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Yoga Vasistha in Poem

Chapter VI: Dealing with Liberation

6. The Story of the Rock

(Nature of Consciousness)

The Great Rock

There is a great rock though most tender

Affectionate, omnipresent and eternal

Within it countless lotuses blossom

With countless petals seen and unseen

Sometimes the petals touch each other

Sometimes they face each other as well

Sometimes facing upwards or downwards

Some with roots entwined, some rootless

All things exist in it though they do not

This rock is indeed cosmic consciousness

It appears rock-like in its homogeneity

Harboring within universes of diversity

As one conceives different forms in a rock

So do galaxies and universes exist in it

Sculpting does not change the rock's substance

World-appearance does not change consciousness

The rock has infinite form potential

A sculptor sees all these in a rock

So does all appear in consciousness

Infinite expressions within consciousness

Carved or uncarved—rock remains rock

So also consciousness remains itself

World-appearance is an empty expression

The substance is pure consciousness only

All manifestations are Brahman only

Cosmic consciousness appears as all

Appearing modified though unmodified

How can it change when it alone is

The seed contains the seed only

Flowers are seed's blossoming

The seed expressing itself as flower

The cause expressing itself as effect

So with pure infinite consciousness

It gives rise to itself within itself

Duality ceases when this is realized

Consciousness always remains itself

What appears as a form—modification

Is consciousness itself, naught other

All this is Brahman the absolute

Second to Brahman none exists

Time, space and other such factors

These too are pure consciousness

Self is indivisible, infinite existence

Unity expressing diversity within itself

Numerous lotuses exist in one stone

But all in relation to the stone only

Many forms appear in mirages

But all in relation to water only

Brahman and world are synonyms

There is no essential difference

See all with the eye that is wisdom

Behold consciousness as all these forms

As water seen is hydrogen and oxygen

Even so the world is Brahman only

The apparently diverse is non-dual

The substratum of all is unity

Infinite consciousness pervades all

All exists in infinite consciousness

Diversity appears in non-duality

Without modifying existing unity

Appearance appears as reality

Though uncreated it appears real

When duality's illusion is abandoned

All this is seen as consciousness only

Must be Attained by Direct Experience

Sages are active but they are not fooled

They are firmly rooted in the unchanging

They work with minds that do not move

Having abandoned conceptualizing completely

By little movement of thought they function

Their consciousness is purified of all concepts

Existing here as pure consciousness only

This must be attained by direct experience

That alone exists, naught else

No body, senses, life-force or mind

Freed from all these—experience it

As the self in all that is ever seen

Without beginning, without end

Unaffected and free from change

It is mistaken for something else

Because it alone is everywhere

This self is everywhere, inside and out

In all and as all bodies it alone exists

Unaffected while individuals act different

Though the infinite stays ever the same

Be actively engaged in natural activities

Free from the sense of I-ness and 'mine'

Whatever is seen is Brahman only

Eternal, peaceful and utterly quiescent

Unmodified, Appearing Modified

True modification is real transformation

The substance itself must have changed

Such is not the case with Brahman

Which stays unchanged through dissolution

Before and after creation's appearance

It was and continues to be pure consciousness

The momentary disturbance seen in the middle

Is not modification as nothing really changes

The Difficulty in Instruction

What is said to be momentary disturbance

Is not really disturbance—just mere words

There is no other way to give instruction

Try to see what is intended through these

Earlier I urged you to make inquiry

Into the nature of this ignorance

Earlier, you were not fully awakened

That was necessary to bring awakening

If one declared 'All this is Brahman'

To one who has not awakened as yet

It is like asking a tree for relief

From suffering he is creating himself

Now that you are awakened I do declare

You, I and the universe is Brahman only

Whatever you do try to realize this

The truth is Brahman's omnipresence

Self alone is the reality in all beings

As clay is the reality in all pots seen

Inner movement of energy gives rise to

Apparent diversity in consciousness

What is to be known, what is to be seen

Brahman alone fills all and everything

Fullness is filled with fullness—its own self

This fullness is established in fullness only

Sense organs are present in all beings

But the dead do not experience sensations

While alive the same senses experience

What is not possible when death arrives

All is Infinite Consciousness Only

Birth, death, senses and the mind

We use these terms to communicate

All is infinite consciousness only

Appearing and functioning differently

The nature and senses in a person

The inner instrument and subtle body

The inner reflections of objects seen

All these are pure consciousness only

Though free from all modifications

The notion 'I am' arises in it

Localized it is known as the individual

Ego-sense, thoughts and mind arise

Intellect, senses and the body

All appear as the notion strengthens

By persistent pondering on these notions

Of 'I am' localized as an individual

This 'I am' sees other formations

They too feel the same 'I am'

Localized formations in consciousness

Thus 'you are' and 'they are' do arise

All forms asserting in delusion

Separateness based on initial errors

Of feeling 'I am' as a separate form

From other forms though notions only

Similar bodies and substance are all

Still because the 'I am' feels localized

They feel differences and separation

From each other though they are all one

Experience requires contact in some way

Contact requires separation similarly

Localized forms of the same substance

Separate and contact—called experience

But the individual or localized form

Is but a notion in its own mind

Persistent feelings of separateness

Make notions appear as reality

Whatever the individual conceives of

He strengthens by persistently pondering it

Nothing is actually created as such

One experiences one's own persistence

When you observe something very keenly

You will see that these notions try to interfere

Keep observing without being distracted

And see how these notions soon disappear

Seeing continues without notions

Only then you can try to discover

What it is that appears to be seen

Without interference of memory

Infinite consciousness alone assumes

All forms including the individual

But all these are notions within itself

Nothing is really created or assumed

Knowledge is inherent in consciousness

Consciousness mistakes its own knowledge

For an object limited by space and time

And experiences division in the indivisible

A Great Power

Great is the power of infinite consciousness

It cannot be challenged by anyone at all

When the individual surrenders individuality

Consciousness realizes itself as consciousness

As long as the individual feels separate

Distinct from others—protecting his own

He will continue to experience separation

And reap the harvest of his own sowing

All through this delusional experience

Consciousness stays unchanged, ever pure

Just as gold remains gold in any form

Be it a bracelet or ring—gold ever stays gold

Just as one dreams he has travelled far

And seen different sights in his own mind

So also does one travel in different births

To different conditions all within himself

It Can Be Overcome

But an error yesterday can be corrected

If we resolve rightly today, this moment

So also the habit of separative existence

Can be abolished by attaining liberation

'I am this body' is a notion in consciousness

This has taken seed deep within by repetition

Constantly dwelling and taking deep interest

In it and all associations that result therefrom

Confusion is the interference of conditioning

What appears with how you would like it to be

Delusion is feeling you are an individual

Separate from all that is seen and experienced

The same self has assumed all forms

The forms feel separate in delusion

They then act and strengthen ignorance

Experience adds confusion to delusion

All throughout this truth remains unchanged

Brahman alone exists—there is naught else

The bondage of illusion can be overcome

By abandoning conditioning—attaining freedom

All forms differ in levels of conditioning

But enough of perception of division

The whole universe is a manifestation

Of the energy of infinite consciousness

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