tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59835144443233548612024-03-12T21:19:43.768-07:00The Yogavasishtha of Valmiki by Dr Kuldip Kumar DhimanAdvaita Vedanta, self-knowledge, janana yoga, karma yoga, selfhood, free will, destiny, Maya, Nyaya, Samkhya, Yoga, Yogasutra, Patanjali, Pranayama, Purvamimamsa, Uttaramimamsa, Vedanta, Karma, Upanishads, Bhagavadgita, Brahmasutra, Vedas, Ramayana, Moksha, Nirvana, Kaivalya, Brahman, Brahma, Jiva, Dr Kuldip Kumar Dhimanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05021131488167841496noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983514444323354861.post-51310555517455297092013-12-17T12:33:00.002-08:002019-04-29T07:57:52.861-07:00The Yogavasishtha of Valmiki: Forthcoming book by Dr Kuldip Kumar Dhiman (Yogavasishtha of Valmiki). An enlightening dialogue between Rama and Vasishtha.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJhyphenhyphenITZ2CNuGCklk7-ODtX4vX1Q7rgaEYDkmh7B8mYmQN1YbP4MloK75w3sDKZQkSG5k0-v6lHZEg2yOEHPBMNsR_F5FcYW4gBKmn4pe5E6bhdA4vnHTU1tAI64ODVm6ec6XAYdbG5xw/s1600/Latest+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1035" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJhyphenhyphenITZ2CNuGCklk7-ODtX4vX1Q7rgaEYDkmh7B8mYmQN1YbP4MloK75w3sDKZQkSG5k0-v6lHZEg2yOEHPBMNsR_F5FcYW4gBKmn4pe5E6bhdA4vnHTU1tAI64ODVm6ec6XAYdbG5xw/s320/Latest+cover.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext;">Published by Wisdom Tree<br />widsomtreebooks@gmail.com</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext;">ISBN 978-81-8328-532-2</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext;">After Valmiki</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span> XE
"Vālmīki" </span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="color: windowtext;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>wrote the epic
Ramayaņa</span><!--[if supportFields]><span style='color:windowtext'><span
style='mso-element:field-begin'></span> XE "</span><span style='mso-bidi-font-size:
9.5pt;line-height:130%;color:windowtext'>Rāmāyaņa</span><span style='color:
windowtext'>" </span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="color: windowtext;">, called in full, Poorva Ramayaņa</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span> XE
"Rāmāyaņa: Pūrva" </span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="color: windowtext;">, he was approached by Brahma</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span> XE
"Brahmā" </span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="color: windowtext;">, the creator</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span> XE
"creator" </span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="color: windowtext;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of the world,
to write a book that would free humans of worldly misery and make them
eternally blissful. Thus, was born the scripture </span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>XE "Yogavāsişţha" </span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="color: windowtext;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>known variously
as Uttara Ramayaņa</span><!--[if supportFields]><span style='color:windowtext'><span
style='mso-element:field-begin'></span> XE "Rāmāyaņa: Uttara" </span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="color: windowtext;">, Maharamayaņa</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span> XE
"Mahārāmāyaņa" </span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="color: windowtext;">, Arsha-Ramayaņa</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span> XE
"Ārśa-Rāmāyaņa" </span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="color: windowtext;">, Gyananavasishtha</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span> XE
"Jñānavāsişţha" </span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="color: windowtext;">, Vasishtharamayaņa</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span> XE
"Vāsişţharāmāyaņa" </span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="color: windowtext;">, more popularly called the Yogavasishtha </span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>XE "Yogavāsişţha" </span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="color: windowtext;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext;">The two most important
questions we can ask concern how to live a good life, and how to attain supreme
bliss</span><!--[if supportFields]><span style='color:windowtext'><span
style='mso-element:field-begin'></span> XE "bliss:supreme" </span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="color: windowtext;">. One is about ‘ought’ and the other about knowing the
‘self</span><!--[if supportFields]><span style='color:windowtext'><span
style='mso-element:field-begin'></span> XE "self: to know" </span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="color: windowtext;">’. In the Ramayaņa</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span> XE
"</span><span style='mso-bidi-font-size:9.5pt;line-height:130%;color:windowtext'>Rāmāyaņa</span><span
style='color:windowtext'>" </span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="color: windowtext;">, Valmiki</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span> XE
"Vālmīki" </span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="color: windowtext;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>showed how one
ought to live a good life, how a king ought to rule, and how a husband, a wife,
a brother, and friends ought to be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext;">By learning the ‘oughts’ of
life</span><!--[if supportFields]><span style='color:windowtext'><span
style='mso-element:field-begin'></span> XE "life:oughts of" </span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="color: windowtext;">, we can lead a good life, but this does not make us
free of suffering. Even a so-called ‘good’ person maybe plagued with troubles
such as anger, envy, jealousy, disease and old age and, ultimately, death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being a good person is not enough; something
more is required. It is to teach this ‘something more’ that Valmiki </span>wrote
the Yogavasishtha<!--[if supportFields]><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span>
XE "Yogavāsişţha" <![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span><![endif]-->. In fact, one can properly
understand the popular Ramayaņa<!--[if supportFields]><span style='mso-element:
field-begin'></span> XE "<span style='mso-bidi-font-size:9.5pt;line-height:
130%'>Rāmāyaņa</span>" <![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span><![endif]--><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>only by reading the <span style="color: windowtext;">Yogavasishtha</span>
<!--[if supportFields]><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>XE "Yogavāsişţha" <![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span><![endif]-->. <span style="color: windowtext;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>Core philosophy</b><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='mso-element:field-begin'></span> XE "philosophy" <![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span><![endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext;">Although the Yogavasishtha
is voluminous, its central message can be expressed in a few statements:
Nothing exists except absolute consciousness</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span> XE
"consciousness:absolute" </span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='color:windowtext'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="color: windowtext;"> (also called
universal consciousness or Brahman), and the world is the imagination of this
universal consciousness. The universal consciousness is absolute and perfect.
All change happens in the phenomenal world, (which has no independent
existence, as it is just an imagination of absolute consciousness). All the
beings of the world are no different from the universal consciousness, as they
emerged out of it. All the misery that is experienced by individual beings
happens because they mistakenly identify themselves with their body and forget
that they are essentially the same as the universal consciousness, Brahman.
Since misery arises out of ignorance of the self, it ends with knowledge of the
self. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>Main questions</b></div>
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Ever since humans began to think and wonder, they have asked many questions. If we examine all these questions, we realise there are ultimately no more than a dozen fundamental questions. Such questions would arise in any thinking person all over the world in every age. They are perennial questions, and throughout the Yogavasishtha, these questions have been asked several times by Rama or some other disciple: What is this ever-changing world? Why is it there? Who created this worldand why? What was there before the creation of the world, and what will remain after it is destroyed? Why do we see so much misery around us? What is man? Where do all beings come from and where do they go? What is mind, and how is it quietened? How is illusion (maya) created, and how does one break this illusion and see the absolute truth? How does ignorance arise in pure consciousness? </div>
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Most of these questions, however, have no answers as they are beyond the scope of the intellect. When we try to answer these questions, we only get into further mess, and that is why the wise have called them ultimate questions, atiprshnas. One must, therefore, not waste time trying to solve these eternal questions, but find ways of quietening the mind and becoming blissful.</div>
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Nearly at the end of the Yogavasishtha, Vasişţha tells Rama about a dialogue between him and King Prajnapti. The king puts twenty questions to Vasishtha, and the latter answers them in five chapters. If we read just this section properly, we would understand everything that is discussed in the Yogavasishtha.</div>
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Throughout the Yogavasishtha, Vasishtha answers Rama’s questions so thoroughly and repeatedly that at the end of it even a stone would get liberated. He says many things, and gives many proofs and arguments, but ultimately all these boil down to just one thing: how to quieten the mind and realise our intrinsic blissful nature. </div>
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Dr Kuldip Kumar Dhimanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05021131488167841496noreply@blogger.com7