inch·space, the apaoa enters in thro ugh that
p ath. The life-breath comiog out t o wards the outside sky and
fl owing. it appears as the end of a fla me.. It goes upwards.
The a paaa facing the sky of the heart, flows downwards. lt
makes tha body grow form outside in the form of the m oon:
l'he praoa wi n ::l be ing io it tbe form of the Sun or the Fire
makes thi s b ody ripe. It in the from of the Sun heats the
heart- sky and then heats the front part of tbe face. In the
form of the rv1oon, the apana make:.; the face and the heart·

(9)
66 Y oga Vasishtlza
sky contented within ha lf a minute, T be Sun, the fo rm of t he
prana devours the rays of the apana-Moon, To get at tha t
place, th e Brahmapada , th" state of the Brahman is never to be
born and never to get t he grief of birth . The Prana, wind shin ·
ing in the form of the Suo in and out of the sky, agatn
wears the joyful form of tbe Moon. The sa me again leaving it
becomes the bot Suo . Wben the Pr ana leavi ng
aside the for m of tbe Sun and ge t tin g the form of the Moon,
that is when the Yogi rea lises the non-body state, non-a ction state,
non-minded sta te, he lives in the Self with no woes o r sorrows.
Then the mil'ld rea lises tbe Sun and the Moon in the m iddle of
the heart too, rising a nd setting realising the nature o f th e Pa ra-
rnatma, tbere will be no b irth or dea t h, again. Wh o ever sees in
the middle of his heart tbe rise a nd set o f t he Su n wit h the M oon,
coming and goin g, with the greates t ! 1s tre is th e real seer; the
external darkness may or rr;ay not per ish, ooe whose in ternal
darkness of ignorance is destroyed is t be attainer of t he highest
attainment. When the external dark ness disappears, only t he exte-
rnal world is seen . With the destruc tion of t he d arkn ess of
ignorance, the heart·darkness, the Self, tbe Brah man is seen. This
Prana-Sun alone can destroy the ignorance, the hear t-darkness~
Realising him is attai niog sal\'atioo. There fore, all effor ts are
to be directed for the realisation of th is Prana-Suu 's presence.
In the cave of the heart, wher .... th e m oo n of apana sets, the Sun
of Prana rises and beco mes externali If t he apana wi nd sets, the
Prana-wiod rises. If the s hadow is off9 t here is S u nshine ; if the
Sunshine is off the shado w ap pears. Thus, when the P rana is off,
apana rises; at the p lace where apana rises, it is destroyed ; the ...
place where apaa a is boro t he Prana wind is d estroyed , The rise
of the apana wind and the fall of the Prana wind is external
kumbhaka; If this is practised, tbere is no need for sorro w. W ith
tbe exit of apana a nd the rise of a bit of Prana, it is called inner
kumbbaka, the practice of which dri ves away all so rrow. Tbe
 f-,f irvana Prakarana 67
twel ve - i nch-·~ pl..>ce where apan2
r1sf; S and the sixteen-inch. space
where t he Prana sprtaJs, mal<i·11g all Rfchaka a nd if pure kumb•
bakil is p ractised , there wi ll be no s1rrovys. One who sees the
~· apana entering fro m the end of the nose and the en trance of the
Prana ia the body ~ill not be born again. Both Prana a nd apana
dissolve in therus~lves and make 0 1 .e rest in p~ace and Self.
This is tbe sorro wkss state. Whea the apaoa tries to d evour
Praoa, wh en one realises that the time and place are no thing
b u t tbe Chic, there will no more be sorrows. A lso when the indi..
visib ility o f time and plac!, either in or out is realised tbere
will be oo more sorrow. W hen Prana and apaaa are m utually
get themselves dissolved, time and p lace also get themselves diss"
olved Wh~:i rhe Prana sets and whe-1 t e apana is not yet risen,
the yogis call it effortless external kumbbaka. The inner kumbhaka
1' attained without effort is called the Paramapad a. That is the
real form of Self, the highest, the absolutely p ure Cha ita ny a. Like
rbe fragrance in flow~r , the Chid at m a is in Prana; it is not
Pra na; it is not Apaoa. Such C h idat cna is to be wor shipped.
We worship the Chid atma, that which is not either with life,
or witho ut lifo tha (l ies io apana j ust as taste is in water. We worship
t he Chidat ma, nearer to the d issol utiGa of Pra na, far away from
apan j, and in bttween Praoa ancd Apan a~ We worship the
C hidatrnan) Ji fl! to life·wind, great Hfe, the best and the fi rst among
tbe body-holding b ...1ngs. We worship the; C bi datmaa, the m auaaa
of lhe mind, the inti;Hl genct: of the in tellect a.nd the ego-cause
of ,.. goism. We wocship the Cb1datman, fr om whom all com es
out, in whotn a il shines, und who as 3.ll this shines, W Q w or~
shi p the Chldatman, lbe light of all ligbts, the purest of the p u re
the most good of all good thmgs that which in spite of ..having the
idea of mi nd, i aLeHect etc is uever dept iv d of its origin al nat ure.
We worship the rea lity of the C hit, in whom the Prana does not
rise with t he ex l~ o f apana ;.. ud tLal wlw.• IJ is spotless, We worship
~be Chtdat mau, tbat p r :va1 ls iu lb~ ~ky uf th <.: cud 0 f the nose
68 Y oga Vasishtlia
when apanl d oes not rise and Prana does not set, We worshi p
the Cbili atmaa. in w hom Pr.ina a nd Apana set and never rise
again . We worship the C h id t man, t he p lace o f bi rth of t be inner
and t JC outer Prana aod ap:.rna, the goal of the Y ngis and the
o rigin of i ts birth . W e wor3 11ip t h ., C bidatm1n, the ch arioteer of
Prana, Apana, who ap pear - as the po wer of Prana a nd Apana
d ivided, aud the all- mighty. \Ve worship the chidat man, t h!it is
called Pranavciyuku ,nbbaka in the heart , externally Apanavayu ..
kumbbak a and chat wh ich ch anges wit h the idea of p oo raka e tc .
We worship the C hidatmaot who is the sender of Pra na and
A pana, t he tea c her of its existence, tbe object of praoopas ana
tbe formless: We worship the Cbida rma n, tilt cause o f the
movement o f the Pr a na, the c..: ause of the toucb of the sense- objects,
the cause of the bliss of objc:!cts and t he cause of a ll causes.
I lie prostrate at the feet o f the Para matma, in who m
in reality there is a bsolutely no i d e a of blemisb,of a ny
division, whom all the creations take as prop, whose experien"
ce is only that of the Self, that worshi pf l god of a ll gods a nd
the first and the best of all. (I-75)

26.. The cause for the greatest longevity

By the pract ice of Pranayama, I attained lbis peace of m ind

and took rest in the pure fo rm "f the At man. By th i s~ I will
not be shuken even when t he Meru M ountain shakes, eveo for
a sec~o d. The con tem platio n on the Atm3a, Atma Sa madbi ia
quite und isturbed, sitti ng, walki ng, waking or sleeping; even in
dreams, it is aot dis t ur b ...d. Evea permanent or traasie'lt, likes
or dislikes_, joys or sorrows fall upo n me, I remain in the Sel(
very pure and inner- minded . Le t the win d be con trolled or no t;
let the great flow oi the co urse of t he river is stopped o r cont inu.
ed, none can d ist urb my s tate o f contemplation ; I do oat remembe r
any occasion whe n it is disturb ed. Following the co u rse of Prana-
 N r vana Prakara11a 69
p anas, I saw the Part•rnatma, I attainLd tbe stste cf the s - rrowless
.E teroit y. I bavr bl.ell u bsen iag eve:- si nee the Deluge, the people
sub merged aod subrnerg_d und.:!r the Wiiters of the river of time;
l have been obs~ r vin g very cou rageously . I never feel sorry for
what already haopcned or for what is dtstL1ed to be d~>ne to me.
I remain in the pr~s~~nt st :lte of the pr.~s.:nt c:s witness and keep on
staying in tbe Brahman. L !aviog a side the dt:sirt for the fru it of
my actions, doing things as th.:-y fall upon m~ ori their ow1 acc ard
wi bou t any a~tacbm~n t IiI-·e a. sleeping m!ln, I shine in my real ooly
uature. Realisi ng tbat tile w0rry of like s and d islikes as hateful, I
remain in the Self; nenc~ I b!Catnd the Joag .. lived, happy and heal-
thy. Followia g the Par .! B1 ahman, evident at th~ time of the apana
<loes not ri se aaJ Praua does nat set, I r.;;rnain in the Self contented
•
b enc~ ! b.;oam~ tb~ lo.lg-lived, happy a fld heallby. tThi s I achieved:
tbhs I will achieve in the nt:ar rut ure' - f. have no such tho11ght~ ; hen.'
ce I became the loog•lived, happy and healthy. I will never praise
o r b lame an y thing lo any ex,ent whetber of mine or oth::rs; hence.
I am in this h.ppy auspicious s tat~~ My .niad bas no over .. joy
w ~ t.n a good thing occurs; ll will not be OV.'.lr•sorrowful when a bad
thing occurs; it looks at every happen jng cool and calm ; henc~, I am
in this happy state. F ollowrng the princtplc of renunciation, I rea .
ounced ev::.ry thing ever, including the fear of death. hence,, I am
in tbis happy state. My mind ac hieved the state of equalit y and
e quani mity, sorrowlessaess and desire!~ssn~ss; hence, l am i this
bappy an d healthy s tat~ . Like th ~ ~ky , I look :it wilh equal poi-
se th·~ piece o f 8tick aad the beautiful lady, the mouo tain and a
piece o f straw, fire as wail as IC-'. H i!nc:, , I arn iu this h· p~y
aad he~.tby stQL.: . Wnat have I do ne to-day ? What is it lhat l sh·
ould do to-morro w' - such lhoug'lt·fover, l have none;:; hence, I am
happy and hca\tby. Sorrows lil<e o ld ag ~, del th loss etc, joys
at the gai of kingdoms etc do not give me w0e or worry; h ence
1 am happy and h~.tl t by. l nev:r lbmk that this is my friend
this &s my eacmy; be is different from me; benc(», i am happy and
70 Y oga V asishtha
b~altby, with loog kngevity. All that appears as of innumera ble..,
f.>rms and th~.: cause for alJ its glory is myself; havi ng re list;d tbifr
henc ..·, I am happy and healthy with long Ii fo. I have no attacb -
·"
ID':nt witb my body, eating, walking, risiog, slecpiug de; ht!nce, I
became the lon g·livt:d. As on·~ in sou11d sleep sta~e, I feel the sam•
sara., tbt:: b~ginn i r1 g of action as non-ex istent ; hence I am in this
happ y hea l t by s tate. I feel the good and the bad as they come on
their o wn a ccord when tbe1r t i m~ comes as the two hands o f my
body ; h ence I live hap py and bealthy, with lo ng l'fe, I became
loug ~ l ived an d happy, beaHby, because I alw<' ys maintain the fir··
mness of coutage that d oes not f " H fro m the real state of th e
Self, fr iendly nature, the rcsu t of look ing at all b e10gs as the Self
atJ d aJJ as equal. Hen ce I became ha ppy,. healthy Jong - livi::d. i
bE ve no attachment with my bod y from hea d to foot even a bit
a t any t ime; thus I was hed off tbe dirt o f my egoism; hen ce, I am
ha ppy, healthy and loog - lived. Whatever I do, wbatevel' I enjoy
nr experience, I sha ll do it w ith no attachment, Though bodily I
do every thing , mv min d is al ways not - doing. Wh~ teve r new I
realise or ~cbieve my mi nd does oot feel proud at all; hence, I am
happy. healt by and long-li ved, Though I have the capaci ty. I do not
insult o t he rs ;I do n o t fed sony e ve n i f others insult me11 Tho ugh poor,
I desire nothing; hence I a m healthy,happy aod long- lived, T ho ugh lam
io the b ody a p peari ng as full with li fe, I a eve r see t h e C h td at m an ia
all bei ngs; be.nee I a m even-mi nded, eq uaJ· mi aded. So, I am a
long· lived h app y o ue. Being a lw.:i.ys on th e alert, I ne ver gav~
scope to che ropes o f d esi res and t he d esic o us na turn to e nter my
m md. Hence, fa m hap py and healt hy, o.f great longevi ty. At t be e,ae·
rua l tbings,l look as in so u nd slee p a nd am always conscio u s of their
utte r t rci osiea ce a nd uselessnes. 1 am a lways alert aod conscious o f tbe
Sei f aod s ~e iis power aJway s a nd ia fuH; hence (am always healthy.
ha p py aaJ lo ng-live d, I alwa ys see the worJ d ~ s r uined, re j uced, tor n ,
to p i ~cc. s confused a od reduced to noth ing; h e nce I am ha ppy,
Nirvana Prakarana 71

healthy and of loog~life. I fee l the trc !.lbles and sorrows of others
1

as of mine; he~ce I feel sorry for them.; I am the dear friend of all;
h,. oce I am hap p y~ bea lfhy ar.d la.J g- i v..'. d. At the time of perils
I stand firm like a rod"; l am th~ fri!'!nd :.)f the world. I d o not feel
sorry or happy at the disproportion of riches and !!Cverty; Hence I
am Iong·livcd, happy and healthy. I alway '! feel that I am not
I am; I have none to be· ca lltd mine; I do not bdoo g to any
body; hence 1 am bale, heall Jy, happy and long-lived. 'Jam the wot-
lc'. ; 1 am tbe sky d ividi ng place and ti me'' with this egoism io my
miod, J am happy, health y with long life. I :cil ways f.-:el that the pot
is Ch it; ·~he cloth is Chit; the sky is C hit; the for~st is Chit; hence
I am happy, healthy wi th long life, Th us, Jam the blaclcbee of the
lotus of the three worlds, the looJ-liV.::d Bhusunda Crow, ~s people
cail me~

The three-'vJorld· group is just a wave in the oce~n of the Brar a

man.In it , I am being born and grown. Their attacks and co unter-
attack~ are very peculiar; they are born and they are disso~ved. Tbis
three~ world· group is being born in the wi ness- like mind and intellect
1n t be fo rm of drisya. ( 1.. 40)

27 · The end of the story of Bhusunda

Qh the great knower of the Self, by yo ur order I narrated the
story how I became long·lived."
Vasishtha :·Oh Bbusunda Bbagavan, you have given me the
story of the Self, very happy to bear and wonderful a nd sweet to
taste. You art: a gn~at soul, loog-li vcd aod like the second Brahma,,
':..hose vv·ho si...e you _,re lu;ky; their sigh t is boly. You gave the sancli..
fyi ng story of your S~if in full . l rou nded l h t! ent ire world :sa. w t he
richness of the gods; the scholarship of the learned, but never came
a cross any as great a p rac tical philosophe r as yourself. If the whole
world is rounded up, one may se~ o oe or two great men, but none
caa see great o n~ s like you. A11 bamboos will not yield pearls but
7-;_ Yoga V asishtha

j !.lSt one in lhL1us.,ndJ; one can not come across people like y ou every
w her , ; 1rnly one at o nly o ne plac:~ can b~ fou'1d. T o see you, a
r e:l lised lib _ r$)t~i soul is ac hievin cr a great thin g by me. May yo u
~ ~

be haµpy ; I Sba\l go t o the world of tbe Se11en sages and perfo rm

my d uties of the noon: ·
Bbusunda stood uo ani ~ot th~ b a nds as p::r his d esire; he
prick ed the g0 Idea . pr"uts fro m tlie tree. made a c u p of t hem;
fill ed it wi th frost- w~ite-flower-fi l a ment s r.md pearls and c reated
arghya. with the aruhya he worsh ipped me as he w...,rsbipped lord Siva
with dee p devotion; h idd ing goC'dbye and asking him not to follo w
me. I flew up to the sky l'ke a b ird, He followed me to a d i~ tanc! o f
o n e yojanl\ . I took h is hand irito m ine :;in d requested h im•not to come
furth~r ;l tbeo disap peared; Bhu unda turned back lt is very d iffi c ult
to par t with th~ hol y wise. W e both dis11 Jp eared like wavfs in t he
ocean, I reached the place of the Se v ~n sa g~s think ing of Bhus1md:i.
M y w ife Aru ndbati received rnc with worship ful devot ioa; I saw
Bhusunda io the Kritayug11 a fter two hundred yea rs pa s~ ed . T b is is
Tr .. tayuga, Yo u are born in the midd le of t h is Y ug~ . eigh t years
b -ck. I saw in the same bill, on the sa me tree, the age- unaffected
Bhusuoda. I gave you tbis s tor y of Bhusuad a, very peculiar· You
heard. Understand aright aod d o a ccord· ngl y .'., The w ise wh o inter·
pret the s rory of Bb usu oda aright a nd realise tbe t ruth w ill cross
over the ri ver o f iiiusioa, with t he fl oods of births a nd deaths aad
the ir fea r with all qui ckness, (l-2 1)

28 . The Highest Yoga of Salvation

' ' R ama, this is t he story of Bbusu11da, Like him yo u also bY

means of the pract ice of P rana yama , cro:is o ver the oc\'!an o f sam-
s.1ra. By constan t practice of Juan a and Yoga like Bhu:;iund a, you
also att a in and stay in th Param apada, which can be attaiaed by
t ilob who practise Praoap an.inirc d ha with detached ruind . Yo u have
N irvana Prak arana 73

Just now heard t he two methods of Prananirojha and Joana. po ..

llow the me t ho d you like.

Sri Rama•: "Revered Sir, You are the Sun on Earth. By the
rays of your joana , t be igno r ance of my hear t, that covered the real
form of the Atman vanished completely. 1 am fully aw ~kened,
contented and entered the real form of Self wbicb I realised. I a m
like another Vasisb t ha of great wisdom. While giving the story
of Bbusunda, you spoke of the body · house, buHt by flesh, bones
and the skin. Who built that house ? Wherefrom did it come ?
How is it in existence ?

Sri Vasi sbth a :- To understand aright the reality of the

Truth and to drive a w& y defects, this is useful. H ear anentive ' y
th-· body .. b0use, with the p illars of bones, pasted with the flesh and
blood is not constr ucted by any body. The body-house is as good
as the reflect ion o f the Moon in water. For the reflectioa of the
Moon fa\lin5 in water none is req uired; The body, like the re ..
flect f. d Mooo io water ap pears in the f orm of sat a s well as asat
Really there is only one Moon& but at t be tim e o f the delusion of
the appearance of two Moons there are two Moons; thus, really
there is no bod y, but a t the time o f delusion there is the body;
hence it is said that it is sat as well as asat, The dream is fal se,
but at t he ti m t: of d r~a ming, it app ears to be true. The bubble
is not di fferent from wa ter, but it is true io the form of bubble
but false in the form of wa ter. From the point of view of the
b0dy , it is true; from the point of view o f tbe Self, it is fal se. At
the time of de 7usion there is water in the desert sa ods, but the
truth is otherwise, Hence the water is called sat as well as asat.
Tbe body is born there is the thought of ' ·J am the bo~y". Hence,
the body-house full of flesh, bones aad blood is really a delusion.

UO )
74 Yoga V asishtha

Leave aside the delus ion of the body; only by imagini ag th at you
are the body, you are having thousands ~f bod re~. Of them which
body will you U' ke ? When you lie down on tbe soft bed, you
.,
drea m of w andering in the quarters. Where is tha t wanderi::lg
drea m - body ? Even when you are awake, you i m agine th at you
are in h ea ven or in the Meru. Where is that !m1ginary body ?
l a a dream, you dream aootber dr ra m in wh ich you ro a rn on
earth. Where is that hody ? In th ,~ i m aginary world, you imagine
a no ther world 1 in which you had en joyed p leasu re . Where is that
body ? In your imagination, you enjoyed a bea u ti f ul lady tn

coation. vVhere 1s that body ? All the se boJies are Ihe i mi\gi na-
tions of the mind and he nce fa lse. So t b is body of f lesh, blood
and bones <dso take it as imigi nar y. R iches, bodies1 countr ies etc
are <be imaginations of the mind. Take t h is world as a long
dream , or long delusion of the m ind or a long imagin ary king-
dom The truth of my words you will reali':le wh en yclu llttain
full knowledge just as ever y thiog ap pears clear a s t be Sun rise:s.
At the tim ~. of dream. this world app ~ ars to be false; at the time
of tbe 1 ealisation of the Brah ma n, foir, wor Id appea rs to b~; fals e' ,
I told you previously the origin of the !otus-boro, Brahma. Then
I told you that the mind fuli of imaginations of creations began
the creation of this very peculiar world. Thus, the body also is
th ~ delusion of the mind. J11st as Brahma is the cre at ion of the
mind, ar the end of the previous body, another body is created7
all the o ther bodies also are only creations, false. With the increase
of vasanas , this body is formed, The body or the grea t samka ~ pa

in ihe form of the world, by self-effort, makes the mind turn in-
side and t ries to show tbe Atman or the Self, then all appears as
Chinmatra: if it is thoug ht otherwise it becomes otherwise. If t his
thinks that this is I, that is mine, this is samsara, etc, by t he
power o f thought or imagi n ation~ they appear to b e true. The idea
that which is strong, appears to be true. By strongly imagining
one thing seriously, it alone appears, just as his lad y·love alone
 Nirvana Prakarana 75

appears always to the ardent lover. Iri a dream at night, the day's
actions appear as true by imagining them, By the power and force
of imagination, the sarnsara appears to be true. la the dream,
a soon passing moment appears as a day;by imagining, the momen-
taq1 samsara becomes very Ion g, and eternal true also. At the
time of bot Sunshine, does not water appear in deser t sands ?
Thus, the false earth alao appears to be true by th e power of
samkalpa. As per the defect of the eye, in the sky appears
peculiar colours like the featbeI-bunch of the peacock, the goddess
of the world appears due to ignorance. One wit h good sight
never sees colours like ·the feather-bunch of the peacock. Thus,
to the eye of the realise soul, the world does not appear. The
coward is afraid of the ima ginary or the dream tigers, lions etc.
but the jnani 1s never afraid of the samsara which is only imagi-
nary. All that appears is the only Brahman in all fur ms, Then
who is afraid of wborn ? Drive away the ignorJnce of the fool;
be becomes pure wi th detachment; be will never see the world
again, With the realisation) t he delusion of the mind vanishes,
never to be seeu agaia , just as gold will never become copper.
The wbole world is all false; this is n~ itb e r sat nor asat, kraow-
iug this, leaving aside other false creations is the Real Sc::eiog. It
is the real seeing that realtsatio ri t hat life, dedlth, heaven uod hell,
knowledge and ignorance are all fal se; J, You, the whole samsara
the quarters etc a re all delusion-this is the only true perspective~
The mind can find out the truth in rbis sat, asat sa msara. If
one gets this true pe spec ive, the mind will never deviate from
!t. the path of k now ledge; by th is the mind realises the t:outb of the
sat as well as the asat, becomes desire less aLd f ul! of Peace. Then
it will neither praise nor blame; be neither hap py nor unhappy . This
seeing the Reality makes one happy devoid of the three kinds of
tapas, worries and finding out the ultimate reality. When death
as inevitable to each and every one of tbe reiatives, the death of
any relative is not a matter of sorrow. Every one who is born
 76
Yo ga Vas ishtha
enjoys happiness to so e extent; then it is no matter
for joy.
When it is inevitable. t he ti me of death is a matter for concern.
Every one has his own dangers and joys; tbey come aod

wiJl nev ~ r go from bis miod. The samsara is never bo rn from

his mind, wbicb has no woe or worry, but only peace and tran- --
quillir y. The sagr. who ascended to the heigh ts of the Bre&h ma-
bbava, the idea of tbe Brahman, leaving aside th e external physi-
cal idea rests only in the Brahman. T he Tirtiri bird to build its
nest brings only soft grass - pieees; the knowe r o f tbe Sel f will a 1ways
have the idea of the Brah man rejecting the essencel e~snt ss of
sarnsano, in which he bas ao interest or curi o ~ity as be never
believes in it, too much of en gr ossmen t or interest -is the cause
for destruction. Just as tbe ox is tied by a Jong & ~ron g ro pe. maa
is bound by the rope of over-interest. R ealise this in tellectuiilly,
have no over-interest. With pure heart I a ve both interest as wel!
as disinterest; do your duty; never do that which is not your duty.
To one who realised lbat the world is false will become c ::d m like
the world io the evening. Leave aside the temptation for the
objects of the world as tbey ar e all false, a creation of the mioda
Then you will shine as the eternal Chidak asa, th<!: ~ 11-spreading,
devoid of all, ever eternal. W hen you come to the strong concJu ..
sico tba t you a re not t he ego and the pleasures of the world are
not true you will not be affected by t he vain show of the worlds
or the dangerous delusions. Y o u may think tb;..1 t you are the form
 Nirvana Prakarana 77
of the Chit, the all-inclusive.Both these aspects are good to the
good. Follow either o f the two paths as per your likiog, Or
, leaving aside both , giving up d esir and hatred, live in the world,
You can obtain any thing at any time either in heaven or earth
by giving up passion and batred, likes or dislikes. What one does
wi th attachment and anger makes him a foo l and gives bim bad
results. T b a deer will not step in the place that js bu rnt by wild-
fire; in the mi nd that is polluted by passion and anger, no other
virtue enters. He is a Kalpavriksha in whose mind· hole,, the
serpent of pass ion a nd aa ger wi ll not en ter or · lie hidden. He
bestows every thing desired by every ooe. Fie upon those who
n re clever, courageous, vir uons and sch olars but pol luted with
passion and anger. They are equal to foxes. It 1s very mean to
think that ' M y pro perty is no w being enjoyed by ot hers; I could
not get from o thers my d ue. ' Properties, riches, friends, re h1 tives
e tc are things that co me and go, never stationary. It is the j]lu-··
sion t b at creates likes and disH kes; there is no meaning in having
attachment or detachment for them ; To be neutral is always betttr.
It is thi s ill usion th at creates samsa.ra aod throws in it men of lust
likes and dislikes. The power of men a n d mo ney are false, not real .
In reality, ooly the A•mao is real, true, eternal. ln the beginning
and end , the WC" rld is false. ho w can it be true in th e middle ?
I f one takes interest in one that is mean and wretched in the begi·
nning, middle aud the end, it gives bi m on ly mental torture . W b<J
will be interes ed io the tree created i.-i the sky by some oue else?
One crea ted a beauti ful lady in the sky; another came a nd eojoyc:d
her -. tile creation of sarnsarn i~ sue~ . Do _uot fall in the great delum
ti lOil. This sa msara with inuu m~r a ble beings is causing worry only
to fools a nd tbe iguoraot. T 11e wise lo ok at it as a town of the
Gandharvas uorei:al and false. Its rise like the to wn in a dream is
false. The samsara you see is a tree or town seen in a long dream
It appears if one is immersed in the sle:!p o f ignorance. The worlu
•
is a iong dre'l m appearing everywhere. You are in the sound sleep
78 Yoga V asishtha
of ignorance and you are se~ i n g tbe samsa ra · - ill usicn. Possessing
t he goddess of riches, one reno uac s th ~ goddess o f poverty; thus9
you leave a id e this l o o~ drt)a of ignorance . Be awakened like
the morning lo t us; rben you will see tbe At man - Sun, who bas
a lways rise b ut no se t, uoohstructc::l and the only C~.it . Ra ma.
awake, arise; I a m even rousing you, get awakened , observe the su ri
of the Self; I am pourin g fo rth upon ·ou the ram of knowled ge in
sweet words. Awake, arise, attain lhe liighcst knowled~ ; see 1he
reality; the re'l l fo rm o f the s~lf, the true form o f self; give up
the false illusion of the world: Real ly, yo u have no birth,
sorrow, defect, illusion. Leave a ll de lusinns; establish you rsd ..
in the Atm an. All th e ide1 s o f your ignorance are now destro yed.
You attai ned the essence, th~ uadist urb d keeo sight; like an un ·
distu rbed sleeper, you are happy. Be ever pure and ever b e in the
Brah man.' ' ( 1-94)

29. The w orld is nothing but the full Paramatman

Ra ma hear ing Vasi sbt ba b came very p ::nc~ ful e nj nyed the
h ighest b!iss. All people prese nt there attdin~d trauquillity. J us t
as clouds fill tbe fi elds wi th water and stop .. iutnJ, Va sisht ha rain ..
iog tbe nectar of ~p iri l ual exhortati on stoµ p d for a whi le. Ramd. was
awaken ed from h is immersion in bliss. T hen V<1s ishtha again bega u
his speech aad saij ' Rama. Yo u are well· cxhor 1cd; you realised
t he Self; maintai n that stand firw ly; never devid.Ce fro m t his and
fall i a th e ahyss of samura. To t h.., wb~i! l of s ·trnsua~ the axil is
samkalp 3; if i t is p r e ve a ted Fro m t u roiog, th~ wheel stops itself.
W ith a ll the force a t yu ur c JmmJ1ld, the force of self·effo rt and the
ri ght io terpretatios of the Sastrc!s stop tbe mind f irst. Reject the
fool's notion o f Go d; use t he ~ ce of sel f - efforr. Th-it whicb is
n ot possible b y any thiug e i"l~ is P 'H~ i b l~ by self - eff0 rt. Like
the tur n ing of t he wheel, the form o f ig oiance the world that
is asa t is a ppeari ng like sat. Tbc cau5-s fo the increase of igno-
ra nce and illusio .1 arc: the worU and the bo dy~ they rise fro m s ~ m -
 ,,
Nirvana Prakarana 7;I

ka1pa and roam; lt is th is sam('llp:l that creates the va saaas of

·'1 bjects and becomes t be cause for rebirth s~ So, the wise sho uld
not thi nk of the joy or sorrow. T his body is more wretched than
the body painted in a picture, The pain ted m51n has no samkal pa
wh ereas the living m1n h s; tlie f dCe of the living man fades
away in sorrow; drop'i'I tears; the form of tbe man in the picture
is permanent, but not the body o f the liviog man. The death of
the living man is unavoidable; his body becomes perished reduced by
wots and worrit::s, dread and diseases; becomes pale by tears. Tbe paio·
ted bod _,· gets spoiled if some on" spoils it; b ut the living man's
body spoils itself. The beauty of tbe painted man does not dimia
nisb but that of the living man fades away. The body of flesh
and blood, the physical body is destroyed in spite of our best
efforts to keep it beautift.l. Hence ·r sai the physical body is
worse tllan the painted body in a picture. The merits of th~
painted man are not found ia th.. liviug man. Tb us tbe physical
body is wor.se than tha painted body io a pic ture. T heo why does
ma a keep f aitb in the living body? The body of flesh and blood
is wo rse tban the body in a dre"m. As the dream body is mome·
ntary, it does not experience the sorrows of the li ving body, which
is tro ubled b y deep long sorrows, T he im agi nary body also iS
mo rneotary; th e hys ical body is false in reali ty; only fools reap
sorro ws from then' belief rn it. J ust as the picture-painted body'
t hough torn, or wounded remains unharmeG th!! imagillary body
of a man though spoi led, there 1s no barm. The imaginary king-
d om tboi.igh lost. t he second illusiory Moon though sel, the effort
in a dream cboagh spoiled, t he w a t r in the mirage though poll
uted, there is no harm. In the same way, there is absolutely no
harm even if the imaginary, qu it e dessLructibl e by oalure, machine
of the humao body perishes. Rama, eveu if the physical body is
praised or blamed. th~re is no ht.rm to the Se lf. The Self will
never be shake ev<=;n if this body is harmed ; it will never
become lost, or mutilated. i f the bcdy is destroyed. none is
 80 . ,, h a
Y oga Vasis.1t

destroyed. When ooe g~ts in a seat in the turaing-w eel mechan-

ism, be feels that the quarters are t urning ro und, the reason
being the turning of t b~ wheal; th us, if one possessei a h igh r
degree of fal se-k nowleJ ge and gets up into the whe '!l-se~t finds,
the machines o f the b.Jd ies everywh~re. Then he realises that the
wheel of the body tu rns if turned , falls when it is tb ro wa fr ,1 m
above, gets d es troyed when it is estroyed. With courage thi s il-
lusion should be dr iven away; The b uilder of the bod y is sarnk-
alpa1 T hough it is fa lse, it appears to be real by fals e k no wled-
ge. \Vbe n the doer himself is false, ho w can the deed be tr ue ?
Like th e creati on o f the ~er pent jn a rope, the o d gi o f t he body
also is fal~e . Thouoh the hody is false, it shows th ~ acti as of t he
world as not false b ut true. The a c tions of the inanimate b o dy can
no t be called true. At the t ime of illus ion, the body a p pears a bi t
doing, it is no t the subject, Desire is the cause of doing; i t 1s
im possible fo r the inani mate body to have desi re. The changeless
-
At ma also can not have de ire. T herefo re, there is no creator for
th e world. The At mao is on ly the witness or the on looker. Tbe
lamp that is u.o t moved by wind st nds as the onlooker or the
wi tness a nd rbe Jig ht spreads d ispell iflg d arkness. The Sun rernaio-
io ~ in t he sky makes t he world attend to its duties1 In the same
way. like the Su o, r emain as only ios trnroe nta l, q ui te· unattached,
Perform the d utiec; t hcit fall upoC1 you. The body-house is fa isd
and empty; it ap pea rs as rrue l ike the ghost created by t he mind
of the boy, We do a o t know how the ghos t of ego ca me and
occupi ed tbis body-h o use . Do not fall a prey to thi s ghost
because those who fall as vict ims to this ghost will go to heJJ.
Afraid of the mind -ghos t that entered the body-house_ t ven great
men, took recoures to samadb i to esca pe fro m its clutches. One
wbo is able to drive awa y the mind-gb ost fro m the body·bouse,
t ho ugh Jiving in t bc vaccum bod y-town, witl not be afr aid of. It
is real ly a grea t wonder hew p;!ople livi ng in this body-house for
long kaowi og full well that suco houses in t housands .were dest royed
Nirv::ina Prakarana 81

previously still cling to it attached a'ld aimless; they still mistake

tbe body to the Atman. Why and how we do not know . Those who
die in tbe body·house occupied by the mind·gbost become gbost-
minded. He who believes and lives in this ghost-house also is a
ghost himself. Tbe body-house is quite traosient. Rama, completely
give up or get rid of the flow of ego in toto, ·follow the foprt-o
ints of the Atman. Tbose who want to fall a prey to the ego·gbost
and go to bell, will have no friends or relatives . Wb~tever is done
with egoism, like the poisonous creeper is deadly. A fool who cek-
brates bis egoism having no discrimination and dispais3on is a fool
who lost every thing. Those who fall a prey to ego-devil are pitiable
creatures, the drv fuel to the fire of hell; they will be unhappy here,
there and everywhere, The tree in the hole of whicb the ego-serpeot
bissiog emits poison fall~ down to the earth quick. Let the ego··
devil be are be not in the body; do not look at it even with you c.
mind. If you just ignore its presence and have nothing to do with
it caring a jot for it, it will not do any thing harmful. Even though .
tbe mind-devil is in the body-house, the ever· flourishing Atman
Joses nothing. To count the dangers faced by the mind·devil-body ...
holders always even hundred years are insufficient. "Alas, I am dead;
alas,, I am burnt" such cries as these are the cries of sorrow of tbe
ego-devil·predominating• souls and not others. The sky tl~ough all-
spreading bas nothing to do with any body or any thing; the Atman
has nothing to do with the ego. The inanimate, disease-roped-body.
mechanism can not do any thing on its own accord; what it does is
the action of the ego and its effort. The Atman is devoid of actions;
it does not do any thingt To say that it is the cause of actions is
to say that the sky is the cause for the birth of the tree. By being
near the lamp,, the wall shines; by being near the Atman, the mind
shines, There is absolutely no relationship between the Atman and
the mind, chitta; like the earth and the sky they are different, the
one is the form of Chit and the othel' is that of the inanimate. The
(11)
 82 Yoga Vasishtha
fools are deluded by thinking the mind as the At'Uao simply because
the mind is surrourided by the power of tbe Atman that exbibits
the fickle power of movement. You are th~ all-knower, the Atman.
Drive a way the delusion of your mind. How is it that you have,
fallen into it ? The mind-devil living in tbe body-house, a vaccum
can not toucb the Atman but silently thinks that it has touched it.
Rama, leave aside the mind-devil the cause of samsara,, the stealer
of courage and the quite inauspicious and become the restful your-
self and shine resplendent. No body. the right perspective of the
Sastras the exhortation of a great Guru,, the kith and the kin or
auy body else can save one who is under the grips of the miod-
devil. With the destruction of the mind-devil, one may be sav{'d
by the exhortation of the Guru, the right perspective of the sast.-a
or" the be-lp of tbe kith and the kin just as the deer may eas1 J y
be lifted up whea it is stuck · io the: slight mud of a small lake.
The miodiiid..!vil roaming over the empty town call~d the world
destroyed completely the body· house. Who is thare not afraid of
the mind-devil, who made the empty forest of world waicb is
· n<>' otbor than the only body its dwelling place ? In the to w-n
of the world, there are just a few houses worth . living for the
wise which are devoid of the mind .. dcsvil. Rama, all the quar·
ters which you see are full with mad devils living in body-burial
grounds~ In the forest of the world the Atman like a foolish bey
is immersed in illusion of passion. 'fihis can be lifted up aod
saved only by courageous self-effort. In the empty forest of th~
world the deer called the mind - devils roam in search of. aod
being very fond of the grass of sense - objects. Do not be one
of tbe deer yourself and be mad after tho grass of sense• plea-
sures. In the forest of the e.uth innumerable young deer roam
for sense-pleasures; let them; you be a lion killing and eating
tbe elephant of ignorance· Never become oae with the men
beasts roaming in thcs forest of the island of Jambu, Do not
immerse yourself io the 'U 1 j of k itn and kin like the buffalo
 Nirvana Prakarana 83
in the pool of wet mud, which will b ~ cool rJnly for a while
but the mud will stick op to your body caasing grief. The
worldly pleasures are too many; give up them all. Follow the
path of the wise and the saintly; think of the greatest gain; stick
up to the Atman; be im the Atman only, Never immerse your
self in the pleasures of the flesh; they are unholy, wretched.
useless and fatal; there is the chainta-chandi, woe-devi I lurking
to devour you. Oae fool (samkaJpa) created this body; another
fool (ego) lives in it; still another fool (the mind) weeps in it;
yet still another fool (the ignorant) eojoys it • thus this is a
wheel of fools.

The Story of Sivapooja, worship of · Siva.

Hardness is the form of the stone; there is no other form
to it; thus, the Atman has only the form of power and no other
form it has. The enjoyment of happiness and woe can not be
to the Atman. The stoneness of the stone, the potness of the
pot are nCJt different from their power. Thus, the mind is not
different from the Atman. Once lord Siva, the moon-crowned~
. sitting once in olden times in the cave of Kailasa told m6 this
to drive away the serrow of samsara from me. I shall teli
you a not her method of knowing the Self; please , hear. Above
heaven, there is the Kailasa mountain, It shines resplendent like
the flood of the rays of the moon; it is the recreation- place for
Gouri, the consort of Sivaa There lived Mahadeva, the half.. moon-
crowo e d.On ~e I went there to worship Siva. I built a hermitage
near the Ganges and began to worship Siva. Leading the life of
a reel use, I was there for some time; the Siddhas used to come
and surround me; I used to learn the meaning of Sastras from
thetll. I got a bowl to gather flowers. Days passed by. It was
the month of Sravana; the second quarter; the eighth day; it
was night; the quarters were silent; there was no movem~nt of
animals; as a matter of fact, no movement of aoy thing at all.
84 Yo ga Vasishtha
ibe thick darkness could be cut into piec~s by tbe sword. Half
of the first quarter of night passed by. I came out of my samadh i
and looked at the external nature. Suddenly, a flood of light
'r
surrounded tbe forest. It was like a white cloud. thick moon-
shine tbat made the quarters very bright. The thick-dark forest
shone bright. With wonder I looked around with an eye of
knowledge. I saw lord Siva, catching bold of the hand of
Parv~ti proceeding towards me ; Nanuli was showing the way.
I carefully stood up, making my disciples oouseious, took the bowl
of argb.ya in my band, became holy by bis sight, being joyful
stood before him. From a distance, I offered the argbya afler
offering my handful of flowers. I saluted and lay prostrate at
his feet. with a cool [ook be made my miod cool.He sat on a
happy seat of flowers; I offered arghya again aod worshipped
bis feet with the mandara flowers . J worshipped bim with pra·
ises. salutations as per the scriptural commandments. I also wor::> hi-
pped Gouri along with the galaxy of Matrukas and her lady-at ten
dants. in the same way. My mind became cool and tranquil hke
that of the full Moon.He spoke to me wit h cool merciful looks
thus "Ob Brabmao, the knower of t be Self, is the bent of yo ur
mind becoming calm resting in the Paramapada auspicious? Does
your penance cause you aulipiciousness witbou t aoy hindrance and
give you repo1e in the Seif ? Are you rid of the fear ?'' I humbly
replied to bim thus. "For those who icnm ~rs e in remembering you
and your auspicious deeds, there is o'ltbing which they
can not acquire; there is no fear of any kind to them .
There . is no being in the three worlds that does not
bow down at the feet of those who dance with joy absorbed
in remembering you and pra1s10g you. The place where
the people, immerse themselves in remembering you is the glorious
place the country the glorious country and the .village the glorious
village. The glory of remembuiog you is the fruit of the glorious
past good, the increaser of the present good deeds and the gro-
).Virvana Prakarana 85
wer of the future seed of joy and happiness. Your remembrance
is the tumbler of the nectar of knowledge; tbe Moon is the 'moo-
nshine of courage; the gate keeper of the town of salvation, By
the power of the touchstone of your remembrance, I got rid of
all the dangers that threateaed to devour me.'' So saying I saluted
to him aod said again; 'Ob Lord, by your grace, the duarters are
full to mr , I have no desire for any thing, But, I have a doubt.
\Vill you kindly clarify it ? What is the real form of the worshio
of God, i mpassionate, the destroyer of sins, the bestower of all
auspicious things ?''

Iswara said "Ob sage, I will tell you about God, by the
worsnip of whom once, salvation 1s det initely certain. What is
the name of the God you asked me ? Do you know him ? Is be
ttle Loius·eyed ? the three Eyed ? The lotus-born·? Not the Wind· ·
God, not the Sun and the Moon, ·n ot the Fire-God, · Brahmin or ·
Kshatriya, he is neither of us ? None who is in the form of the
body nor the mind; not the &ods, not Lakshmi; not intellect; but ·
the real form of samvid, the non-artificial, che beginnin1less and
the giver of joy etern1l. How can a thing limited or divided by
the word 'A' etc be God 1 God is the doer of ten things e.g.
Piay, conquest, actions, lustre, prai~e, joy, pride, dream, bright·
ness and going - all these are possible by illusion in the Brahman.
AH these are not happening in those whom I quoted. How can
they be Gods ? The wise know that God is Chaitanya, unartifi-
cial, the beginningless and the endless. It is t bat Cbaitanya, Pure
Conscious ness is c~lled . GOD and is worshipped by the world. He is
the only one having the real satta; the -rest are in the form of
the Atman, it is for only those who are unable to understand
this, the divisible God's worship is prescribed. One who can not
go to a Yojana the distance is measured by only, mile.
Thi result of the worship of Rudra etc is limited, accountable;
but the result of the joy derived from the unlimited, iadivisibJe
worship of the Atman-God is non-artificial, beginningless and
86 Y nga Vasishtha

endless and eternal. One who goes after tht> arrificial, leaving
aside the non-artificial fruit is tbe same as one who Ieavrng &side
the pleasure-gardens of Kalpavrikshas and goes after the trouble-
some thorny bushes. 1'hose who know the reality of worship,the war.
ship Atman-God, the pure, the auspicious and the real form of Chit.
Tbe f!owers with which they worship Him are kuowledge,. equality
and peace. To worship the Atman-God with these three flowers
jS real worship, not the worship of the form. Those, who wor·
ship the form leaving aside the worship of the formless AtmaChaitan-
ya undergo troubles for loag. Leaving aside the worship of the atma-
chaitanya and worship the ordinary gods is the useless play of the
child. The Atman-God is the real God; He is the highest cause;
He is the most auspicious God; He must ever be worshipped by
Joana, knowledg-e, This indestructible, immaculate Chidakasa, that
took the form of Jiva is the Brahman, the At.man, who must be
worshipped and none else. The worship of the Self is the real war
·ship and the supreme worship. ''

Vasishtha, - ' ' Pray tell me the way hew the Atman, the
form of Chidakasa appeared as the world and bow he took the
Jiv!ibhavaa

lswara !· 17here shines resplendent the endless Chidakasa. Its orrgrn

and evolution are impossible; It alone remains at the end of kalp, •
The light of the Sun and the Moon, infinite by itself, falls on all
quarters and moves. then it beeomes bL:1.ck, yellow0 white etc; in
the same way, the indivisible Cbidakasa moves as illusion and
becomes the world. Really tbere is the only pure Atman; the
world like the town in a dream due to illusion appears reflected
in the Chit itself. It can not be said that Chaitanya itself ·be-
comes Hva and again attains its own form. because the non•dual
non-evolutory Chit can never leave its nature and attain another.
It appears as world by the covering of illusion, maya. So, really,
the world appearing as the town in a dream is non-evolutory
 Nirvana Prakarana 87
chidakasa; there can not be another idfa there. The mountains ..
tbe worlds, the Atman, the Jiva, the five elements all are nothing
but Chinmatra, At the time of creation, search in the three worlds
and tell me if there is any thing except pure Consciousness, Chai ta.
nya. Aakaasa ,Paramaakaasa; Brahmaakaasa, jagat, cbit-all these
are synonyms like paadapa, Vriksha' tree etc. If you keenly obsf'.
rve the du:1l world in dream or in illusion from the point of view
of truth, you will know that Chidakasa itself appears as the dual
world; Just as the Cbidakasa in dream appe~rs as the world, tbiS
waking·dream state also sees che Chidakasa as the world. Either
in a dream or waking state if the Cbidakasa is taken away, not·
biug remains. Without Cbidakasa nothing happens; that is to say
that the whole world is chnmatr:i•Brabrnan.:By means of samkalpa.,
the worlds rise from paramakasa and show . the Brahman in 'the
• C:ual formi Therefore understand the world as a false dream
appearing in Chidakasa, The objects seen in a dream are the· Bra·
hman in tbe form of Chidakasa, tbe whole creation, its objects ar~
all only Chaitanya.. In tbe dream-town there is nothing but pure
consciousness, in three worlds also there is nothing but pure
consciousness the glol'y of every creation. the good and bad
things of the past, present and the future, time and place. the
mind etc are all nothing but Chaitanya, Pure: cnosciousness~ The
obj~•t that is determined as eternal truth is the form of 'TWAM
and the form of •AHAM' and the forrn of the world. This is the
most worshipful .God. Pararoatma, the form of Chid:ikasa is the
real form of yourielf. myself, of others, of the world and a[l
objects; but for him th1y have no fotim at all, of their own. Just
• a'i the created dream town has no otber real form than Cbidakasa
all the objects frorn the beginning of creation uptill now have no
form other tha Cbidakasa. (1· 152)

30. The examination of Chit leaning towards Chetya

lswara 1- ' ' Thus, the whole world is the form of only
Paramatmaswaroopa. The Brahm au in the form of Paramakasa
 88
Yoga Vasishtha
is called tbe Pararnadaivata. His worship alone is auspicious; it
gives all. It is the prop of every thing, This worship is devoid of
all e'S:teroal parapbarnalia, It bestows peerless joy and happiness.
It is continuous, uninturrupted. As you are the attainer of the
knowledge of tbe Self, I am revealing this to you. To worship
this Paradevata, no flowers, no incense and no hymns are required .
The worship of fl0wers etc is intended only to unawakened souls,
childlike peopJe und the non·knowers of the Self. Without the
knowledge of the Self and tbe qualities of Sama. <lama, etc
ignorant people go after flowern,pictures, idols and their worship.
Only fools are satisfied with it This ·kind of worship leads one
to achieve dreamlike things of the world. It ia not fit for pe,,ple
like you. The Self-God about whom ( am talking is God even
to us. H1 is our source, He is na other than Paramatma, the prop
of the tbree worlds. He is above tbe trinity; beyond all samkal-
pas; the source of aII samkalp1 s, the doer of all good; be is both
every thing and nothing. He is indivisible to or by space or time;
tbe doer of all actions; this Pure Consciousness is being known as
God. The Pure Consciousness is beyond the fruits of all actions;
it is present shining in every thing; it gives strength and sustenance
to all al'.ld takes back agaiu. God is the Brahman, staying in
between sat and asat. He is called the Paramatrna; he is also called
., Om Tat Sat' This Atman. by the nature of its absolute
power is everywhere equally. It is also called great Cbit(Mahachit)
and Paramartba. As the creeper has juice in it everywhere, this
usual form of power and the greatest power in every thing ev1ry
where following; This Mahachit tbat lies in yCJu, in Arundhati. in
Parvati, my retinue, myself and the whole world is called by the
great as God1 Fools give the name God to one who is with bands
feet. etc, Tb~re is nothing but Mabacbit in it. This is the essence
of all and the whole of samsara. This Chittattwa is the God, ull
inclusive; the form of ego, this Chittattwa bestows every thin&
It is not far far away; it is not uoattainble; it is ever present in
 Nirvana Prakarana

the body itself; in the sky also. It is this chittattwa that performs
the functions of eating, ruling, going, breathing and acquiring
knowledge etc. Full of peculiar deeds and shining, this body-town·
stands as per his real form; he lives in it, in the cllve of the ioJ
tellect, which is the deep cave in the body, possessing the five
kosas. layers and is called Guheswara, Lord of the cave, For th~
5 ake of teaching to students, bis sixth . S;!nse, the wind also is
called the pure Chit. chitta, the sign ..of the great Chit. He is
chiomaya, full of Chit, the Sooksbma, the subtle. Sarvavyapi. all
spreadiog and nirlepa, unattached . It is Be who makes the fot ms
shine and not- shine. That thing the Cbidvastu, quite pure real
form, performs all the actions of tbe worlds just as the god of
the Spring Season, Vasanta gives juice and makes the trees shine
resplendent witb foliage, flowers and fruits, A beautiful power ia
it, called the Cbaitanyasph urti, the glory of Pure Consciousness
comes out and becomes many things with many names. One of
it is the sky; another is Jiva; another is Cbit; thus it bas also
the names kala, chitta, kriya, dravyc.i etc, particle of light, the
mind, action and the object respective]y. Due to the very pecul-
·iarity of fitness, it is also called bhava, vikara, prakasa, saila,
ta mas, Cbandra, I ndri.1, yaksba etc, sat, change, luslre, hill, igG( r-
anee (darkness), the Moon, Ind.a and the Yaksba, etc. The
Spring, Vasanta is devoid of desire and yet brings fortb sprouts,
\bis Cbidat ma also brings forth and spreads the goddess of the
worlds If the truth of tbe oc ~ ans of the worlds is to be found
out, only the Chit-water exists. It is their body, The cbit-lswari
• takes in the nectar of samkalpa deposited by the mind-black-bee
in the oody-lotus .. lake. The worlds of including the gods, lbe demons
gandharvas, mountains aod oceans etc, like the water in the whirl
wind, flow out from the power of Chit. This illusive wheel of

( 12)
90 Y oga V asishtha
sarnsara is turning ro und aod round falling m the Cb it-cbakra,
tbe wheel of Chi t, The rou nds of the wheel of samsara :ire the
affairs or doing and enjoying. the causes for bondage and full with
the · cbitta the mind. The rainy season with the rain • bow aad
the pieces of clouds endowed wi t h thunders drives away the
Sunshine of the d -ly; thus. this C ~a i ta ya taking the forrn of
the four· shouldered Vishnu, with the weapons cf VI arfare drives
away the demons and destroys them. It is this Cbaitanya that
takes the form of the ox·chariote·e r, the three-eyed, the moon·
crowned Rudra, the black-bee of the lotus-face of Gouri, Again,
it is this Cbaitanya that contemplating on the Chit, takes the
form of Brahma, the black-bee on tbe navet -1lotus of Vishnu
aod the big lake of lotuses of the Vedas. Just as the tree has ma-
oy leaves, gold bas many ornaments. th~ Chit bls many forrns
bodies. Tt is this Chit that takes the form of Indra'' at tbt>,
fret of whom all the gods lie prostrate and who is tbe crest-
jewel of the three worlds, It is this chit that takes tbe form of
the Sun, shining like the sea-waters in the middle of tbe three wor-
lds rising and falling, rising and setting. It is this ch it !foonshine-
sprinkling its lustre in the thr~e worlds blossoms the li'ies of
Jiva-chaitanya. Just as a woman becomes pregnani. ibis chit
t akes the form of a mirror and takes in the refJect1on of the
world. Just as the power of water be co mes ocean in t be form of
water, this Chaitanya causes existence of the fourt een worlds. This
Chit in the field of the sky takes the form of the c reeper. crea-
t iog peculiar floods of light·flowtrs t be samk alpa sprouts, the
satta-fruits, and the drisya-flow ers called sat and asat . These
flowers - steal away th~ thinkin g capacity, the Jivas ~ve t he fl ower
dust of t he creeper of Chit. The cree per is col oured by the
iuice of the vasanas. It is covered by the kaowledg P. - clo t hill g with
vikal pas, It is filled with tlie efforts of the mind as buds. It
contains tbe t hree-world filaments of the past a nd innumerable
io number . It sh ines alw ays with the glory of movem ent. It has
 'Nirvana f'rakarana 91
become hardened by the season-mountains. The inanimat~ bills
etc are its roots To this here and there there are joints of the
foui· kinds of beings. All the limbs of this are covered by the
compound called pravritti, worldly inclination. This Chit ..creeper
like the lustre of the ~.1000 and the Sun blossoms the drisy11-flo·
wers on ali sja~ ~. This mt-! h a-cb it , creates things everywhere, ere ..
ates attachment to them and m akes them famous. By this Maha-
Chaitanya, the Su o etc shine; tbe inanima te bodies are becoming
dear a nd near to the peop le by tb~ glory of this Cbaitanya.· A
bit of the dust of the worlds by the power of Chaitanya wears
the drisya-body, thi nks that it is differeat from the Chaitanya
dances with joy T he ligh t o f th ~ la rn p m1kes us see all the
t hio gs of the house; h t he same way, the C b aitanya, t he t hree .
world- flame of the highest brill iance makes the actio n s of the
wodds b righ t, Ch ai tanya wears the fo rm of the objects of the
worlds and appea rs like the black spot io the full Moon, The
infinite things, wet witb the nectar of Cbit, lik e the beautiful
cree pers wet wit b t he rain.. drops, grow having n a mes and forms.
Tbe Chit·sbadow, like the darkness io tbe middle of t he house,
creates inanimation to the objects. If this Cb'ir·shadow disa-
ppears of all the bodii:!S of t he three wor lds, tbey lose their fitness
to touch even . In the b ody-ho use-sbioing with lustre by the he lp
of Cha itanya, the h ouse-wife called kriya, action having the
s1mkalpa-b aby in her a rm <;, shines. If there is no relarionship
with C b aitanya, the tong ue c an not relish the taste of any sub.
stance placed on it. \.Vitbout Cbflitanyd in it, the body - tree,
baviog·bands-?wd·feet branches aud tbe thick-hair-creepers, can
•
0

not shine. It is Chaitanya that shines in tbe form of all things,

animate and inanimate having birth, grvwth and death; there
is nothing but that.'

Vasisbtha :- '' Ram~. having beard the moon-nectar-like

words of Siva' I questioned him again thus: ' Sir, if every thin
92 Yoga Vasishtha
is Chaitanya, spread, how is it that the body at the time of death
or loss of consciousness becomes actionless like the toy of mud
without eres? How is it that the thought that 'it is first with
Cbaitanya and later is devoid of it'? in the worl l.

Iswara ·"A good question. Hear. The Cbit that is in

the:: body is of two kinds-the first is spoken of as revealed by
th~ word Vijna11a, having thd nature of being the subject and
the eojoyer~ the second is the changeless; stable Chaitanya.. The
Chaitanya by the power @f its samkalpa chinks of itself as
Jiva and becomes another, just as a chaste lady in her dream
Joins another man and becomes an unchdste woman. Just as a
peaceful man of good character be:comes a demon by anger
and cruelty, this Chaitanya becomes jiva by the filth of samka-
Jpa. The Chit spoiled by vikatpa becoming deprived of its real form
and thinking that it is inanimate gradually, by its own poweD
of creation becomes the object of changing mind. It is this Chit
that takes the form of paramanu with the ~ky and the form
capable of enjoying sound, touch etc and becomes the subject
of Cbaitanya, seen as illusion. Jt next gets the form of
Hirnyagaebba, next joining with the subtle beings (sook~hmabhuta ;)
gets the di vision of place as the sev·e n islands and divisiou of
lime as minutes etc, Later it wears the prana, life- breath. becom-
es jiva getting the mind and the intellect. The Chit thrJt acqui~
res the idea of the mind, just as a brabmin becomes a Cba 1dala
paraiah by the Chandalabhava, attains the ide~ of samsar 1
This Brahma - Chaitanya wearing the form with the prevala-
ace of ignorance, i rnaging the forms of t be body and of the Jiva
losing thereby the all-knowing Sarvajnatwa, with the idea of ever
enjoyment of the pleasures becomes one wi rh Sa.msara. This
Chit full with many samkalpas, by the idt:a of ina(ilimation
becomes inanimate and gets illusory body. just as water by too
much of cooln ~·. ss b~ comes rock-like snow. Tben, this Ch it is
C.1 lled Cbirta, manas, moha, maya etc. Thus, slo\\'ly it is born
Nirvana Prakarana 93

jn samsara. Tbus, tbe Chit that is devoured by moba, pained by

the trisbna-fetters, teased by desire and anger and fear, 1t 1s
subject to likes and dislikes; it then loses its eternity and all-nes
becomes dividt:d. It is then burnt with the wild-fire of sorrows
worried witb inauspicious woes thinks for itself• I am of the nature
of ever-sorrowfulness and passion'. [t then develops belief in the
body and consequently becomes pitiable. Its body becomes vasei-
}lating bet ween likes and dislikes. Like a wlld elephant reduced by
old age 0 falls deep down in the ditch of moha and be~om:!s
unable to com~ out of it. Its ueart burns with the eadl t ss
vicissitudes of samsara and becomes the place for passion and anger.
It becomes insipid like the deer gone out of the group; attains
joy and sorrow by the good and the bad of life. Just as the
child runs away from the ghost of its own creation, bee() n !S
dejected by the dangers of self-imagination, Just as the cam~•
is very fond of thorns and the unsweet fruits, it then desires
the pleasures of the flesh. -Uhus it enters into innumerable dao,.
gers and falls down. It faoes danger after danger and involv.:s
itself in evil deeds. Becoming inanimate, going from one bell to
another it experiences troubles. Immersed in entangling affairs fro n
boyhood, wise ~n unwise collection of kittl anj kin, m )Bey, w1f"
and children, the worst shackles of bondage, it becomes ruined•
Discrimination helpful for salvation will be far far away from it
•
Entangled in innumerable laby·rinths, it will be the object of
contemt for all. As the time of death approaches, like a fish left ovew
in a waterless pool, dies dejected, distressed &nd dreadful.Cbildho od
and boyhood plt.SS off in incapacity; th~ youth in senseless Jove and
agony and the old age in endless worries pass off. 17here is no salva·
tion for such a one. As per the peculiarities of results for different
actions, this ·Jiva-chaitanya is born as a damsel in heaves, a
Naga girl in the nether, world, demoness in the house of demo·
ns, woman on earth, lioness in the mountain cave, kinnari on
the Kulaparvata, Vidyadbari on Sumeru, wild beast in the forest,
94 Yo ga Vasishtha

cree per on the f r:•e, bird in the nest, bus h down the hill, aod,
IJeaSt in a jungle. This C haitaoya becoming N arayan a sleeps on
lhe oceao of m il k. la the town of Brahma, it is born as Brah ma,
immersed ia cr1otemplatioa, I t is this Cbaitanya that takes the
form of haff m.t n and ha lf woman on the Kailasa, of Indra iu
heaven. the Sun in the sky, the wind moving a l., tbe cloud rai ning
water. It is this that takes t b~ forms o f year, yuga an d manvant-
arn etc1 lt is Chaitaoya that 'causes he day a nd tho night. At a
certain •p!ace, it apoears as the S!e ds of tre.es, and che form of liq-
uid and as sto nes som ewhere else, Io the for ms of fres h· Nater
ri vers. blosso med lilies, ri p ~aeJ fruits, fuel-fire, cool w&.t~ r, clear
sky, only vaccurn, lustre, hard st \)ne, blac k: and yellow colo llred,
fire-form, earth- form, warer-form, this Cbaitanya takes and shioes .
It g oe~ ever ywb ere it is full io all, all iir~ full witb it, a ll-pow:!r·
ful a od hence it shin~s ia many ways thus. It is more unattacbed
than th: sky; difforent from all things stated above. Just as water
moves and becoLD'.!S waves etc, the Cbaitanya becomes that wbicl:J.
i\ thinks i ts~l f is; it is thas experienced. It is tbis C haitanya tbac
is tbe lctd y-swan. t he l'ldy-craae, tb~ lady-cro w, tb ~ lady-fox, the
li!d y-llo rse, the iady · Jc~r, tbe lady monkey, kia oari , etc, etc. Li k~ a
piect:: of grass in a whirl wind, tllis Chai tan ya itself ta kes shapes.
Li ke tbe lady-donkey foari ng its own cry, this is afraid of its
owo samkalp a. T bere ts ooae lse f~eble t h1a th is; shameful thao
tbis and fickle than tl1is like a. girl. 'fhe above describ~d Cnaitanya
is the s trength of t h~ J1va r' a t!i ng in a ptua:Jle sta t" , v~ry mean,
unooosc1ous it gets t be b ru te anima l nature. As per p1s t actions, it
uod~rgoes trou blt>s, t ur moils, dreads and daogers, iUusi oo1' and
delusions. Just as rit;I.! wears~ chaff; tbis too carries dust and
d irt. This reinai riii so fo r c1. sh0rt whtl ~ du l! to avidya, ignorance.
It is tb is C baitaayt1 th i t attaias the idea of Jiva. like a widowed
}ady, bemoani11g her m isfo rt un~1 deceived by her great glory.
See the tremendous power of the iaa11im1te -sb aped ignorance. Even
tbe fully.Brahmac -natured C haitanya, Pure loosciJ!lSoess by the
 95

evil influence of ignorance forgets its own real form, like the sky
in tbe pot put in the oot·macbine goes up only for its faliing
~ dow n, How difficu lt it is. O • l 09)
31 T he U n ity of Mind and Pra na
Just a s o ne thinks of h imself as mad in a dream and begiP_s
t o weep, the C haitanya th inking that it is fuH o f sorrow becomes
the wor ld, fa lse due to ignorance. A o you ng lady dreaming t bat
s ha was dead begins to weep.., the C haitanya also feels ttat it is
lost though aot lost a nd begins £.> feel sorry for it,For an illusioned
mi nd .t he potter's wheel, tbougb turning d oes not appear to be turorng
t ous, due to the feeling o f Aha 'Il (my,mine) the Cbitanya finds the
world as s ta\le . The mind is the cause for the Cbitanya•s experience.
of sorrow~ lt can not be fal~e b ~cause tbe re is nothing which is not
Chit. As there is no caui;e, tile world that is seen also is non-exis tent'
Tbe mi ad its creation , its result, tbe world are all false. T here
'
c an not be oil in a hard stone. Thus, ia the C baitanya also t h ~re
is neither d risya nor darsaaa. There can not be a d ark colour in the
Moon; there cari th us b'"' no subject, no object no instruments, iu
the C bita.nya. Just as there can not be spro uts of creepers in the
sky, in the C hitanya, ther~ is neither, prama ta, prameya nor pra-
roana. Ia the Nandaoa forest there is no k badira tree; thus in tbe
C hitanya , there is no m iad,mt!atal act ivity and t he chetya,tbe world
etc.Just as the sky is devoid of a oy mountain,the C H Al17ANYA is de.
void of d ifferences like '1' 'you' and 'it' etc . T here is no whiteness JG

d~rkoe'>s; there 1s no boJy ~all~d 'rnioe' 'yo urs' in Cbitanya. it is

impossit)le for a \1(!fU to hdve t:xisteoce in a Paramaou . i n the same
• way, 10 Chait aoya, t here ca11 uot b~
maoiness and oneness. Thrre
ca n not be au y c reeper ia the w ~~te sand y d esert. th us, there c an
not be tbe exis(eoce of name and fo1 m 1n the C HAIT ANY A, Just
as r here can not be night in the Suo; there can not be heat io cool
snow-drops; thu'i, th ere can not be vastutva or avastutva, object-
fulaess, o bjec tlessne3S . A tree ca n not grow in the mid d le of a stone ;
the sky can not be a vaocum or non·vaccum; thust he Chaitanya has;
96 Yoga Vasishtha

neither emptiness 11or no n-emptiness. It is always pure. The evil Of

sa msua is lhe rcs 'Jlt of tbe defect of a certain mind. It is the result
of tbe ego of bod y aad indriyds. ff tbe idea vanishes, the defect also
vanishes; oothi11g remains. Evea tbe knower of Self b~cornes entangled
in tbis Jf h~ docs n..>t ger rid of tbc: id~a. By the realisation that it
is l~ss t ball a piece of gras:.t, ir goi.!s cJWdY easily- The giving up
of this idea will not happen by itsdf;self~ effort is very useful in
g.!lLiu5 rid of cnis idea, without i( n.>a~ caa g~t rid of it. If the
e_so 1.:; dr1 v.: J a .v J.Y aad 'be j~foct of samsara is got rid of, the
all-spread wg Clli:titci&nya caa be u•derstood as ' Nirvikalpa ' and
•aJvaya' Gatiag~lc3S
aaJ ao i • c1u'11. It is the pure thing that
lll!k~s toe ill.:itrous minis more lustrous. 1Jnis ev~r- pure
Cba1tanya male.es ail tiliags shine; it is evcr·existiag, ever-cban·
geles:o; aad ever-to n1&cula,c. 1 t i~ this Chaitanya that is in the --
pot, cll.ltb, tree, Wdll, Cilrt, gods, demons, serpents, donkeys, moo·
keys, i""s etc. h is 10 ~very thing everywhere like witness'
stable, !usLrous! Tne: l1gtn his no othe• wor~ than making things
sbia~, ttl~ Cn1it•ay~ b'U aJ other w:>rk tban making every tbins
shine, lo spice of the Odt ure of Cbaitanya is su~o , 1t b ~comeg
c~ocarntaJ <:U~J oy co~ id~cis of body ~tc and becl.lmes full of chan.
g ~s. t't101.1gn indaLn~t.! 1c api>~ars. ds c1ai.n1te; though it is capa·
uie of ~.::>ing itay..vn ~ce "id everywhere, it is confined to a naroow
spnere. This Chaitanyci, though in an uocdisturbed subtle state,
reflects in the linga sare;!r.i with life, changes with the limbs lik.e
tbe bands and foet, jusc as subtle threads of cotton go to the mill
and eorne out as cloth, long wide and smooth. Just as the mind
full of vasanas of a m ~rn in dream appears externally as the form
of o'Jjects iitld ia..vudly as kl J ·.v\edg~, this CfJ.aita ·w a if, the w1k·
iag state also take'i th e f Jr mi of objects extern~\ly '.\Od the forrn
of mind iaternally. Ct becomes thu s full with kn...,wledge as welt
as ig11orance, Just as a good mao become• a bad man with the
association of the bad, the very pure Chaitanya with the association
Nirvana Prakarana 97

of the forms o f t be bodies eta becomes associated with the cons·

equent woes and worries~ Just as gold witb the association of dirt
becomes copperlike and when it is cleansed becomes again g0ld,
the Cbaitanya also with the association and non-association beco-
mes pure and impure, If the mirror is purified, it gets the refle·
ction and becomes pure; thus the Chait.:inya which takes due to
ignorance the idea of jiva becomes purified again by knowledge
and becomes pure Chaitanya. By the ignorance of this Chaitanya
the idea of samsara is boro; if the ignorance is off, the Chaitany a
realises its true form, the mean samsara, vanishes. When this
Chai tan ya takes the false form it appears as surrounded by dangers.
The fruit of the tree at the end of the mountain as soon as its
connection with the branch is severed falls deep down; thus, Ch·
aitanya when its true identity is forgotten becomes jiva falling
down frorn ics prestine glory. So, the external power of the form
and sentiment is Chaitanya, the non-dual. Both the difference and
the non~difference are Clue to ignorance. By the power of know-
ledge they disappear. fhe realisation of the witoessness of Chait-
anya by the mind and senses is also due to the power of Cbaita8
nya. Its activities also are the resull of this spl endour of Chaita-
nya. By the power of Chaitanya itself, the vyanr.t wind moves the
eye-balls in th~ eyes; that which the movement makes shine is
called the eye. By this s;;nse, the internal nature becomes external,
takes the forms of gllata, Pata etc and causes the understanding
of their power. This also is that Chaitanya. Both the skin aod
the wind are wretched and inanimatf; but 1he touch that is caused
by the combination of tbe two is possibie by the power of this
Chaitanya. The feeling of smell is the re~ulc of the relation of
Gandhatanmatra and Pranavayu. It is called Gandhasamvit, It is
nothing but Chaitaoya which is separated from the antahkarana,
mind. The sabda-samvit, the combination of sabdatanmatra and
the sease, the ear is called Paramachaitaoya, devoid of the actions of
(13)
98 Yoga Vasishtha
aatahkaraoa, changeless, and equ'\l t o the state o f sleep. Tho
s awk=1lpa caused by the acu viu cs of the seBses of action is man ..
ana, cbiota. worry. T he witness fo r t hese activities is the Pure
C oasciousness , Atma Chaitanya . This lustr ous Chaitan ya shines
in itsel f aod lik e the wh i te crys ta l gem weais the worlds in it~ tfhe
non.d ual Cha1taaya wears the for m <'f the worlds withou t any
c hange; it has 00 rise and St. l, . r!lO \.e eat and growth. rfhougb
t he Chauaoya wears t he id\;a of J1 v J b y the ower of its samk alpa
devoid o S m kal pa shifling in ilSelf, ta ,iug t he jnani mate worid
as no t hing b ut it f)elf shiacs r~s p !en Je nt in ics original true form
of Self. J iva is t he cbari rt of this C buita nya; a h mka ra is the
cbariol of Jiv1J; Budd h i is the ch ario t of ahambbava; mrnd is the
chariot of b uddhi; Puna ·s tbe chari ot o f the mi nd ; senses are
the chair iot of the m1 od ; 1be body is the chariot of the senses,
th ,,,, chario t o f tbe body is t h~ se[l ses o f action. T he nature of all
these char iots is move meot. T h e mo vement of t he wheels of
these c tia riors of t he J rva-birds in the cages o f bodies liable to
d amage due to old age and death is ca used by the glory of
Para matma, the cause of all causes. The whole world is refle·
ectiog io t be A tma n like a wretched d ream ; tbere is not eveo
an iota of crurh in it; it is wretched like the rnirage1 The wise
call tbe chariot of life-breath as the chariot of false creations
because whe re the life-breath, Prana goes there tbe m ind also
goes. Where there is light, there you find lustre; where there
is the prana wind, there there is move ment. Where the win d
blows there cho trees move; if the mind is liquid ated in the sky,
tbae will be no movement. If there is n o light, there is no
for m, 1f tbe praoa wind is liquida ted, the mind is liquidated.
Wbeo the wind stops, there will be no storm or cyclone. When there is
pra na there is mind; when tbare is no prana. there is no m ind . W here-
ever the c harioteer drives at bis swei;)t will aod pleasure the ch ariot will
go th ere W here the prana goes,, a t once, t he mind also goes there.
Tbe mi ad follows 1h~ pra na Where there is a flower t h ere there is
Nirvana Prakarana 99
where there is fire, there there is heat, where there rn prana,
t here there is mind. Where there is the Mo on , t here there is the
moonshiue; wbern t here is no prana, there there is no mi:ld . D ue to
the movement in pran.i, the eye sees; it spreads the essenc" of
food to all the sinews of the b ody aud touches them. The spread
of Chaitaoya, is the work of prana a nd nothing else. T his
Chaitanya as pure as the sky is fuil ' in all things ani mate as well
as inani mate, It is seen in experience when it is evident by tbe
movemeot of the prana-wind and moves. The C haitanya exhorted
by the Praoa - wind in the inanimate bodies becomes one with
it. T herefore by the existence of the prana, the inanimate body
m akes all kinds of efforts. When the pran a - wind is absent in
the body, it becomes Gevoid of mind and unm oved. The Parama
Chaita nya reflec ts o nly in tbe p u rya sbta k a . The reflection app~­
al's in the mirror but not in the stone. Understand th Jt the
cause of all actions is the mind; it is the puryasbta~(a; It is
c . ued by different names by many teachers to e 1Jable their stu ..
dents to und erstand ~ The whole world a lsa is that Paramavastu
from which rise the vast drisyas full of sam!c::~l pas , in which
they remain and bei.ng experienced and fro m which tbe mind
is suspectc:d to be the form of the body.(1-56)

32. The F a ll of the Body, What l t Is·

Oh sage, I will now tell you how the Parama Cbaitanya
enters the b odies of the jivas, how it makes the jivas pjrform
actions and h ow it attains d iffere nt names. P lease bear . The Cha-
itanya bas o ne power, the power of aavarana, covering or engul-
fing .. It covers the Brahman, its own prop and makes bP.lieve that
there is oo Brahman. It acquires the efforts of the past actions
aod samskaras, becomes the m'nd by innumerable actions ordained
as well as prohibited, actions of t e body, speech, appears as
in ani mate though born fro m C h aitanya. Tbe power of the B rahman
t hus acquiring the ro utine state by the sens . . s of action and the
 100
Yoga V asishtha
senses of knowledge gets the diffe'.'ent ideas of drasbta, darsana
and the d ri k, t he s~er, see ing a 11 d the sight. By this po wer of
illusion (the covering power) the Paramachaitanya becomes impure ,
and creates the town of the gaod harv JS io the form of the wvrld.
ln reality, it does not exist. Tbe inci nimate body, sans the mind etc
becomes unmoved like th e wall; if they are present it moves like
a stone burlej into the sky Just as the most inanimate iron-piece
moves when it is net:1r the magnet.the ji va c:,.lso moves or does actions
by che mere proximity of the B rahman. By the power of this C haitan-
ya ,tbe a ll-spreading, all the jivas become active and shine~ The jivas
are the rn!'!re reflections of Cbaitanyii. Though the jiva is the reflection
of the Brahma n, as be forgets bis real form, be becomes inanimate
Though once a good brahmio, one becomes a non·brahmin by bis
illusion and by his actions of a non·brahmin, The Brnb mau or
tbe Chaitaaya by forg? tt ing its re;; } form becomes the mind. Are
not the gr .!a t m ~ n falli ng down by illusion and delusion and
bec,.>rniog w ~ak, poor a :id insip id? Just as tb e waves move the
water, the Cbaitanya becorning one with the Prana m oves the
body. Even the hardest stooe·pieces in a boat are moved and taken
to di .> tant p\ac~ s by rbe wind, thus, all the bady · m ~c bines b ecome
tbe j1vas and are moved or go aded to do deeds by Chaitoya
alone. The Paramatma wanted to drive the •body-cart or carriage
and created mind and prana to do the job. The Chaitaa ya taking
the in!iuimate form becoming the jiva, gets into the chariot of
the mind, to wbich the Prana·horse is tied, though it does not leave
the real form, in the waking sra te like a thing as born and in the
dreaming state as a thing lost, appears. But the thing is not cha ..
ogiog. Therefore, just as the waves are not different from water, the
Chaitaoy.i a ·so is not different from the w orld. Th~ worlds of
jivas appear d epending upon the Atmacbaitan ya reflected 1n
the vicissitudes of mind. fhey shine eX!actly by t he lus tre of the
Atman. Without light, the form can not shine. The house shines
with the Presence of the lamp; the bodysbines with the presence
 Nir vana Prakar~na 10 1

of the imm'iculatt Paramatma r;..a1t ~n ya the Brahma n F rom waler are

born the ripp · ~~ . · he N ;.ves, tl1e f im; tl e w:les and worrtt s ~ re born
fro m tbe Ji va aad grow Tbe j1v:1 th : 1->lack· b ·c. o f t be )or us of the h ody
becomes reduced by the wo<!s an d .-1orri~s and beco111es dtjected and
fal!eD like th~ W<&ve-foi"rned wtnd-b ~at.::n water. f hi:: Sun is co v.:!r ... d by
thL; cloud·, er.! •ted oy :i: n;";\..,. c, ·na !i ~ 'u 'it"ou> hy his o wri ligh · ~
is made ~ale and .tlso so'11 ~tim .. l'i .Ji,.r 1 Jcd; 1~.iU'l, Ci1 a!t ..m~·a ,i}ao
though it is the l.JC p of all . e ..:: n~s uocor sci )US m the oody.
Jost a') the cnlJrufr,rm ·inJ~~ted p ui eat d oes not know e ven i f his
li mbs are cut, l hi; Cb au any a b~comes unco ascious and do,~s not
realise its trut! fr,r 011.? v,; ho is freed from the effect o f ch lorofor m
!l.

b rings b.lck to ''llS memory '.he p.19t rncid..:n ts, th e C bartanya also
b ririgs back · o its mem·H y 11s r e~ I form . Slowly 'he all ~ spreading
Ji vacha1taaya disapp~ars; aloog wi th it . the power o f t he lt fo· brc th
and the limos of the body beco me mo tionless: Then the Chaita.nya
stays in the heart unmoved like a stick. As the petals of the lotus
of the heart remain unmoved; t he inward prana- wiods all stop
away. like the wind st@ps with the stop p ing of the fanniag by
t he fan. with the s topping of the wi nd, the dust.stor m stops; thus
with the stop of the life·wind , the jiva becomes devoid of name,
form and upadhi and beco mes the real form o f the real cause.
Then h is mind a lso becomes devoid o f rajoguna; having no pro p,
it joius th~ prana·wind and be omes the causal Atman, Again like
the seed o f the tree, i r shi oes £h th;; b·xly. If the pu ryashta ka is
calmed by the roo. cause, the body falls down w tth no movc:me-nt.D ue
to tb . . illusi 1 of th.; ka.Jwledge of i 1; .wn Lal form . tha Cbaitanya
b ecomes tbe C hetye.·for m; in it all the vasanas ruov.:! T his C haitanya
d ue to t he m ove ment o f vasands forgets its real fo ri ; makes false
creations. As the pet a s o f the lotus of t be heart lossorn; th;;;
puryashtakrJ beco mes ct~ar. As the machine of the hear t-lotus is
made c~lm , tbi.: puryashtaka also falls down As long as lhe pur'"
sasbtaka is in th~, miJdle of be body, so long Lhe: e is Life. Wah
 102 Yoga Vasishtha
t he f~ ll ot t he pury a~ht!\V.a, th P. body is S3id to be d ead. D ue to
the filth of th - body and m ind , t he body becomes cut a n d dila~
p 1d ated, then the machine of the lo tus of t he heart does not ap pear.
T he purya~htaka then li ke t he wind obstructed by the wincl-mach
ine s lowly joi'1S the s '< y. T he j iva experiences the sorrows o f death
a nd t he jo ys of birth etc by hi s o wn samkalpas and then the ma-
chi ne of the lotus of the hear t work ~ without break. Those whose
vasanas are pure a nd s ~cr ed are tb..! l> ~sr of meo, tbey are eternal.
lo ng-lived a nd jivao m uk tas. As rnon as tbe mac bi e of the lotus
1Jf the he art is obstr ucted. the pt ana-wind stops, the body becomes
loose an d like a stick v r pebble fa lls down. Along wi th the
Puryasbtaka, th e mind also liquidates in the sk y. Along with the
past vasa nas, w herever the mind roams it gets heaveo and heH
there a nd there, W he n the inmates of the house are away from
heme, it h ec omcs dusty a od spoikd; t bus, whe n the life -win ds
get away, the body b eco mes dead . a nd becomes a corpse. Tbe
a ll-perv ading Brahrna· Ch aita nya takes to Cbetya bhava.. from it
Cbeta oabha va, from it jiva bh:}v1. from it t h e manobhava and
from it the form of pury as h tak~ and becornes tbe sookshmasa-
reera, which taking the mind to its lap by the power of tho.
ught li ke t he delusion of a dream attains the physical bod y,
Sth oolas areera . As thi s idea of the physica l body becomes strong
tbiu kio g o f it as true and much attached to i t, the jiva forgets
its real fo rm . Due to this false notion, the false body is taken
3
s t r ue aad the true as false. A bit af Chaita a ya . the a ll-perva·
d in !5 c hanges as m ind , gets into tbe chariot of puryasbtaka, occ-
upies the w orld. Wben the Chaitanya lifts up th e body, the form
of pur yashtaka, the body is said to b~ living. Tb is living body is
as good as or as bad as the dead body moving by the entrance of
the gbost ioto ir, moving it and t hinking that it is living. With
tbe d esLrucuou o f lhe P uryashta k a and the mind joining the sky
I

the state o f rbe body is the state of death. Just as the green
lea f in course of ti m e becomes d r y, tb Cbaitaoya forgets its
 Nirvana Pralcarana 103

glorious state beco mes jiva and insipid in course of time. Like
the leaves, the b o d ies of beings grow u p and fall d o wn 1 It is natm
ural for leaves and beings to be born and fall down later. Wby
... sorrow for them? Jo the ocean of Chit, how many inn umerable
b ubb1es, jrvas arise, no one can say. The wise never attach value
to them, as they are all epbemeral. The Brabma Cbaitanya, though
all-sp reading, reflects in the mirror of the mind1 No other thing
than the mirror bas this power of reflecting images in it. In the
full pure Chidakasa, the many crea tioos in the form of Chit-jada,
which are no other than the uproarious sounds, the result of chc
past good and ba d deeds~ are sweet in the beginning and are
very varied with births anC. dea tbs; they app~ar only t.o destroy
the AtmaD and tease it. (1-53)

33. The Oneness of Dwaita and Adwa1ta

Sri Vasishtha.~ " Revered Siva, bow did the dualism anse
m the Chit which is the One, the endless and the highest ? How
is it fixed in the Atma and made it &orrowful? How is it possible
by knowledge to eradicate it ?

Sri lswara:- '' Vasishtha, when tbe a ll- pc· ·12,rful aod the only
Sat the Brahman is very well esca blished and real ised, there is no
division of dualism and non-dua lism. When there is the idea of
dualism, it goes with o ut saying that the noa -daalisrn, the one, is,
In realit y, b oth the ideas are false io the Brc.. hman If there is
no Oneness, th ere can not be twoness. Both are fa tse. If there is
no number 0ne ' there is no number 't wo'. Tbe id ea r;f UUillb ~r t wo
0

comes from the idea of number o oe. It is only for understanding the
division 1s made. ln the Brah man, it js not impos: ibJe fo r
dualism to exist The seed is one but lt becomes the sprout . t he
plant, the tree, the flower and the fruit etc. it is only tbe Chit
~ bat appears as tbe Cbetya etc. Its essence is full io all. All the-
vicissitudes etc com e o ut of the C hit and Chit is fi r m in the form
 Yoga Vasishthd
of the ca.use and ·e-ffect1 A11 things in all · form~ are covered by the·
Brahman; The ocea n and the waves; the mounta.io and the peaks~..
tti.e hare aod its horns may be true due to_. the Brahman in them,
As . long as ignoran~e is there, : even if thousands of examples are.-·
giveo, the di rect illusion of the world·- does not disappear. Only
tbe realisation of t-be Brah_m1n will eradicate it The sprinkles, tbe
waves, the hub-bles, the: foam etc are not different from wa ter ..
Thus. the all-powerfulness is not different from the Brahman. In
reality there is . no difference between the power and the B(ahman;
Just as the flower, . the nut, the fruit, the leaves etc arc not . differen•"
from the tree, tbe ideas _of One. Two-; the world~ I, Yo_u :etc are
not different . from. the . Atm~. The time. place etc created by the
Chit are not different from tbe Chit. Hence, your question as to
bow the dualism came into existence . does not arise at all; you
presupposed another thing than the Chit which is absurd as
there ·is nothing else than the cbi.t. AU the powers of tjme, plac~
a<>tion etc are all of the Chit, : to which they owe their existen ....,;
ce. Only, ,t he w~,v~ i~ calied in Sanskrit, taraog1', oormi, veecbj:·1
etc; in the same way. the only Brahm 10 is c~lled Atman .. Chit.ta, .·
Ch etya, ahamkara etc. Ia the ocean of Chitvilasa, 110 wave
comes from outside, nc) wave is bor·a specially, - w'hat you call
or what appears as wave is caUed the Cbetya. The same Brahman
is ca!led as Satya, Iswara.etc. This Paramatma Siva, Soony a ,Parama-
tma . called abam and the highest tattwa becomes in1cessible to word:>
w he n it is above name and form. The world that is seen by the
naked eye is the flower or fniit of the creeper of Chit.- from
wliich it is not different; it is. full of Chit. fh;! Chaitanya. h-3vi· ·
ng a third eye o r an additional eye, being verily called Jiva, like
the a p peara u~e of a second mo on sees the · false outward world.
This Chaitanya by itself t hinks it sel f as jada, inanimate~ differeni
from the Brah m:i n takes di fferent fortns full of vikalpas. In spite
of the Chai tan ya being imm Jccula.te; with a ·form created as false ·
dro was its'..: lf in [h:! · riv.:JI' o f samsara wit·h the Chaitanya· ·in "i
 Nirvana Prakarana 105

up :3dhi lives here. libis Cba1tanya becoming one with the pury11
aahtaka attains the form of jiva, who lives as Cbinmaya, full
with Chit with the glow of the form of Chit in reality . The jiva with
'-
the smallest body imagines ' I am t be physic~l body of tbe five
elements' and becomes a thing, mixe1 with the e4'tables of the
beings, goes to their belly and changes as semen and enters the
woQlan at the time of coatioo, thinks' ~1 am born; I have life'.
Eojoying the physical body it sees the animate and inanimate obje·
cts etc; takes the forms of them as per the vasanas. As the
vasanai grow stronger and as the smallest body becomes weaker 1
all of a sudden it leav~s the sookshm1 sareera, th' smallest body.
The Chaitanya though non-dual, entertains duality, just as man
finds the ghost before him by his own kalpana, 'I am not doing··.
any thing' this idea makes one the ooo·door; t•••
by the thought '
of Adwaita Dwaita vanishes. The oon·dual becomes dual due to ··
the idea of duality. With the idea of Adwaita, the manyness, the
world disappears. As the Paramata is changeleS&, all-embracing
and eternal, there can not be duality. and there is none. Those
which arise with ~amkalpa disappear with the disappearance of
samkalpa. The imaginary kingdom and the town of tbe Gandbarvas
are such. The troubles begin with samkalpa, without which there
are none, The sramkalpa creates the town of the Gandbarvas-
but does not destroy it. The sorrow caused by great samkalpa
vanishes wilh asamkalpa. Then what is the difficulty ? Eveo a
little samkalpa causes grief; no- 1amkalpa leads to gnat happiness.
As long as your mind is not dovoid of the samkaJpa·sarpa the
serpent of samkalpa, you can not be happy even in the most
beautiful Nandana. Tberefore, with the wind of your discrimination
drive away the thick clouds of samkalp3 and have the highest
purity of the sky in the sarat season. The intoxicating r iver of
samkalpa, dry up witb all your power, cousole the worried Atma
and become non-minded . Your Chidatma is blown up by the
( 14 )
 106 Yoga Vasishtha
wind of samkalpa a nd like t he piece of gr_a ss or l6a( is turning
round and ro und in tbe sky of the beings. See its reality or await
co see its reality, By yourself get rid of the filth of the Atman
caused by your sa mkalpa; attain the most pure form and be full
of Bliss The all~powerful Atma, whatever it sees or imagines a
thing gets it thus by its de~ire, The world is tbe result of samkalpa
therefore it is false; if the samkalpa ceases; it liquidates somca
where. T he gathered clouds of the series of births disappear the
moment the dSamkalpa·wio.d blows them and liquidate in the
Paramapada Make dry tbc roots of sarnlnlpa by plucking them
'«
out. Eveo after t-he samka1.p(i is destroyed, tt11:r . . stiU may remain
the aabhaasa or pratiboas::. of tbc: world; till 1bat also is removed
the Jivanmuktas l_ook at tbe wudd as false like l u~ town of the
Gandbar_vas .. Tb~. kiµg forgettio~ that nc 1s t be king weeps till h~
• \ •. •• • • • : !: "'(..• •·. • •

regains the consciousness that be is the king. \V ben bis well-

wisllers remind him tbat be is the king, the ignorance goes just as
with the sarat, tbe rainy season ends. Of the past and the present
samskara that which is ra:npaot, that grows; of tbe strings of the
musical instrument wb1chever 1s of a higb pitch that alo ne s tr ike~. 1
the sruti. •1 am the non-dual Atma'. Be firm wltb rbis one i dea~

you will then become t he Brahcncia. Therefore, R a ma, it is net

right to you to have external worship; only fools d esir ing wretcned
things will do it. That whicb you have to worsh ip is only the
Paramatma, the real sat; have no effons to worship otherwise,
which is nothing but the false creation of tbe fickle min~. 1t can
never be rael worship. ( 1- 5\l)

.3~ The Exhortation of Paramatma.

By the worship o f tbe Paramatma, the whole world of sat
and asat is worshipped. While the ignorant man sees the world
as asat, Lhe Knower of the sel l sees it as the Self, the sat. In
the ordinary se nse. it bas dualis .n a nd non-du a lism. but to t he
ii wise, in tbe extraordioary sense. not hing but the Self exists. These
 l T;rvana Prakarana · 101

idee!s are authoritative. ThP change of Cbaitanya by illusion i ~ i

samsara; in reality, the Chaitanya is devoid of fiHh: it is btyond
samsara: it is noo-d u :ii aod d ifferenceless. The Chaitanya is cha-
'·· ined by such thoughts as '[ am these bodies' etc; but it gets rid
of the bondage by thinking that 'It is I that created such ideas'.
~ot. some one else. This Chitanyh thinks of the external things,
becomes duel and leaves asid~ its indivisible nature and takes the
false er ated things with joys and sorro\Vs as true. Though t
appears with name and form, it bas none.j Really this is limb-
less and all-pure. The full and the peerless Brahman· f.rst like the
sky expands and makes the world with the three states of waking-.
sieepiug and dr~c:1rni11~ it expiods and flourishes by its power. The
mina 1s one of tbe senses; if the mind is cut with the mind itself·
the Truth prev.ails and makes the ~cries. of worlds ext.inct·. Thell
the imaginative, mean samsara will be dissolved~ When t be idea '
of the samsara becomes null and void; the Jiva who attained thil
state is stated by the word 'Iti', This Jiva will not be born again ·
and ag iio; hence his power is like the boiled seed whieh will not
become a pl<!nt. The drisya then becomes the form of drik. This ·
is called 'Pasyanti' or Drasbta. That Jiva will not think of the
objects even, get1 ing bi mself free from the clouds of mind-delusion
and shines like the sky in th e sarat season. Though hitherto bis
m ind was fickle looking at the objects of enjoyment, now it oecomes
d evoid of it. Thus getting rid of the state of Jiva and coming out
of the samsar .1 sagara becomes t be Pure Chaitanya, the power of
all objects. He then becomes an expert iri realising the oever-ending
bliss and rests in the Pure Brahmao, the b igbest of the greatest
re·birthless state of absolute bliss, This in brief is the Sto te of
Chaitanya after t be destruction of the mind. This is the first stage
qf a jivanmukta. Tben the Cbaitanya shines resplendent like the
~ ky. vast and wide. devoid of the !ustrous objects like the Sun

and th<! Moon etc and devoid of the thick dar knt! ss of ignorance
~·c and full with serc•"tty. T hen in c urse of time 1be like ex oerience
108 Yoga Vasishtha

of sound sleep, the hardness of the stonfJ, the juice in the saind.J
hava salt, the movement in the wind, wben·ever it turns as pure
Cbinmatra, then and there, like the vaccum in the sky joins the
Parrnakasa, having rio intarest in external things lik~ the water
unmoved by the wind 1 remains static. Then it attains a great
state beyond words to describe, like the wind leavmg movement,
flower its fragrance, leaving aside the ideas of t ime aod plaoe.
gatting rid of the experiences of all objects of drisya, th~ ideas of
animate and inanimate, bicomes rndivisible. It acquires a great
power indescribable and not separated by ti me aad place. It is
Tureeya, immaculate, endless and perfect, The bliss of tbis state
is by far supe~ior ..to tbe bliss got by great. tbiags and 1reat
moments. Enjoying thi.s Miss', the j ivan mukta shines like the wide·
1ycd man. Tbi.s..ia t~,SfllCpu4 stagl! of Chaitanya. l will now tell yoa
the third state. The Chaitanya attains the indivisible state of mind
of the form of Brahman, the One, beyond name and form and
beyond the signs of Brahman and the Atman etc Kevalabrahmatwa
the only unalloyed Brahman . Going beyond tbe six kinds of
changes, becoming more eternal th"n Time and beyond the reach
of tamas, darkness or i~norance and being beyond Tureeya, it
becomes ihe Paramapurusbartha, the supreme state of bliss. This
is the pinnacle of all joys; the best amongst the most auspicious
things; this is indestructible. fbis a very very impossible state,
far far away from all path1 and all men, impossible even to me
to describe. This is beyond the waking, sleeping and dreaming
states, Attain and stay in this 'tate forever. This is the Sanatana
Paramadeva, the higheit God of times immemorial. If the Chaitanya
is thought to be the cause of the world, then the whole world
.
bcoomes full of Chit. If it i& thought as the only truth, the
world is not full witb it, But, the Chaitaaya is above or beyond
these two vikalpas. In reality, the world is nothing; it is not
born; it is not destroy ed. Tbe whole world, like the
sky of only one form, is silent and empty , vaccum, Ony.i
Nana Prakarana 109
the Chai tan ya, without a second. shines. Before this changeles'
Chaitanya, the so called eternal time and the sky also are transi•
eat, non- eternal, There is no difference between the child's created
sky·stone kosa and the worlds. Like the power of Chaitanya, they
are sat as well as asat; though false. they appear to be true; they
are sat as well as asat; though salse. they appear to be true; though
true they appear as false. This is the true form of susiva m and
santam. the most auspicious and the most serene. This is not
within the reach of expression in words. The Brahman, the
Tur~eyamatra of pranava, omkar is the highest state. lswara thus
exhorting, with Vasishtha and others took rest in the Tureeyai
the destroyer of all sarnsara, remained for a whilo actionless,
His mind was then full with the one juice of Chit. Hence. all
bis other limbs also became actionless and calm.(1·31)

25. The Highest Worship of Parameswara

After a while, Siva, the lotus-lake of the lotus face of
Gowri opened his eyes to enlighten me. As the three eyes like
the Sun. the Moon etc began to shiae in his face-sky, it was
evident that he came out "f samadhi. He sai<i to me '' Realiae
your real form by self-enquiry at once. The wind blowing makes
the sky full of dust tbus tbe misfotunes fall upon you and engulf
you; avoid the happening first. You have seen all things to be
seenl Why do you still fall in delusion ? The wise will never
be deluded by li kes and dislikes in the wretched samsara. You
became a hero by cutting off all the vikalpas good and bad.
Hence next see the Self. Remain for a while in the state of drisya
to understand the Atman of the ~xtcrior. Hear me; trr for the
gaiu of Self; witbout effort, notbiog wi ll be gaint:d. ' 'He asked
me to give up th6 idea of Lbrnking the body as tb e soul . He
gave me tbe clue to do it. " The body-house is bei ng run by rt e
Praoa wind, but for which it wonld have b een immova ble. Tbe
power of movement in the body is that of the wind and t he
1 ! () Y oga Vasishtha

power of kn ow ledge to C baitanya. The la tter is fo rmless, pureP

than the sky; tbe existence of the sat is the cause for its existence,
The w,ind of prana. the c 1use for movement would have been r
ordinary wind if there is no body. The Chdatman is purer than
the sky and quite indestructible. Hence birch and death are mere
i!lusions• The Cbaitanva is being fo,Jnd in the body full of mind
and Praaa. In the clean mirror, will there be no re fle ction? If the
mirror is quite unclean, there will be no reflection . The C hit will
be absent in the body without Prana. The all·spreading Cbaitanya
moves tbe body ia the form cf e·..:rerrnd things; by its ioterna1
assessment it attains enlightenment and shines forever in the form
of Kaivalya, Beati t !.Ide. The Chaitaoya mak ~ s t biogs shine and
gives them pow...-!r; hence it is called God, 0di va H '3 ri, Hara,
Brahma, Intl-ra~eto are- tbis CbaHanya. Cbaitanya the from
The
of all Cbaitanya, the all spieadiog and the real form
of Chaitanya wears the forms of the Wind, the Fire,
the Moon and the Suo. f be Lord of the Gods, the ruler of Heaven
is this CHAI f ANYA . Those who knew it are s,Hrow!ess. They
are becoming .BrJilma, Vishnu and Mahesw&ra. Al! of them come
out of the Paratattwa like sparks from tbc burning fire .
sprinkles from the ocean-water. But all these are full of illusions;
they are spreading the different creations. Avidya or ignorance,
the only one spreads with many branches infinitely • . The Vedas,
the Vedarthas, the Kar mas, the Ji•1as etc are eut<:l.ngled in the
creeper of avidya, ignorance. It is this avidya that creates time
and place; it is eadless; it is impos~ible to d~scribe in bow many
ways it spreads. This Chaitanya is the grea t father of all includ-
ing Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. This Mahadeva is the root of all
just as the tree is the ca us~ of all leaves , The real Sat Chidatm
ts the power of all and the creator of kinds of knowledge. It
is evident 10 every thiog and m every organ. H
ever shines resplend ~ ut everywhere becomin g tbe ta\"get of worship
and salutations. This Chaitanya is cvcrywhetf ; it needs no spells
Nirvana Prakar ana 111

of welcome etc. Atma m the form of Chaitanya is availab!o

everywhere. It is ever wdcome and ever invited; it is present in
the form of knowledge anywhere and everywhere at all ti mes~
Whatever form of thing be takes the forms of the real forms of
lhiogs, the mind, the witness and the forms of aspects. it takes
itself. Realise that this Chidatman, the lord of gods as the object
of reverence, worship, praise. prostrations etc. The Chaitanya is
the highest of the highest. This reality of the Atman, the dest·
royer of old age, sorrow and dread. if one realises, he will have
no more births just as the boiled seed has no sprout. This Chai ..
t>inya is the form of knowledge of all; it assuras fearlessness; its
worship is very easy; this deathless reality is your self. No more
b~ deluded by the exterior things. (1·28)

36. The Story of Mahadeva's pinnacle of wors4ipfulries.s . I

The Greatness of Parameswara

By the realisation of the Atman, the form of Chit, there
sbal1 be no rebirth, Therefore, the koowers of the Brahman,
establish that the Atman the form of power of all rbiogs, full with
self-experience and ver9 pure as the Sarveswara, the god of gods who
cures the disease of sam1ara. Understand this Atman, the essence of
Pure Consciousness as the seed of all seeds,the cause of all causes. the
,essence of samsara and the very best of the best actions; though
the Atman is the cause of all cause in reality it is not the cause
of any thing. It is immacculate. Though he is the real form of thou..
ght the objects ihought of, he rem ~dns ever in the real form of no-th·
ought and no -birth.It makes shin.e all the aspects of the iotellect;livc:s
as the essence of Chit in the jivas of Cbaitanya;it makes all external
things shine. Though One, by illusion appears as many. The At man
is the form of effulgenee of all bfightnesses.Nothing can make this
Shine; tbis is the root-source of all shinings or lustres. It shines in
th e form o f varied s~ed s; the wise are aware of it. The ekments
like ~h~ earth are not existent in this; the truth and falsebood
112 Yoga Vasisht ha
are not m it. It is the Witness, the Cbinmatra, when the worJd
and its causes are thrown out ~hat which remains is this. It is
thr. cause for the joy of the mind; though it is formless, it takes ,
form and becomes the subject of the objects. This Mahachaitanya
spread in the form of chitta,mind hai innumerable mirages of worlds a
shall have innumerable; it bad innumerable. In the Self..lu strous
Cbidatman, the world established its power, but it is to be doub•
ted, why because even though there are sparks, fl~ mes smoke etc
possess the: qualities of fire and hence called fire, but not different
from fire. Th~ A tmao is known as an atom though possessing
the Meru Mouatairl in it. Though it covers the Meru Mountain,
it is -called a paramanu, atom. la the Atman, there are maha-
kJ}pas, innumerable loog periods of time, but it is called form of
nimesha, minute . .., Though it occupies the Kalpa1, it does not
give up the miaute-Hmited time. Though the Atman is too subtle
imall like the end of hair or grass, it spreads ove!' the eaure
earth;but the entire earth covered by the seven ocean1 is quite insuff·
icient to cover it. Though the Atman does not cr~ate tho world, it is
called the subject uf creation. Though great things are being. done
by it, it is not the subject of any thing. It is oo object though it iS
the dravya, object. It is called dravyavan though it has no dravya.
Thougb bodiless, it is big-bodied~ the mabasareari. Though, it is
with a great body. it is bodiless. It is pre-dawn, though morn•
ing; Though it is morning, the predawn is undisturbed. It is
neither pre-dawn nor morning, But both tbese arc itself. Even
the most meaningless words may be full of meaning like words
in the Veda~; there i3 a:Jt.1in~ wh1oh is a:>t true; ther~ is aotbing
which is not himself and naching which is oot truth.

"Yasmin sarvam, yatbah sarvam. Yassarvam sarva tascba yab

Yasya sarvamayo oityam tasmisarvatmanenacnah,
lo whom every tbing is, fr0m whom . all is, who is all, from all
comes, one is an d who beco mes fu ll of all, who is every day all; ever
 Nirvana Prakarana 113

all, ever full of all, the form of all to him I salute. Flourishiog
with leaves and flowers, filled with fin e creepers, full with over-
grown trees, beautiful with the li ghtoiogs of clouds, the fine play-
l
ful glow, with the glory of flowers, the forest bas in it embodied
th~ glow of the whole forest . (1·19)

37. The Dance of Niyati

1n the pure Consciousness, even meaningless words will be
meaningful and quite true. It is the iron box for all the gems of
all powers. To the h igh est gem of the CHIT, what power will not
shine 'l Peculiar worlds, though unreal shioe in this Gem of ~be
Chit. This Chit-power becoming the seed of corn etc with the aid
of soil, water, time etc comiog out as plant and yielding the
highest crop becomes food . rt is this Chit-power that becomes the
foam of water and water and flows up aod down carrying sand,
pebbles etc with it. It is this chit-power that becomes honey , fra··
graoce in the flowers and bee >mes sweet to the tongue and th6'
nose. The bare mountain becomes habitable with the growth of
trees, flowers and fruits etc, thjs power of Chit enters even the
stone a11d m akes it useful, inevitable and lively. The mountain
does not leave its power even after growing forests and fieJds on
it; in the same way, the Chit, without which the stone ia not
called stone useful etc, does never lose its original power. Just as
the father entrusts some work to his son, the Chit takes the form
of wind, the cause of movement for every thing, and entrusts the
work of touch to the sense skin, that owes its existence to the
wind . It 1s this power of Chit, for the attainment of its real form
remembers its oneness of all powers making the whoJe world as
a vaccum, empty, It reflects itself in tbt sky .. mirror as the time
with kalpa, nimesha etc that appear as its own power. The
whole world, begun with the Trinity, Brahma, Vi.;bnu,Siva is of eve~
changing nature. The root.. power 1s •NtY ATI' that looks after
15)
 114 Yoga Vasishtha
all the works, deeds or actions. This can not be defined otT
shown as 'this is~ thi s is not' It is self-born. In thick darkness
ail the articles . in the hous~ are seen by the existence of a lamp;
thus, by the existence of the l 1m p of Chit, the world-pictures
shine resplendent. This Niyati, in the theatre of the town of
Paramakasa stands aside as Witness exhibiting the drama of
samsara, got by its own power.'

Vasishtha :- ~, Ob l.ord Siva, will you kindly Let me know

the powers of tbe Cbir, how they flourish, wbat the idea of
Witness is and what · the actions of the powers are ?

Iswara, - "Vasishtba, the powers of Paramatma, the al!

auspicious, the form of Chit only, the peaceful, the all em br-
acing, the formless and tbe Supreme Being above every tbi11g,
are unlim•ted; they are the Icchasakti, Aakaasasakti, Kalasakti,
Niyatisakti, Mabasakti, Jnanasakti, Kriyasakti, kartrurwasakti,
akartrutwas akti, etc (the power of acquiring the desired thing..
the pure all-spreading power of the sky, the power of Time, the
power of ordination, the all-powerfulness, the power of knowledge
the power of action, the power of doing-b~ing the subject·, the
power of not of being the subject etc.

Vasisbtba1 - Pray tell me bow these powers came to

Paramatma, why they are many, whether there is any difference
between Pararnatma and these powers.

Iswara;· 6 Tbe powers are nothing but the illusory vikalpa&

created · in the Chidatwa, the endless and the all-auspicious.
Hence there is absolutely no difference bet ween them a ad tbe .,
Pararnatrna. Just as water takes the forms of waves, r ip µles, foam
etc, the power of Chit by the ideas of being the subject, being
koowledge, being the enjoyer and being the Witness, takes diff-
erent shapes or forms. All these powers, wd 1- trained by Time
dance on the stag<: of the world-dancing theatre, Niy ,.l ti is nothing
 Nana Prakarana 1 l .5

but Time shining as para and apare names, Kriya, kriti, iccha,
kaala (acting, action , desire, time are synonyms. From the lowest
to the h igbest Mi t1 arudra, t be t biogs are shown as 'this this' etc
and creating tbiogs from the lowest to the highest, che power of
P aramatma got tbe meaningful na:ne Niyati. As long as it is not
made sanctif.ied by the knowledge of tbe Self, so long it dances
without emotion a nd exhibits the pose of the worlp-drama. Tbe
dance of Niyati is full wi cb all sentiments aod quite attractive
w.ith the turoiog of limbs C':1'1~ d vivarta, change. After this dance
at the time of Deluge the pushkalavarta cloud-instruments make
tremendous noise. The world is tbe <lancing stage of Niyat1. It is like
a globe. In it all flowers of a all seasoos are available. As the
swea t-water of the dancers, rain falls frequently . The black sky, ·
f1 ouris10g with tbe border of the cloud-garland is the upper cloth
of the lady dancer. The sevea oceans w.ith gems of various kinds
are the aok I ets of t bis d ocing- lady. Sbe brigb tens the sky with
her looks of the days, the hours and the fortni ght etc. The seven
great mountai ns are the bead -ornaments of her. Some times they
appear and some. times they disappear. The three-way flowing
Ganges is the garland of pearls in three rows. The moon
reflected in it is tbe crest jewel of this garland. The evening
clouds are her sprout -like bands; some ti mes they appear and
soille times they disappear. The inhabitants of the world are limb•
ornaments as they always make sonorous sounds. They are beauti"
fuL Tbe earth tbe heaven and the lower worlds are the seats ..of
he r movements of legs in dancing pose. Sometimes on her body
the star-sweat·drops appear; somedmes they dry up. The sky is
the face of the dancer . In it two ear-rings like the SQn and the
Moon bang down. \,Yith the smik of the Sun and the Moon iler
face shines. Tbe doors of tbe Brabrnandas, great worlds are the
canopies of the dancing ball or stage. fhe running citizens of
the tbree worlds are the fickle ends of her cloth. The states
116 Yoga Vasishtha
of happioess and unhappiness are the dancer's expositi-
ons of facial expressions. This dancing pose of the sam·
sara- dramcl, filled with different kinds of forms and appear as
tbe play things of N iyati. But the Supreme LGrd shines as the
form of the one sentiment a1d the witness thereof. Hence, be is
thus quite different from the dance aod drama but app~ ars as
not different . (l- 31)

38 The External Worship

The Paramatma or Cbinmatra is the form of experience, the
all spreading and the prop of all things and beings. The paramat·
ma. God is the object of worship for all and s·Jndry. am '.J og the
holy and devoted. He shines in pata, ghats, sakata, v ·ta and
kadyas (the clotb, the pot, th~ cart, the v. ta tree and the walls)
and also men. It is be who is worshipped as Siva, Hari, B. ah ma
Indra, Kubera, Yama and innumerable other forms. He spreads in
and out of every one and thing as the soul of all and · the
real form of every thing. It is Hien th a t the knowers of self
worshipi 1 will tell you the method of external worship of Hrm
first and internal worship next of Him. This body-house may be
sacred by worship etc, but it is a thing oot to be enamoured of,
but a thing to bo left off and acquire the knowledge of the CHIT
the most sacred, by all means. Inner meditation is this Great
God's worship; there is no method else. Worship this God, the
prop of an the worlds, always by meditation. This God's Chidroopa
form of pure Consciousness, shines resplendent with the lighc of
laks Suns. It is this that makes shine all lustrous things. The
most pure lustre of the great Chit is the e&seotial part of abam .. I
'.J

bhava, the I ness. worship this and foll o w this. The e(lcilesso
width of the greatest Paramakasa is the neck-part of tbis God.
l'he endless sky is His foot-lotus . The very very wide endless group
of quarters is His row of shoulders The worlds existing in tbe
quarters are the group of bis many weap~ns. The entire range of
Nirvana Prakarana 117
the wor lds is the very very minute part of His heart, This God's
endless self-eff ulgent body shines bayo nd the Paramak&.sa. on all
sides up, <lo Nn and the middle, the Great Gods Brah m.i, Hari,
Hara and Indra e l c ii ve and sb i oe The four ki ads of bei ogs a1:-e
His hairs. H is veins are tbe powers of Iccha etc, which may be
said as the ro p~s of the machine of the three worlds of varied
actions. Tb is G od h the object of highest worsbip of tb e good
souls T ha Chiu macra, the real form of exp.::ri~ace, the all sprea
diog, the prop of all is tbis God who shines in the gbarn,
peta, va•a, sakata, kudya and the human beings. He is called
auaota, endless as He wears iirnu men.ble forms like Hari, Harc:i
Brahma, K ubera, lndra etc. Hi s body is the oon·dttal power of
d1ffereocclessness; exc~pc this ther~ is no other body to him.
His gate.. keeper is Kala, Yarna who makes tbe worlds destroyed;
tile entire Brahmanda witb oceans, mountains anJ wide
wid~ w0rl(.i:, 1~ a v;:,ry rnta ·J te p1rt of His body to hirn,
The thousaod-eyed, the thou~and-eared, tbe thousand - h;;adect
and very calm God 1s H;;!. His power of exhibition is all-
spread i og; so are bis powers uf smell. touch, ta3te, hearing and
m~ditati oa , BJt ne i:> beyond medir.ation. He is tbe most auspi·

cious. He is the doer of every thing at all tim~s. He is the best·

ower of all desired things. T he all -embracing God is in the mid-
dle of dll be;ngs. Be ts the o nly instrumeot through which every
thing can be got. He must be meditated upon, He is to be wor
shipped. fbus think ing be must be worshipp~d. He will not be
pleased with by leav ~s. flowers, sandal paste etc. H~ is not to
be worshipped by ligbtiog lamp, smoke of fragrant candks, sandal
paste, earn pbor, delicious food etc. very easy, peaceful, indesttr-
ucti ble, nectar of Seit-knowledge, He must be worshipped with. Tbis
worship is called the paramadby aaa, bigh·est medllation and
parapooja, the highest worship. One . must always see withiu tbe
red form of the Chi £5 bear, to ucb, smell, eat sleep, dre(l;m, in bale,
talk to t be pure CGnsciousness only. The nectar of meditation
 1i8 Yoga Vasis·htha

pure aod calm . this God wi ll be please1 w ith S incere eff..

ort on t h e concentra tion of medit ation, reaoouciog every other
thing is the only flo wer of H is wo rship. Medi tation a lone 1s bis
most liked offe r at the t ime of worship. M ed itation is the only
method of his worsbib; it is argbya t0 him; it is padya to Him. The
Pure Consciousness i1 the flower of his worship . That is the only
i!': st::- ument of worsh1p , Withollt it, oooe can at! ai n Hi m. By the
power of meditation alone, we can win over H is grace, the ~ustre
of self-knowledge, Due to tbe Power of medit ation . o ne e njoys
all pleasures in the body-hou.;c'. eveu a foo l by thus wors hippi·
ng him for t hir teen minutes, he gets tbe good o f godana givi-
ng a cow as al ms. Ooe who worshi ps bim for hundred minutes
will get the good of ao horse-sacrifice . By eo baocing it to doutle
be will get th ousand horse-sacrifices' good . If he still extends i t
further, with sel f-surrender, be geis tbe good of perfo rming a R aja,
su ya sacrifice. If for ba lf-day, ooe worsh ips Hi m, he gets th e resul-
of a lakb R ajasuyas. rf one wor~hips him thus, the wh ole daYt
be gets bigb sa lva tion. This kind of \'/ or sbi p is call ed p a rama yoga
of t he highest gain . tbe hi g h est worship. Thi s is the exter oai
meditation uf the Self. One who p~rforms t his wors ~1 p ot' At-
madeva even for a while with pure and serene mind , wh ich is
devoid of all sins and full of s~octity, he becomes libe rat ed and
attains tbe Atma pada T be b~st o f gods and demons wo rshid
this Atmadeva, the God Self. ( l-37)

3 ~. The method of Internal worship ( Devarcba na vidhi)

The holiest of the holiest; the destroyer of all sons of igno rance
is the int ernal wo1 ship of Siva, which one car. do sleeping, Lireami-
ng, going, stayin g etc in all s tates at all limes. Th is is also medj-
J j tative contemp lation; T he Atm adeva is within a nd he gi ves good
thoug hts by bis proxin:lity itst lf. Waking or s1e0ping be must be
worshipped as be is to be though t of ever and anon . The enjoy
er . of varied pleasures, the renouncer of them all, tbe eajoyer of
1Virvaria Prakarana ll9
the exteroi1 l Pleasures the rem ainer 10 the body ca lm and peaecr
ful. He is 1he 'B0d l:lalingam ' he must be worshipped; none other.
F alling in the eojoymeni of Pleasures of past actions aod beco-
m ing polluted by tbe m, t he At 1na becomes purified by the bath
of Sel f·kn owledge. W ith the flower of this Se If-knowledge, the
' Bodbaliuga' must be worshi ppped. Or thinking the Atmadeva as
t h e Sus who m1 kes the enti1e sky bright be must be worshipped;
Or the moon must be tbougbt of as Atmadeva and he sbouid be
worshipped. H e shines in all iustrous things as s1rnvid; be is ente-
i;ng the body through tbe faces of the gates of tbe body io the
forrn of pr aoa and spreads. He is relishing the tastes of the
juice of the senses like the sabda mixing it with bis own juice
of abliss a!ld making it more tasteful. He gets up tbe cba riot
of praoa aod apJ.aa. He secretly rests in the cave of th~ beart. H e
i" the kn o wt!r of all knowledge, the doer of all deeds, the enjoyer of
all pleasures and the bringer of all past rememernbrances back to
memory. Alt bodies sbine due to him. By thought a nd nou • tbo-
ugbt, he alone is thought of. He shine~ brighter than a[l the b 1 igbt
thio gs; he spreads aoywher~ and everywhere. The auspicious God,
we must wors hip. He is with and witbout kala; though bodied,
roa 'US in t be sky; be is both the please~ as well as the uou • ple-
aser. He is spr G..i d throu ghou t ttie body as tbe form of know le•
dge. H e is the p Jwer of m a naoa, contemplation of the mind. He
is arising from t ne praaa and dpana; he lives i 11 tlJe heart in
bet ween t be neck a od Lbe hiccups, within t be rorehead and the
nostrils. H e is b ~youd the thtrty six tattwas enunciated by t ne
Saiv1t~s. He ts beyond tbe kalas and the states like 'unmaoi' etc.
He creates tbe sa bda ~ad otber senses; be makes the miud·bird
roam . T he pacbs of vak, word is ef two kinds: vaachya, lakshya.
He is above bol ll. Like oil in tbe sesame St!i;ds he lives in
every tbiog. every bod y. Though he 1s devoid of the black spot
of having infam y, he btus tbe p hysic<1~ body of the five: elem-
ents and bides in a c1Jrner of tbe heart, lotus though be is in
120 Yoga Vasisl:tha

all beings. T houg b he is the holy form of brilliance, be crea 0

tes kalas aud is seen everywhere in the form of experieoce. He

himself forgets bis real fo rm, bec:>mes ji va aud desires pleasu-
res. l n a 'm oment' be appears as dual bearing the form of
things. One must think of himself as '[ am' God with hand s
wi th bands and feet, bairs and nails etc. Just as a cb aste lady
ever worships her husbiod , I am wors \:lipp~ d by tbe powers
of tbe mind. varied, peeu liar and in nu merabl e p owe rs of tbe
mind. The mind is my g:.te-keeper. He tell!! me of the three worlds.
Pure. thought is my messenger; its nature is pnre Tbe mind is my
power; action is my dear b.:.:tter half, The various kjnds of
knowledge are my ornaments of the body. The five senses of karma
and the senses five of jnana ate my getes. I am the endless Atman;
there is no end to my form1 I am . F u1l; I am onep tbe Atman,
filling alJ the tb iags of tbe world.' fh us, ooe must worship tne
idea of God as himse If. Then his heart becomes foil with G)dh-
ead, getting rid of dispiritedn~.:is. He th en becomes devoid of
tbe pairs of oppol>ites like birth ao u death, rise and tall, j()y
and sorrow, desire aud Satisfaction aod acceptance ar1d reject ion.
His mind is filled with equauimity and equ <ility. His form and
behaviour, looking at all as equals, poss essing all virrnes and
elegance make bim one of thinking tbe only ONE, 0Jy aad
night be worships the Atm1deva, full of Chit T bis worshipper
worships the Cb in mayadeva whole-heartedly wi cb a l! tb iogs acquired
effortless. Tb is worship is in no need of ge tbcr ing flowers, sand al
paste and otber tbia gs. With any thing and every tbiag tbat is
before, He can be worshipped, AS per tbe directi.oos of the Sa.!it-
ras as per c1ste and creed, with tbiogs avdi lable, oue can wors
hip hi m.He ca n be worshipped witb food, sweet-meats, b~d . cha ir
etc while go ing, sitting, sleeping and ever one toUtH dedicate a ll ple-
asures li ke woman, food, drink, coalition etc to At madeva, fuliy
realising him and bis nature. Thus, one must dedicate worriesa
disea ses, and delusions caused by them, all dan gers to Him and
 Nirvana Pra}'"arana

worship Him. All act ions,

all eff1..>rts wordly life and death,
waking and d rca rn iqg etc shoalll be dedica ted to Him. If on e is
poor, po verty, if one is ri ch riches, if one is a k ing, h is good
kingdom, pccul tar flowe rs o f act ion should be dedicated sincerely
to Him. All worries of q uarrels' a ll enjoyineots of ladies and
all attach men ts a nd anger must b~ d~d icated to Him_ Shi ning in
the he1.1r ts of pious mt!ID, cooli ng down like the Moon. sweet and
sincere friea dship ent ertaioiog fl ou rish es the Atmadeva . Him we
must worship. D isinterested ness, com passion, gfadness, the power
to co ntrol anger with such virtues as these one must worsh ip
l be At1n.ideva. U oexpected gai n, profit though not due, enjoy me·

nts of all sorts 'DlJ~t b ?! d:!dic1te l to bim and worship h irn . With
ple ~~ sures per missible, or prohibited,givio g upor accepting with or with·
ou t a '. tach m:!nt, always he must be worshipped. Desired or
\
unde frr c}d eajoy m!ots, fit or unfit, by gi.viug up or· aecepting monies
he mu st b e worsh ip p ed a s th e lord of all these Ignorin g losses, acc-
eptin g tha t which is sure to fall upon us, with mind unperturbed
H e must be worshipped. Looking equally at the desirables as well
a s uodesirable:i,, o ne must uphold the vow of worshipping the
A tman. If you thiak that every h hiag. all, is the Brah man,
you will have all auspicious things; if yon think that every
th ing all, is Maya and Brahman you will have all auspicious
things; if you think ·every th ing, all is Maya and Brahman, you
wi ll have both auspicious and inau~ p icious Lhiogs, T herefore
the expert in SELF WO RSHlP must ai ways think that every
thing is Bt'ab roan. Look a t all the b;::st things and the worst
th ings, the most b .:;a uti ful aad tbe most ugly as equal a ad wor-
s hip the ALmadera. 'I am this; I am not that' 'This di ff erence
there should not be. A ll is the Brahman should be the motive
bebiod th is wo rshi p! ~sarvadaa sarva roo pena sarvaakaaraviknarina
sarvam sarvaprakarena ·praaptenaatm aana marcbayet. · Always iD
aH form ~ good or bad, all by all means treat a& the Brahman
1 Y ogo Vasisluha

and wors hi p it. Give up likes a od give u p dislikes; treating bot h

a" Atma, wor h ip it. Ju <: t as the oc ean neithct· ci esi res nor disl i-
kes the inflow of ri ver and acce p · s them as they come for them·
sfl ves. yo u must enjoy d isintereS' t> diy the plea rnres tbat co me on
their oewn accord both joyfu l aud sorrowful equally. Never· think
thal tb1s is good and tbis is wretcbed; d~J not be overeager to
get good th ings ari d avoid bad t hiogs Treat them both as t h e
pt culiar things in the sky appeari ng now and t ben. The a uspicious
t i ings t hat occu r as per time. piace and action must be treated
wi1 h no concern and worship tbe Atman. All th articles of wor
s hip are full with the only sentimeot rasa or taste o f equal ity, the
Chit The rasas are n1t different but only of tbe one, sweetness.
Equality is a very sweet sentiment, above the senses; whatever is
th ought of by this becomes sweet at once, What is chought of t!S
tbe nectar of equ 1l ity b~co in.es n~c- .H sw;::et as fl o wn out of
th e Mooo. Fee ing all as th~ one Brahm~n, beco ming unpertur-
bed like the sky, tbe dissolu tio n of the mind in the Brahman is
the bigbl!st a nd the easiest worship of Atma. Becoming strong
with C hit like t he crystal, fu ll like t he Moon, with .he lustre of
equalit y and peace. oue must remain. Though one attends to th ~
day to day affairs of the world outwardly, the wors ip per
o f the Atman must inward ly be uoattacbed like the sky, i a fo ll
w"tbo ut b i g influenced by the senses. W heo ignorance is fu lly
dt.!stroyed' ev ... ri in a dream, eveo an iora of desire never persists;
tbea t he ego and desire; the mist disappears; t ilea the warsh ip ..
per of tbe At man shiues respleodent like the sky in the sa:rat.

Shiae like the ever effulgent Sun and the cool spotless
rvt:oon. May th~ various vicissitudes of yo ur mi nd disap pear. Like
the just-born child, keep aw ay yourself fr om all vikalpas; si::e thac
your mi nd-seed does not spro ut at all due to perfect peace in
yo ur miod; shine resplendent io the bigbest state of Jivanmukti
while still alive. Ded ica te all your illusions of happiness and sorrow
 ,.,
L ')

hy all thi ngs c ..l. u 5 ~d by ti .Ile, place: , method c to yo ur lord of

th ~ bod y, t k~ A.t mao. Be ha ppy kt!.; piug the m ind abs lutd).'
d i..: si r ~ l ~ ~s (1 ·6.3)

40. Kn o wing the reality of God.

All lhe a -.: t ions as per ll me and effort perfor med or not per
formed are the ;ncernal offerings of worship to this Chinmatra Sivat
Tbis kind of d edicacion w111 please most the At man- God, who app-
ears. By t bi~ ki nd of dedica1io n he gives unending joy by bis per-
petual for m o f cverjoyfulness. How is it possible to please the Lord
wi 1h the worship, that gives a ttachment and anger? They are no-
differer1t fro m Lh e Atma n. bough the sparks of fire appear to be
d ifft rent from the fir~. t bey are not; thus, t he attachment and a nger
are not differ~nt from the At man. though they appear to be so.
The wor !> LHP c)f t h e At mao 1s notbiog other ·than the realisation
of lh .. woes r~s p .jnsible t i JI rn.; h..ippiuess of kiogsbio etc and the
mi :>cry of bc1i:.g very µ J )r 1 d ~. f{) r~:i ll Se that tbe world is not he
JOg o ther i hao t he et rna! A t ma n is hi $ worship. lt is th.is Atman
tn<1t is the sky' t be po t, lb~ i.;l o th c:tc ta ~ H st a les and circumst~
a ctts. 1 be world is the for m or t he A tman, Lord Siva a n d it
shines by h is shining. \ViLh vu •. the lustr of the A tmao. it can not
shine by itselfi Hence a li tbis is t 11c fo r m of the Atman. Wonde·
rful, the Atman c hanges as por, cloth etc aod leaves its nature'
lt forg~u; u s ow. n .'dl f~rm and na t urt; changing itst!lt' as jiva and
ot her objects, cn11 1pl td y . fn the Atman- God, tbe Soul of all t he
endlt SS and the mo .;;t a usp icious, wbere ha. the delusi on of wo r-
ship, Lhe wors b1µ p-:r ~1 a d tbew o rshipful co me fr om? This delusion
is only u~ ag i11 ary ; it is p revalent o a ly io t h~ things divide d; in t i.le
indivi ~ ib1eAtman, it can n ot exist. i' he G0d in Wbom the delu-
sio ns exist can ne\.er be the eternal. pure, tbe all - p owerf ul and
the e ndless i swara. Fro m tb~ Chir, t h(! p ure consciousr·ess. all t he
 24 Yoga Vvsish'ha
worJds appear; tt ' s th e form of the Atman, Iswara. To create
for ms to bim or in h1 m is improper. There is not bing to teach
to one who realises thi s great tru i h; our •teaching is oo 1y to the
non-realiser o f this gieat truth. Therefore give up the view of
del usion; stick up to the re lised truth. be endowed w1 b the virt-
ues of eq uality ,peace, the abse nce ofsensuou aess, full Vlr itb disease
Jessness enjoy the Plea sures f.hat fall on you undesired Worsb~p th
Atman-G od, ded icating happiness, and uabappioes joy and sorrow.
heaus picious aod the inauspicious, having the least distinction o r
diff-=rencia ion io both. You have rea lised the Ooe and the ordv one
1

Atman ; the idea of jiva is driven away from your mi r:d; you sball
have none of the sorrows of birth or death ev1:: a in ch e s mall sr
degree; the txte:rnal w01 ld can never harm vou j ust as in t be new
house of the wbite marble stone, there ran not be any bl bck ~poi,
you shall have no black ~pot in your true pure conscio us n e~:-. (l- 151

4 1. T he EstabHshment of th e Worlds F alsity.

Sri Vasishtha:- • Sir, when the Parabrabma is devoid of

quaf itit:>s, bow is it called the 'Siva' the most auspicious? why is
it called Paramatma? Why are the words 'Atma' a nd ' para m:- tma ?
He is Sat but is nothing How is it that he is ca!lcd's0ooya,
(v~ ccu m)'vija ana' (k nowledge) etc?

Sri lswara:- • There is only th e o ne. Sat; it is beginningless

aad end lccs, the Self-luminous. As ic i~ above t he reach cf the
senses, it is called vaccum as it appears so,

Sri V f.l sishtha: - 'W hat guarantee is there that we can acbieve
that wb icb is beyond senses and the intellect? How can we ttajo it?

Sri lswara:~ "fber e is no u se of the intelJect, which onI.

unveils t he covering of ignorance. If tbe ignorance-covering is
removed, the A tman shines itself; this 1s the Atrnasa kshatkara
 N ir~1 a11a Prrzkarana 125

t h~ a ppearaoce of the At mao , There is no place for the actions

o f the senses here. T be seeker after truth first with t he aid of
t. Sama, dama etc cbaages as the particle of ignorance of the sattwa
t ype; be then with the help of the associati on of the wise and
the assistance of the spiritual 1eacher, the particles o f tgn o rauc~
of he satt wa rype, like the good wa3b\! rman remo ves dirt witb d irt
washes off th e particles of ignorance aad r::-alises thut be is the f ull
Atman. T be Al man realis es i tse lf by iLsclf lucki~y which is its tr ue
natu re. Just as the bJy t.tki;.s up c0al,mak <!S his ha nds blac k a ud
then wctshes lbern off; th ... band-; beco me p ure by L h~msdves; tb u~,
the seekr:r aft~r trut tl r qrnoves by Lbr..; pd.rlicle.> of sat twik iguoraact""
•
tbe st udy of the S"slr.JS, 'b e associ4tion of the wise tlC lhe pafUCJes
o f ign o rance uf the rajas tk type; tbu~ f 1aa lly, al fypes of ignora nce
,_ will Vdnisb; tbe only Acmaa ,3elf-l u mi no us shines r~splendent as Pure
Consciousness. Lt is t he Atmao that makes the Self-enquiry; it is tL e
At m au t hcit realises the At man; lbe At rnan sees t be Atmau i tsdr.
Io this Self- reai1sation by tbe Seif, there is no wse of ignorance.
The wise koow t hat the real p lact; of tbe At man is the place of the
destr uctiiln L>f igaoranc~. The At man cari not be realised a1; long
as tbere is varie ty or varied aess. Tbe methods of the teaching of
the G uru, the study of the Sastras etc are not the causes of the
kno wledge of t be Self. O ae wh o wan ts to realise tbe Self is to conpuer
the sum total of the senses. The koow~ edg e of the self is beyond the
senses; it sbi oes oaly when the sen~es perish. So, the teaching
of t he Guru is not tbe Cd US:: of tbe k[)o wledge or tbe Se lf.
T he desired thing is attai ned ooly when the o ther thing is ab.sent
when the other thrng is not absent, the desired tb ing can not be
a ttained. Thougn 1n reality, the teachings of the G uru eto are not
the cause of th e knowledge of the Self. they are taken a s causes
The teach ings of the Guru etc are helpfu l to drive away igaorar: ..
ce, With the end of igo oran ce, knowledge tbougb invL ible and
indefi nite, daw ns. Th~ Self is oot realised by the Sas tras; it is no
126 Y oga V asislztl1a

underst ood by tbe teachings or the Guru, but it is realised by

itself; However, in the absence of the study of the Sastras and
the teachings of tbe Guru, the Self is not realised. The combi ..
nation Gf the above leads to Self.. reaiisation. Constant reference
to the S:1stras, perpetual teachings of the Guru etc make Self ..
realisation possible, just as the day makes the routine of daily
affairs possible. Siva, the all - auspicious called At rna . Tat, Sac:
etc is the residae after the destruction of all sense~, jr y~ and
sorrows etc. That by which the Satta and asatta of th;; world
is accepted, that wbicb is purer than the sky is tt1e true form of
the Self pointed out as endless and the True. The rulers of the
quarters and the worlds, making the pec uliar world and the pur~
philosophy of the Atman as one and livin g in tbe real form of
the Atman; tbe great scholars who are jivan muktas and are very
near tbe Supreme Bl iss aud who are not fully liberated as they
are with the puticle of ignorance of tbe sattwik type, for the
beoefir of the seekers after trurh, for the inculcati on of the
true reality, in consultation with the great Sas ·ra s called this
formless and nameless Paramatma as tbe Brahman, Siva, the Atman ~
lswara, Paramatma, lsa and Cbit etc~ The ph ilosophy of the world is
the philosophy of the Atman, Siva, the Self. It alw:-. ys is the root
of a.II always by all rneaos . Realise this aod be happy. Firmly esta-
blish yourself in the Pararnapada, while the great knowers of the Self
worship thus the A trnan·God. even we remain there :'.1s servants.

Sri Vasishtba :- 'Sir. tbe world is nor really in the Atman

but it appears to be i a. Kindly eul igh tea me on t bis point.

Sri Iswara:- ' fhe meaning of the words tb~ B1a hmaa
etc is the one Chit ; even the pure sky is very big like the
Meru befor~ the atom. It bears names by becoming the Chetya;
again in the state of Nirvikalpasimadhi. it verily becomes the
Chit. just as a man changes in the dream as a wild elepbant