Quotes by Sage Vasishtha

Wise men do not desire to do anything; wise men do not desire to abandon action either.

The light of self-knowledge alone illumines all experiences. It shines by its own light. This inner light appears to be outside and to illumine external objects.

In the seed there is nothing but the seed - no diversity. At the same time there is the notion of potential diversity [of flowers, fruits] supposedly present in the seed. Even so, cosmic consciousness is one, devoid of diversity; yet the universe of diversity is said to exist only in notion.

He who ignores the infinite and is devoted to the finite abandons a pleasure-garden and seeks the thorny bush.

Do you know who 'god' is? God is not Vishnu or Shiva or Brahma; not the wind, the sun nor the moon; nor the brahmana or the king; not I or you; not Lakshmi or the  mind. God is without form and undivided (not in the objects); that splendor which is not made and which has neither beginning nor end is known as god, or Lord Shiva, which is pure consciousness. That alone is fit to be worshipped; that alone is all.

When thus the truth is seen, desire to possess does not arise in the heart.
Even as a woman who has a lover goes about doing her housework with her heart absorbed in contemplation of that lover, the enlightened sage functions in this world while his consciousness is firmly established in the truth.

In both these ases it is impossible for anyone to prevent such behavior - i.e. make the woman forget her love for make the sage forget the truth.

Self-knowledge or knowledge of truth is not had by resorting to a guru (preceptor) nor by the study of scripture, nor by good works: it is attained only by means of inquiry inspired by the company of wise and holy men. One's inner light alone is the means, naught else. When this inner light is kept alive, it is not affected by the darkness of inertia.

We contemplate that reality in which everything exists, to which everything belongs, from which everything has emerged, which is the cause of everything and which is everything.

The one never became many, O Rama. When many candles are kindled from another, it is the same flame that burns in all candles; even so, the one Brahman appears to be many.

 How can infinite consciousness cease to be? The person is nothing but infinite consciousness. Who dies and when, to whom does this infinite consciousness belong and how? Even when millions of bodies die, this consciousness exists undiminished.