In Verse 104, of the Vijñāna-Bhairava Tantra, we come across a profound teaching:

विहाय निजदेहस्थं सर्वत्रास्मीति भावयन्।

दृढेन मनसा दृष्ट्या नान्येक्षिण्या सुखी भवेत्॥ १०४॥

vihāya nijadehasthaṁ sarvatrāsmīti bhāvayan |

dṛḍhena manasā dṛṣṭyā nānyekṣiṇyā sukhī bhavet || 104 ||

"By abandoning the sense that the self abides only in one’s own body, and by contemplating with a firm mind that “I am everywhere”, without any other kind of seeing (through a-paroksha-anubhūti, direct mystic experience), one becomes happy (i.e enlightened)!"

I felt that this verse captured the very essence of spiritual life and spelled out the whole journey from start to finish which is a journey from limitation to absolute freedom, from jīva (limited individuality) to śīva (all inclusive one-ness), from selfishness to selflessness. 

We explore this idea using the Tantrik & Hatha Yoga languaging around Kula Kundalinī, our own power of identification and how she moves from the mūlādhāra (where she identifies only with the limited mind-body complex) to the sahasrāra (where she unites with śiva in super-sensuous bliss!) through the various chakras in the sushumnā nādi. 

I was especially moved by emphasis on direct, immediate spiritual experience (aparokshanubhūti) as the necessary condition of realization that appears in the second half of the verse! As Swami Vivekananda defined it, "religion is realization", not frothy talk or belief!

This is indeed the goal, but how do we get there?

This verse not only tells us the mechanism of spiritual life, and the final outcome but also presents the means: dṛḍhena manasā , through unrelenting, firm, consistent and constant practice! 

We talk about what practice really means and discuss the role of grace and make a case for the importance of prayer, which Sri Ramakrishna very much emphasized. 

This lecture is part of our weekly Vijñāna-Bhairava Tantra class series which meets live every Thursday at 7:30pm (ish) here. You'll find our lecture directory for the course here. 

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