“The path to liberation is paved with renunciation.”
The verse: Yoga Vasistha 6.2.33.3
The quote above is our paraphrase. This is the verse as it reads in the Vihari-Lala Mitra translation (1891–99):
“All fancies and desires are checked by unfancying them, and this unfancifulness or undesirousness is the cause of liberation, by relinquishment of worldly enjoyment, which is the first step to it.”
About the text: Yoga Vasistha
The Yoga Vasistha is a long Sanskrit philosophical work, traditionally attributed to Valmiki, in which the sage Vasistha teaches Prince Rama through stories and dialogue. Its six books teach liberation through self-effort and insight. Scholars date it anywhere from about the 6th to the 14th century, and it probably grew over time.
More from the Yoga Vasistha
- “The wise move through life like a lotus on water—untouched.”
- “The liberated one lives in the world but is not of it.”
- “The wise see the world as it is—transient and insubstantial.”
- “In liberation, the ego dissolves completely.”
- “True freedom is freedom from mental agitation.”
- “True happiness arises when cravings cease.”