Yogavasishtam is one of the important texts of Indian spiritual tradition. It expounds almost all strands of spiritual experience and thoughts that span the wide range of the tradition. It is one of the most ancient expositions containing many important thought patterns of even the famous Bhagavad Gita. In Yogavasishtam, the story of Arjuna and the Yoga of disinterest and detachment correspond to the Bhagavad Gita. The text of Yogavasishtam represents the typical dialogue between a teacher and a student in great detail. The exposition extends to over nearly twenty days, almost every day from sunrise to sunset. The audience consisted of a wide range of people starting from common people with simple interest to learned sages and gods. The setting seems to be in the vast palace gardens in a recess of cleared ground flanked by huge, tall trees with crowns of dense foliage with the sky as canopy. This may be the reason why Vasishta draws heavily from the analogy of tree and cloud apart from the idea of mirage. The exposition is such that all propositions, and hypotheses are explained in great detail with illustrative stories and logical elaborations. Yogavasishtam contains its own annotations and commentary and hence the enormous length. This attempt at translation of this great work is at the instance of my Guru, Sir Shiva Balayogi Maharaj. Several years ago, in a rare moment of communion and compassion, he suggested why dont you translate Yogavasishtam into English. There is no unabridged version of it in English. You know Telugu, English and some Sanskrit. Initial reaction of mine was a shudder Do you really mean it, Swamiji Where am I and where is that great book