Yoga Of Inner Light And Sound

Author(s): Achyutanand Swami, Praveshkumar Singh
Publisher: Santmat Sangh Samiti Chandrapur

Page 14

still our currents of consciousness present in both the eyes to meet in a single point, a bright radiant point appears. This scintillating point, light form or luminous symbol of God, is so charming that it completely captures the attention of the perceiving surat (individual nonliberated soul yet mixed with mind etc). The very same mind, which had been roaming hitherto, greedily, from one after another object of senses, now gets the taste of the divine bliss, is purified and becomes ever eager to taste that bliss again and again whenever it gets opportunity; rather it is always anxious to steal time from daily routine to meditate so that it could experience that unique bliss again.
However, it is not so easy to revert the mind, which has been in the vicious grip of a chronic habit, spanning over innumerable lives, of hankering after sensory pleasures, inwardly and focus it. It requires rock-solid unwavering concentration and some amount of prior preparation, therefore, comes definitely handy here. Santmat, therefore, teaches to begin meditation with mental recitation of a sacred mantra given by the Guru. Emphasis here is on mental recitation called "mānas jap" ("mānas meaning 'with mind' or mental and 'jap' meaning chant or recitation) or simran or sumiran. Scriptures talk mainly of three types of jap or chanting. They are (i) "vāchika jap" that consists in chanting the given mantra loud enough to be heard by others in the proximity, (ii) "upanshu jap" in which though lips and the tongue move but the mantra is uttered in so feeble a voice that no one else, except the chanter himself, can overhear the chant, and (iii) "mānas jap" or "mental chanting" in which the mind itself becomes completely absorbed in chanting the mantra while there is no movement either of lips or of the tongue. Out of these three kinds of jap, mental recitation is regarded as the best as it, if done perfectly, ensures utmost concentration of attention which does not leave any scope for the mind straying to utterance of any other words or organs of the body or thoughts. It is an effective tool in stopping the mind chatter.
Once the mind gets relatively steadied, and is able to concentrate over the mantra, without digressing to any other thoughts, it should try to shift from words to the form of the favourite deity or Guru, a process called as mānas dhyān. Mānas dhyān consists in trying to visualise initially the whole body and subsequently only the face of the desired deity or Guru in a manner taught by the Guru. By way of manas dhyān the mind is able to focus attention, shifting from words, on a relatively subtler form and thus becomes readied to practise what is known as drishti sadhan or bindu dhyan (yoga of inner light).
Drishti Sadhan (also called Bindu Dhyan, or Shunya Dhyan) and Nada Dhyan (also called shabda dhyan, shabda sadhana, nädänusandhän, or surat shabd yoga) are the two highest categories or forms of meditation Santmat preaches and takes greatest pride in. These two forms of meditation find profuse references in ancient Hindu scriptures, mainly Upanishads and are also found in all major religions of the world of all times.
The heavy emphasis that Santmat lays on these two forms of meditation is not without very strong reasons.
If we look at the universe we will appreciate that light and sound form the very basis of the whole of the universe surrounding us including our own bodies...the creation, the Scriptures remark, is essentially "nām - rūpātmak" (that is, with name or sound and form or light) in nature. If these two elements are somehow removed from the universe, the universe would collapse or get dissolved or even more appropriately put, would simply cease to exist. This process is known as involution or 'laya' (in Sanskrit), as opposed to evolution. Light and sound form the very basis of life. Consider, for instance, our own body. It is alive so long as light and sound indwell it. If I die, the doctor comes, examines and finds that the body has turned cold implying that heat (heat is a manifestation of light energy which is why we feel