Vasishtha's Final Blessing - Go and Live Freely

Vasishtha spoke with great solemnity: "Rama, our discourse has covered vast territories of truth. We have spoken of creation and dissolution, of mind and consciousness, of bondage and liberation. We have told stories within stories, traversed worlds within worlds. Now I must bring this teaching to a close."

Rama replied with deep reverence: "O Sage, these days with you have transformed everything. I came to you in despair; I leave in peace. But before I go, can you summarize what I must remember?"

Vasishtha smiled: "I shall give you the essence. Carry these points in your heart, and you will never be lost."

"I am ready."

"First: You are not the body. The body is a temporary garment, worn for this particular appearance, to be discarded when its purpose is complete. Identify with the body, and you fear death. Know yourself as awareness, and death is merely costume change."

Rama nodded: "I understand."

"Second: You are not the mind. The mind is an instrument, a flow of thoughts, useful for navigating this world but not who you are. Identify with the mind, and you are tossed about by its movements. Know yourself as the awareness in which mind appears, and its movements cannot disturb you."

"Yes, I have glimpsed this."

"Third: The world is a projection of consciousness—neither fully real nor fully unreal. It is real as appearance, unreal as absolute. Treat it as a dream being dreamed by the infinite. Play your role fully, but never forget you are the dreamer, not merely the dreamed."

Rama reflected: "This changes everything about how I engage with life."

Vasishtha continued: "Fourth: There is nothing to attain. Liberation is not something missing that must be acquired. It is your nature, veiled by the illusion of being something else. Stop seeking what you already are. Stop trying to become what you have never not been."

"But habits of seeking are strong..."

"Fifth: Be still and know. All practices, all teachings, all stories lead to this: be still. In stillness, what you are reveals itself. Not through effort, not through analysis, but through the simple recognition that arises when all doing ceases."

Rama asked: "And what of life in the world? I have duties to fulfill, a kingdom to serve, a destiny to live."

Vasishtha blessed him: "Sixth: Act without attachment. Do what must be done, but claim no ownership of action or result. Be like an actor who plays his role perfectly but does not confuse the role with his true identity. Fight when you must fight, love when you must love, grieve when grief arises—but through it all, remain inwardly free."

"Will I ever lose this understanding?"

Vasishtha smiled gently: "Seventh: The understanding cannot truly be lost, for it is not an acquisition. It is what you are. You may seem to forget, as clouds may seem to cover the sun. But the sun is never actually covered. Wait for the clouds to pass, or do not wait—the sun shines regardless."

Rama felt tears of gratitude: "How can I thank you for all you have given?"

"There is nothing to thank. I gave you only what was already yours. I was a mirror in which you saw your own face. The teaching came from within you, through the form of Vasishtha. When you teach others—and you will—remember that you give them only what they already possess."

"I shall remember."

Vasishtha rose, and Rama rose with him. The sage placed his hand on the prince's head:

"Go now, Rama. Be the prince of Ayodhya when that is needed. Be the husband of Sita when that is needed. Be the warrior, the king, the exile, whatever your destiny requires. But through all forms, remain what you truly are: infinite awareness, untouched by any form, free in every circumstance."

Rama bowed deeply: "I am forever grateful, O Sage. And I now understand that gratitude itself is the infinite thanking itself for its own game."

Vasishtha laughed with joy: "Now you are ready. Go and live freely."

And with those words, the great teaching of the Yoga Vasishtha came to its close—not as an ending, but as a beginning, for Rama's life of liberation was just about to unfold.