The Yogavasishtha of Valmiki: The Book That Became the Gita for Sri Rama

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Brought out of obscurity, The Yogavasishtha covers various aspects of Vedanta to help you deal with the problems of life and realise your full potential to succeed.

When the seeker is none other than Rama, the human incarnation of Lord Vishnu, his questions as fundamental as what affects each one of us and the discourse provided by none other than Sage Vasishtha, one of the Saptarishis of India-no wonder then that the text which emanates is considered so impactful that mere reading it with dedication can make one gain enlightenment.

One of the most powerful philosophical texts of India, The Yogavasishtha of Valmiki, is also one of the more ignored ones. This extremely lucid and elevating book captures and radiates the essence of its wisdom and at the same time puts it in an easily relatable contemporary perspective.

A book not to be missed by any seeker.

Kuldip K Dhiman completed a postgraduate degree in English Literature as well as a course in journalism. He then earned a postgraduate degree in philosophy and a doctorate in philosophical psychology. He also has a postgraduate degree in Sanskrit. He worked at the Deccan Herald and The Regional Institute of English, Bangalore for some years before leaving for Muscat. After coming back to India, he worked for The Tribune, a national newspaper for eighteen years.

He is currently translating the Yogasootram into English. He has been assigned a two-year project on Trika Shaivism by Indian Council of Philosophical Research, New Delhi.

As the Yogavasishtha opens, we are introduced to King Arishtanemi, who has become disenchanted with the world because, no matter how much wealth he has accumulated, how many comforts he has, how many battles he wins, deep down he is always unhappy. All the wealth and power cannot fill the void within. What is the use of such wealth? Having realised the futility of finding happiness in worldly possessions, he hands over his kingdom to his son, performs severe penance, and as a result receives a boon to go to heaven (svarga) from Indra, the king of heaven.

Before accepting the boon, Arishtanemi asks what heaven means. He is told that according to the scale of one's good deeds (karmas), one enjoys pleasures in heaven.

'Is the stay in heaven permanent?' asks the king. 'No,' he is told. 'Once the stock of good deeds is expended, the individual returns to earth.'

This is because heaven is a bhoga yoni (a place of enjoyment), not a karma yoni. One can expend one's karmas there, but one cannot earn fresh good or bad karmas.