Namaste, Sangha!
On the YouTube channel "Dharma Mystery" you can listen to the audio-book "Yoga Vasistha" in a wonderful narration by karma-sannyasini Ilabila.
"Yoga Vasistha" is not just a sacred text; it is a monumental work that serves as the foundation of Advaita Vedanta philosophy, providing a detailed description of the psychology of a spiritual seeker. This teaching is expounded by the sage Vasistha (son of Brahma) to Prince Rama. Vasistha explains how the soul comes to the necessity of practice through disillusionment with worldly vanity (samsara).
"Yoga Vasistha" holds a central place in the study of Dharma. Its importance is comparable to the "Tripura Rahasya." It is a text about the nature of reality, consciousness, and the path to Liberation.
Guru Swami Vishnudevananda Giri says:
"In fact, 'Yoga Vasistha' is a unique spiritual encyclopedia. Its level of presentation is very high, yet very accessible... If you study only 'Yoga Vasistha' your whole life, that is quite enough for Liberation."
The text possesses a special power: it is capable of granting understanding even to those who experience difficulties with the intellectual comprehension of higher truths. The Guru notes:
"He who feels problems with the intellectual understanding of the view... let him draw vision from 'Yoga Vasistha'. You will find everything here, from basic practices to the very highest."
Working with this text brings Shastra-kripa — the grace of the sacred scripture.
The study of "Yoga Vasistha" is recommended to everyone who seeks to establish themselves in the Advaita view and purify their mind to perceive the Truth.
Om Shanti
