More from Yoga Vasishta

[Guest guest]

The eternal, peaceful Self is entirely pure. It does not see

anything, but experiences the illusion of the mind, which is created

by its own illusion. If the Self exhibits its power by the actions of

the senses, that state is the waking state (jagrat). If the Self with

egoism is in between, that state is called the dream state (svapna).

If it is with vasanas, the residual tendencies in the heart, that

state is called the deep sleep stage (sushupti). If the Self passes

over these three states and remains as the real nature of Chit

(Consciousness), that state of beatitude is called the Turiya state.

This Turiya state is completely pure. Only Sat is the completely

happy state, which, when attained, will ever be beyond all woes and

worries. In the clear sky, the pearls appear and disappear falsely in

the sky itself. In the same way, the whole world appears in the Self

and disappears in it. Really, the false pearls have no existence and

the sky is not their support. In the same way, the world has no real

existence and is not in the Self. The sky is not the real cause of

the growth of the variegated world, but as it is not harmful to its

growth, it is said that it is the cause of the variegated world. In

the same way, the Self, which never acts, is not the cause of

anything, but yet as it is. It is not a hindrance, and so it is said

to be the cause of creation, which expands itself by illusion. The

mirror is said to be the cause of the reflection simply because it

happens to be in the vicinity. In the same way, due to the fact of

its proximity, the chaitanya (awareness) of the Self is said to be

the cause of all these things.

 

From the seed, the plant, the sprouts, the leaves and the fruits come

into existence. Similarly, from the Consciousness, the mind, the

jivas (individuals) and the intelligence come into existence. The

jiva, mixing himself with the drop of rain, enters the crop and

becomes seen again. In the same way, the chaitanya, also, full of the

vasanas (tendencies) of the jiva, after the deluge, again becomes the

form of creation. The capacity of the seed to germinate and the

capacity of the Self to create world are one and the same, but there

is a difference. Even if there is knowledge that the seed is the

tree, the idea that the tree is different from the seed will not

vanish. When, though, there is the knowledge that the Self is the

world, the idea that there is the world different from the Self will

vanish. Just as the lamp clearly shows the object and wherever the

earth is dug, there is the space, by discrimination one will realize

that chaitanya alone appears everywhere. The fools, seeing the

reflection of the forest in the moonstone think that it is a real

forest. In the same way, fools immersed in avidya, ignorance, see the

world in the Self. Though the moonstone is not a forest, it shines as

trees, creepers, and the earth that is its cause and support.

Likewise, the Self alone shines as the world in the form of drisya

(the seen, the objective).

 

----------------

Not two,

Richard