Skip to content
EmotionCenteringVoidVerse 126intermediate

Free of Like and Dislike

Cultivate neither attraction nor aversion to anything; freed from both, in the middle, Brahman flows forth.

Source verse · Verse 126
न द्वेषं भावयेत्क्वापि न रागं भावयेत्क्वचित्। रागद्वेषविनिर्मुक्तौ मध्ये ब्रह्म प्रसर्पति॥
na dveṣaṃ bhāvayet kvāpi na rāgaṃ bhāvayet kvacit | rāgadveṣavinirmuktau madhye brahma prasarpati
Cultivate neither attraction nor aversion to anything; freed from both, in the middle, Brahman flows forth.
▶ Practice this technique10 / 20 min · eyes either

How to practice

  1. 1Through the day, notice the mind leaning into liking (rāga) or pulling away in disliking (dveṣa).
  2. 2For this practice, deliberately cultivate neither: do not feed attraction, do not feed aversion.
  3. 3Rest in the balanced middle between the two, free of both pulls.
  4. 4In that freedom from like-and-dislike, let Brahman flow forth of itself in the middle. Abide there.
Practice note. A companion to "neither pleasure nor pain": there the axis is feeling, here it is attraction and aversion. Even-mindedness opens the middle where Brahman flows.

Terms in this technique

madhya
The middle, the centre, the gap between two states — a key VBT doorway.
śūnya
Void, emptiness — not nothingness but open, contentless awareness.
cit
Consciousness itself, the aware principle.
sākṣin
The witness; awareness that observes without being touched.

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)
← All 112 techniquesVigyan Bhairav Tantra home →