Meditating On The Sacred Syllable A

In the sacred realms of Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, a profound and ancient text revered for its wisdom and insights into the science of meditation, Verse 90 unveils a profound journey into the essence of meditative practice. Within the verses, a luminous path beckons those seeking union with the divine, to follow the path of the the potent syllable "A" from the individual to the universal.

Transcript

Hi and welcome, Friend, For joining me in this journey of meditation. Today we will embark on an elucidative meditation journey with the timeless wisdom of the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra. This ancient text, Revered for its profound insights into meditation, Invites you, In its 90th verse, To experience the magic of meditating with the sacred syllable ā. The sacred teachings of the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra were given to us in the Sanskrit language, In which the sound of ā is the first phoneme of the language, The first sound that is found in the language. In fact, The sound ā is the first sound that is created in any language. Linguists refer to this as the schwan sound, The most basic sound that a human being can make without shaping their mouth using their tongue or their lips. As such, It is the basic vibration that the human voice may produce, The most basic sound of any language. And since language and consciousness are deeply interconnected, This is the most basic vibration of the human consciousness. The Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, In verse 90, Reads ābindum avisargam ca ākaram japato mahān udeti devisāhasā jñānaughāha parameśvarah O Goddess, By repeating the letter ā without bindu or visarga, The Supreme Lord, Who is the torrent of wisdom, Arises spontaneously at once. In the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, Or the Tantra of the Wisdom of Bhairava, Bhairava teaches the goddess Bhairavi various meditations for attaining wisdom, For expansion of consciousness and recognizing the truth of our being. In this verse, The teaching is simply to emit the sound ā without adding a bindu or visarga. Bindu is the nasalization which produces the sound nn which is found at the end of most mantras, Where visarga is a kind of expiration that is followed other mantras, Such as namahā. And so the seemingly simple instruction is simply to repeat the sound ā. The secret is in how to repeat the sound ā. So let us begin by sitting in a comfortable sitting position. You can sit on the ground in a cross-legged position or on a chair, But whatever you do, Keep your spine upright. Let's start by emitting this sound orally with our voice, Although when we will truly perform it, We will do it in our mind only. Take a deep breath and then relax your face. To properly produce the sound ā, You need to have a completely relaxed face. And then simply let the air out of your lungs. Ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā � And again, Inhale in. Ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā � ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā � In many books of the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra you will see an interpretation which says that in this meditation we need to repeat the sound ā again and again and again and somehow by concentrating it we will achieve this torrent of wisdom. However, In my view, The real meaning behind this verse is that if we continuously emit the sound ā, We will continuously expand. This expansion, When led to its infinity, Is what brings us in contact with the whole of the universe, Which turns into a flood of wisdom that arises inside of us. So now let's see how this is done. Take a deep breath and then start exhaling and emit the sound ā in your mind. Actually, More accurately, Emit it inside of your heart, Inside of your chest. So as you're exhaling the air out, You are imagining that you're producing the sound ā. You say it with your inner speech, But without making a sound. Let's do that together. And when you reach the end of your breath, Continue saying the sound ā. Continue. Start inhaling, But with your mind continue saying the sound ā as you inhale. And again, Exhale in your mind, Continuing to say the sound ā. And just continue on and on. In the beginning, You might find that it's difficult to continue the ā sound, Especially in the moment of change between inhalation and exhalation. And so the trick is to put a little bit more emphasis, Like a little bit of a push in those moments, In the change between inhalation and exhalation. As you are just starting to exhale, Emit stronger. Push the sound ā inside of your heart. And then again, When you are ending your exhalation and about to reverse the breath and bring air in, Again try to push the sound ā. It's like a bump that you need to push the sound over. When you do it, You may even hear in your mind that the sound has a little bump in it, A little change in it. That it's not a continuous flow. But after performing this for a couple of more minutes, You'll see that you can even smooth out these bumps. And so the ā becomes one continuous flow. And with this continuous flow of the sound ā, Your consciousness can expand more and more and more until infinity. Let us do this meditation on the sound ā for a few minutes. Inhale, And in your mind begin to emit the sound ā. Notice the expansion that continues together with the sound. Allow yourself to continue expanding into the infinite. You may conclude this meditation here, Or continue for as long as you want. You can do this meditation with the eyes closed. And after you have gotten accustomed to it, You can just do it in any moment in order to bring back this expansion of consciousness that follows the most basic sound of the human consciousness, Ā, Into the infinite. Thank you for joining me in this meditation today, And until next time, Namaste.