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VoidVisualizationIdentityVerse 133intermediate

What Is the Reality of a Magic Show?

All this stands like an unreal magic show; asking firmly "what is the reality of a magic show?", you come to peace.

Source verse · Verse 133
अतत्त्वमिन्द्रजालाभमिदं सर्वमवस्थितम्। किं तत्त्वमिन्द्रजालस्येति दार्ढ्याच्छमं व्रजेत्॥
atattvam indrajālābham idaṃ sarvam avasthitam | kiṃ tattvam indrajālasyeti dārḍhyāc chamaṃ vrajet
All this stands like an unreal magic show; asking firmly "what is the reality of a magic show?", you come to peace.
▶ Practice this technique10 / 20 min · eyes either

How to practice

  1. 1Look at the world and consider that all of it stands like a magic show (indrajāla) — appearing real, but without substance.
  2. 2Then inquire firmly: "What is the actual reality of a magic show? What in it is solid and true?"
  3. 3Pursue the question until you see clearly that the show has no substance to find.
  4. 4Resting in that firm conviction, come to peace (śama).
Practice note. A companion to "the world as a magic show", but here the doorway is the inquiry: relentlessly asking what is real in the illusion, until the question itself brings peace.

Terms in this technique

śūnya
Void, emptiness — not nothingness but open, contentless awareness.
bhāvanā
Contemplative imagination; cultivating a state through felt imagery.
sākṣin
The witness; awareness that observes without being touched.
cit
Consciousness itself, the aware principle.

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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