Ajata Vada as explained by Sage Vasistha in Yoga Vasistha

This article is an excerpt from a much longer article which you can view here, that gives further quotes on this same topic from others including Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Shankara, Suresvara and Ribhu Gita. The original article also gives disclaimer which you should read (ie. these teachings are for earnest seekers only and can have detrimental effects for those not ready for them) and makes some suggestions as how to best appraoch these teachings.

The following verses are taken from the text Voga Vasistha Sara, which you can view and download here in its entirely. As with most Advaita texts, various teachings from different levels are given in this text. In Yoga Vasistha mainly Ajata Vada and Dristi Sristi Vada teachings are given, and below I will list some of the quotes pointing to Ajata Vada:

1.17 Even the slightest thought immerses a man in sorrow; when devoid of all thoughts he enjoys imperishable bliss.

1.23 Nothing whatever is born or dies anywhere at any time. It is Brahman alone appearing illusorily in the form of the world.

2.1 Just as the great ocean of milk became still when the Mandara Mountain (with which it was churned by the Devas and the Asuras) became still, even so the illusion of samsara comes to an end when the mind is stilled.

2.2 Samsara rises when the mind becomes active and ceases when it is still. Still the mind, therefore, by controlling the breath and the latent desires (vasanas).

2.3 This worthless (lit. burnt out) samsara is born of one’s imagination and vanishes in the absence of imagination. It is certain that it is absolutely unsubstantial.

2.5 This long-living ghost of a samsara which is the creation of the deluded mind of man [ie. ignorance] and the cause of his sufferings disappears when one ponders over it.

2.8 Whatever is seen does not truly exist. It is like the mythical city of Gandharvas (fata morgana) or a mirage.

2.11 This creation, which is a mere play of consciousness, rises up, like the delusion of a snake in a rope (when there is ignorance) and comes to an end when there is right knowledge.

2.19 The bliss of a man of discrimination, who has rejected samsara and discarded all mental concepts, constantly increases.

3.22 If, by perceiving that the objects of perception do not really exist, the mind is completely freed (from those objects) there ensues the supreme bliss of liberation.

3.23 Abandonment of all latent tendencies is said to be the best (i.e. real) liberation by the wise; that is also the faultless method (of attaining liberation).

3.24 Liberation is not on the other side of the sky, nor is it in the nether world, nor on the earth; the extinction of the mind resulting from the eradication of all desires is regarded as liberation.

3.25 O Rama, there is no intellect, no nescience, no mind and no individual soul (jiva). They are all imagined in Brahman.

3.26 To one who is established in what is infinite, pure consciousness, bliss and unqualified non-duality, where is the question of bondage or liberation, seeing that there is no second entity?

4.1 Consciousness which is undivided imagines to itself desirable objects and runs after them. It is then known as the mind.

4.9 The mind is the cause of (i.e. produces) the objects of perception. The three worlds depend upon it. When it is dissolved the world is also dissolved. It is to be cured (i.e. purified) with effort.

4.12 O Rama, he who, with in-turned mind, offers all the three worlds, like dried-grass, as an oblation in the fire of knowledge, becomes free from the illusions of the mind.

4.13 When one knows the real truth about acceptance and rejection and does not think of anything but abides in himself, abandoning everything, (his) mind does not come into existence.

4.14 The mind is terrible (ghoram) in the waking state, gentle (santam) in the dream state, dull (mudham) in deep sleep and dead when not in any of these three states [ie. when in the fourth state, Turiya, self-realisation].

4.16 The mind is samsara; the mind is also said to be bondage;

6.2 The mind, the intellect, the senses, etc. are all the play of Consciousness. They are unreal and seem to exist only due to lack of insight [ie. objects only appear due to lack or self-knowledge, which is also known as ignorance].

6.9 The world which has come into existence on account of my ignorance has dissolved likewise in me.

7.16 It is again strange that while the Supreme Brahman is forgotten by men, the idea ‘this is mine’ called avidya is firmly held by them (lit. strongly confronts them).

10.1 Supreme Bliss cannot be experienced through contact of the senses with their objects. The supreme state is that in which the mind is annihilated through one-pointed enquiry.

10.2 The bliss arising from the contact of the senses with their objects is inferior. Contact with the sense objects is bondage; freedom from it is liberation.

10.5 The belief in a knower and the known is called bondage. The knower is bound by the known; he is liberated when there is nothing to know.

10. 6 Abandoning the ideas of seer, seen and sight along with latent desires (vasanas) of the past, we meditate on that Self which is the primal light that is the basis of sight.

10.11 The rock-like state in which all thoughts are still and which is different from the waking and dream states, is one’s supreme state.

10.16 There is only the one waveless and profound ocean of pure nectar, sweet through and through (i.e. blissful) everywhere

Radical Indifference and the End of Doership

This Satsang arose after an hour of silent self-inquiry, with the teaching emerging from a settled recognition rather than from theory. Tom begins by revisiting the familiar Advaita pointer, “We are not the doer, we are not the enjoyer”.

He then reads Question and Answer 13 from the text Self Enquiry in the The Collected Works of Sri Ramana Maharshi, turning attention to Ramana’s uncompromising instruction on action, agency, and the Self. The emphasis is on the mind resting in its source so completely that even subtle movements such as “Is this right? Is that wrong? Should I do this or that?” are seen as vasanic ripples to be noticed and not followed.

From here, Tom speaks about Ramana’s “indifference” not as dullness or avoidance, but as the natural non-grasping of a heart absorbed in the Divine. When happiness is tasted at the core, the world is not rejected, yet its pull softens; functioning continues, prarabdha unfolds, but the “I am the one doing” thought is not given a foothold.

For seasoned seekers, this meeting points less to managing life and more to a radical, practical abidance: staying as the Self while activity and karma play out on the surface. The flavour is one of resolute devotion — Bhakti expressed as a quiet refusal to leave the Self for the mind’s next concern, and a willingness to let love of God outshine every other priority.

This video was recorded live during a Satsang meeting with Tom Das on January 1, 2026 and put together by volunteers.

To download full unedited satsang recordings see here: https://payhip.com/tomdas

Humility, Vulnerability, Surrender and GRACE | Holy Bhagavan Sri Ramana, the Self Within! Bhakti, poetry

by Tom Das

(Please see if the following is helpful for you…)

Total and utter humility and total self-honesty are keys to liberation:
Realise how fragile you are, how little you really know, and how vulnerable you are to suffering.

Your beliefs, your ego, your defences, your conceit and your thought patterns convince you that you will be safe, that you can weather the storm…but admit the truth! That you are totally helpless and totally vulnerable to immense suffering and calamity. Admit it.

At any moment you are liable to crack open, break down and become a nervous wreck. Be truthful with yourself – admit it.

So…

Instead…

Be small, be vulnerable, be humble…

And then you can,
With tears of pining despair flowing,
Admit how much you want to be with HIM,
SAFE IN HIS ARMS:

Take refuge in HIM
– only in HIM are you safe:
Withdraw from the many objects into the SUBJECT,
HIM,
– ‘Out there it is unsafe’…

Therefore,
Timid, vulnerable, cowing,
Withdraw within,
Fearful and quivering,
TAKE REFUGE in HIS PRESENCE
Wherein he will cleanse you and MAKE YOU WHOLE.

Guru Bhavagan Sri Ramana has told us:

“O heart of mine, it is not wise to stay out.
Safe it is to stay within. Conceal yourself from maya
Which plans to draw you out to destroy you.
Stay within.”
(Guru Vachaka Kovai verse 187)

and

“For those who ever think of and cling to the Feet of
the Sadguru, who is the blazing flame of pure Jnana,
through the Grace obtained by such Guru-bhakti, their
minds will become clear and they will achieve Mei-
Jnana [True Knowledge].”
(Guru Vachaka Kovai verse 305)

Abide with HIM, the SELF within,
Immerse yourself in HIS GRACE,
Drown and anihilate your ego-self, the SOLUTE
in HIM, the DIVINE SOLVENT.

As Guru Bhavagan Sri Ramana has told us:

“Worship of [ie. surrender to] the Feet of the Guru,
with Guru-bhakti, is the real mantra, which will
destroy all the rising vasanas and bestow Jnana,

in which there will be no fear of Maya’s delusion.
Thus should you know.”
(Guru Vachaka Kovai verse 306)

You – the ego – who are the source of all suffering and pain,
DISSOLVE YOURSELF in HIM
So that ONLY HIS RADIANT PRESENCE remains

Abiding silently as SELF WITHIN
is to BE WITH HIM
-This is the highest WORSHIP OF HIM

As Bhagavan Sri Ramana says:

Extinguishing the triple fire,
The Guru’s Feet have given us shelter.
To abide there and control the mind
From craving for the world of sense
Is worship of those Flowery Feet.
(Guru Vachaka Kovai verse 318)

Do NOT allow the world to take you away from him
Do NOT allow the world to prevent you from BEING WITH HIM
Do NOT allow the world to prevent you from BEING IN HIS BLISSFULL EMBRACE
Do NOT allow the world to prevent you from WORSHIPPING HIM EVERY SPARE SECOND YOU HAVE

Do NOT allow your thoughts to take you away from HIM
Do NOT allow your thoughts to prevent you from WORSHIPPING HIM IN SILENT BLISS
Do NOT allow your thoughts to stop you WITHDRAWING INTO YOURSELF and taking HIM AS REFUGE

Tell yourself:
I will NOT allow the world to take me away from HIM
I will NOT allow my thoughts to take me away from HIM
I will NOT allow the mind and world to take me away from MY WORSHIP OF HIM,
MY BEAUTIFUL REFUGE WITHIN

BE WITH HIM
Be in his PRESESNCE
BE STILL
and
BE WITH HIM

DISSOLVE YOURSELF IN HIM
So ONLY HE,
The Residue,
Remains.

Tell yourself:
I will allow myself to DISSOLVE IN HIM until ONLY HE REMAINS

Holy Mount Arunachala,
The FORM OF THE SELF,
Holy BHAGAVAN SRI RAMANA,
The FORM OF THE SELF,

May I gaze upon thy form,
outwardly and inwardly,
May I take refuge in thee,
May I entrust myself to your BLISSFULL EMBRACE,
WITHIN
And become one with YOU
Destroying myself
Discovering myself
So that only YOU remain

As Maha Guru Sri Bhagavan says:

“By coming near to the Sadguru
and by depending completely upon His Grace,
with great Guru bhakti,
one will have no misery in this world

and will live like Indra.”
(Guru Vachaka Kovai verse 324)

!Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Arunachala Ramanaya Om!
!Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Arunachala Ramanaya Om!
!Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Arunachala Ramanaya Om!

What Do You Like About Bhagavan Ramana’s Teachings? What Do You Like About the way Tom shares them?

During this Satsang, Tom turned the tables on his Satsang participants, so to speak, and asked us the questions in the title above. The responses were rich and various.

How would you answer these questions? We would love to hear your response in the comments below.

-What do you like about Bhagavan Ramana’s teachings?
-What do you like about the way Tom shares them?
-How is it to hear other peoples responses? Do you resonate with some of them? Do you have a different response.

If moved, please let us know.

This video was recorded live during a Satsang meeting with Tom Das on March13th, 2025 and put together by volunteers.

To download full unedited satsang recordings see here: https://payhip.com/tomdas

To attend satsang, see here: https://tomdas.com/events

🙏🙏🙏

New Testimonial – Sumit

In my spiritual journey, after 7 years of dabbling with Vedanta on and off, the best thing that happened was I came across Bhagavaan Ramana’s teachings. Then going through Bhagvaan’s literature myself for a few months, the best thing that happened was coming across Tom. Like Bhagvaan’s teachings represent the best of Advaita Vedanta recast in a much more practical and direct manner, Tom takes the finest of Bhagvaan’s literature and focuses on the most essential points which helps drive them through our thick layer of mental conditionings to effect faster spiritual progress. He avoids going into lengthy philosophical discussions about Bhagvaan’s verses which might satisfy a scholar but might make no dent in Maya’s stronghold on our minds.

He meets us at whichever stage we are in our spiritual journey rather than speaking from a high podium. He will work on our personality issues too (in 1:1s) very effectively which helps free up the mental energy to focus on our sadhana.

His Satsangs have a powerful effect of calming the mind and driving home the simple but profound teachings of “turning within” and surrendering to Bhagvaan. After his satsangs, we walk away with increased clarity about the path, renewed confidence in our ability to abide as the Self and that liberation is possible in this very life.

I love Tom’s guided meditations Youtube videos (my favorite:Turn Within & Be Still) with carefully chosen verses from Guru Vachaka Kovai representing Bhagavan’s core teachings. The conviction with which Tom reads them significantly enhances the chances that the verses might trigger a real intuition in you; all the chosen verses packed with power hence even if a single verse sticks with you, it will go a long way in your spiritual journey.

I strongly recommend folks to go through “Introductory articles” on tomdas.com and Michael Langford books in his recommended reading list – they will make a profound impact on you. Team of Bhagvaan & Tom has really made the path to liberation accessible for me and increased my conviction in it – I will always remain grateful to them.
Sumit, USA