Yoga Vasishtha – Excerpt

1. Consciousness which is undivided imagines to itself desirable objects and runs after them. It is then known as the mind.
2. From this Omnipresent and Omnipotent Supreme Lord arose, like ripples in water, the power of imagining separate objects.
3. Just as fire born out of wind [fanned into a flame] is extinguished by the same wind, so also that which is born of imagination is destroyed by imagination itself.
4. The mind has come into existence through this imagination on account of forgetfulness. Like the experience of one’s own death in a dream it ceases to exist when scrutinised.
5. The idea of Self in what is not the Self is due to incorrect understanding. The idea of Reality in what is unreal, O Rama, know that to be the mind.
6. “This is he”, “I am this”, “That is mine”, such ideas constitute the mind; it disappears when one ponders over these false ideas.
7. It is the nature of the mind to accept certain things and to reject others; this is bondage, nothing else.
8. The mind is the creator of the world, the mind is the individual living principle; only that which is done by the mind is regarded as done, not that which is done by the body. The arm with which one embraces the wife is the very arm with which one embraces the daughter.
9. The mind is the cause of the objects of perception. The three worlds depend upon it. When it is dissolved, the world is also dissolved. It is to be purified with effort.
10. The mind is bound by the latent impressions. When there are no impressions it is free. Therefore, O Rama, bring about quickly, through discrimination, the state in which there are no impressions.
11. Just as a streak of cloud appears to stain the moon or a blotch of ink a lime-plastered wall, so also the evil spirit of desire stains the inner man.
12. O Rama, he who, with in-turned mind, offers all the three worlds, like dried-grass, as an oblation in the fire of knowledge, becomes free from the illusions of the mind.
13. When one knows the real truth about acceptance and rejection and does not think of anything but abides in himself, abandoning everything, his mind does not come into existence.
14. The mind is terrible in the waking state, gentle in the dream state, dull in deep sleep and dead when not in any of these three states.
15. Just as the powder of the kataka seed, after precipitating the dirt in water, becomes merged in the water, so also the mind after removing all impressions itself becomes merged in the Self.
16. The mind is samsara; the mind is also said to be bondage; the body is activated by the mind just as a tree is shaken by the wind.
17. Conquer your mind first, by pressing the palm with the palm, grinding the teeth with the teeth and twisting the limbs with the limbs.
18. Does not the fool feel ashamed to move about in the world as he pleases and talk about meditation when he is not able to conquer even the mind?
19. The only God to be conquered is the mind. Its conquest leads to the attainment of everything. Without its conquest all other efforts are fruitless.
20. To be unperturbed is the foundation of blessedness. One attains liberation by it. To human beings even the conquest of the three worlds, without the conquest of the mind, is as insignificant as a blade of grass.
21. Association with the wise, abandonment of latent impressions, Self-enquiry, control of breathing – these are the means of conquering the mind.
22. To one who is shod with leather, the earth is as good as covered with leather. Even so to the mind which is full and undivided, the world overflows with nectar.
23. The mind becomes bound by thinking “I am not Reality”; it becomes completely released by thinking “I am Reality”.
24. When the mind is abandoned, everything that is dual or single is dissolved. What remains after that is the Supreme Reality, peaceful, Eternal and free from misery.
25. There is nothing to equal the Supreme joy felt by a person of pure mind who has attained the state of pure consciousness.

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These excerpts from the Yoga Vasishtha explore the nature of the human mind, defining it as a fragment of universal consciousness that has become lost in the illusion of separation. The text asserts that the perceivable world is merely a mental construct fueled by desire and subjective impressions, which leads to a state of spiritual bondage. True liberation is achieved not through external action, but by conquering the mind through self-enquiry, disciplined breathing, and the company of the wise. By refining the intellect and abandoning dualistic thoughts, an individual can dissolve the false ego and return to a state of pure consciousness. Ultimately, the source emphasizes that achieving an unperturbed inner state is the only path to experiencing supreme reality and eternal peace.