Yoga Of Inner Light And Sound

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

Page 15

heat under the sun or even the bulbs, tube lights and flames - light and heat always co-exist together just as vibration and sound always accompany each other) or light has moved out of the body. He further checks my pulse and finds it has stopped beating (pulse beats are due to the vibration or sound component of consciousness that pervades each and every pore of our body that is alive) which means sound (vibration) has left the body. The body gets its consciousness from these two - light and sound components - or else why is it that the body has turned dead even though nothing has changed physically; all its parts - hands, legs, eyes, ears, nose - are still very much there and yet the body is dead. This is why the body is called 'jada' (that which does not have consciousness of its own and yet appears to act like a conscious one so long as it is pervaded by the current of consciousness). An illusion is created of the body behaving as a conscious entity because it is permeated by that consciousness. The currents of consciousness in the nature are manifested in these two forms namely, light and sound which form the basis of creation. That is why to revert to our own true nature of consciousness we need to take support of, or meditate upon, these two - it sounds very scientific and logical.
Besides, as if to underscore the significance of these two components - light and sound - almost every religion has some tradition of symbolically including the light and sound in their places of Worship. In Vedic tradition we can see lamps burning (light) and ringing bells (sound) hanging in a temple. In a church and Buddhist monasteries also candles and gong or chimes can be found. In mosques also the loudspeakers for azān (prayers) and incense sticks or chirag (lamp) are seen. These are just symbols but they do leave some hints at the importance of light and sound which are both in fact varied forms of energy. The subtlest of these energies is that Word or the Quintessential energy or anāhat nāda, Om, or sār shabd or the Word that springs forth directly from Him as discussed earlier and, hence, is the most suitable or appropriate guide or escort to take us along to Him.
That quintessential sound pervades all creation - gross, astral, causal as well as supra-causal. Nothing can be formed without it. For example, even if I want to make a small ball or pellet out of clay while moulding it in a particular shape limpart some sort of vibration (& heat as well) to it. If I want to draw a picture, I need to impart vibration to paper through the pen. I want to talk or walk, sit or stand - vibration is required in every case. There is simply nothing we can do without it. That is why this great and compelling emphasis on these two can be found in almost all the religions of the world.
Bindu (Absolute Point) and Nāda (vibration/sound/word) are the two signs or symbols of God. They have been described metaphorically as the two arms, as it were, of the God. He who wishes God to embrace him must strive hard to get hold of these two arms of the God that is, practise bindu dhyān (yoga of inner light) and or surat shabda yoga/ nāda dhyān (yoga of inner sound).
Bindu or infinitesimal point is the smallest of marks that can be seen, that which has no length, breadth, or thickness and yet it exists. All alphabets, all pictures, all forms, everything that has a shape, form or can be seen, are made of collection of points only. That is why, the Dhyānabindūpanishad says, that bindu is the seed of all alphabets and forms, and that nāda is perceived after visualising that bindu, the tinier-than-the-tiniest form of the Supreme sovereign God. This point can never be found or seen in the outer world. It becomes visible to him (her) alone who can still his sight in the Sushumnā (the central or the principal psychic or yogic nerve out of the three nerves namely idā, pingalā and sushumnā), or the Ajna Chakra. This calls for a motionless, still gazing ahead right in front of the centre of the two eyes in the inner dark void that results or is seen upon closing our eyes gently. The trick, tact or art of gazing in the inner dark vastness so that the currents of