Have you heard about Yoga Vasistha Book? It is a book of 36,000 verses from the celebrated Sage Valmiki’s pen, the author of the Ramayana. Althought the real author is Vasistha, the texts are attributed to Valmiki. It recounts the time when sage Vasistha advises the young prince Rama. The teachings of Vasistha’s associates themselves with “Advaitha Vedanta”, “The Unreal Nature of the Manifest World”, and the “Principles of Non-Duality”. In this excerpt, we will look at the Yoga Vasistha summary and what it actually says.
Yoga Vasistha book is an essential work on Yoga and, at the same time, the most extended texts in Sanskrit after the Mahabharata. It consists of 32000 shlokas, including many short stories and anecdotes used to further stress the teachings of sound philosophical truth to Sri Rama.
Yoga Vasistha Book Summary
The book talks about multiple things. From realizing the self, to Moksha, to the essence of Atman, it guides about everything. It also talks about the qualification of a student. And in doing so, says that a person with a calm mind can achieve anything in this world. There are certain qualities that a student must have.
Moksha, in line with the Yoga Vasistha book, is about the discovery of the self. The book states that one, through the knowledge of his self, can identify and attain the bliss of Brahman. This basically means complete freedom from the cycle of birth and death. The mind attains its quiescence here. When compared to the infinitesimal bliss of Moksha, any pleasure on the earth is nothing.
The Yoga Vasistha Book also talks about Atman. The book states that only the mind can slay the Atman. And one can determine one’s karma through the actions of their mind. Therefore, to conclude, the book is probably one of the most important texts in Hinduism.