Hello.
Welcome.
Welcome to this meditation on the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra.
The Vijnana Bhairava Tantra is from the 8th century.
It is a scripture that is highly regarded in the Hindu tradition of Shaivism and it is about meditation.
What is meditation?
In Kashmir Shaivism,
Meditation is about the experience of the energy of meditation,
The Shakti of meditation,
Which is often called Kundalini Shakti.
In this meditation,
We are going to do Adharana.
Adharana is a centering technique where we use our mind and our senses and our imagination to connect with the energy of meditation.
So,
Without further ado,
Take a comfortable posture and begin to breathe.
Begin to breathe.
The breath comes in and the breath goes out.
The breath comes in and the breath goes out.
The breath comes in and the breath goes out.
The Vijnana Bhairava is written in the ancient spiritual language of Sanskrit.
Just because it's written in Sanskrit doesn't mean that it's not highly relevant to us right here,
Right now,
Today.
These Dharanas are powerful and can bring us to a state of natural meditation wherever we are.
We don't need to go to a monastery.
We don't need to go to a forest.
We don't need to go to Machu Picchu.
It would be wonderful if we could,
But often we have other things we need to do.
So,
The Dharanas of Kashmir Shaivism can be utilized by you wherever you are.
And don't take my word for it either.
Try them for yourself and see if they work for you.
So,
I'm going to sing the Sanskrit Shloka to you and then I'll read you the translation.
Shri Bhairava Uvaca Arve Pranoh Yado Jivo Vizagatma Parucharet Utpati Dviti Astane Bharanad Bharithastitih Bhairava,
The Lord of Consciousness,
Says the highest energy of meditation,
The Shakti,
Is always expressing herself upward from the center of the body in the form of exhalation and downward to the center of the body in the form of inhalation by steadily fixing the mind at these two places of their origin.
The practitioner of this Dharana will experience a situation of fullness which is the state of the highest energy of meditation,
The nature of Bhairava.
So,
Simply sit quietly and observe your breath.
As you exhale,
Become aware of the breath rising up and coming outside your body just in front of your heart center in the middle of the chest and dissolving there into the ether.
As you breathe in,
Imagine the energy coming down into the center of your chest,
Your heart center,
Inside your chest.
Exhale,
The energy rises upwards and comes to rest outside at the level of your heart center,
Right in the middle of your chest.
Inhale,
The breath moves outward.
Exhale,
The energy rises outward.
Inhale,
The breath moves in into the body and down to the center of your chest again on the inside of your body.
Exhale,
The energy comes outside your body and comes to rest just outside your chest,
Right in the middle of your chest.
What is known in Shaivism as Dvada Shanta.
And then inhale,
The breath comes in,
Comes to the center of your chest,
Right inside,
Inside your chest.
Exhale,
The breath comes out and rests at your heart chakra,
Right in the middle of your chest,
But slightly outside your body.
Inhale,
The breath comes down inside the body and comes to rest at your heart center,
Right in the inside of your heart center,
In the middle of your chest.
Exhale,
The energy is now outside.
Inhale,
The energy is now outside.
The energy is now inside,
Inside your heart chakra,
Right in the middle of your chest.
Exhale,
The energy is now outside at the level of your heart chakra,
But outside your body.
Inhale,
The energy is now moved inside to your heart chakra.
Right in the center of your chest,
In the inside of your body.
And exhale,
The energy is now at the level of the heart chakra,
But outside your body.
And inhale,
And now the energy is inside your body again at the level of your heart chakra.
Now,
Breathe naturally for some time and observe these two spaces.
The outer space on the exhalation,
Which is at the level of the heart chakra,
But outside the body.
And the inner space of inhalation,
Which is at the level of the heart chakra,
But inside the body.
Explore these two places.
Exhalation outside the body,
Inhalation inside the body,
Both at the heart chakra,
Right in the middle of the chest.
And now we will silently practice for a few minutes.
And now,
Very gently,
We're going to come out of meditation,
But we're going to come out slowly so that the fruit of this dharana can stay with us throughout the day.
So we're breathing,
And we're bringing our awareness back to the room in a gentle,
Respectful way.
Respectful of our state of consciousness,
Being kind to ourselves,
And gently coming out of meditation.
So remember,
As the breath comes in,
There is a space inside you,
In your heart chakra,
Heart center,
Heart chakra,
In the middle of your chest,
Inside you.
When you exhale,
There is a place slightly outside your body,
Still at the level of the heart chakra,
Right in the middle of your chest.
If you place your awareness at either of these two points,
And focus on those two points,
With the support of the breath,
You will attain a state of stillness,
A state of stillness,
Which will allow you to experience the energy of meditation,
Kundalini shakti.
Do this meditation anytime you wish.
You can do it open-eyed,
You can do it closed-eyed.
No doing it while driving,
Please.
No doing it while operating heavy machinery.
No,
No,
No.
But if you're sitting somewhere quietly,
If you're simply relaxing,
If you're in a busy cafe,
If you're in a park,
If you're walking in nature,
If you're sitting down with your eyes closed for a formal meditation practice,
All of these places are an ideal place to practice this dharana.
Dharana 1 of the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra.
May your practice of this dharana bring great benefit to you and your life.
