0 Goddess, chant AUM, etc., slowly. Concentrate on the void at the end of the protracted sound. Then with the supreme energy of the void, one goes to the Void.
39, Vigyan Bhairava Tantra
Aum – the Sound of God
The Maitri Upanishad teaches us that God can be meditated on in two ways through sound and through silence. From sound, we go to silence. The sound of God is AUM. The silence after AUM is joy. It is the joy of God. The meditation given in this verse is almost exactly what is taught in the Maitri Upanishad. Sound and silence are two sides of the same coin. Sound is the opposite of silence. Because it is the opposite of silence, it is used as a springboard to go deeper into silence.
Two ways to relax your body
There are two ways of relaxing our body.
- First, we could straightaway try and relax our body. Make every part of our body, every muscle limp and relaxed.
- Second, we could initially tense our body. Tighten every muscle of our body to the best of our ability, without excessive straining, and then suddenly relax and let go. In the second instance, our body would relax automatically. Maybe even relax more than the first method.
This is the basic principle followed in this and the next two verses – through sound go deeper into silence. In the silence, we will meet God. This verse is doubly powerful. Not only does it use sound to go into silence, but the sound it uses, AUM, is by itself sufficient to take us to God. Therefore, the meditation works in two ways – the sound takes us to God, and the silence also takes us to God
Method
0 Goddess, chant AUM, etc., slowly.
- This meditation is to be done seated with eyes closed. Etc. , refers to two other sacred sounds of God – Hum and Hrim.
- One has to slowly chant either of the three sacred sounds of God, Aum, Hum or Hrim (Aum is sometimes also spelt Om).
- When you chant this sound slowly, there will be greater emphasis towards the end of the sound. For example, Aum will be chanted, Aummmm.
- Concentrate on the void at the end of the protracted sound. Concentrate on the void or silence at the end of the sound.
- The meditation must be done in a quiet place, where there is no distraction due to external noises. Otherwise, one will not be able to concentrate on the silence. After a while, repeat this process .
- Chant AUM slowly, and then concentrate on the silence after the end of the sound.
- A point may come when one is completely absorbed in the silence. At this stage, there is no need to chant AUM again. Maintain your awareness of the silence.
- Then with the supreme energy of the void, one goes to the Void. By concentrating on the void, the silence, one will start feeling very peaceful, and at times, very joyful. A tinie will come when one is transported to another level. One feels a deep sense of peace and bliss. At that time, one goes to the Void one goes to God.
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