This is Sage Vashishtha’s answer to the question of how this world was truly born, and what it is made of. Just as the dream-world we see in sleep rises from our own mind and is nothing but our own self, Yoga Vasistha teaches that this waking world too rises from the Supreme Being, and is nothing other than the Supreme Being itself.
Imagine you had a dream last night. In that dream there were towns, there were people, there was joy and there was sorrow. Until you woke up, all of it felt completely real.
But once you wake up, where does that world go? What was it actually made of? While you’re dreaming, you can’t call it false — so what, then, of this world we’re living in right now?
This is exactly the question Rama places before Sage Vashishtha — how did this vast world in front of our eyes come into being, and out of what substance was it built?
Vashishtha’s answer, given right there in the assembly hall, peels back the mystery of creation layer by layer. And with each layer that falls away, it becomes clearer just how gently, how precisely, this entire world took shape.
Vashishtha’s Prelude to a Sacred Answer
Silence settled over the assembly hall. Rama’s question still seemed to hang in the air. There was a calm in Sage Vashishtha’s eyes, and a gravity in his voice.
Every gaze in the hall now turned toward Vashishtha. No one stirred, no one spoke. There was a sense in everyone present that some great mystery was about to be unveiled.
Looking at Rama, Vashishtha said —
Sage Vashishtha: Rama! Listen closely, and I will tell you how this world was born from the supremely pure, supremely peaceful state of Brahman.
The Mind That Builds a Dream, the Brahman That Builds a World
Vashishtha began with something everyone knew — he asked whether they had ever dreamed while asleep. He was using this experience, familiar to everyone in the room, as the doorway into a far greater mystery.
Everyone in the hall grasped the comparison at once. Kings, young sages, ascetics — all of them nodded, as if remembering some night when they too had dreamed.
Sage Vashishtha: A sleeping man sees dreams that rise out of his own self, does he not? In the same way, Brahman too appears as one with its own creation.
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What Is This Universe Actually Made Of?
Rama’s silence itself became another question. Sensing it, Vashishtha began to explain further, going deeper still.
His eyes swept across the entire hall for a moment before settling on Rama again. There was a care in his voice now — a sense that these next words needed to be understood not only by Rama, but by every seeker present.
Sage Vashishtha: This universe is nothing but the natural expression of the Supreme Being — infinite in light, infinite in pure consciousness. It is nothing other than this.
The Birth of the Mind — the Dawn of Latent Impressions
Doubt showed on a few faces in the hall. The question of how this entire world could appear as something separate from the Supreme Being lingered in everyone’s mind. As if he had anticipated it, Vashishtha continued.
His pace slowed now, and every word seemed carefully, clearly spoken — he knew this was a step the assembly needed to grasp fully.
Sage Vashishtha: From that Supreme Being itself, these very impressions of knowledge arise. That impression of knowledge, joined with the rest of the impressions, gives rise to what is called the ‘mind’.
The Supreme State Obscured, the Notion ‘I Am a Being’ Is Born
A gentle sorrow crept into Vashishtha’s voice here. He began explaining how the Self comes to forget its own greatness.
There was, in his eyes, the sadness of a father watching his child stray from the path — yet at the same time, there was a quiet confidence in his words that this child could find the way back.
Sage Vashishtha: The embodiment of the Self, wandering among things seen and growing drawn to them, gradually forgets its own true nature as Self. That is to say, it lets go of its supreme state and takes on the sense of being a limited being, bound to worldly conditions.
From the Presence of Space to Time — the Order of Creation Unveiled
A strange stillness of focus settled over the hall. Vashishtha now began to show, layer by layer, how creation expands.
Even the movement of his hand now seemed slow and deliberate, as if pointing to each layer in turn. Everyone in the hall listened intently, as if mentally sketching this sequence for themselves.
Sage Vashishtha: After the presence of the individual being shines forth within Brahman, the presence of space, empty in form, gradually comes into being. This very presence of space is what is called ‘space, the quality of sound’.
The Sculpture Within the Sculptor’s Mind — the Analogy of Hiranyagarbha
A lingering uncertainty still showed in a few eyes in the hall. It was hard to grasp how this entire creation could occur through mere will alone. Vashishtha brought forward a beautiful analogy to make it clear.
He leaned forward slightly, a note of warmth entering his voice — he knew this was the example that would make things click for everyone in the room.
Sage Vashishtha: The principle that creates this world — made of space, ego, and time — purely through will, is what the scriptures call ‘Hiranyagarbha’, or the Cosmic Being.
The Seed Called Will, the Sound That Blossomed into the Vedas
There was now a certain rhythm in Vashishtha’s voice as he began describing how creation expands, layer after layer.
His words flowed faster now, but with the same clarity — as if telling the hall that just as a river branches into countless streams before finally merging into the sea, these principles too rise one from another, eventually expanding into the world.
Sage Vashishtha: Consciousness, joined with principles beginning with ego, becomes the seed of the tree called ‘will’. And it is from a portion of that very consciousness that air arises, carrying within it the quality of vibration.
The Principle of Life, the Fourteen Worlds, the Physical Body
Everyone in the hall now waited eagerly to hear how far this order of creation would extend. Vashishtha carried the flow further still.
There was a natural ease to his voice now, as if he were simply telling a story that unfolded on its own — he knew that once these last steps were crossed, the world would be fully formed.
Sage Vashishtha: Gradually, through the pull of attachment, the principle of life-force rises out of the subtle element of ego. This principle of life-force, which will become the individual being, is itself the cause of these forms and shapes that are perceived through the senses.
The Birth of the Five Senses — How Sight, Smell, and Touch Came to Be
One young disciple in the hall, curious as a child, turned to look at Vashishtha from where he sat. Curiosity about how the senses had come to be spread through the entire assembly. Sensing this, Vashishtha continued.
There was now a patience in his voice, the patience of a teacher unfolding one lesson after another for his students — he explained clearly and distinctly the subtle principle behind each sense.
Sage Vashishtha: This ‘subtle element of light’ becomes, through mere will, the cause of the sense organ of sight. Likewise, from the ‘subtle element of form’ come the power to perceive form, and from the principle of fire arises the tongue, connected to taste.
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Rama’s Astonishment — ‘Is All of This Only Illusion?’
Having heard this entire explanation, Rama’s face showed both deep wonder and a sharp, pressing doubt. He leaned forward slightly from where he sat and asked.
There was, in his eyes, a visible effort to take in everything he had just heard — after listening to a chain of creation so subtle, so many-layered, a fresh question had begun to form in his own mind about the very world he saw before him.
Rama: Great one! If this ‘world’ is so subtle, so many-layered, and constantly taking on new forms — is the world of appearances I am experiencing right now real, or is it all merely a projection of some construction of the mind?
Maya, the One Cause — Everything Changes, Yet the Father Remains Unchanged
Vashishtha answered with a certain quiet conviction in his voice. His words carried both compassion and clarity together.
His eyes looked directly into Rama’s, ready to declare this final truth with complete certainty.
Sage Vashishtha: O Rama! There is one single cause for this world of appearances — what is called ‘Maya’, this power that gives rise to abundance and diversity. It is through this Maya alone that the Supreme Being shines forth in different forms and under different names.
The Order of Creation — From Pure Consciousness to the World (According to Sage Vashishtha’s Teaching)
| Layer | Principle / Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Pure Consciousness (the form of the Supreme Being) |
| 2 | Individual Consciousness (rise of the ‘I’ notion) |
| 3 | Presence of Space — the quality of Sound |
| 4 | Presence of Time |
| 5 | Identification through Ego |
| 6 | Creation of the World (the five subtle elements, senses, fourteen worlds) |
The Spiritual Essence
The deep truth this chapter teaches is this: the world is not some new substance separate from the Supreme Being. Just as the dream we see in sleep rises from our own mind and is nothing but our own self, this world too rises from Brahman and pervades everything as Brahman’s own natural expression.
However strong the notion ‘I am a being, I am merely this body’ may feel, Vashishtha makes it clear that it is only a temporary appearance — and that the state of Brahman within remains, always, completely untouched.
Space, time, ego, the five senses — all of these are simply layers born in a certain sequence, not the ultimate truth itself. Peel back each layer one by one, and what remains at the end is a single consciousness — the very thing we ought to call our true ‘I’.
There is comfort in this teaching too — no matter how far one has wandered through worldly life, no matter how deeply caught up one has become in the notion ‘I am a being,’ the state of Brahman within has never moved away, not even for an instant. It has merely been veiled, never destroyed.
For a moment, look at the world around you as a dream — it stops feeling threatening, because once you realize it has risen from the very consciousness within you, the pressures of life grow lighter.
Chapter Summary
Sage Vashishtha explains to Rama how the world came into being. Just as a dream rises from the mind during sleep, this world rises from the Supreme Being. He describes how pure consciousness gives rise, in sequence, to individual consciousness, the presence of space, the presence of time, and ego, until finally the world takes shape through the five subtle elements, the senses, and the fourteen worlds. Through the analogy of the sculptor and Hiranyagarbha, he shows how creation happens purely through will. In the end, he declares that the cause of all this is Maya, but that the Supreme Being remains forever unchanged and eternal.
Scripture Notes
- Main Message: The world is not separate from the Supreme Being — it is simply a radiance that has gradually risen from the Supreme Being’s own form.
- Philosophical Teaching: Creation begins with pure consciousness, and through individual consciousness and the principles of space, time, and ego, gradually expands into this visible world made of the five senses. The cause of all this is Maya, but the Supreme Being at the root of it all never changes.
- Connection to the Next Chapter: Having learned how the world was born, the next chapter will see Vashishtha delve even deeper into the true nature of this world — why and how it comes to be experienced as the Veda itself.
A sleeping man sees dreams that rise out of his own self; in the same way, Brahman too appears as one with its own creation.
Just as a sculpture exists in the sculptor’s mind in the form of will, Hiranyagarbha holds the whole of creation in the form of will alone.
Across the many cycles of creation and dissolution, the Father remains ever the same — eternal, undying, beyond all of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
According to Yoga Vasistha, how was the world created?
Sage Vashishtha says this world gradually rose from the supremely pure, supremely peaceful state of Brahman. Just as a dream rises from the mind during sleep, this world too rises from the very form of the Supreme Being. Beginning with pure consciousness, it expands through individual consciousness, the presence of space, the presence of time, and ego, eventually taking shape as this visible world of the five senses and the fourteen worlds.
What is the mind, according to this teaching?
The mind is the conscious presence of Brahman itself, joined with the movements of thought. It rises out of impressions of knowledge. The impression of knowledge that arises from the Supreme Being, joined with the rest of the impressions, gives rise to the mind — after which the embodiment of the Self, in a single moment, attains the state of a ‘seer’ and becomes condensed into knowledge of what is seen.
Who is Hiranyagarbha?
The principle that creates this world — made of space, ego, and time — purely through will, is what the scriptures call Hiranyagarbha, or the Cosmic Being. Just as a sculptor already holds the sculpture in his mind as an act of will before he carves it, Hiranyagarbha holds the entirety of creation in the form of will.
Is this world real, or is it an illusion?
This illusory world, recognized only through the Self, arises from the Supreme Being and shines forth as if real. It is not entirely false — it is the Supreme Being itself. It is only because of Maya that it appears separate, in many different forms; at its root, it is nothing other than Brahman.
What is Maya, and how is it related to the creation of the world?
Maya is the power that gives rise to this world of appearances, the source of its abundance and diversity. It is through Maya that the Supreme Being shines forth in different forms and under different names. Because of Maya, the whole tradition of castes, life-stages, and their observances comes into being — yet the Father, beyond all these changes, remains forever the same, unchanging.
How did the five senses come into being?
The sense organs gradually take shape from subtle principles — the subtle elements of light, form, taste, and smell. From the subtle element of light comes the organ of sight, from the subtle element of taste comes the tongue, and from the subtle element of smell comes the nose, as Vashishtha explains.
How were the fourteen worlds formed?
The fourteen worlds, along with all four kinds of living creatures — those born from the womb, from eggs, from moisture, and from seeds — are born from the principle of life-force. Through the pull of attachment, this principle of life-force rises from the subtle element of ego, and from it come these worlds, these creatures, and their physical bodies.
Conclusion
Having heard this entire order of creation, a deep calm settled over the hall. There is a great comfort in knowing that behind this ever-changing world lies a truth that never changes. But how, then, is one to see beyond this veil of Maya and directly experience that eternal truth? Let’s find out what Sage Vashishtha reveals next.
