Conversation between Sri Rama and Sage Vasishta is found in the famous book Yoga Vasistha. Here are few valuable lessons from that conversation.
When there is no egoism, there is no suffering.
When there is no egoism, there is no suffering.
Even while perfectly aware of the deception of the senses,
we are like fools behaving like their slaves.
Even if you have eyes, you need light to see your steps in
darkness. In the same way, even if you have enough knowledge, you need devotion
to Him in order to see the right path.
Only the ignorant think that they are different. You should
give up pride, egoism, wickedness and crookedness. You should never care for
the criticism of others…neither should you find fault with anyone. Control your
mind, speech and body and never be perturbed.
The knowledge of the Self is the fire that burns up the dry grass of desire. This indeed is what is called samadhi, not mere abstention from speech.
He who realizes that the whole universe is really nothing but consciousness and remains quite calm is protected by the armor of Brahman; he is happy.
Just as birds and beasts do not take shelter on a mountain on fire, so also evil (thoughts) never occur to a knower of Brahman.
Firmly convinced of non-duality and enjoying perfect mental peace, yogis go about their work seeing the world as if it were a dream.
What is called fate or divine will is nothing other than the action of self effort of the past. The present is infinitely more potent than the past. They indeed are fools who are satisfied with the fruits of their past effort and do not engage themselves in self effort now.
Sometimes it happens that without effort someone makes a great gain. This is neither an accident nor some kind of divine act, but the fruit of the self effort of the past birth.
Sometimes it happens that a farmer’s efforts are made fruitless by a hailstorm. Surely, the hailstorm’s own power was greater than the farmer’s effort and the farmer should put forth great effort now. He should not grieve over the inevitable loss. If such grief is justified why should he not weep daily over the inevitability of death?
The wise man should of course know what is capable of attainment by self effort and what is not. It is ignorance however to attribute all this to an outside agency and to say that God sends me to heaven or to hell or that an outside agency makes me do this or that – such an ignorant person should be shunned.
One should free oneself from likes and dislikes and engage oneself in righteous self effort and reach the supreme truth, knowing that self effort alone is another name for divine will.
Immutable, unchanging, consciousness is the reality and nothing else exists. One becomes bound by one’s own false thought and one is free when the false thought becomes extinct.
Rid of the blemish of imagination and remaining in one’s own pure supreme state, like a water drop losing itself into the sea, the noble soul stripped of all vasanas and impressions become one with Reality.
The contemplation of objects intensifies the bondage through it is unreal; with the desire for objects decreasing, the bondage in the world gets weakened.
Tranquility, inquiry, contentment and wise company are the friends needed to open the door of liberation.
One who says, ‘Fate is directing me to do this’ is brainless and the Goddess of fortune abandons him.
Know that the chanting of my name (Sri Rama) destroys all sins in this world, if the chanting is done with one pointed devotion and complete dependence upon me.
On account of false imagination, much as a rope is mistaken for a snake, so also the pure Supreme Self is mistaken for this universe by the power of maya. If we think deeply, the universe disappears and Brahman (God) alone remains.
I clearly see that such men are rare who do not become dejected when faced with danger, or overcome by delusion, who do not become proud when their selfish end is attained and who are not perturbed by the glances of women. We can seldom find such men.
What is contentment? To renounce all craving for what is not obtained unsought and to be satisfied with what comes unsought, without being elated or depressed ever by them – this is contentment…
What is contentment? To renounce all craving for what is not obtained unsought and to be satisfied with what comes unsought, without being elated or depressed ever by them – this is contentment…
There is no power greater than right action in the present moment
Enlightenment is characterized by the pure inner light.
This creation emerges from nothing, it dissolves in nothing its nature is void, it does not exist…
There is no place in the universe, no mountain, no sky, no heaven where one does not undergo the consequences of action performed by oneself…
Birds are able to fly with their two wings: even so both work and knowledge together lead to the supreme goal of liberation. Not indeed work alone nor indeed knowledge alone can lead to liberation: but, both of them together form the means of liberation.
Birds are able to fly with their two wings: even so both work and knowledge together lead to the supreme goal of liberation. Not indeed work alone nor indeed knowledge alone can lead to liberation: but, both of them together form the means of liberation.
Neither freedom from sorrow nor realization of one’s real nature is possible as long as conviction does not arise in one that the world-appearance is unreal.
Moksha or liberation is the total abandonment of all vasana or mental conditioning, with the least reserve. Mental conditioning is of two types – the pure and impure. The impure is the cause of birth; the pure liberates one from birth. The impure is of the nature of nescience and ego-sense; these are the seeds, as it were, for the tree of rebirth. On the other hand, when these seeds are abandoned, the mental conditioning that merely sustains the body, is of a pure nature. Such mental conditioning exists even in those who have been liberated while living: it does not lead to rebirth as it is sustained only by past momentum and not by present motivation.
Sage Vasishta On The Liberated State
Purity, total fulfilment of all desires (hence, their absence), friendliness to all, truthfulness, wisdom, tranquillity and blissfulness, sweetness of speech, supreme magnanimity, lustrousness, one-pointedness, realization of cosmic unity, fearlessness, absence of divided-consciousness, no perversity – these are my constant companions.
Since at all times everything everywhere happens in every manner, in me there is no desire or aversion towards anything whether pleasant or unpleasant.
Since all delusion has come to an end, since the mind has ceased to be and all evil thoughts have vanished, I rest peacefully in my own self.
Teachings On Mind From Yoga Vasistha
The mind obtains nothing at anytime; even if it obtains enormous wealth, it does not have inner contentment and is like the bamboo basket which cannot contain the water poured into it.
Mind is the cause from which external objects originate. Mind existing all the worlds exist. If that is attenuated the world becomes extinct. Therefore the mind has to be properly disciplined.
Like trees growing in abundance on the mountain slopes, countless joys and sorrows arise from the mind. If the mind is attenuated through discernment, the sorrows also get effectively dispelled.
The ghost of lust lurks in the hole of one’s mind and deludes the mind in a hundred ways.