Yoga Vasistha paints suffering as a self-wrought drama, a projection of restless thoughts on the canvas of consciousness. Each pang of anxiety or sorrow traces back to cravings, attachments and false identifications—much like stress over today’s nonstop news cycle fuels burnout. According to Vasistha, the mind, left unchecked, spins a web of fears and desires that trap awareness in a shadow play of its own making.

The text describes three gates through which suffering enters: desire (attachment to outcomes), aversion (rejection of what is), and ignorance (misreading reality). Picture scrolling through social media, chasing every new trend—only to find emptiness when the next headline drops. That’s desire and aversion running the show. Ignorance, here, isn’t a lack of facts but a failure to see the mind’s role in creating experience.

Cessation comes when attention turns inward and the seeker recognizes thoughts as impermanent ripples on the lake of pure consciousness. Techniques unfold like peeling an onion: self-inquiry to question “Who is this thinker?”, dispassion (vairagya) to loosen attachments, and constant vigilance (smṛti) to catch thought patterns before they spiral. Over time, the flood of mental impressions subsides and reveals a peaceful expanse—consciousness itself, untouched by the storms of desire or fear.

Today’s mindfulness apps and the surge in virtual retreats echo these ancient methods. Just as Yoga Vasistha counsels Rama to watch thoughts without grabbing onto them, modern practitioners learn to observe stress reactions burst like soap bubbles, then gently let them go. When identifying with pure awareness rather than the chatter of the mind, suffering loses its footing and simply dissolves—no heavy lifting required.