Drop the Remembered Scene
While vividly recalling an object or a place, suddenly drop the mind from it; with the body unsupported, the Lord spreads forth.
किसी वस्तु या देखे हुए स्थान को स्मरण करते-करते मन को उससे हटा दो; शरीर को निराधार बनाते ही प्रभु प्रसरित हो जाता है।
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.)
My mind dwells endlessly on memories, Lord. Can even memory be turned into a doorway?
मेरा मन स्मृतियों में अनवरत डूबा रहता है, नाथ। क्या स्मृति को भी द्वार बनाया जा सकता है?
Vividly remember an object, or a place you have seen — let the image grow clear. Then suddenly let go of the mind from that memory, and do not replace it with another thought.
किसी वस्तु को, या किसी देखे हुए स्थान को, सजीव रूप से स्मरण करो — चित्र को स्पष्ट होने दो। फिर अचानक मन को उस स्मृति से छोड़ दो, और उसे किसी और विचार से मत बदलो।
And in the gap the dropped memory leaves?
और छोड़ी हुई स्मृति जो अन्तराल छोड़ती है, उसमें?
At the same moment, sense the body as unsupported, resting on nothing. Into that clean opening, the all-pervading awareness spreads freely. Rest as that spreading.
उसी क्षण, शरीर को निराधार अनुभव करो, किसी पर न टिका। उस स्वच्छ खुलाव में, सर्वव्यापी चेतना स्वतन्त्र रूप से फैल जाती है। उसी फैलाव के रूप में ठहरो।
So the doorway is the abrupt release, not the memory itself?
तो द्वार वह आकस्मिक त्याग है, स्मृति स्वयं नहीं?
The abrupt release. Build a clear image, then drop it cleanly into emptiness rather than letting it fade. The contrast between a full image and its sudden removal lays bare the spacious awareness beneath — and the boundless Lord stretches forth into the space it leaves.
वह आकस्मिक त्याग। एक स्पष्ट चित्र बनाओ, फिर उसे धीरे लुप्त होने देने के बजाय स्वच्छता से शून्य में गिरा दो। भरे चित्र और उसके अचानक हटने का अन्तर नीचे की विस्तृत चेतना को उघाड़ देता है — और असीम प्रभु उस छूटी जगह में फैल जाता है।
Why it works
Deliberately raising a vivid memory and then suddenly dropping the mind from it leaves a clean gap — attention briefly with no object. Coupled with sensing the body as supportless, this lets the all-pervading awareness (prabhu, "the Lord") expand into the opening. The technique uses the contrast between a full image and its abrupt removal to expose the spacious awareness beneath.
How to practice
- 1Vividly remember an object, or a place you have seen — let the image become clear.
- 2Then suddenly let go of the mind from that memory — do not replace it with another thought.
- 3At the same time, sense the body as unsupported, resting on nothing.
- 4In the open gap left by the dropped image, let the all-pervading awareness (prabhu) spread freely. Rest as that spreading.
The deeper story
The "spreading of the Lord" (prasarati prabhuḥ) names the expansive movement of consciousness once the mind releases its object and the body its support. It is a dynamic counterpart to the supportless-mind verses: not just resting in emptiness, but feeling awareness actively pervade the space a dropped thought leaves behind.
Terms in this technique
- śūnya
- Void, emptiness — not nothingness but open, contentless awareness.
- laya
- Dissolution, absorption; the merging of attention into its source.
- cit
- Consciousness itself, the aware principle.
- bhāvanā
- Contemplative imagination; cultivating a state through felt imagery.
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)