By mind alone is this entire universe created right now

Not “was created” — “is created.” The universe is not a finished product from a past act of creation; it is a continuous act of mental construction happening now. Every moment, consciousness projects the world, sustains it, and dissolves it, only to project it again. The creation is not in the past; it is in the present. This is why Vasiṣṭha can say that liberation is immediate: if the world is being created now by the mind, the cessation of that creation is also possible now.