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VisualizationDissolutionVoidVerse 53advanced

The Whole World Burnt Away

Contemplate the entire world burnt to nothing; for the undistracted, the supreme human state dawns.

Source verse · Verse 53
एवमेव जगत्सर्वं दग्धं ध्यात्वा विकल्पतः। अनन्यचेतसः पुंसः पुम्भावः परमो भवेत्॥
evam eva jagat sarvaṃ dagdhaṃ dhyātvā vikalpataḥ | ananyacetasaḥ puṃsaḥ pumbhāvaḥ paramo bhavet
Contemplate the entire world burnt to nothing; for the undistracted, the supreme human state dawns.
▶ Practice this technique15 / 20 min · eyes closed

How to practice

  1. 1As with the burning of the body, now widen the fire to the whole world.
  2. 2Contemplate the entire universe — all things, all places — consumed by fire and reduced to nothing.
  3. 3Hold the vision with an undistracted, one-pointed mind (ananya-cetas).
  4. 4When nothing of the world is left, let the supreme state (paramo pumbhāvaḥ) dawn, and rest in it.
Practice note. The cosmic scale of the fire-of-time practice: not just your body but the whole world burnt away, leaving the supreme Self that no fire touches.

Terms in this technique

laya
Dissolution, absorption; the merging of attention into its source.
śūnya
Void, emptiness — not nothingness but open, contentless awareness.
sākṣin
The witness; awareness that observes without being touched.
ātman
The true self; awareness as one’s own being.

Sources consulted

  • Jaideva Singh, Vijñānabhairava: The Manual for Self-Realization (Motilal Banarsidass, 1979)
  • Bettina Bäumer, Vijñâna Bhairava: The Practice of Centering Awareness (Indica Books, 2011)
  • Osho, The Book of Secrets (St. Martin’s Griffin, 1998)
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