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EmotionDissolutionVoidVerse 96intermediate

Watch a Desire Dissolve

The instant a desire flares up, look at it calmly; it sinks back into the very source it sprang from.

Source verse · Verse 96
झगितीच्छां समुत्पन्नामवलोक्य शमं नयेत्। यत एव समुद्भूता ततस्तत्रैव लीयते॥
jhagitīcchāṃ samutpannām avalokya śamaṃ nayet | yata eva samudbhūtā tatas tatraiva līyate
The instant a desire flares up, look at it calmly; it sinks back into the very source it sprang from.
▶ Practice this technique5 / 10 / 15 min · eyes either

How to practice

  1. 1As soon as a desire suddenly arises, turn a calm, clear gaze toward it.
  2. 2Do not act on it or push it away — simply observe it at its first flare.
  3. 3Watch where it came from; notice it has no solid origin you can hold.
  4. 4Under that calm looking, the desire sinks back into its source. Rest in the stillness it leaves.
Practice note. Speed and gentleness matter: meet the desire at its first flash, before the story. The looking itself, not any struggle, dissolves it.

Terms in this technique

laya
Dissolution, absorption; the merging of attention into its source.
śūnya
Void, emptiness — not nothingness but open, contentless awareness.
sākṣin
The witness; awareness that observes without being touched.
spanda
The subtle pulse/vibration of consciousness.

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)