Yoga Vasishta is an important Vedanta text. It is narrated in the style of the Puranas and its content is philosophy. Yoga Vasishta, also referred as Yoga Vasistha Maharamayana, is ascribed to sage Valmiki and consists of 32,000 slokas.
In the Yoga Vasistha, Sage Vasishta answers the queries of Lord Ram. The questions raised by Lord Ram pertain to problems like life and death, human suffering, desire, happiness etc.
Yoga Vasishta is divided into six sections
- Dispassion
- Aspiration
- Origin
- Existence
- Quiescence
- Liberation
Through numerous stories, each section elucidates the truths of Vedanta.
There is also a smaller version of Yoga Vasistha called the ‘Laghu Yoga Vasistha.’ It contains 6000 verses and is an abridgement of the original.