Endless Possibilities
Vasishta & Rama
Yoga Vasishta is addressed to a future king, Lord Rama. Sage Vasishta was consulted because young Rama had become so apathetic that he was unable to assume his duties to succeed his father on the throne. Several times in Yoga Vasishta, the sage gives Rama examples of how fully enlightened kings and emperors ruled their nations without any sense of personal attachment.
At the end, Rama not only attains Self-realization, he also understands that one who is completely unattached to the world should also perform the duties to which he was born.
Rama, being an incarnation of a god born to serve humanity on a cosmic level, was a bit special. Rama also was the perfect student who attained Self-realization in twenty-two days by listening to his guru, a perfected, Self-realized yogi. A perfect guide and a perfect student — no wonder Rama attained self realization.
Vasishta & the Rest of Us
We may not have a distinguished pedigree like Rama, or be an
avatar capable of assimilating such teaching and blessings so readily. Even so, Vasishta’s advice and teachings are as applicable to
us as they are to Rama. Each one of us rules a kingdom.
We can learn to diminish desires and abide in the consciousness that we really are. That consciousness is unaffected by the pleasures and pains that appear to exist in the world. We can engage in the business and activities to which we were born without worrying about the results. If we use our reason to inquire into the nature of existence, study spirituality, learn from others, and practice meditation, we will come to know who we are and why we are here. Even if we do not become liberated in this lifetime, our lives will be improved with more understanding and peace, and that will give us a leg-up the next time we dream up a life.
More accurately, because there is no time, we become more connected with our other lives in which we are more aware. As we seek to connect more closely to Consciousness, we connect with spiritual masters.
We need not expect to attain the ultimate liberation. Vasishta teaches that the desire for liberation can be as limiting as any other desire. Ultimately, there is no ignorance and no liberation.
We asked Shivabalayogi whether we all become yogis sooner or later. He replied, “It depends upon God, whoever God chooses.”
The Practical Yoga Vasishta Its Applications
Among the available scriptures, Yoga Vasishta is uniquely powerful. The ramifications of the philosophy of Yoga Vasishta are staggering. It is the ultimate self-help book. The opportunities for creativity are without limit.
Everything we can perceive with our senses is a creation of someone’s mind. Our dreams, silly and nonsensical as they are, are the creations of our minds. See the staggering growth, beauty, symmetry and structure of an oak tree, for example. Imagine the mind that created such harmony, far more refined and controlled than the disorganized monkey-mind that creates our own silly dreams. But we do create our own waking-dreams, our lives, and whether we like our lives or not, they are our own expressions of staggering growth, beauty, symmetry and structure.
“He who reads this spiritual work once, then neglects it thinking he has already read it and turns to the study of unspiritual books, is a miserable fool . . .. This excellent work is to be read always . . .. This book is calculated to reward the labor of the student if constantly read with reverence and rightly explained with diligence.” (VIB.163.49-50)
“Now you have to reconcile in yourself, by your best understanding, all that I have taught you and what you have read and learnt in the scriptures, and harmonize the whole for your guidance.” (VIB.203.21)
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