Vignana Bhairava Tantra - Technique 2

Technique / dhāraņa 2

मरुतोऽन्तर् बहिर् वापि वियद्युग्मानिवर्तनात्।

भैरव्या भैरवस्येत्थम् भैरवि व्यज्यते वपुः॥ २५॥

maruto'ntar bahir vāpi viyadyugmānivartanāt|

bhairavyā bhairavasyettham bhairavi vyajyatevapuḥ || 25 ||

मरुतः = pranic air; अन्तः = inside; बहिः = outside; वा = also; अपि = indeed, also, even; वियत् = vanishing into void space; युग्म = both or pair or dual, confluence, junction; अनिवर्तनात् = restrain from return; भैरव्या = from Bhairava; भैरवस्येत्थं = thus of Bhairava; भैरवी = Bhairavi; व्यज्यते = be manifested or expressed or revealed; वपुः = essence.

When the ingoing prāņic air and also the outgoing apānic air are both vanished into the void space and are restrained from their (respective points of) return, then the essence of Bhairava, which is not different from Bhairavi, gets manifested or expressed. In fact when the two vayus are vanished into the void space, we become aware of the presence of the Unmanifested Cosmos which is not different from the Manifested Cosmos or It gets revealed.

Commentary:

While the first dharana is directing us to become aware of the flow of the breath and the gaps that arise at the junction points of inhalation and exhalation, the second dharana is directing us to be more aware of where the two breaths are entering into a void and are restrained from their point of return. In the first dharana while we tend to listen also to the sounds haṁ and saH, in this case it is not required. We have to become aware of the two voids, internal and external. While we inhale the air (the apana), it enters into a void and restrains from its point of return for a while which is the internal void and while we exhale the air (prana), it enters into a void and restrains from its point of return for a while which is the external void.

Because of the air flowing inward and also outward the whole manifestation is happening. Everything is created because of the inflow and outflow of breath. But if one can ponder on the breathless state then one can become aware of the unmanifested. In that state there is no difference between Bhairavi (the Manifested Cosmos) and Bhairava (the Un-manifested Cosmos).

These two voids are not created or one should not make any attempt to create them. They happen naturally. There will be a state of void where the inhalation pooraka पूरक enters the void and the exhalation rechaka रेचक enters the void. When this occurs then the kevala kumbhaka केवल कुंभक happens. If one restrains breath voluntarily then it is sahita kumbhaka सहित कुंभक which is related to practice of pranayama techniques. When the breath restrains all by itself naturally then the kevala kumbhaka happens which is beneficial. During this kevala kumbhaka state there are no ripples or disturbances that generally arise because of the two (annamaya kosha अन्नमय कोष and the prāņamaya kosha प्राणमय कोष) of the five sheaths (the other three being manomaya kosha मनोमय कोष, vijnānamaya kosha विज्ञानमय कोष and ānandamaya kosha आनन्दमय कोष).

Because of the natural restrained movement of prāņa and apāna vayus, there are no inner sensations that are carried outward and there are no outer sensations that are carried inward due to which the kevala kumbhaka happens and all sensations are ceased. This dhāraņa is an extension of the first dhāraņa. By entering the kevala kumbhaka state we go beyond the senses which is the state of Bhairava (see the meaning of Bhairava in the introduction).

Again in this technique also there is nothing to practice. One has to observe and be aware of the voids where the restraining of the inward and outward breath is happening from their point of return.

The key point in this technique is being aware. Only awareness is the key. Be aware of the voids.

Q) One way of observing the way breath moves mindfully? 

A) Sit on a chair or cross legged on a mat and breath normally while the palms faced downward and resting on the legs or thighs. As the breath flows inward and outward you can observe that most of the breath movement is happening in the lower part of the diaphragm below the navel or the heart center and not above. Now continue the breathing in the same way but palms faced upward. Now you can observe that the breath movement is in the upper part of the diaphragm above the navel or the heart center and not below.

Vignana Bhairava Tantra - Technique 1

Vignana Bhairava Tantra

Introduction

AIM: To study the 112 Meditation Techniques for liberation.

Source: Un-Manifest/Manifest/Shiva-Parvathi conversation/Rudrayamala Tantra/Vignana Bhairava Tantra.

These techniques start from 24th verse in the Vignana Bhairava Tantra.

Vignana = awareness; 

Bhairava = who has gone beyond duality

Ultimate Truth is that, there is no “one” to get liberated. Liberation happens when there is no “one.”

“Stop seeking till you attain Truth.”

Never practice these techniques. Just become aware of them and they get practiced/happen all by themselves. The requisite is to be aware of its presence. All the techniques will throw us mercilessly into Nothingness. Hence, be prepared for it. If you feel that you are getting lots of energy, just ignore it and walk barefoot on the ground or sit on grass lands or earth and the mother earth will take care. Anything that mind says will be an illusion, hence do not get into it.

These techniques are no nonsense, but at the same time beyond the senses.

Even though it is a conversation between Parvati and Shiva where Parvati asks Shiva, the way it is that, the Manifested cosmos is asking the Unmanifested cosmos, how to get back to the Unmanifested. And the Unmanifested cosmos reveals 112 techniques where one can become aware of That and get Beneficence.

The whole Manifested Cosmos is manifested in such a way that there is a pause between every crest and trough, in every up and down, in every inhalation and exhalation, in every expansion and contraction. If one can become aware of this pause then the Beneficence.

When human being breathes there is a pause between each inhalation and exhalation and between each exhalation and inhalation. Even a heart enters a pause between each contraction and de-contraction.

This pause is the key for Beneficence.

All good things start with a prayer.

shuklaambaradharam vishnum shashivarnam chaturbhujam |

Prasanna vadanam dhyaayet sarva vighnopashaantaye ||

शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुम् शशिवर्णं चतुर्भुजम् |

प्रसन्नवदनं ध्यायेत् सर्व विघ्नोपशान्तये ||

శుక్లాంబరధరం విష్ణుం శశివర్ణం చతుర్భుజం |  

ప్రసన్నవదనం ధ్యాయేత్ సర్వ విఘ్నోపశాంతయే ||

Oh pure, spotless, all pervading, ever conscious One; covering everything in the cosmos, holding the cosmos with serenity, tranquility (Love), and present everywhere (omnipresent) and through all times; having a pure space (internal as well as eternal space with stillness and eternal silence), we meditate upon You so that you make us whole by overcoming all our obstacles - go beyond all thoughts and mind (which are illusory obstacles - because obstacle is present only as a thought, in fact thought is the obstacle in the form of mind) and merge us into that Infinite One or make us One with that infinite bliss and may we attain Self Realization and be in that constant Awareness.

Devi Asks:

O Shiva, what is your reality?

What is this wonder-filled universe?

What constitutes seed?

Who centers the universal wheel?

What is this life beyond form pervading forms?

How may we enter it fully, above space and time, names and descriptions?

Let my doubts be cleared!

Technique / dhāraņa 1

भैरव उवाच 

Bhairava uvāca |

ऊर्ध्वे प्राणो ह्यधो जीवो विसर्गात्मा परोच्चरेत्।
उत्पत्तिद्वितयस्थाने भरणाद् भरिता स्थितिः॥ २४॥

ūrdhve prāṇo hyadho jīvo visargātmā paroccaret|
utpattidvitayasthāne bharaṇād bharitā sthitiḥ || 24 ||

श्री भैरव उवाच = shri Bhairava says; ऊर्ध्वे = upward; प्राण: = Prana; ह्यध: = downward; जीव: = the air apana (another meaning is the body consciousness); विसर्गात्मा = whose nature is visarga (leaving the soul consciousness and entering the creation or getting entangled into attachment and started wanting something else other than soul); परोच्चरेत् = manifestation of paradevi; उत्पत्ति = generation (appearance); द्वितयस्थाने = at two places (appearance of duality); भरणाद्  = fixing the mind (one pointed attention and with keen alertness; another meaning is Sustenance); भरिता स्थितिः = state of fullness.

Sri Bhairava said: Paradevi, whose nature is visarga, or creation, manifests as the upward prana and the downward apana. By fixing the mind at the two points of generation (of prana and apana), the state of fullness or the wholesomeness results.

Radiant One, this experience may dawn between two breaths. After breath comes in (down) and just before turning up (out) - the beneficence.

There are two ways of understanding this.

The first one/way:

As the breath is risen or going upward ऊर्ध्वे प्राणो, i.e., as the inhalation is happening the individual is getting identified as jiva ह्यधो जीवो while विसर्गात्मा the aatma is shedding its identity that means as the inhalation is happening the individual is losing the soul consciousness and gaining body consciousness. From the unmanifested state because of the breath the manifestation is happening. From the present state the other is happening परोच्चरेत्. From the state of stillness, because of breath the state other than stillness is happening. Because of breath the non-duality has given rise to duality उत्पत्तिद्वितयस्थाने. Because of the consciousness of the breath, the One is appearing as dual. When we understand this and go along (side-by-side) with the breath and if we are alert we can become aware of the breath less state where the breath is stilled for a while and in that state of stillness if we are alert then we can become aware of the bharaṇād Sustenance bharitā sthitiḥ that sustains the whole. The Unmanifest (vibrationless) and Manifest (vibration) co-exist and are two sides of the same coin. The breathless (vibrationless) and the breathful (vibration) states are two states that co-exist for sustenance of this whole Cosmos.

The second one/way:

There are two starting points and in those two starting points it is being present and one can become aware of its existence उत्पत्तिद्वितयस्थाने. The first starting point is at the beginning of inhalation ह्यधो जीवो and the second starting point is at the beginning of exhalation ऊर्ध्वे प्राणो. The ingoing breath is called as apāna and the outgoing breath is called as prāņa. The one that is present in these two starting points is stillness or wholesomeness. That means if one is conscious of the movement of the breath, then one can become aware of the existence of the supreme visarga state (विसर्गात्मा परोच्चरेत्) where everything comes to an end. All the thought processes will come to an end. At this stage every concept dies. And when this happens then one can become aware of the Nothingness or Fullness भरणाद् भरिता स्थितिः.

One should not practice this technique. This technique happens all by itself. One has to sit silently, eyes closed and observe the breath going in and out. In the beginning when the focus is on the incoming and outgoing breath and at the space below or near the nostrils, then one will hear the sound "haaaam" during inhalation and "huuuhh" during exhalation. But, when the focus is internalized / interiorised and as your attention moves along with the breath internally, then you can observe the breath moving along the trachea into the heart center and abdomen region. Similarly during the exhalation from the abdomen through the heart center and up the trachea. If one can focus deeply but softly then one can hear the sound "haaaaamm" during inhalation and "saaaah" during exhalation. Remember these sounds should not be uttered by the individual, rather they should be witnessed. These sounds are very very soft and slightly resemble these sounds and not exactly sound like "haaaammm" and "saaaah." At the beginning of inhalation the “ha” is happening and at the end of the inhalation the “mmm” (am अं) is happening. At the beginning of exhalation the “sa” is happening and at the end of the exhalation the “ha” (visarga :) is happening. This means that at the junction of the breaths “mmm” (am अं) and “ha” (visarga :) is happening, which means everything is coming to an end. And, when we concentrate at these junction points then we will become one with Bhairava or wholeness (भरिता स्थितिः). Once the aspirant becomes aware of this, then Bhairava points out to another verse where he mentions how the the "ham sa" happens.

When one goes deeper and deeper into this, then one can understand the two points. The first one अं is at the bindu which is inside at the top of the head near the Medulla Oblangata and the second one is the visarga : which is at the मणिपुर चक्र Manipura chakra solar plexus. At the bindu the consciousness is being split and at the मणिपुर चक्र Manipura chakra the energy is being split. In fact the prāņa and apāna vayus are the subtle vayus that flow up and down respectively and one can understand this instead of the physical breath that moves upward and downward.

Because of its simplicity this technique can be practised or performed any time, any where and in any position.

The whole key is to be soft and observant with whatever is happening with the breath. One should not make any attempt to regularise or control the breath. When one becomes observant of the breath then one also becomes observant of the gap or the stillness or the breathless state or where the breath is stilled. When one becomes aware of that stillness then in that state the Unmanifest reveals.

Be observant and become the Beneficence!