Dharana 9, Part 2: Meditation & Discussion
Melt external beauty within to find its overflowing source in the heart.
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Dharana Summary:
Daily life is a dynamic mandala of creation, the sights and sounds of our senses create a dizzying array of thought patterns that keep our minds running in circles. Dharana 9 teaches us how to melt the beauty of our external world within so that we may experience the source of the mind and senses in our heart. This source, which appears as a void from the perspective of the mind, is actually an overflowing abundance when experienced directly from the heart.
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A Review of Dharana 9
Beyond the Void and Union with Shiva:
Swami Muktananda's teaching distinguishes our tradition by revealing that beyond the void is Shiva.
Dharana emphasizes mindful separation from infinite manifestations, leading to union with true nature, Bhairava, synonymous with Shiva.
Surrendering the Senses: Seeing them as 'Nothing':
Mind and senses depicted as a five-fold mandala: smell, touch, taste, sight, and sound working together.
Analogy of senses as peacock's feathers, creating a dizzying experience.
Swami Lakshmanjoo's method: Concentrate on the void while seeing senses as 'nothing'.
Reflection on the yogic tradition's viewpoint of 'the void' and the difference between rejecting senses and concentrating on the void.
The Source of the Senses Mapped by the Tattvas:
Teaching aligns with Tattvas, where Shiva and Shakti's dance creates all manifestation.
Outward expansion involves the development of the power of physical senses (Jnana Indriyas), leading to sensations, subtle elements, and gross elements.
Three capacities arise simultaneously, with objects often overshadowing the deeper mechanism within us.
A Closer Look at The Moment of Sensation:
The indriyas (senses) have no meaning without the objects they are correlated with.
Importance of accessing a deeper space during sense perception, in line with the yogic concept of surrender.
Surrendering to the Source:
The void described in Dharana is devoid of object but not content.
Interacting with objects is interacting with Shiva in a limited way; turning attention within enriches the experience.
Letting go of the sense object is a gain to the heart, allowing the experience of Shiva beyond the void.
Translation and Practice of Dharana 9:
Swami Lakshmanjoo sees the senses as nothing; Paul Reps adds the approach of melting into the beauty of the senses.
Achieving the goal of the heart, the real wish behind the senses, through different approaches.
Jai Deva Singh's teaching on the Absolute void as Bhairava and Shiva being most full from the point of view of Reality.
Imagery and Practice:
Paul Reps' imagery of the peacock tail and melting its beauty within for finding the source in the heart.
Traditional approach of perceiving a point in space until it becomes nothing.
Both approaches lead to achieving the goal of the heart and fulfilling the real wish behind the senses.