The Concise Yoga Vāsiṣṭha

"The Concise Yoga Vasistha" is a great book and should be read by all individuals who seek the path to enlightenment. However, personally, I found this book very difficult reading because of the extreme repetition of most of its concepts, the use of many Sanskrit terms, and the use of many gods, goddesses, demons, celestial beings, nymphs, and other "magical beings." However, when one edits it down to its basic truths of spiritual and material existence, and the paths leading to enlightenment, it is a fantastic book. What I am about to suggest may seem to some individuals to be for personal gain by me, but actually, in making the following suggestion, I am only trying to give those individuals interested in pursuing a path to enlightenment, a more easily understood, updated, and simplified rendition of the same "truths" as those presented in "The Concise Yoga Vasistha." I am suggesting that those individual interested in pursuing a path to spiritual enlightenment also examine two other books that I have written - "From Creation to Eternity-2nd Edition" and "A Grand View of Existence." Both of these books attempt to "bridge science and spitituality" by presenting, in modern vocabulary and current concepts -- in simplified quantum theory, physiologic functioning of our "matter" bodies and brain/minds, and the extreme importance of the power that the self created "Ego" of our psyches exerts over all of our lives and our actions -- insights into the same truths as those discussed in "The Concise Yoga Vasistha" about our Creative Source, our "matter" universe, and the quantum interface that connects the two others. Our egos produce and control all negative beliefs and actions (greed, prejudice, hatred, envy, jealousy, hostility, killings, and wars) within our brain/minds by the use of the "Illusion of Separation," which actually exists as "Unity" of all things. This "Illusion of Separation," by our egos, is interpreted as separate individual objects in our matter universe (by our brain/minds), which are actually only ever interchanging energy patters of our "Creative Source's" Universal "Mind" or "Consciousness." This ego "chatter' of our brain/minds, and our "attachment" to all things of this matter universe must be quieted, through the process of meditation, in order to proceed on our paths to enlightenment.Raymond J. Jerome--Author of "From Creation to Eternity-2nd Edition" and "A Grand View of Existence"-- both carried by Amazon.com

There are some incredible stories from the eternity of mankind here... Each one of them has the potential to shift one's thinking to the highest realms of Truth and Insight.... It is worth a seven year journey to read this and constantly reference it... it is that deep, it is that life-transforming. For instance, one short story in this text: "The Legend of Leela", is about a beautiful queen who prays to the goddess Saraswati to keep her beloved husband's soul in the palace after he dies (an impossible prayer, really, born of the limiting fear of loss of a loved one). But by the power of Leela's prayer and devotion, Saraswati unpeels the layers of existence for her to reveal another reality, much to Leela's amazement and enlightenment.This is a quote from my buddy and colleague, Brain Weller, who really got the deeper layers of this story:"The Legend of Leela is a love story: a timeless tale from ancient India.It explores the questions that many of us are now asking.Why is our troubled world the way it is and why has my life turned out the way it has?What happens when I die and will I meet my beloved beyond this life?The key theme of Leela is that we are and always have been related. Through many lifetimes we have been weaving webs of connections of which we are largely unconscious. The Legend reveals that by becoming conscious of our past lives we can cut the karmic chords that bind us and fulfill our destiny to create heaven on earth."This book is not for the small minded. This ancient text is for the true seeker of Reality.

I love the Yoga Vasistha and have been studying it for many years.I encourage anyone who wants to understand the essence of Yoga,Enlightenment and eastern mysticism to read the Yoga Vasistha often.I gave the book 4 stars NOT because of its contents but because of thequality of its printing. I bought this very same book back in the 1990's.The quality of the ink on its pages was professional and solid. Easy to read.My first copy has been read so many times that it is torn and will eventually fall apart.So I bought this new edition last week and the ink on the pages is faded, cheaply printed.Inferior printing process. Distracts my reading and the content is far too preciousfor that type of print.I'm disappointed.But the Yoga Vasistha is marvelous. A rare gem for learning about Brahmanand the non-dual Reality. This book is a real assist on the path to enlightenment.Venkatesananda's interpretation/translation is excellent!

This book is a dialogue between Sage Vasistha and Rama. Vasistha reveals the "Truth" to rama by narrating a series of stories. The book is divided into six major parts, each part consisting of several short stories.1. On dispassion.2. On the behaviour of the seeker.3. On Creation.4. On Existence.5. On Dissolution.6. On liberation.The original scripture of 'yoga vasistha' is in the form of verses and has several repetitions. Some stories stories are within other stories. However in this book Venkatesananda does a good job of writing the stories in prose form which is very readable. Also, in the "concise" form of yoga vasistha, venkatesanda takes out very similar sounding stories and keeps the book within 500 pages without taking away any flavour from the original teachings. The book is worth reading several times, and each time it reveals something new. This book is not something that you can expect to read and gulp over night, It has to be chewed slowly and digested. Reading one story a day is immensely satisfying and reminds one of the truth every day.

There are some incredible stories from the eternity of mankind here... Each one of them has the potential to shift one's thinking to the highest realms of Truth and Insight.... It is worth a seven year journey to read this and constantly reference it... it is that deep, it is that life-transforming. For instance, one short story in this text: "The Legend of Leela", is about a beautiful queen who prays to the goddess Saraswati to keep her beloved husband's soul in the palace after he dies (an impossible prayer, really, born of the limiting fear of loss of a loved one). But by the power of Leela's prayer and devotion, Saraswati unpeels the layers of existence for her to reveal another reality, much to Leela's amazement and enlightenment.This is a quote from my buddy and colleague, Brain Weller, who really got the deeper layers of this story:"The Legend of Leela is a love story: a timeless tale from ancient India.It explores the questions that many of us are now asking.Why is our troubled world the way it is and why has my life turned out the way it has?What happens when I die and will I meet my beloved beyond this life?The key theme of Leela is that we are and always have been related. Through many lifetimes we have been weaving webs of connections of which we are largely unconscious. The Legend reveals that by becoming conscious of our past lives we can cut the karmic chords that bind us and fulfill our destiny to create heaven on earth."This book is not for the small minded. This ancient text is for the true seeker of Reality.

I had great hopes for this after reading the reviews but I just could not get on with it at all.

This is the best version of the Vasistha (I have many), because it contains the essential and doesn't contain the repetions.

Good Range and choice on Amazon.... Excellent and guide for one's life!!!

実在、すなわち本当に存在しているものを知らずして、この世の多様性に翻弄されて生きていることは、苦しみ以外のなにものでもない。唯一の実在、the Self を知ることこそ、この世に在ることの意味である。真摯な求道者は是非手に取ってもらいたい。文字は小さいが、パッと開いたところを読んでみるのもいい。あなたが今求めている文章に出会うことだろう。Sadguruはあなたを決して見捨てはしないのだ。