INVESTIGATION OF THE LIVING PRINCIPLE

The Yoga-Vasistha of Maharishi Valmiki is a discourse between Maharishi Vasistha and Sri Rama. The Yoga-Vasistha teaches that the world as we perceive it is a temporary dream or illusion created by the mind, and liberation comes from realising the true nature of reality as pure consciousness. The text is structured into six prakaranas: Vairagya (dispassion), Mumuksu vyavahara (qualifications of the seeker), Utpatti (creation), Sthiti (existence), Upasama (dissolution), and Nirvana (liberation). It emphasises the illusory nature of the phenomenal world and the importance of self-awareness, yoga, and self-knowledge to realise moksha, or liberation. It stresses self-effort, discrimination, self-enquiry, detachment from desires, and the importance of a qualified teacher in guiding one towards self-realisation. The text also explores the nature of mind, the nature of consciousness, the illusion of separateness, the path to enduring peace, the process of creation and dissolution, and the path to liberation from suffering. The Yoga-Vasistha presents the world as an illusionary dream, or a projection of the mind. Realising this is a crucial step towards liberation, or self-realisation. The ultimate goal is to realise the true nature of Reality as pure consciousness, Atman, or Self. This realisation leads to freedom from suffering and the cycle of birth and death. While acknowledging the influence of past actions, the Yoga-Vasistha (2.4.1 - 2.4.20) advocates for self-effort and does not advocate for fatalism. It highlights that everything in this world is obtainable by our efforts being properly employed. This knowledge of truth rises as the moon in the human mind and sheds its cooling and delightsome influence on the heart, that there is no other way to gain the fruits of our exertions but by our efforts. It says nothing comes out from what the dull and mistaken call chance or fate. It encourages individuals to take responsibility for their actions and make conscious efforts to improve their present and future. It emphasises the importance of self-effort in the journey towards self-realisation. It suggests that while past karmas, or actions, may influence the present, self-effort, particularly right action aligned with wisdom, can overcome even the effects of past karmas and shape one's destiny. Mind is the source of suffering, asserts Yoga-Vasistha (3.110.1-3.110.67), as the faculties of the mind, being deluded by the unrealities of particulars, continue to attribute specialities and differences to the general ones to their utter error. The mental powers are ever busy to multiply the unrealities to infinity, but the reality soon disperses the troublesome unrealities. The mind brings distant objects near it and throws the nearer ones at a distance. It trots and flutters in living beings; the unsullied understanding drives off the errors of imagination, as the sunshine dispels the darkness. The text highlights the mind as the source of suffering and bondage, due to its tendency to create desires, attachments, and illusions. It suggests that by purifying and directing the mind towards self-knowledge, one can overcome limitations and realise moksha, or liberation.

Dispassion Vairagya is presented in Yoga-Vasistha (Book I - Vairagya Khanda) as a crucial step in the spiritual journey, involving detachment from worldly desires and attachments. Yoga-Vasistha goes beyond mere disinterest, as it is not about indifference or apathy, but rather a state of inner freedom achieved through self-awareness and understanding the transient nature of worldly experiences. It's not about suppressing desires or creating aversion towards worldly things, but rather understanding their true nature and not being swayed by them. It is about a deep understanding of the impermanence of all things and a conscious effort to let go of attachments by recognising the impermanence of worldly pleasures and letting go of the desire for them.

While self-effort is essential, Yoga-Vasistha also emphasises the role of a qualified teacher in guiding the seeker towards self-realisation. The Yoga-Vasistha (3.118.1 - 3.118.30) outlines seven stages of wisdom (Bhumikas), which represent the progressive stages of spiritual development. These stages are a progressive path of self-discovery, moving from initial longing for truth to a state of complete liberation.

i. Shubheccha (Desire for Truth):

This initial stage involves a sincere longing and desire for self-knowledge and spiritual liberation.

ii. Vichara (Enquiry):

This stage is characterised by the practice of self-enquiry, contemplation, and investigation into the nature of reality. The sages urge us to step out of darkness into the light of Self-knowledge. By discriminating between our subjective Self and the objective appearances, we begin to see that our true nature is the unchanging reality.

iii. Tanumanasa (Subtle Mind):

Here, the mind becomes more subtle and refined through practices like meditation, leading to a focused and one-pointed mind.

iv. Sattvapatti (Purity of Mind):

This stage signifies the attainment of mental purity and clarity, where the mind is free from impurities and distractions.

v. Asamsakti (Non-Attachment):

At this stage, one develops a detachment from worldly desires and experiences, becoming less identified with external circumstances.

vi. Padarthabhavana (Abstraction):

This is the stage of transcending the limitations of the mind and experiencing reality beyond the realm of objects and concepts.

vii. Turiya (Liberation):

The final stage is characterised by the complete merging with the universal consciousness, experiencing pure awareness and freedom from all limitations.

The Yoga-Vasistha (2.13.1 - 2.13.84) explores the concept of moksha, or liberation from the cycle of birth and death, achieved through self-knowledge and the cessation of suffering. It is a state of blissful liberation from the limitations of the ego and the cycle of rebirth. It is described as the realisation of one's true Self, or Atman, and its unity with Brahman, or the Cosmic Self, or Absolute Existence. True knowledge, according to Yoga-Vasistha (3.60.1-3.60.63), consists in viewing the visibles as void and knowing the one vacuum as the sole unity and real entity; one loses himself at last in this infinite vacuity. It challenges the conventional understanding of time, suggesting it is not absolute but rather a construct of the mind. The Yoga-Vasistha (4.47.1 - 4.47.90) alludes to the possibility of life existing beyond Earth. It acknowledges the existence of diverse worlds and beings beyond our own, scattered throughout the vacuum of the divine essence. It describes how different beings, including gods, demigods, and other unearthly forms, emerge from the divine mind and populate these realms. There have been various kinds of beings also in many other worlds, having their manners and customs widely differing from one another. There are many other productions in the worlds, synchronous with others, and many to be born at times remotely distant from one another. It implies that beings in these different worlds may have varying levels of consciousness, karma, and spiritual development. It also doesn't explicitly detail life on other planets, but it provides a framework for understanding how different worlds could arise and be populated within the vast scope of the universe. There is no stability of anything in this revolutionary world, beside its being a maze of continuous delusion. The revolution of the world resembles the hallucination of Dasura's mind; it is a phantasia without any solidity in it.

1. Outline

 The Yoga-Vasistha (Chapter XXIV, "Investigation of the Living Principle) focuses on understanding the true nature of the Atman, or Self, and its relationship to the world. It contends that the living principle, or Atman, or Self, is the essence of being, and its meditation for realisation can eradicate attachment, passion, illusion, egotism, intolerance, and ignorance. In this, the Yoga-Vasistha (3.67.15-3.67.17) delves into the idea that the perceived world is a mental construct, a phantom of a dream, and emphasises that our perception of reality is shaped by the mind. True liberation comes from realising this. The Yoga-Vasistha describes the living principle as Atman, or Self, which is closely connected to Brahman, or Cosmic Self, or Absolute Existence, and is beyond the complicated experiences of the body and mind. It highlights the power of meditation on this living principle to remove sorrow and affliction, suggesting that it's the key to overcoming suffering and realisation of self. The Yoga-Vasistha (3.67.14) postulates that the world is a mental construct. It is the fallacy of the human mind that views the forms as realities and causes one to think his soul, which is freed from birth and form, to be born, living, and dead, as a man sees a city rise and fall in his delirium. The world of our perception is not inherently real but rather a projection of the mind, a "phantom" influenced by past experiences and habits. Moksha, or liberation, is through self-realisation, maintains the Yoga-Vasistha (3.57.46-3.57.48).

Our dreams, like our knowledge of all other things, are made known to us by our consciousness, the nature of which is as unknown to us as that of the inward soul. We do not find our dreams and desires as distinct from our consciousness of them; they appertain to it in the same manner as fluidity to water and motion to the air. Whatever difference may appear to exist between them is the effect of sheer ignorance, and this gross ignorance is the feature of this world, known as the phantom of fancy. By investigating the nature of the living principle and recognising the illusory nature of the world, one can attain moksha, or liberation from the cycle of birth and death. The importance of inquiry is the essential credo of Yoga-Vasistha (Chapter LXXIII—Inquiry into the Nature of the Soul).

It encourages introspection and inquiry into the nature of reality, suggesting that this is the path to understanding Atman, or true self, and achieving liberation. The nature of consciousness, espoused by Yoga-Vasistha (Chapter XCI—On the origin of the human body and consciousness), touches upon the idea that consciousness, even in its seemingly limited form within the living being, is ultimately connected to a larger, universal consciousness (Brahman). It aims to dispel the misconception that the world is inherently separate from Atman, or self, and that the self is bound to suffering. There are two causal principles, according to Yoga-Vasistha (3.67.4), combined with the living soul, namely, its predestination resulting from its prior acts and volitions and its later free will, which branches forth severally into the various causes of birth, death, and subsistence of beings.

2. Scriptures

There are scriptural mentions relating to the investigation of the living principle. The scriptural mentions highlight desirelessness, detachment, discrimination, discipline, and dispassion, which are, needless to say, the key words in scriptures for the practitioners of self-realisation.

It is hard to argue with the proposition that non-duality, or ‘becoming Brahman,’ means that there can be no second thing to desire. Consequently, the preparation of Sadhana Chatushtaya (the wisdom to discriminate between eternal and impermanent) and Karma yoga are there to attenuate desires, which in turn facilitates understanding of the advaitic message, which in turn reinforces desirelessness, detachment, discrimination, and dispassion.

The Brihadaranyka Upanishad (4.4.5) that Atman, or Self, is indeed Brahman, as well as identified with the intellect, the Manas, and the vital force; with the eyes and ears; with earth, water, air, and the ether; with fire and what is other than fire; with desire and the absence of desire; with anger and the absence of anger; with righteousness and unrighteousness; and with everything—identified, as is well known, with this (what is perceived) and with that (what is inferred). As it does and acts, so it becomes; by doing good it becomes good, and by doing evil it becomes evil—it becomes virtuous through good acts and vicious through evil acts. Others, however, assert that the self is solely defined by its desires. What it desires, it resolves; what it resolves, it works out; and what it works out, it attains.’ Only desire identifies the self. Its identification with other things, although it may be present, does not produce any results; hence the text emphatically says, ‘Identified with desire alone.’ Being identified with desire, whatever it desires, it resolves. That desire manifests itself as the slightest longing for a particular object, and, if unchecked, takes a more definite shape and becomes resolved. Resolve is a determination that leads to action. What it resolves as a result of the desire, it works out by doing the kind of work that is calculated to procure the objects resolved upon. And what it works out, it attains, i.e., its results. Therefore, desire is the only cause of its identification with everything. 

Children pursue outer pleasures and fall into the net of widespread death, but calm souls, having known what is unshakeable immortality, do not covet any uncertain thing in this world, asserts Katha Upanishad (2.1.1).

The self-existent Supreme Lord, according to Katha Upanishad (2.1.2), inflicted an injury upon the sense organs in creating them with outgoing tendencies; therefore, a man perceives only outer objects with them and not the inner Self. But a calm person, wishing for immortality, beholds the inner self with his eyes closed. Having one’s eye, i.e., the group of organs beginning with the ear, turned away from all sense-objects. Such a purified individual perceives the indwelling Self. For one cannot think of sense-objects and see the Self at the same time.When all desires clinging to the heart, proclaims (Katha Upanishad 2.3.14), of one fall off, then the mortal becomes immortal and here attains Brahman. When here, all the knots of the heart are sundered, and then the mortal becomes immortal. Thus much for the instruction, declares Katha Upanishad (2.3.15). As a lump of salt dropped into water dissolves with water, says Brihadaranyka Upanishad (2.4.12),  no one is able to pick it up, but wheresoever one takes it, it tastes salty. Even so, my dear, this great, endless, infinite reality is but pure intelligence. (The self) comes out (as a separate entity) from these elements, and (this separateness) is destroyed with them. After attaining this oneness, it has no more consciousness. This is what I say, my dear. So said Yājñavalkya.

Since ignorance is absolutely destroyed by the realisation of Brahman, how can the knower of Brahman, who is established in his nature as pure intelligence, possibly have any such particular consciousness? When the five organs of perception become still, together with the mind, and the intellect ceases to be active, that is called the highest state, contends Katha Upanishad (2.3.10). The Katha Upanishad (2.1.15) continues to affirm that as water pure poured into pure becomes the same only, so Atman of the thinker who knows thus, becomes; Oh Gautama. Therefore it is understood that the absolute cessation of the worldly existence follows from this knowledge, which has for its content Brahman, which is the self of all, so says Taittiriya Upanishad (2.1.1). The knower of Brahman attains the highest. Here is a verse uttering that very fact: "Brahman is truth, knowledge, and infinite. One who knows that Brahman as existing in the intellect, which is lodged in the supreme space in the heart, enjoys, in identification with the all-knowing Brahman, all desirable things simultaneously. From that Brahman indeed, which is the Self, was produced space. From space emerged air. From air was born fire. From fire was created water. From water sprang up earth. From earth were born the herbs. From the herbs was produced food. From food was born the human. That human, such as one is, is a product of the essence of food. Of one, this indeed is the head; this is the southern (right) side; this is the northern (left) side; this is the self; this is the stabilising tail.

3. Remarks

The investigation of the living principle as per Upanishadic affirmation:

Oṁ asato mā sadgamaya

tamasomā jyotir gamaya

mrityormāamritam gamaya

Oṁ śhānti śhānti śhāntiḥ

Om, (Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, 1.3.28.)

Lead me from the unreal to the real,

Lead me from darkness to light,

Lead me from death to immortality.

May peace be, may peace be, may peace be.

We all want to go from darkness to light, from untruth to truth, from unreal to real, from nonexistence to existence, and from death to immortality. This is a prayer for total cessation of all attachment and false identifications. This prayer aims to transition us from a state of death to one of immortality. Immortality cannot be achieved unless one is free from the lower impulses of lust, anger, and other such demonic qualities. Unless these devils are destroyed and divinity restored, until evil is annihilated and death is transcended by establishing purity in thought, word, and deed, one cannot hope to attain immortality. Thus, the human heart here pours out.

-Asutosh Satpathy