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IdentityVoidSensationVerse 105advanced

Awareness Is Not in the Pot

The awareness of an outer object, or of a desire within, is not really confined there; see it as all-pervading and become all-pervading.

Source verse · Verse 105
घटादौ यच्च विज्ञानमिच्छाद्यं वा ममान्तरे। नैव सर्वगतं जातं भावयनिति सर्वगः॥
ghaṭādau yac ca vijñānam icchādyaṃ vā mamāntare | naiva sarvagataṃ jātaṃ bhāvayan iti sarvagaḥ
The awareness of an outer object, or of a desire within, is not really confined there; see it as all-pervading and become all-pervading.
▶ Practice this technique10 / 20 min · eyes either

How to practice

  1. 1Notice the awareness by which you know an outer object — say, a pot — or an inner movement like a desire.
  2. 2See that this knowing-awareness seems to be "in" the object or the desire.
  3. 3Now contemplate that the awareness is not actually confined to them at all — it is all-pervading (sarvagata).
  4. 4Resting in that recognition, let your own sense of being localized dissolve into all-pervadingness. Rest as that.
Practice note. The shift is subtle: the same awareness lighting up a pot "over there" and a feeling "in here" is one boundless awareness, never trapped in either.

Terms in this technique

cit
Consciousness itself, the aware principle.
ātman
The true self; awareness as one’s own being.
aham
The sense of "I"; the self that is inquired into.
bhāvanā
Contemplative imagination; cultivating a state through felt imagery.

Sources consulted

  • Jaideva Singh, Vijñānabhairava: The Manual for Self-Realization (Motilal Banarsidass, 1979)
  • Swami Lakshmanjoo, Vijnana Bhairava: The Manual for Self Realization (Universal Shaiva Fellowship, 2007)
  • Bettina Bäumer, Vijñâna Bhairava: The Practice of Centering Awareness (Indica Books, 2011)
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