LightCenteringVoidVerse 80intermediate
The Steady Gaze that Empties
Fix a motionless gaze on a single object; make the mind support-less, and you soon reach Shiva.
Source verse · Verse 80
स्थूलरूपस्य भावस्य स्तब्धां दृष्टिं निपात्य च। अचिरेण निराधारं मनः कृत्वा शिवं व्रजेत्॥
sthūlarūpasya bhāvasya stabdhāṃ dṛṣṭiṃ nipātya ca | acireṇa nirādhāraṃ manaḥ kṛtvā śivaṃ vrajet
Fix a motionless gaze on a single object; make the mind support-less, and you soon reach Shiva.
▶ Practice this technique5 / 10 / 15 min · eyes open
How to practice
- 1Choose a simple object and fix a steady, unblinking gaze on it (a soft trāṭaka).
- 2Let the gaze grow completely still — the object held, the eyes motionless.
- 3Soon withdraw the inner support: let the mind drop the object and every other prop, becoming support-less (nirādhāra).
- 4Rest in that unsupported openness; the verse says one quickly "goes to Shiva".
Practice note. Begin with the object, but the destination is the support-less mind, not the staring. Release the object once the gaze is steady.
Terms in this technique
- tejas
- Light, brilliance, inner fire.
- śūnya
- Void, emptiness — not nothingness but open, contentless awareness.
- madhya
- The middle, the centre, the gap between two states — a key VBT doorway.
- laya
- Dissolution, absorption; the merging of attention into its source.
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)