AVTAR MOTA
THE INFLUENCE OF YOG VASISHTHA
“ O! One with a great intellect ( Sri Rama)! There is nothing in the three worlds, which cannot be obtained through a steadfast (unagitated, unperturbed, calm) efforts. Raghunandana! Everything in this world, at all times, can be obtained by everyone through proper (diligent) efforts.”………Yog Vasishtha
Vasishtha Yog Samhita or Yog Vasishtha is named after sage Vasishtha who is mentioned and revered in the seventh book of the Rigveda, and who was called as the first sage of the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy by Adi Shankara.It is believed to have been compiled by Valmiki Rishi author of Ramayana .It has been translated into Persian, English , Russian , French, Portuguese , Latvian, Tamil , Telgu ,Bangla, Gujrat, Marathi and many other languages. .It is a philosophical treatise that covers subjects like Jivan Mukta ( libertaed person ),Nirvana ( liberation ),Gyan Prakasha ( Light of Knowledge ), Atman ( Soul), Brahman ( the all powerful reality ), Śubhecchā (longing for the Truth), Turīya (perpetual samādhi), Vicāraa (right inquiry), Asasakti (unaffected by anything): , Padārtha abhāvana (sees Brahman everywhere), Sattvāpatti (attainment of sattva, “reality”), Tanumānasa (attenuation – or thinning out – of mental activities) etc. The books discussing these issues are known as Mumukshuvayahara-prakaranam (Exposition of the behavior of the seeker), Sthiti-prakaranam (Exposition of the existence and settling), Utpatti-prakaranam (Exposition of the arising and birth) Upashama-prakaranam (Exposition of the patience and tranquility) and Vairagya-prakaranam (Exposition of dispassion).
Museum , London
Yog Vasishtha consists of six books and about 29000 verses. Within these six books are stories told by sage Vasishtha in the form of a dialogue with Sri Rama. When Sri Rama realizes the futility of existence and the misery it brings with itself, he is struck with sorrow. When he seeks refuge in Rishi Vasishtha, the enlightened Rishi takes him to the pinnacle of truth through a dialogue between the two that later was captured in the scripture, Yoga Vasishtha. The timeless dialogue interspersed with deep philosophical stories brings out astounding truths about existence to destroy Sri Rama’s sorrow.
The six books comprising of the Yog Vasishtha unfold the major Yogic and Hindu philosophical and religious themes. According to Yoga Vasishtha, happiness visits a human being should he sincerely work for it. His action or effort must always be in four components. These components of effort are, Samo (quietude of mind), Vichara ( spirit of Enquiry), Santosha ( contentment ) and Satsang (the company of the realized ones). The philosophy of Yoga Vasishtha says that true happiness resides in our nature. And our true nature is beyond pain and pleasure. Pain and pleasure are reactions that arise from our cravings and bind our consciousness. These Verses have a philosophical foundation similar to those found in Advaita Vedanta. It is a treatise on the universe, the human mind, Maya, Brahman and the principles of non-duality.
According to Yog Vasishtha , the world is as real as a mirage. In other words, it does not exist! Modern physics seems to agree. A 2017 CERN (The European Organization for Nuclear Research) study observes a complete symmetry between matter and anti-matter in the universe. So, all the anti-matter in the universe should have cancelled the matter in the universe, which further suggests that the universe should not exist in the first place. Rishi Vasishtha explains this mind-boggling truth when Sri Rama asks him where does the world go during dissolution. To this query , Rishi Vasishtha says this :-
“Water in the mirage does not come into being and go out of existence; even so, this world does not come out of the absolute nor does it go anywhere. The creation of the world has no cause, and therefore it has no beginning. It does not exist even now; how can it reach destruction?”
Apart from Hindus and many western writers and philsophers ,many Muslims have also been lovers of Yog Vasishtha .Dara Shikoh was not only a lover of Upanishads but more profoundly a lover of Yog Vasishtha .The message and fame of Yog Vasishtha reached the Safavids of Iran. In the late sixteenth century , Nizam-ud-Din Panipati translated Yog Vasishtha into Persian and the translation came to be known as Jug-Basisht. In fact he did so at the specific request of Jalaluddin Akbar and dedicated his translation to Prince Salim ( later Jahangir ). Akbar had heard about Yog Vasishtha from many Brahmins whom he met. Akbar also became an admirer and lover of Yog Vasishtha . The Safavid-era mystic Mir Findiriski (d. 1641) also got a translated copy of Jug- Basisht and commented upon its various passages. Mirza Abdul Qadir Bedil (1642-1720), a Sufi poet of the Indian School known as ‘Sabk e Hindi’ was a lover of Yog.Vasishtha. Dr Gopi Chand Narang, the well-known scholar and authority on Ghalib writes this :-
“ Ghalib was highly influenced by the Persian poetry of Mirza Abdul Qadir Bedil ( 1642-1720 ). Bedil was a lover of Upanishads and had with him a Persian translation of “Yog Vasishtha” that he read and that influenced his thought .”
It may not be out of place to mention that Sultan Zain ul Abdin of Kashmir, fondly known as Budshah was also a lover of Yoga Vasishtha. It was Sanskrit scholar and his court historian Srivara who read passages from ‘Yog Vasishtha ‘ and explained these to the liberal Sultan.
I end with some quotes from Yog Vasishtha :-
When pots, etc. are broken the space within them becomes unlimited. So also when bodies cease to exist the Self remains eternal and unattached.
Whatever is seen does not truly exist. It is like the mythical city of Gandharvas or a mirage. That which is not seen, though within us, is called the eternal and indestructible Self.
The world is full of misery to an ignorant man and full of bliss to a wise man. The world is dark to a blind man and bright to one who has eyes.
Just as the cloth, when investigated, is seen to be nothing but thread, so also this world, when enquired into, is (seen to be) merely the Self.
He who realizes that the whole universe is really nothing but consciousness and remains quite calm is protected by the armour of Brahman; he is happy.
Just as a crystal is not stained by what is reflected in it, so also a knower of truth is not really affected by the result of his acts.
He who neither likes nor dislikes the objects seen by him and who acts (in the world) like one asleep, is said to be a liberated person.
O Rama, the mind has, by its own activity, bound itself; when it is calm it is free.
The mind is bound by the latent impressions (Vasanas). When there are no impressions it is free. Therefore, O Rama, bring about quickly, through discrimination, the state in which there are no impressions..
O Raghava ! You are bound firmly on all sides by the idea, I am the body’. Cut that bond by the sword of knowledge ‘I am Consciousness’ and be happy.
This vast work was summarized some centuries ago by Gauda Abhinanda ( also known as Abhinanda Pandita ), a Kashmiri scholar, into 6,000 couplets, which go by the name of Laghu Yoga Vasishtha.
Autar Mota is a noted writer and columnist
