Spiritual-Enquiry – the Yoga Vasistha

The book “The Supreme Yoga” is the teaching of the sage Vasistha imparted to Sri Rama. It contains true understanding about the creation of the world i.e. the world is nothing but the play of consciousness. the Yoga Vasistha is the greatest help to the spiritual awakening and direct experience of Truth. Vasistha demands direct observation of the mind, its motion, its notions, its reasoning, the assumed cause and the projected result. The book is a translation into English by Swami Venkatesananda of Divine Life Society, Rishikesh India. The article is primarily based on it.
 
The body is aggregate of flesh, blood etc., the mind vanishes on enquiry into its nature, self-limitation of consciousness and such other concepts are insentient (non-sense) – what is the ego? The senses exist and are engaged in self-satisfying activity all the time, the substances of the world are the substances of the world – where is the ego?
By engaging oneself in the enquiry into the nature of the self – “who am I?” the enquiry is the fire in which the very seed and roots of the tree known as Chitta (mind) are burnt completely.
The physical body is surely inert and it is certainly not the self. It is experienced only on account of the movement of thought in the mind. The organs of action are but parts of the body and hence they too are inert, being parts of the body which is inert. The sense-organs are inert, too, for they depend upon the mind for their functioning. I consider even the mind to be inert. The mind thinks and entertains notions, but it prompted to do so by the intellect, which is the determining agent. Even this intellect (buddhi) is surely inert, for it is directed by the ego-sense. From this ego-sense is inert, for it is conjured up the Jiva, just as a ghost is conjured up by the ignorant child. The Jiva is but pure consciousness clothed, as it were, by the life force, and it dwells in the heart.
It is the self which is pure consciousness that dwells as the Jiva because the consciousness becomes aware of itself as its own object. Though the self of pure consciousness, it imagines itself to be insentient and unreal on account of its perception of objects.
There is thus nothing which can be called ‘I’ and which undergoes being and non-being.
Abandon vanity, anger, impurity and violence, for great souls are not overcome by such base qualities. Remember past sorrows again and again, and with a cheerful attitude of mind enquire “who am I”?
 
Constantly enquiring into nature of the self, attain peace. This state of consciousness can be attained by the cultivation of dispassion, the study of scriptures, the instructions of a guru and by the persistent practice of enquiry. But, if the awakened intelligence is keen and sharp, you will attain it even without the other aids.
 
Enquiry is the second gate keeper to liberation. Non enquiring fool is really a storehouse of sorrow. The eye of spiritual enquiry does not lose its sight even in the midst of all activities; he who does not have this eye is indeed to be pitied. Knowledge of truth arises from such enquiry; from such knowledge there follows tranquillity in oneself; and then arises the supreme peace that passes understanding and the ending of all sorrow.
The distress of the mind is got rid of by enquiry into the nature of the self. When you have gained self-knowledge and when your consciousness has infinitely expanded, your mind no longer falls into the cesspool of the world.
 
Even as there is no oil in a rock, the diversity of sight, seer and scene or of doer, act and action, or knower, knowledge and known, does not exist in pure consciousness. Similarly, the distinction between ‘I’ and ‘You’, between the one and the many, is verbal. On enquiry, all these disappear and only the unmodified pure consciousness remains.
Spiritual Enquiry –
What is it that as ‘I’? I am not the mountain; the mountain is not mine. I am not the hill-tribe, nor the hill-tribe. This is merely called my kingdom: I abandon that notion. Now, the capital city is left. I am not this city nor it mine. That notion, too, is abandoned. Even so I abandon the notions of family relationships – wife, sons, etc.
Let me enquire into this body. I am not the inert substances like flesh and bones – nor am I the blood nor the organs of action. I am not the mind which is the root cause of this ignorant cycle of birth and death, I am not the faculty of discrimination nor am I the ego sense.
Now, what is left? What remains is the sentient Jiva. But it is involved in subject-object relationship. That which is the object of knowledge or comprehension is not the self. Thus, do I abandon that which is knowable – or the object. What now remains is the pure consciousness which is free from the shadow of doubt. I am the infinite self.
By enquiry, we attain to the supreme state of consciousness. Compassionate, yet not un-contemptuous; not avoiding the pairs of opposites and not jealous; neither intelligent nor non-intelligent; neither motivated nor non-motivated – one lives with equal vision and inner calmness.
 
Attaining Stage Beyond Happiness -
By following the attitude – “I am the space, I am the sun. I am the directions, above and below. I am the gods. I am the demons. I am all beings. I am darkness. I am earth, the oceans etc. I am the dust, the wind, the fire and all the world. I am omnipresent. How can there be anything other than me; one gains divine insight and remain firmly established in self-knowledge. By adopting this attitude, you will rise beyond joy and sorrow. 
 
Countless scenes are seen by the eyes in accordance with their natural function; why do you get involved in them? Indeed, it through repeated thinking, that this ignorant relationship is strengthened; but I shall now destroy it through right enquiry.
The mind is dead; all my worries and anxieties are dead; the demon known as ego-sense is dead, too: all this has been brought about through this mantra of enquiry. I am free and happy now.
There is no real duality. The subject exists because of the object, and the object is but a reflection of the subject: duality cannot be if there is no one, and where is the need for the notion of ‘unity’ if one alone exists? When thus real knowledge is gained by means of right enquiry and understanding, only that remains which is not expressible in words.
 
Mind & Tendencies -
The mind punishes itself by its own latent tendencies and restlessly wanders in the world. Sometimes mind experiences an imperfect awakening and it renounces the pleasures of the world without proper understanding – such renunciation itself proves to be a great source of sorrow. But when such renunciation arises out of the fulness of understanding, of wisdom born of enquiry into the nature of mind, the renunciation leads to supreme bliss. An uncontrolled mind is the source of sorrow; when it is thoroughly understood, the sorrow vanishes like mist at sunrise.
 
Delusion, craving, greed and attachment are non-existent; how can they exist when there is no duality? When bondage is non-existent, surely liberation is false, too.
 
Abandon your latent tendencies. Born of ignorance, these tendencies are hard to destroy, and they give birth to endless sorrow. Enquiry into the nature of the self-dispels the ignorance self-limiting tendency. In fact, the very desire to undertake this enquiry is able to bring about a change. Austerities and such other practices are of no use in this. When the mind is purified of its past by arising of wisdom, it abandons its previous tendencies. 
 
How to cultivate Dispassion - 

1. Day by day self-enquiry – generates dispassion.
2. He is disinterested in the activities of the market place but engage himself in meritorious activities. He is afraid of sin. His speech is appropriate to the occasion, soft, truthful and sweet. He gathers scriptures whenever and wherever he finds them and studies them.
3. Then Vicara-enquiry – He eagerly resorts to the company of holy ones who are well versed in the scriptures and in spiritual practices. He abandons evils like vanity, jealousy, delusion and greed. From the preceptors he learns all the secrets of yoga.
4. Next state is Asamsanga – non-attachment or freedom. He roams the forests in seclusion and strives to quieten the mind. Adherence to the scriptures and to virtuous conduct bestows upon him the faculty of seeing the truth. The non-attachment or freedom is of two types, the ordinary and the superior. One who practises the first type of freedom feels, “I am neither the doer, nor the enjoyer. I neither affect others nor an I afflicted by others. All this happens on account of past karma, under this aegis of God. I do nothing whether there is pain or pleasure, good fortune or calamity.