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VoidLightVisualizationVerse 88intermediate

Eyes Closed, the Black Expanse

Close the eyes, find the darkness in front, and expand it; contemplate it as Bhairava's form until you become one with it.

Source verse · Verse 88
एवमेव निमील्यादौ नेत्रे कृष्णाभमग्रतः। प्रसार्य भैरवं रूपं भावयंस्तन्मयो भवेत्॥
evam eva nimīlyādau netre kṛṣṇābham agrataḥ | prasārya bhairavaṃ rūpaṃ bhāvayaṃs tanmayo bhavet
Close the eyes, find the darkness in front, and expand it; contemplate it as Bhairava's form until you become one with it.
▶ Practice this technique10 / 20 min · eyes closed

How to practice

  1. 1Close the eyes and notice the dark field that appears in front of you.
  2. 2Let that darkness expand — spreading out in every direction until it is boundless.
  3. 3Contemplate the limitless dark as the very form of Bhairava — awareness itself.
  4. 4Merge into it until seer and dark are one (tanmaya). Rest as that.
Practice note. A companion to the open-eyed darkness practice — here the eyes are closed and the inner blackness is expanded and recognised as Bhairava. Let it grow vast rather than staying a small patch in front.

Terms in this technique

śūnya
Void, emptiness — not nothingness but open, contentless awareness.
tejas
Light, brilliance, inner fire.
bhairava
The fierce, all-encompassing form of Shiva; ultimate consciousness.
bhāvanā
Contemplative imagination; cultivating a state through felt imagery.

Sources consulted

  • Jaideva Singh, Vijñānabhairava: The Manual for Self-Realization (Motilal Banarsidass, 1979)
  • Swami Lakshmanjoo, Vijnana Bhairava: The Manual for Self Realization (Universal Shaiva Fellowship, 2007)
  • Bettina Bäumer, Vijñâna Bhairava: The Practice of Centering Awareness (Indica Books, 2011)
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