Sound and Light

This is an interview of Sri Shivcharan, a mystic. He retired from a public body a few years back and has since devoted his time exclusively to mysticism. He has a home but spends most of his time in solitude in an ashram. I have reproduced it from memory. Certain meditation techniques are mentioned in it. However,they shouldn't be practised without expert supervision.

Q: I want to know something about mysticism.

A: To see the all-pervading ONE is mysticism. He ( Infinite consciousnes ) pervades all but is beyond experience except through mystic union.

Q: How to go about it?

A: What do you do as a practice?

Q: I can perceive the vibration that reverberates in silence.

A: These vibrations and effulgenes, sounds and lights, are all passing stages. Transcend them.

Q: How?

A: Deep concentration. Complete absorption in the internal sound and light which you experience would absorb your being and all perception would be transcended.

Q: What would happen after the inner sound and light have been transscended?

A: The effulgence in which everything plays would be revealed.

Q: Effulgence?

A: God is beyond all appearance of being. He is an infinite effulgence - a supremely transcendental bliss.

Q: That which exists cannot spring out of a mere nothingness. Can it?

A: It is not at all nothingness. Nor is it sleep or oblivion. On the contrary, It is infinity. It is uncreated transcendental bliss. It is neither something nor nothing.

Q: What is your own experience? And how did you arrive at it?

A: I was very fond of body-building in my twenties. I was stronger than four young men of your kind. I used to exercise a lot. I had a job in the municipal octroi department and was happy enough with it. A swamiji, a disciple of Sri Mangat Ram visited my home town . I felt a strange attraction towards him. He taught me how to meditate. I felt so blessed that I used to remain in a state of absorption for hours altogether. The swami commented that I was unique and had immense sadhana of previous lives to supplement my meagre present efforts.
I used to lose all awareness of space and time for hours altogether and sit, as a corpse, aware only of the inner sound and light, which gave me immense bliss. Then came the sudden jolt of infinity. An effulgence, an infinity beyond the effulgence- the supreme bliss!

Q: Did you follow any method?

A: Sitting cross-legged with a straight spine, I concentrated my gaze on the tip of my nose. I forcefully inhaled through the nostrils while mentally chanting 'So' , then pulled at my navel twice while mentally chanting 'Haung' at each pull and then exhaled completely while chanting 'Sa' internally. I continued this until the inner vibration became distinctly audible. Once it was audible, I concentrated on it and got a rare delight. When the concentration became intense, the effulgence appeared. Deep concentration on the effulgence took me to the blessed infinity beyond it. The final absorption took a couple of years. Once gained, I never lost the state.( I request the readers of my blog not to try out this method on their own without supervision from an established practitioner whom they come to love.)

Q: Should one put fingers in the ears or block them through plugs to better hear the vibration?

A: No. No. Some schools teach that method but the need to block your ears merely indicates that your consciousness is not attuned to the vibration. You should not block your ears. Let the vibration come spontaneously. With concentration, it would become so prominent that you would experience it continuously and experience its truth as all-pervading. In your entire room, in the city and the world at large, the vibration would be experienced everywhere. The important thing is to practise the breathing method I told you about. It leads to the vibration and the vibration leads to the light. Deep concentration on the light leads to absorption in the infinite purity of consciousness whcih is empty of all material content.

Q: Tell me something more?

A: As an aid, celibacy helps immensely. Preservation of semen is of immense help. Loss of semen make concentration difficult.( Here he expounded the traditional Indian view on celibacy). My Guru had asked me to prevent the loss of semen through uncontrolled passion.