Yoga-Vāsiṣṭha Book 1 Ch 3—Attaining Liberation
Channel: Consciousness Research Centre
Date: 18/08/2017

This series is classified Ajata-vāda | Jñāna-yoga | Turīya | Sahasrāra-cakra

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Bhāradvāja said, “O brahmin, first tell me about Rāma, then enlighten me by degrees with the knowledge of how to attain liberation in this life so that I may be happy forever.”
Vālmīki replied: “Know, holy saint, that the things seen in this world are deceiving, even as the blueness of the sky is an optical illusion. Therefore it is better to efface them in oblivion rather than to keep their memory. All visible objects have no actual existence. We have no idea of them except through sensation. Inquire into these apprehensions and you will never find them as real. It is possible to attain this knowledge. It is fully expounded here. If you will listen attentively, you shall get at the truth and not otherwise.” — 1.3.1-4

“The conception of this world is a mistake. Though we actually see it, it never exists. It appears in the same light, O sinless saint, as the different colors in the sky. The conviction that the objects we see do not exist of themselves leads to the removal of their impressions from the mind. Thus perfected, the supreme and eternal bliss of self-extinction springs in the mind. Otherwise, there is no peace to be had for men like you, rolling in the depths of studies for thousands of years and unacquainted with true knowledge.”— 1.3.5-7

“Complete abandonment of desires (vāsana, mental conditioning) is called the best state of liberation (mokṣa) and is the only pure step towards happiness. The absence of desires leads to the extinction of mental actions, in the same manner as the absence of cold melts small particles of ice. Our desires uphold our living bodies and bind us tightly to our bodily prison like ropes. These being loosened, the inner soul is liberated.”— 1.3.8-10

“Vāsana is of two kinds: pure and impure. The impure ones cause reincarnation, while the pure ones serve to destroy it. An impure desire is like a mist of ignorance, the stubborn obsessive feeling that one is the individual ego. The wise say that individual ego is the cause of rebirth. A pure desire is like a parched seed that is incapable of bringing forth the germ of rebirth. It only supports the present body. Pure desires, unattended with rebirth, reside in the bodies of men who are living-liberated (jīvanmukta). They are like unmoving wheels. Those who have pure desires are not liable for rebirth. They are said to be knowing all things that ought to be known. These are called jīvanmukta and are of superior intelligence.” — 1.3.11-15

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