In the Yoga Vasiṣṭha, consciousness is illuminated through a constellation of metaphors that all point to its unchanging, all-pervading nature amidst the flux of appearances. A central image is that of the dream: the world and individual existence are likened to a dream within consciousness, appearing compelling and solid yet lacking independent reality apart from the “dreaming” awareness. Closely allied to this is the image of the city in the sky or mirage-like city of the Gandharvas, suggesting that even complex structures of world, time, and individuality can arise in awareness without possessing substantial existence. These images collectively underscore that what is ordinarily taken as solid reality is, from the standpoint of pure consciousness, a projection or appearance.

Another major strand of imagery compares consciousness to vast, unbounded space (ākāśa). Space accommodates all forms yet is never stained or limited by them; in the same way, consciousness is the substratum in which all experiences arise and subside while remaining untouched. The mirror and crystal metaphors deepen this insight: consciousness is like a spotless mirror or a transparent crystal that reflects or seems to take on the colors of whatever appears before it, yet in itself remains pure and unchanged. These images highlight that pleasure and pain, virtue and vice, all play out as reflections within awareness, without altering its intrinsic clarity.

The ocean-and-waves metaphor further elaborates this non-dual vision. Consciousness is portrayed as an infinite ocean, while individual minds, thoughts, and worlds are waves on its surface. The waves differ in name and form, yet are nothing but water; they arise from the ocean and return to it without ever being truly separate. Similarly, metaphors such as fire and its sparks or the sun and its rays express how individual beings are not independent entities but expressions of the one light of consciousness, differing only in appearance and scope, not in essential nature.

Finally, the Yoga Vasiṣṭha employs the classic rope-and-snake illustration to show how ignorance gives rise to misperception. Just as a rope is mistaken for a snake in dim light, consciousness appears as a manifold world through imagination and misunderstanding. When true knowledge dawns, the supposed “snake” of multiplicity is seen to have been nothing but the “rope” of consciousness all along. Taken together, these metaphors do not merely decorate the teaching; they converge to reveal a single insight: consciousness is the sole, self-luminous reality, while the world and the individual ego are transient, dependent appearances within it.