#66 Closing Your Sense Meditation

When any sense organ is obstructed externally or is restrained by one, from carrying out its function – one will then enter the void that is beyond duality. There indeed, one’s True Self will be revealed.

Verse 89, Vigyan Bhairava tantra

The 5 Senses

Our senses are outward-going. They do not go within. But God is found within. When you block any sense organ, consciousness is redirected inwards. Your awareness is no longer outwards. It is now focussed within. It is within that there is no duality. It is within that you find God. When you look with your eyes, you see various forms and objects in the external world.

• When you close your eyes, you see only darkness. There are no forms, no objects, no dualities (two or more separate objects). There is only darkness, there is only unity. Similarly, with your ears, you hear the various sounds of the world.
• When you close your ears, there is only silence. There are no dualities, no varied sounds. There is only one thing, and that is silence. There is nothing apart from silence. Therefore within, you will not find two (dualism), or more. Neither two sounds, nor two objects. You will find only One. When the eyes are closed there is only darkness, when the ears are closed, there is only silence.
• These examples can be extended to other sense organs. Through the nose, we smell different smells. When the nose is closed, we smell nothing. There is void, nothing.
• Similarly, through the mouth, we taste different foods or speak different words. When the mouth is closed, we taste and say nothing. There is only a void.

The example of waves on an ocean is used to explain all this. On the surface of an ocean, there are lots of waves. However, deep down there is only the ocean. There are no waves, no separate forms·. It is the same with human beings. Through our sense organs, we see, hear, taste, touch, and smell lots of different things. However, within there is no diversity {dualism). There is only one thing and that is God. One can also say that within there is nothing, there is void or emptiness. Both mean the same. The important thing to understand is that it is within that one transcends dualism. It is within that one sees the ocean and not the waves. It is within that we see ourselves as a part of God, and not as separate beings, separate from God and each other. How does one practice this meditation?

How to do this Technique

• Sit comfortably and close any sense organ.
• It is preferable to do this with the eyes or ears.
• Do not close the nose, as you will not be able to breathe. The mouth in any case will be closed when you are practicing sitting meditation.
• If you are closing your eyes, then concentrate on the darkness you see within.
• If you are closing your ears, close your eyes as well and concentrate on the silence.
• When you stop any sense organ from carrying out its function, your awareness will be directed within. In this case, it will either be on the darkness or the silence experienced within.