The Yoga Vasistha is a syncretic work, containing elements of Vedanta, Yoga, Samkhya, Saiva Sidd
hanta, Jainism and Mahayana Buddhism, thus making it, according to Chapple, “a Hindu text par excellence, including, as does Hinduism, a mosaic-style amalgam of diverse and sometimes opposing traditions”. The Yoga Vasishtha was once one of the most widely read books in India. It greatly influenced the general philosophical thought. Rishi Valmiki, the author of the Ramayana, compiled this remarkable book. He related the whole of Yoga Vasishtha to Rishi Bharadwaja as it passed between Sri Rama and sage Vasishtha. The Yoga Vasishtha deals with the subject of effecting union of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul amidst all the trials and tribulations of life. It prescribes various directions for the union of the Jivatman and Paramatman.
The Lord cannot be seen with the help of the sacred texts or the Guru. The self is seen by the Self alone with the pure intellect.
practice, but this art of wisdom grows steadily once it rises.
cool and free from attachment and hatred and who looks
upon this (world) like a mere spectator.
sorrow; when devoid of all thoughts he enjoys imperishable
bliss.
of years in a dream lasting an hour, so also we experience
the sport of maya in our waking state.
that worldly objects are deceptive, still thinks of them, is
an ass not a man.
sorrow; when devoid of all thoughts he enjoys imperishable
bliss.
knowing his own Self, takes pleasure in sense-objects,
like one who realizes too late that the food eaten by him
was poisonous.
them becomes unlimited. So also when bodies cease to
exist the Self remains eternal and unattached.
them becomes unlimited. So also when bodies cease to
exist the Self remains eternal and unattached.
