[Advaita-l] Yoga Vasishtha Sara - The Essence of the Yoga Vasishtha - CHAPTER IV (DISSOLUTION OF THE MIND)

[S Jayanarayanan]

(Continued from previous post)  CHAPTER IV: DISSOLUTION OF THE MIND

1. Consciousness which is undividedimagines to itself desirable objects and runsafter them. It is then known as the mind. 2. From this omnipresent and omnipotentSupreme Lord arose, like ripples in water,the power of imagining separate objects. 3. Just as fire born out of wind (fannedinto a flame) is extinguished by the samewind, so also that which is born of imaginationis destroyed by imagination itself. 4. The mind has come into existencethrough this (imagination) on account offorgetfulness. Like the experience of one'sown death in a dream ceases to exist whenscrutinised. 5. The ideas of Self in what is not the Selfis, due to incorrect understanding. The ideaof reality in what is unreal, O Rama, knowthat to be the mind (chittam). 6. 'This is he' , 'I am this', 'That ismine', such (ideas) constitute the mind ; itdisappears when one ponders over thesefalse ideas. 7. It is the nature of the mind to acceptcertain things and to reject others ; this isthe bondage, nothing else. 8. The mind is the creator of the world ;the mind is the individual (purusha) ; onlythat which is done by the mind is regardedas done, not that which is done by thebody. The arm with which one embraces thewife is the very arm with which oneembraces the daughter. 9. The mind is the cause of (produces)the objects of perception. The three worldsdepend upon it. When it is dissolved theworld is also dissolved. It is to be cured(purified) with effort. 10. The mind is bound by the latent impressions(vasanas). When there are noimpressions it is free. Therefore, O Rama,bring about quickly, through discrimination,the state in which there are noimpressions. 11. Just as a streak of cloud stains(appears to stain) the moon or a blotch ofink a lime-plastered wall, so also the evilspirit of desire stains the inner man. 12. O Rama, he who, with inturned 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 aboutacceptance and rejection and does not think;of anything but abides in himself, abandoningeverything, (his) mind does not comeinto existence. 14. The mind is terrible (ghoram) in thewaking state, gentle (santam) in the dreamstate, dull (mudham) in deep sleep and deadwhen 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 themind (after removing all impressions) itselfbecomes merged (in the Self). 16. The mind is samsara ; the mind is alsosaid to be bondage ; the body is activated bythe mind just as a tree is shaken by thewind. 17. Conquer your mind first, by pressingthe palm with the palm, grinding the teethwith the teeth and twisting the limbs withthe limbs. 18. Does not the fool feel ashamed to moveabout in the world as he pleases and talkabout meditation when he is not able toconquer even the mind ? 19. The only god to be conquered, is themind. Its conquest leads to the attainmentof everything. Without its conquest all otherefforts are fruitless. 20. To be unperturbed is the foundationof blessedness (Sri). One attains liberationby it. To human beings even the conquest ofthe three worlds, without the conquest ofthe mind, is as insignificant as a blade ofgrass. 21. Association with the wise, abandonmentof latent impressions, self-enquiry,control of breathing — these are the meansof conquering the mind. 22. To one who is shod with leather theearth is as good as covered with leather.Even so to the mind which is full(undivided) the world overflows withnectar. 23. The mind becomes bound by thinking'I am not Brahman' ; it becomes completelyreleased by thinking 'I am Brahman'. 24. When the mind is abandoned (dissolved)everything that is dual or single isdissolved. What remains after that is theSupreme Brahman, peaceful, eternal andfree from misery. 25. There is nothing to equal the supremejoy felt by a person of pure mind who hasattained the state of pure consciousness andovercome death.  (To be Continued)