Bhagavad Gita 1

The Song of Consciousness

Sri Krishna seems to be the greatest hynotherapist of all!. For that's how the process begins. The patient who is already saddled with problems of the mind is brought to a state of high anxiety. His conscious mind is numbed and in the sub-conscious mind the healer probes through the original cause of the problems. Removes it gently and fills up the space with a more positive thought.

Arjuna standing in the battlefield in tears, not knowing whether to fight or not, finds himself in a similar state of anxiety. He has expressed umpteen number of doubts to his friend and charioteer Krishna. His mind is so burdened with questions that he simply drops down, bow, arrows and body - in a state of total surrender, not knowing what else to do. Just like the mind that cannot go anywhere when it reaches the peak of anxiety or stress, but has to break down to either cry or pray.

He has asked, what use is the fight, how he can fight his relatives, won't it affect the women and the future generations - just like a mind that tries to find an escape route from a crisis. But Sri Krishna just watches him. Sanjaya who narrates the story to the blind King Dhritarashtra says:

Evamuktvarjunah Samkhye Rathopastha Upavishath

Visrujya Sasharam Chapam Shoka Samvighna Manasaha.

Arjuna poured out all his questions and doubts, expressed his grief in the form of tears. But Sri Krishna is unmoved. Arjuna goes on and on with his doubts about the need to fight the war. Ultimately, he has nowhere to go and just drops down with all his belongings and sits near his chariot, overcome with grief and in a thoroughly disturbed state of mind. Just pointing the way to a confused seeker that the end of tears marks the beginning of the road to clarity and universal consciousness.

- Swahilya Shambhavi.

Vignana Bhairava Tantra - 10

Chance, not choice!

The Vignana Bhairava Tantra - 10 has been published by chance in the other blog that I write, Cosmic Consciousness. Please check it out. May be I'll begin another series on some other text here!
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Vignana Bhairav Tantra - 9

When thought clouds rain as tears....

Adhareshwathava Shakthya Gnanathchittha Layena Va

Jathashakti Samavesha Kshobhanthe Bhairavam Vapuh.

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The expanse of the Vignana Bhairav Tantra in using life as a university to teach meditation, never ceases to impress. Here is yet another.

There are times in stressful circumstances, events happening in life are beyond one's understanding. Especially in a volatile corporate set up, decisions made or misconceptions not revealed can really shake up long standing erroneous notions.

When the individual self can sometime think no end of itself, especially when it tastes success, spiritual or material, just a statement coming from where it matters can serve to be that rusted pin that pricks the ego's balloon. The upheaval that follows can be phenomenal.

It doesn't matter, says the Vignana Bhairav Tantra. It doesn't matter what you think, even if it is wrong. When the thoughts, conceptions and ideas that one holds on too is given a rough shake up - there is an emotional turmoil, a bursting of feelings and a suppressed volcano of the whys and the how comes - Be with it. There is tranquility at the end of it. There is serenity that runs through the fabric of the outburst.

The experience is just like immersing one's soiled self in the cleansing waters of a quiet stream. The one who emerges out is the tranquil being, shedding the dirt and grime of erroneous perceptions. - Swahilya Shambhavi.

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Vignana Bhairava Tantra - 8

Swing and dance with Joy

Chalasane Sthithasyatha Shanairva Deha Chalanath

Prashanthe Manase Bhave Devi Divyaughamapnuyath.

We did it as kids, didn't we - holding a partner's hand and swinging round and round till the sky above began spinning and we fell down. Then it happened in the park when there would be a queue for a wooden swing. Rocking from one end to another, in space that did not move. There was bliss in the game. There was bliss in the swinging. That bliss of a tranquil mind in a swinging body is the divine that you have always been looking for. Be with that experience of the stillness between the swinging from one end to another, the quietude that has always been through the dancing movements of the body. That tranquility is the meditative state of mind and it is as simple as watching it while we walk, run, bend, stretch, swing, swim, dance, play games. So next time you feel like letting loose on the dance floor, or rocking a baby on the cradle or just catching hold of a vacant swing - jump in and be with the movement. It's as simple as that! - Swahilya Shambhavi.

Vignana Bhairava Tantra - 7

Being with the joy of the mind

Yatra Yatra Manasthushtihi Manastatraiva Dharayeth

Tatra Tatra Paramanandaswaroopam Sampravartate.

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The mind finds joy in simple things. It can be the fragrance of the flowers. It can be the wispy clouds passing through an azure blue sky. It can be in moments of love. It can be while watching a beautiful picture or listening to one's favourite music. There are many ways that bring happiness to the mind.


Wherever the mind experiences joy on experiencing something, focus on that object, person or situation. In that place, the form of the supreme bliss manifests. It can be while seeing, hearing, touching or tasting, smelling a pleasant aroma or recalling and remembering joyous moments - there is a surge of energy within. This reveals to us the bliss within. Just be with that joy. It is nothing else but the form of the supreme joy of consciousness that manifests through even the momentary and fleeting moments of bliss of day to day life. - Swahilya Shambhavi.

Vignana Bhairava Tantra - 6

Contemplating on the elements of nature

Maya Vimohini Nama Kalayah Kalanam Sthitham

Ithyadi Dharmam Tatwanam Kalayanna Prithagbhavet.

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All forms and activities of the nature around us are a combination of the different elements - Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space - in different consistencies. This includes man, animal and tree. The different essences combine in different ways to manifest in various forms. What we call Maya or illusion is the feeling that some object is different from us and the objects are themselves different from each other and have different names and forms.
But this Tantra gives us an opportunity to meditate upon different forms of nature, dissolving the differences and becoming one with the consciousness that exists in all.
There are different kinds of human beings, thinking and acting differently. But they all breathe the same air and survive on the same water, sunlight and earth, as do the plants and animals do.
But the consciousness within, that makes one to see the different names and forms, is equally present in those names and forms too. When you feel the earth beneath your feet, meditate. When you drink a glass of water to quench your thirst, meditate. When the cool air blows gently against your face, meditate. When you see the flames of the fire that burns - meditate. When you feel the space around you that lets you go wherever you want to, meditate.
These will lead you to the eternal one that is Consciousness. - Swahilya Shambhavi.

Vignana Bhairava Tantra - 5

Where there is pain, there is Shiva

Kinchidangam Vibhidyadau Teekshnasoochyadina Tataha

Tatraiva Chetanam Yuktva Bhairave Nirmala Gatihi.

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If someone had the experience of having acupuncture needles running through the body, connected to electric impulses, then this Vignana Bhairava Tantra may have some meaning to them already! This Tantra is not entreating you to invite pain and suffering upon yourself.
But when there is a prick of a needle, there is a point in the body where it pains. Draw your attention to that spot. The pain is nothing but a pure and fresh movement in the consciousness called Bhairava. Be there and experience it in the moment.
It is not just about experiencing the physical pain. It can be an inexplicable pain in the heart too, when one experiences suffering born out of separation of a loved one, dejection, depression, sadness. When such heaviness of the heart happens, be there in that moment without comment or judgement. You experience Consciousness. The pain can liberate too. A word of caution! There is no need to wish for pain and suffering. But experiencing it when it visits is what this verse of the Vignana Bhairava Tantra conveys.


Picture: A memorial for the many children who lost their lives at the Madavamedu village off Nagapattinam coast in Tamil Nadu when the tsunami struck. The little children who died where those who were washed away while they were blissfully watching the television at home. - Swahilya Shambhavi

Vignana Bhairava Tantra - 4

The Silence and the Sounds of Music

Tantryadi Vadyashabdeshu Dheergheshu Kramasamsthithe

Ananyachethah Pratyante Paravyoma Vapur Bhaveth.

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The Universe is in the form of the cosmic sound called Nada. It is this Nada that emanates when a chord of the veena or tampura is struck. It can be a keyboard, guitar, tabla or congo drums, the sounds of birds, chirping of a squirrel or even the human voice. But when the mind follows the frequencies of the musical waves and the silence that precedes, stays along and exists after the sound subsides, then it merges into that silence and becomes the body of silence itself.
So next time you hear music, even speech sometimes can be music to the ears! know it's time to let go and just be with the sounds. The point where the sounds end and the silence begins, is the end of meditation. It is the place where the rivers merge into the ocean of bliss. The sounds begin from silence, travel in silence and fall back into the same silence.
- Swahilya Shambhavi

Vignana Bhairava Tantra - 3

A steady gaze begets a steady mind

Sampradayamimam Devi Shrunu Samyagvadamyaham

Kaivalyam Jayate Sadyaha Nethrayoh Stabdhamathrayoh.

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When Shiva tells something to Parvathi it is nothing but the embodiment of Consciousness, imparting its qualities to the unsteady and wavering mind. By doing so, the two become one and merge into a conscious whole. So in the course of the conversation, Shiva tells Parvathy to listen fully to the tradition that he imparts in its entirety. If Shiva, the Guru of Yoga speaks of a tradition, then one can imagine how ancient this art of meditation must be!
This is a tradition of meditation, a means to dissolve into the awareness of the self. This is called Kaivalya. It is called Samadhi - Sama + Adhi : Where the intellect has merged into the Awareness. It is the same state of non-dual presence which is described as Adwaita, reaching which one attains liberation or Moksha or becomes a Jivan Mukta.
It can happen in a trice when one in total concentration is looking at the words in a book, without batting an eyelid. It can happen when one gazes steadily at a painting or the photograph of a beloved one. It can happen when one gazes with no intention, yet steadily at the lamp that lights the darkness. One gets in touch with the Self and enters into a state of Kaivalya, immediately.
In this state, one discovers the truth of being in the light of consciousness that casts its light. One can see that the fire is not created by the oil and wick when lighted. But the merging of the oil and wick, when fired by a spark, lights up as much as it can to reveal to us the already existing light in that much of space that it can show. The bigger fires like the Sun only show us the vast expanse of the presence of light in the space just around us and within.
The highest state of Samadhi arises immediately when the gaze of the eyes are fixed steadily. This gaze can be at objects without, or just the awareness within. The steadiness dissolves the mind into Consciousness. That is the end of knowing and the beginning of being.
- Swahilya Shambhavi

Vignana Bhairava Tantra - 2

Into the blue dome overhead

Akasham Vimalam Pashyan Krithva Drishtim Nirantaram

Stabdhathma Tatkshanad Devi Bhairavam Vapurapnuyat.

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What you see, that you become. It may not be so true of all the numerous material objects. But when it comes to letting the mind immerse into space, seeing is becoming. The thoughts and emotions can at times come crowding - almost like a wave. Following a thought and being with it will be like allowing oneself to get tossed by a wave. But it is during such moments that you can take a break to be with yourself. Look up at the wide, wide sky which has all the clouds floating on it - but it remains steady. Seeing that, the mind with its spaghetti of thoughts, simply dissolves and becomes like the sky.

In this Tantra, Shiva tells Parvathi to look into the pure space of the skies, fixing the gaze steadily. The effect is immediate as thoughts lose themselves in the vastness and dissolve just as the river loses itself into the ocean. With such a steady state of awareness, the mind expands into the body of Bhairava - Pure Consciousness.

- Swahilya Shambhavi.