Moment to Speak

In the Moksha Gita , Swami Sivananda eloquently provides deep insight into Māyā , the illusory power of Brahmān , the Supreme Being or the Cosmic Self. Of course nothing is in a state, whether latent or manifest, without the glance of Brahmān . It is an interplay of ephemeral, or temporal vs. everlasting, or eternal. The choice is before mankind, as Yoga-Vasistha proclaims through self-awakening based on self-effort. Sage Vasistha teaches Sri Rāma that liberation of the soul, whether of embodied or disembodied spirits, consists in their detachment from the objects of sense; hence, the soul, unattached to sensual gratification, is said to be liberated, having no idea of sensible objects. He goes on to say that though we see before us the living liberated Sage Vyasa as an embodied person, yet we have no doubt of the detachment of his inward soul from the mortal coil of his body. Liberation, whether with or without the body, is productive of unselfishness; we have lost our selfishnes...

Individuality is an idea related to the individual as a psycho-physical and mental construct bestowing certain identification attributes emanating from that construct but artificially validated by a group of people. It is afflicted by the ego, harboured in the body-mind complex, and benchmarked by the duality of the worldview. It is by nature, according to Brihadāranyaka Upanishad (4.2.1), manifest and unmanifest like the tree and the seed, and is made up of name, form, and action. It is in the mode of ignorance as it subjects itself to means-end relationships. According to the sage philosopher, Swami Krishnananda , there is an agreement among people that certain ideas should be accepted as logically valid. That is called temporal law. Man-made law is temporal law, and it is valid as long as people who are concerned with it agree that it is valid. However, that principle loses its validity if it is not agreed upon. Accordingly, ownership likewise ends when people's acceptance ...

The text of Yoga-Vasistha is based on questions from Sri Rāma, the main character of the  Rāmayana of Sage Valmiki, and answers by Sage Vasistha. Stories and fables tell much of the text of Yoga-Vasistha, revolving around the idea that our own sense perception of the illusionary world causes worldly miseries. It affirms that whatever we perceive on the outside is merely a reflection of thoughts manufactured by our thought machine, the mind.  Within the body, mind, and intellect combination, the  mind  is the most dynamic. In terms of subtlety, speed, thought, quickness, ability to produce ideas and think critically, and multidimensionality, it is omnipresent and pervasive. A mind is a collection of ideas, according to  Swami Sivananda . He continues by saying that the idea "I" is the primary and fundamental thought of all thoughts. The mind uses sensory mechanisms to process information and carry out actions. However, due to its inability to function independ...

The Yoga-Vasistha ,  according to Swami Sivananda , first sets out the doctrinaire in all of its aspects before utilising engrossing tales and fables to make it abundantly evident.  a. The lines of doctrinaire highlights on the universe are a manifestation of thought and mind that itself is transitory and ephemeral. It is only an idea and a conception of the mind. Yoga-Vasistha : “Water in the mirage does not come into being and go out of existence; even so, this world neither comes out of the absolute nor does it go anywhere. The creation of the world has no cause, and therefore it has no beginning. It does not exist even now; how can it reach destruction?” b. Space and Time are not absolute.  Space and time do not have any absolute meaning, being relative to the standpoints of observing centres or perceptual contents. Sage philosopher  Swami Krishnananda in his commentary on Yoga-Vasistha says that "space is the relation of the coexistence of ideas, and time...

The Yoga-Vasistha , according to Swami Sivananda , first explains a doctrine in all of its facets before using captivating stories and fables to make it extremely clear. It addresses the topic of stressing the one and inseparable aspects of the Ātman  (individual soul) and Paramātman (Supreme soul), one inseparable in the midst of all of life's hardships. It provides a number of guidelines for the union of the Paramātman and Jivatman . The relationship between light and its source is analogous to that between the Jivatma and Paramātma . Yoga-Vasistha says that this world of experience with its different objects, laws, time, and space is a notion, or Kalpana , that arises from the mind. In the same way that the mind creates objects during dreams, it also creates everything during waking hours. Sankalpa (the operation of thought) is the expansion of the mind. Sankalpa creates this cosmos by means of its differentiating power. Space and time are merely constructs of the mind....

Yoga-Vasistha , an ascribed work to Sage Valmiki, is based on discourses by Sage Vasistha to Sri Rāma, the main character of the Rāmāyana , on Utpatti (creation), Sthiti (preservation), Vairāgya (renunciation), Mumukshutva (aspiration for liberation), Nirvāna (salvation), and Upasama (dissolution). The book, according to Swami Sivananda , embodies in itself the science of ontology, the knowledge of the Self, the principles of psychology, the science of emotions, the tenets of ethics and practical morality, discourses on theology, etc.   Sage Vasistha in his teaching discourses to Sri Rāma highlights that the universe is nothing but a diversity of Māyā (illusion), being in its true state but Caitanya (consciousness) per se, which fact can be perceived through Divine Vision. Jīva (a living sentient   or soul), also known as the Self, creates distinct notions of "I," "we," and so on through its varied experiences with various objects, just like small pieces of...