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VoidCenteringDissolutionVerse 44advanced

The Void at Back and Root

Contemplate emptiness at the back and at the root of the body together; by a body-free energy, the mind becomes void.

Source verse · Verse 44
पृष्ठशून्यं मूलशून्यं युगपद्भावयेच्च यः। शरीरनिरपेक्षिण्या शक्त्या शून्यमना भवेत्॥
pṛṣṭhaśūnyaṃ mūlaśūnyaṃ yugapad bhāvayec ca yaḥ | śarīranirapekṣiṇyā śaktyā śūnyamanā bhavet
Contemplate emptiness at the back and at the root of the body together; by a body-free energy, the mind becomes void.
▶ Practice this technique10 / 20 min · eyes closed

How to practice

  1. 1Sense emptiness at the back of the body — open space behind the spine.
  2. 2At the same time, sense emptiness at the root, the base of the trunk.
  3. 3Hold both voids together, simultaneously.
  4. 4Let a body-independent energy (śakti) arise in that double emptiness, and the mind become void (śūnya-manas). Rest there.
Practice note. A two-point version of the three-voids practice — back and root held at once. The simultaneity awakens an energy that no longer depends on the body.

Terms in this technique

śūnya
Void, emptiness — not nothingness but open, contentless awareness.
śakti
Energy, the dynamic power of consciousness; Devi.
laya
Dissolution, absorption; the merging of attention into its source.
madhya
The middle, the centre, the gap between two states — a key VBT doorway.

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)
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