Skip to content
VoidSensationIdentityVerse 136intermediate

Withdraw from the Sense-Doors

All pleasure and pain comes through the doors of the senses; let the senses go, and rest established in your own Self.

सब सुख-दुःख इन्द्रियों के द्वार से आता है; इन्द्रियों को छोड़कर स्वस्थ होकर अपने आत्मा में ठहरो।

Source verse · Verse 136
इन्द्रियद्वारकं सर्वं सुखदुःखादिसङ्गमम्। इतीन्द्रियाणि सन्त्यज्य स्वस्थः स्वात्मनि वर्तते॥
indriyadvārakaṃ sarvaṃ sukhaduḥkhādisaṅgamam | itīndriyāṇi santyajya svasthaḥ svātmani vartate
हिन्दीसुख, दुःख आदि सब अनुभव इन्द्रियों के द्वार (इन्द्रिय-द्वार) से ही भीतर आते हैं — सब का सम्बन्ध इन्हीं द्वारों से है। इन इन्द्रियों को (उनकी बहिर्मुखी दौड़ को) छोड़कर, स्वस्थ होकर (अपने में स्थित होकर) साधक अपने आत्मा में ही वर्तमान रहता है। उसी आत्म-स्थिति में ठहरो।
EnglishAll pleasure and pain comes through the doors of the senses; let the senses go, and rest established in your own Self.
▶ Practice this technique10 / 20 min · eyes closed

The conversation of Devi & Bhairava

A faithful retelling of the dialogue that frames this verse — the Goddess asks, and Bhairava answers with the teaching above. (The śloka is the scripture; the conversation dramatizes its meaning, in English and Hindi.)

देवी · the Goddess

All my joys and sorrows pour in through the senses, Lord, and toss me about. Where can I find rest?

मेरे सब सुख-दुःख इन्द्रियों से भीतर उँडेलते हैं, नाथ, और मुझे झकझोरते हैं। मुझे विश्राम कहाँ मिले?

भैरव · Bhairava

Notice that all pleasure and pain reaches you through the gates of the senses — eyes, ears, skin, and the rest. Gently withdraw attention from those gates, letting their outward pull relax.

देखो कि सब सुख-दुःख तुम तक इन्द्रियों के द्वारों से आता है — आँख, कान, त्वचा, और शेष। उन द्वारों से ध्यान को कोमलता से समेटो, उनके बाहरी खिंचाव को ढीला पड़ने दो।

देवी · the Goddess

Must I force the senses shut?

क्या मुझे इन्द्रियों को बलपूर्वक बंद करना होगा?

भैरव · Bhairava

Not force — only let go of their outward grip, so attention settles back home. Turn inward and rest established in your own Self, svastha — "abiding in oneself".

बल नहीं — केवल उनकी बाहरमुखी पकड़ छोड़ो, ताकि ध्यान घर लौट आए। भीतर मुड़ो और अपने ही आत्मा में स्थित होकर ठहरो, स्वस्थ — "अपने में बसी हुई"।

देवी · the Goddess

So the turmoil never touched the Self at all?

तो वह उथल-पुथल आत्मा को छूती ही नहीं थी?

भैरव · Bhairava

Never. The Self is already svastha, self-established; you need only stop being dragged out through the sense-gates to find it. Close the doors, and the house is peaceful.

कभी नहीं। आत्मा पहले से ही स्वस्थ, आत्म-स्थित है; उसे पाने के लिए तुम्हें केवल इन्द्रिय-द्वारों से बाहर घसीटे जाना बंद करना है। द्वार बंद करो, और घर शान्त है।

Why it works

All the pleasure-and-pain of experience enters through the doors of the senses (indriya-dvāra). This verse has you let the senses go — release their constant outward reach — and so come to rest svastha: "established in oneself". Freed from being pulled outward into the parade of pleasant and unpleasant, awareness abides in its own Self, which the disturbances of the senses never touched.

How to practice

  1. 1Notice that all pleasure and pain reaches you through the gates of the senses — eyes, ears, skin, and the rest.
  2. 2Gently withdraw attention from those sense-gates, letting their outward pull relax.
  3. 3With the senses released, turn inward and rest established (svastha) in your own Self.
  4. 4Abide there, in the self-settled awareness untouched by what the senses bring.
Practice note. Not forcing the senses shut, but letting go of their outward grip so attention settles back home (svastha — literally "established in oneself").

The deeper story

This is pratyāhāra — withdrawal of the senses — stated as recognition rather than effort: the Self is already svastha, self-established; one need only stop being dragged out through the sense-gates to find it. The word svastha ("self-abiding") is itself the whole teaching.

Terms in this technique

ātman
The true self; awareness as one’s own being.
sākṣin
The witness; awareness that observes without being touched.
śūnya
Void, emptiness — not nothingness but open, contentless awareness.
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)
← All 112 techniquesVigyan Bhairav Tantra home →