Yoga Of Inner Light And Sound

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

Page 50

Benefits of Nada Dhyān Yoga of Sound: Essential Means for Mind- Control
In the yogic literature the practices of dama' and 'shama' have been accorded an eminent place. It is, indeed, extremely difficult to progress far on the highway of Yoga without having practised 'dama' and 'shama'. Controlling our indriyas' or organs is known as 'dama' - a feat which cannot be accomplished without practising drishti yoga (Yoga of Light). Of even greater significance than that of dama' is the practice of 'shama' (the process of mindcontrol) which cannot be perfected without practising the nādānusandhāna, surat shabda yoga or the Yoga of Sound. As one succeeds in drishti yoga, the currents of consciousness normally scattered through all the organs - organs of action as well as those of perception - become collected and centred in one point, and all the organs become inactive, or, are subjugated. Mind, however, is not yet brought under control completely even after success at the Yoga of Light. That is why a spiritual practiser has to compulsorily practise the Yoga of Inner Sound (nāda dhyāna, nādānusandhāna or surat shabda yoga). With nāda dhyāna the mind gets completely dissolved. As a result of its dissolution, the mind forgets about the sensory objects, as has been depicted in the Nādavindu Upanishad: "Just as the honey bee, while sipping the nectar of flowers cares not for their fragrance... The mind that is ever connected to the Divine Sound longs no more for any sensory objects. For it has come under the spell of the Divine Melody and has forsaken its fickle nature for good."
The Upanishad has compared the mind to the poisonous cobra. The venomous cobra is capable of killing several persons with its deadly poison, but the snake charmer renders it non-poisonous by uprooting its venom teeth, and thus the snake's power of lethal bite is destroyed. Similarly, as a practiser progresses in the Yoga of Sound, his extremely lustful or covetous mind forgets all the objects and never again yearns for them, as is stated in the following lines of the Nādavindu Upanishad:
"The serpent-mind practicing näda dhyāna (Yoga of Sound) perseveringly gets completely lost in it and concentrates itself solely on the näda (Divine Sound), forgetting all other objects around it."
As an elephant that has gone mad is brought within control by means of a small sharp hook (used by a mahout), the mind that is constantly steeped in the objects of senses is subjugated by meditation on the nāda. There is no better way of mind-control. That is why, the Upanishad presents another simile:
"For the intoxicated elephant-mind that is rampaging through the orchard of sensory objects... The Divine nāda acts like the sharp hook of a mahout to bring it to complete submission."
The deer is an extremely restless animal. He keeps on galloping through the woods. But when the hunter plays a captivating tune on his cymbal, it loses all consciousness and falls an easy prey to the former's trap. The waves that are so violent in the sea lose their momentum on striking the coast. In the same way, the mind loses its unsteadiness, fidgetiness with meditation on the nāda: