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Among all the works on Vedanta, Yoga Vasishtam stands out as the most ancient,\u00a0 most voluminous and most enlightening.\u00a0 Yoga Vasishtam is the outstanding work \u00a0on Self-knowledge.\u00a0 \u00a0The word Yoga is defined as uniting the human spirit with the divine. When the five senses and mind remain still and the intellect is inactive, the highest state of Yoga is attained.\u00a0 Yoga Vasishtam, attributed to sage Vasishta and authored by Valmiki in Sanskrit, is considered as the Vedanta of the highest order.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0It is a voluminous work consisting of 32000 verses in six broad divisions; such as dispassion, qualification of a seeker, creation, existence, dissolution and liberation<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n After his pilgrimage to many places, when Sri Rama returned to the palace, he was not the same.\u00a0 Some changes were visible in him.\u00a0 That was the time when sage Viswamitra and sage Vasishta were also present in the Court.\u00a0 At the call of Dasaratha, Sri Rama\u00a0 came to the Court, \u00a0paid obeisance to his father and to the sages before him.\u00a0 On being enquired about his welfare, Rama said that what he observed during his pilgrimage has disturbed him.\u00a0 Addressing the sages before him, he said:\u00a0 \u201cWhy there are conflicts, why there are sorrows and why there are deaths?\u00a0 Guide me the way towards peace, towards truth\u00a0\u00a0 and towards immortality.\u201c\u00a0 Listening to Rama, Sage Viswamitra said:\u00a0 \u201cThese are the symptoms of Rama\u2019s awakening; the symptoms of his detachment; the qualities which need to be affirmed by sage Vasishta.\u00a0 Vasishta then commenced his \u00a0marathon advice.\u00a0 The dialogue held between Sri Rama and Sage Vasishta, witnessed by Dasaratha and other pundits, has come to be known as Yoga Vasishtam.\u00a0 Yoga Vasishtam is the revelation of Vedanta made through teachings and stories.\u00a0 It is the highest spiritual knowledge that takes one to his ideal destination, the liberation.\u00a0 But it is not easily accessible to all.\u00a0\u00a0 Yoga Vasishtam says that there are four gates that lead to this treasure chest of Jnana and only the one who has certain qualities can enter these gates.\u00a0 The author of Yoga Vasishtam describes them \u2018the four gate-keepers of liberation\u2019 (Moksha Dwara Pala). The four gate-keepers symbolize peace, contentment, Satsang and Self-enquiry.\u00a0 Even if one acquires any one of these four qualities in good measure, he would find easy access to the other three gates.\u00a0\u00a0 For the present, we will limit our study of these four gates and leave the rest part of Yoga Vasishtam study for another occasion.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Peace (Shanti). Peace is the ideal condition by which one can pursue his goal.\u00a0\u00a0 All devotional activities, whether Veda Parayana or Namasankeerthan, end up with a prayer for peace.\u00a0 Pease alone create conditions conducive for Jnana.\u00a0 At the end of its Mantra, Asatho Maa Sadgamaya\u2019<\/em> the Upanishad asserts three times:\u00a0 \u201cLet peace prevail all over the universe\u201d.\u00a0 According to Yoga Vasishtam, he who ever remains ever in peace is eligible to enter the first gate.\u00a0 When one distances himself from the world and when he does not differentiate himself from all others, he remains in peace. When he remains still and silent like Arunachala mountain, he remains in peace.\u00a0 Having identified himself with the Arunachala mountain, Sri Ramana remained in peace.\u00a0 Once, while he was looking at Arunachala Mountain, a devotee asked him: \u201cAre you looking at the mountain?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cNo\u201d, Bhagavan said, I am looking at myself.\u00a0 \u00a0Peace, paves way for clear vision.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Peace paves the way for introspection.\u00a0 When one is at peace with himself, he finds peace everywhere.\u00a0 When one is at peace, he does not long for anything.\u00a0 Peace is real happiness.\u00a0 It is the mind which generates thoughts and disturbs peace.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The best way to conquer the mind is to keep it restless by means of self-control.\u00a0 \u00a0Meditation and Yoga are the tools which help to exercise mind control.\u00a0 Addressing Sri Rama, Sage Vasishta says: \u201cHe who wears the armour of self-control becomes knowledgeable and reaches the highest state of excellence. He whose mind is at peace is free from dualities such as likes and dislikes, attachment and aversions, pleasure and pain.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Contentment: Contentment means being satisfied with what one has. Contentment is the state of being fulfilled or being self-sufficient. It comes from within. \u00a0But contentment does not mean refraining from self-effort.\u00a0 One should\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 pursue higher objective and strive for it.\u00a0 However, striving is not a continuous journey.\u00a0 A time comes for a break and one realizes it is enough.\u00a0 This is the third stage of Vanasprastha when he realizes that what he has gained in material terms is enough and what he has to gain in spiritual term is more.\u00a0 This is the time when he stops longing for something.\u00a0 He has no desire for anything.\u00a0 A bungalow constructed opposite his house does not make any impact upon him.\u00a0 This is the time when his priorities change and when his attention turns towards Ramana Bhagavan who has renounced everything.\u00a0 He thinks of King Mahabali who gave up everything to Vamana, surrendered before him and remained contended.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Contentment is the base on which the entire Hindu philosophy is built.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \n Another word for contentment is desireless-ness.\u00a0 Desire-lessness can be cultivated\u00a0 by reading biographies of renounced saints and following the practices of dispassion and austerity which they advocate.\u00a0 \u00a0A Guru who initiates a Sabari Hill bound devotee and asks him to discard his desires and divest himself from the false notion of \u2018I\u2019.\u00a0 \u00a0 Rama was going to the forest leaving behind the affluence and abundance that the palace life has provided.\u00a0 \u00a0Kausalya then asked him: \u201cOh Rama, having used to a luxurious life, how can you adjust to the surroundings of forest where nothing will be available.\u00a0 Rama said, \u201cHe who is desireless and he who is contended can find fulfillment in life wherever he is.\u00a0 Desire is the cause for bondage and desirelessness is the way for freedom.\u00a0 When the desire crops up in the mind, it should be nipped in the bud like the weed which prevents the growth of the plant is removed.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Unjavrithi is an integral part of Namasankeerthanam.\u00a0 Unjavrithi means going around the neighbourhood and seeking alms.\u00a0 Even Adi Sankara used to go with a begging bowl and ask for alms.\u00a0 Though the practice cannot be adopted as a way of life, the message of desirelessness it gives should be emphasized.\u00a0 \u00a0It underlines the importance of renunciation and dispassion.\u00a0 Sadguru Swamigal, the doyen of Namasankeerthan, said: \u201cWhen you go out and accept whatever is offered, your pride goes, the desire for possession goes and even the sense of possessor goes.\u201d\u00a0 Kanchi Paramacharya was a living testimony of simplicity and austerity. Though he lived in the world, he was totally detached from it.\u00a0 His smile revealed that he was ever contended and ever in peace. The only possession which Bhagavan Sri Ramana had was the loin cloth and a staff (dhanda) and he was hailed as embodiment of truth.\u00a0 \u00a0Bhagavan also used to join those who were going on Unjavrithi and even composed a song which they could recite while going from door to door.\u00a0 The song song, Aksharamanamalai became one of the foremost prayers of devotees.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Satsang: The third requirement is association with noble people. Among the many ways advised for spiritual up-liftment, none is regarded as most effective and most valuable as Satsang, the forum where one remains in the company of saints and sages.\u00a0 One experiences the light of wisdom just by being near the sages or listening to them.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0While being in Satsang one derives inspiration from all learned persons around.\u00a0 By associating with luminaries who have transcended the mind, the participant\u2019s mind also attains purity.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0According to Krishna,\u00a0 neither Yoga practices, nor Sankya philosophy which discriminates between matter and spirit, nor study of Vedas, nor austerities, charities, sacrifices or pilgrimage draw me towards God as closely as Satsang.\u00a0 One may not have studied Vedas or engaged in austerities and sacrifices but one gets all those benefits by being near the enlightened personalities who transmit their divine power to all around.\u00a0 \u00a0In the midst of his worldly activities, one should spare some time to attend the assembly of learned.\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cThrough the company of the wise or the good, there arises non-attachment; from non-attachment comes freedom from delusion; where there is freedom from delusion, there is abidance in self-knowledge\u201d said Adi Sankara in his immortal song, Bhaja Vogindam..\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Self-Enquiry: Steeped in ignorance, the individual believes that he is a separate entity with a body and mind who experiences a real world outside him. He is not aware that the \u2018I\u2019 he refers to is merely a thought that comes from his mind.\u00a0 Since childhood he comes under the notion \u2018I am the body\u2019 or \u2018I am the mind\u2019.\u00a0 The \u2018I\u2019 is not the body or mind.\u00a0 \u201cI am\u2019 is the expression of Self which gives me the consciousness of his existence.\u00a0 The consciousness of \u2018I exist\u2019 is one\u2019s first and fundamental experience.\u00a0 He knows all external objects through the help of his senses like eyes and ears but to know that he exists, he does not need the help of his mind or senses.\u00a0 He is aware of his existence even while sitting in a dark room. Though he is the knowledge absolute, the ever existing Self, the delusion comes because he identifies himself his body and mind.\u00a0 He should enquire who he actually is and what his real nature.\u00a0 As the enquiry continues, he discards all his peripheral elements like body, mind and senses and realizes the Self that is fundamental and that shines forever.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n While Bhagavad Gita is the advice given by God,\u00a0 Yoga Vasishta is the advice given to by God.\u00a0 It is said that neither the ignorant nor the knowledgeable is eligible to study it and only the one who thinks \u201cI am bound\u201d is entitled to study it. Yog Vasisht is not addressed exclusively to Ram, who is already an Uttam Purush, perfection personified, but to all those who are obsessed with the material life.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Among all the works on Vedanta, Yoga Vasishtam stands out as the most ancient,\u00a0 most voluminous and most enlightening.\u00a0 Yoga Vasishtam is the outstanding work \u00a0on Self-knowledge.\u00a0 \u00a0The word Yoga is defined as uniting the human spirit with the divine…. 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