The Story of Līlā — The Illusion of Worlds

(from Yoga Vāsiṣṭha Tales)

Opening Scene
Once, in the quiet halls of Ayodhyā, when Prince Rāma sat before the radiant Sage Vāsiṣṭha, the prince asked softly,
“Revered one, why does the mind weave such endless worlds of birth and death? How can one awaken from this dream of existence?”

Vāsiṣṭha smiled — the smile of one who had seen beyond dreams.
“Listen, O Rāma,” he said. “Let me tell you the story of Queen Līlā, who discovered the truth hidden behind illusion.”

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The Queen and Her King

Long ago there lived a noble king named Padma, just and wise, ruling his kingdom with love. His queen, Līlā, was beautiful in form and pure in mind. She was devoted to her husband, yet often wondered about life, death, and the mystery of the unseen world.

When the king fell ill and lay on his deathbed, the queen’s heart trembled. “O Lord,” she prayed to the goddess Sarasvatī, “grant that my beloved never leave me. Let his spirit remain with me even after death.”

The goddess, moved by her devotion, appeared in radiant light.
“Child,” said Sarasvatī, “know that all you see — this palace, this body, even your grief — is a play of consciousness. Yet your love shall be answered. You shall meet your king again, not once but through many worlds.”

With these words, the goddess vanished, and the king breathed his last.

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The World Within Worlds

Līlā sat beside his lifeless body, weeping. As she prayed, her mind grew calm. Suddenly she saw a shimmer of light before her — and lo! she was no longer in her palace but in another world.

There, in a grand court, she saw her husband alive — but he was now another king, ruling another realm, unaware of his past. Līlā looked around in wonder: Was this heaven, dream, or reality?

Sarasvatī appeared again and said gently, “O Queen, what you see is not outside you. This world exists within your own consciousness. Your thoughts have taken form. The past life, this life, and the next — all are ripples upon the lake of mind.”

Līlā bowed low. “Then my grief, too, is illusion?”

“Yes,” said the goddess. “As is your joy. But the Self behind them is eternal. Just as the sky is untouched by the clouds that pass, so are you untouched by birth or death.”

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The Awakening

Together they traveled through countless realms — each one born of thought, each dissolving when the thought subsided. They saw entire cities within atoms, universes within dreams, and countless selves playing the game of time.

At last Līlā’s mind became utterly still. She saw her own body, the king’s, the worlds — all as reflections within infinite consciousness. She bowed before the goddess and said,
“I am not the queen, nor is he the king. We are waves upon the ocean of awareness.”

Sarasvatī blessed her: “You have awakened, O Līlā. Remain in the world, yet know it as a dream. Act with compassion, but rest in knowledge.”

When Līlā opened her eyes again, she was back in her palace beside the still body of her husband. But now there were no tears — only peace. The same palace that once felt like prison now shimmered as a temple of light.

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Essence

When the mind dreams, it becomes the world.
When it awakens, the world dissolves into Self.
The wise live in both — as dreamers who have learned they are awake.