The Yoga-Vasishtha, a Samskrt work, in thirty-two thousand
shIoJsas, or sixty-six thousand lines, is highly honored amono"
Indian Vedantins, for its philosophy and it's hints on practical
mysticism, as also its literary beauty and poetry. The saying'
about it, among the Vedantins, is that it is a work of the
&iddh3L»avasf'ha, i. e., for the philosopher-yogi, who, having
txiastered the theory, is passing" on to the practice of it; while,
the other well-known works, even the Q-ita^ the JTpanisha^s
arid the Brahma-sutras^ are works of the sadhana-avasthoy z.e.f-
'"Tor-those who are yet trying to master the theory* , - •,

The very highly abbreviated version, of about a sixth of
the work,- which is here presented to the public, originally
appeared in The Theosophical Review (of London, then edited
by Mrs. Annie Besant and Mr. G. R. S. Mead), in 1899-1901.
Mrs. Besant very kindly added some valuable nptes which
, greatly elucidate some (exceedingly obscure portions of the
•Story 'of Lila. '

Friends have, from time to time, wished that the tales
were rescued from the oblivion of the pages' of a periodical,
The present General Secretary of the Indian Section of the
Thoosophical Society, Pandit Iqbal Narain Gurtu, kindly
expressed the desire to fulfil that wish, through the publishing
department of the Section. Thus the tales are re-appearing
after having slept for nearly thirty years. I have revised them,
but with scarcely any alterations. There has been no oppor-
tunity to submit her notes to Mrs. Besant, for revision. They
i;;. 'have .been printed exactly as they first appear ed»

00^^1927 | BHAGAVAN DAS.

PREFATORY NOTE TO THE SECOND ^ EDITION

This second edition is only a reprint of the first, with a few
verbal alterations here and there, in the text, and some additions
In the notes. Two Indexes are new ; one is of proper names ;

the other is of Samskrit words, and gives suggestive etymo-
logies, and explanations in English as well. A translation, in
French, by Mrs. Engenie Vanden Houten was published in
;'.'Brussels, in 1938. , . ,

; (^enares, 25. 12. 1944. BHAGAVAN DAS.