Meditation On Sound
Meditation on sound is a traditional discipline known as nada yoga. Nada yoga is the union (yoga) with the nada, that primordial energy which is the source of all that is.
Paranada, the first vibration from which creation emanates, is so pure and subtle that it cannot be contacted by the senses or the mind.
As nada devolves to grosser vibrational frequencies, it can be experienced by the seasoned meditator as the nadanta shakti (energy current of sound) heard pulsing through the nerve system as a constant high-pitched hum like that of a tanpura or a swarm of bees.
Traditionally, moving from the outer gross sounds to the inner energy is known as nada upasana (worship through sound), while moving from the inner gross sounds to the inner energy is known as nada yoga (union through sound).
The meditator or nada yogi meditates on the inner sound current, thus traveling into the more subtle realms of his being. Beginning with the gross sounds heard in the body, he shifts his focus to more and more refined sounds, until merging with the unstruck sound, the anahata nada.
The householder who lives in the world focuses on singing or playing the outer pure sound on an instrument to connect with the inner sound current or anahata nada.
Even in our daily living, we encounter an overwhelming range of sounds. Sounds of different frequencies create different vibrations that deeply influence us physically, mentally and emotionally, even without our awareness. Since Vedic times, the power of sound has been harnessed to create balance and alignment in the physical body, harmonize the subtle energy centers (chakras) and energize living spaces.
Many sounds also carry powerful spiritual vibrations that can instantly raise you to higher states of awareness. If you notice, during pooja (worship) in any Hindu temple, bells are rung loudly, drums are struck, conches and trumpets are blown and mantras are chanted to awaken worshippers from routine states of consciousness.
Sound is also a powerful healing energy. Today the use of sound in healing is gaining recognition as 'sound therapy' becomes popular. The sounds used can be the human voice or the various resonances of musical instruments.
Music is a form of sound therapy that appeals to everyone!
Every musical note relates to a certain emotion, so while singing or listening to music, we are actually harmonizing specific emotions in ourselves.
Various musical instruments like the tanpura (Hindu drone instrument) can put you in a contemplative state even without your awareness, by balancing the energy flow in the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Traditional Hindu music has been designed for enlightenment!
When the great musical saints like Thyagaraja, Annamacharya and Manickavasagar sang spontaneous verses, they expressed their own experience of enlightenment. That is why, when you listen to their music, you experience the same meditative state. You can enter the very space from which any music has been created.
If the expression has come out of enlightenment, it will lead to enlightenment.
Ultimately, all meditation on sound aims at taking us from the outer sound to the inner sound, and from there to the silence beyond sound.
The meditation techniques in this section include:
- Meditation on Sound
- Meditation on Music
- Meditation on Mantra & Japa
MERGE WITH THE SOURCE OF SOUND
SILENT CENTER OF THE SOUND STORM
ABOUT THE TECHNIQUE
Just playing with sounds is a great meditation technique that can take you directly to your center in the most enjoyable way!
We always live in a storm of sound. Sounds are constantly moving towards us, crashing in upon us, engulfing us. But at the center of this sound storm, there is a silence we haven't heard. This meditation makes us aware of the silence in the center of this storm of sound.
When you meditate on this center, on this silence, you realize that this silence is YOU! This silence is your true nature. You become aware that this vibrant silence is always within you, even when you are engulfed by sound. Just a glimpse of this silence, knowing yourself as this silence, can bring deep relaxation to you. When you know yourself to be beyond the chaos of sound, the noise and stress of the world can no longer touch you.
DURATION: 21 minutes
Sit down somewhere, anywhere. The noisier the place, the better! Look for a place with continuous sound. It could be a natural sound, like the gushing of a river or a waterfall or the crashing of the waves on a beach or it could be a railway station, or a marketplace.
(You cannot try this technique with songs because the lyrics will have meaning for you, and you will tend to focus on the meaning instead of the sound.)
Sit silently. Feel the sounds coming at you from every direction as sound waves. With sounds flowing at you from all directions, feel yourself to be at the center of this storm of sound. You are at the center, and sounds are flowing towards you.
Don't judge the sounds, this sound is bad, this sound is pleasant, just remain in the center.
Understand, at the center, there is no sound! At the center is total silence. If there were sound at the center, you would not be able to hear the sounds outside. The sounds are entering you, penetrating you, but they stop at the center.
Inside you, there is a point where all sounds stop. It is from that point that every sound is being heard. Try to locate that center. We always think that we are hearing sounds with our ears. With this technique, you discover that sounds are not heard in the ears or even in the head. The sound is always heard at the navel point, that is the center of sound.
DURATION: 21 minutes (continuation)
When you locate it, suddenly, your awareness will turn inward from the outer world of sound. You will be at the center where there is silence, the point where no sound can enter. That point is your center.
It is because your center is silent that you can hear sounds! All the sounds are heard only against the background of this silence, which is You.
Once you have heard that silence, you will never again be disturbed by any sound, you will never be touched by sound.
ABOUT THE TECHNIQUE
Sound is the unit of Existence. Through sound, you can merge with Existence. Creating sound through your mind, you can go beyond your mind, into emptiness, an emptiness that pervades the entire Existence; an emptiness that connects you with Existence itself. Merging with this emptiness, you merge with the very source of everything. You will realize that you are not a separate entity but part of the Whole. This simple understanding can liberate you from your mind.
DURATION: 20 minutes
Close your eyes. Inhale and exhale as slowly as possible.
Step 1: Duration: 5 minutes
Start chanting the omkara. Omkara means, creating the sound, the vibration 'Om'.
Create the vibration from your navel center, as deeply as possible. Create the sound intensely, but not loudly. Be centered on the sound. Do not allow your mind to go anywhere else.
Step 2: Duration: 5 minutes
Now continue to create the sound as before, but start seeking its source. Continue to create the vibration but locate the source from where the vibrations are arising, from where the sound is coming. Go into the source, search for the source.
Step 3: Duration: 5 minutes
Just enter the sound. Enter this source from where the sound is coming, from where it is arising. Then, slowly reduce the sound. Don't stop, but just reduce the sound, as you enter into the source from where the sound is coming. Become the sound.
Step 4: Duration: 5 minutes
Now relax with your eyes closed. Don't create any sound, but go to the source from where the sound was coming. Enter into that source. Relax into the source.
INNER RESONANCE