A Moment of Emptiness in the Body
For just one moment, contemplate the whole body as sheer emptiness; thought-free, you become the thought-free Self.
केवल एक क्षण के लिए सम्पूर्ण देह को शुद्ध शून्यता भावित करो; निर्विकल्प होकर तुम निर्विकल्प-स्वरूप हो जाते हो।
The conversation of Devi & Bhairava
A faithful retelling of the dialogue that frames this verse — the Goddess asks, and Bhairava answers with the teaching above. (The śloka is the scripture; the conversation dramatizes its meaning, in English and Hindi.)
Must every doorway take long effort, Lord? Is there one I could enter in a single moment?
क्या हर द्वार लम्बे प्रयास से ही मिलता है, नाथ? क्या कोई ऐसा है जिसमें मैं एक ही क्षण में प्रवेश कर सकूँ?
For just a single moment, contemplate the whole body as sheer emptiness — nothing there, only open void. One clear instant of "the body is empty" is enough.
केवल एक क्षण के लिए, सम्पूर्ण शरीर को निरी शून्यता भावित करो — वहाँ कुछ नहीं, केवल खुला शून्य। "शरीर खाली है" का एक स्पष्ट क्षण ही पर्याप्त है।
Only a moment? Surely so brief a glimpse cannot do much.
केवल एक क्षण? इतनी छोटी झलक तो अधिक कुछ नहीं कर सकती।
That brief flash is enough to drop the mind into the thought-free. In that instant you become of the nature of the thought-free — the Self that is always free of constructs, glimpsed in a moment of felt emptiness.
वह छोटी कौंध ही मन को निर्विकल्प में गिरा देने को पर्याप्त है। उस क्षण तुम निर्विकल्प-स्वरूप हो जाती हो — वही आत्मा जो सदा विकल्पों से रहित है, अनुभूत शून्यता के एक क्षण में झलकी हुई।
So I should repeat the brief flash often, rather than strain to hold it long?
तो मुझे उस छोटी कौंध को बार-बार दोहराना चाहिए, न कि उसे लम्बा थामने का प्रयास करना?
Repeat it often. The goal is not a long trance but the instant of recognition. Let the body be empty for a moment, again and again, and the thought-free Self is glimpsed each time, until it is no longer a glimpse but your ground.
उसे बार-बार दोहराओ। लक्ष्य कोई लम्बी समाधि नहीं, पहचान का क्षण है। शरीर को क्षण-भर के लिए खाली होने दो, बार-बार, और हर बार निर्विकल्प आत्मा झलकता है, जब तक वह झलक न रहकर तुम्हारी भूमि बन जाए।
Why it works
The verse asks for only a kṣaṇa — a single moment — of contemplating the body as emptiness. That brief, vivid flash of "nothing here" is enough to drop the mind into a thought-free (nirvikalpa) state; and in that instant one is said to become "of the nature of the thought-free" — the Self that is always free of constructs, glimpsed in a moment of felt emptiness.
How to practice
- 1Bring a soft awareness to the whole body at once.
- 2For just a single moment, contemplate it as sheer emptiness — nothing there, only open void.
- 3Do not strain to hold it; even one clear instant of "the body is empty" is enough.
- 4In that thought-free flash, recognise the thought-free Self, and let the recognition settle.
The deeper story
The triple nirvikalpa of the original — "thought-free, one becomes thought-free, sharing the thought-free nature" — underlines the point: the goal is not a long trance but the instantaneous recognition of constructless awareness, available in a flash to anyone who lets the body be empty for a moment.
Terms in this technique
- śūnya
- Void, emptiness — not nothingness but open, contentless awareness.
- laya
- Dissolution, absorption; the merging of attention into its source.
- sākṣin
- The witness; awareness that observes without being touched.
Sources consulted
- Jaideva Singh, Vijñānabhairava: The Manual for Self-Realization (Motilal Banarsidass, 1979)
- Bettina Bäumer, Vijñâna Bhairava: The Practice of Centering Awareness (Indica Books, 2011)
- Swami Lakshmanjoo, Vijnana Bhairava: The Manual for Self Realization (Universal Shaiva Fellowship, 2007)