Vigyan Bhairava Tantra
This is one of the oldest preserved texts on meditation and Tantra. Its title, literally translated, would be something like a technique to transcend meditation. It contains some of the basic principles of Tantra through the revelations made by the feminine and masculine sides of its main deities.
Vijñana Bhairava Tantra
Bhairava and Bhairavi, lovingly united in the same knowledge, emerged from the undifferentiated so that their dialogue may illuminate beings.
1. Bhairavi, the Shakti of Bhairava, said: Oh God, you who manifest the universe and mock this manifestation, you are none other than my Self. I have received the teaching of the Trika, which is the quintessence of all sacred scriptures. However, I still have some doubt.
2-4. Oh God, from the perspective of absolute reality, what is the essential nature of Bhairava? Does it reside in the energy linked to phonemes? In the realization of the essential nature linked to Bhairava? In a particular mantra? In the three Shaktis? In the presence of the mantra that lives in every word? In the power of the mantra present in every particle of the universe? Does it reside in the chakras? In the sound "Ha"? Or is it solely the Shakti?
5-6. Does the composite come from the immanent and transcendent energy, or does it come only from the immanent energy? If the composite only proceeds from the transcendent energy, then transcendence itself would no longer have any object. Transcendence cannot be differentiated into sounds and particles since its undivided nature does not allow it to be found in the multiple.
7-10. Oh Lord, may your grace dispel my doubts!
Perfect! Perfect! Your questions, Oh Beloved, form the quintessence of the Tantras. I will expose a secret knowledge to you. Everything that is perceived as a composite form of the sphere of Bhairava should be considered as an apparition, a magical illusion, a ghost city suspended in the sky. Such a description is intended only to push those who are prey to illusion and worldly activities to turn towards contemplation. Such teachings are intended for those who are interested in rites and external practices and are subject to dualistic thinking.
11-13. From the absolute point of view, Bhairava is not associated with letters, phonemes, the three Shaktis, the opening of the chakras, or other beliefs, and Shakti does not compose his essence. All these concepts exposed in the scriptures are intended for those whose minds are still too immature to grasp the supreme reality. They are nothing more than sweets intended to entice aspirants to a path of ethical conduct and spiritual practice so that one day they may realize that the ultimate nature of Bhairava is not separate from their own Self.
14-17. Mystical ecstasy is not subject to dualistic thought, it is completely liberated from the notions of place, space, and time. This truth can only be perceived through experience. It can only be achieved when one is completely freed from duality, from the ego, and is firmly established in the fullness of the consciousness of the Self. This state of Bhairava overflows with the pure happiness of the non-differentiation of the tantrika and the universe, he alone is the Shakti. In the reality of his own nature thus recognized and containing the entire universe, the highest sphere is touched. Who then could be worshipped? Who then could be fulfilled by this worship? Only this condition of Bhairava recognized as supreme is the Great Goddess.
18-19. As there is no longer any difference between Shakti and the one who possesses her, nor between substance and object, Shakti is identical to the Self. The energy of the flames is none other than the fire. All distinction is nothing more than a prelude to the path of true knowledge.
20-21. He who accesses Shakti, reaches the non-distinction between Shiva and Shakti and crosses the gateway to the divine. Just as the space illuminated by the rays of the sun is recognized, so Shiva is recognized thanks to the energy of Shakti, which is the essence of the Self.
22-23. Oh Supreme God! You who wear a trident and a necklace of skulls, how to reach the absolute fullness of Shakti that transcends all notion, all description, and cancels time and space? How to realize this non-duality with the universe? In what sense is it said that the supreme Shakti is the secret gateway to the state of Bhairava? Can you answer with conventional language to those absolute questions?
24. The supreme Shakti manifests when the inspired breath and the expired breath are born and extinguished at the two points located above and below. Thus, between two breaths, experience infinite space.
25. Through the movement and cessation of breath, between expiration and inspiration, when it is immobilized at the two extreme points, inner heart and outer heart, two empty spaces will be revealed to you: Bhairava and Bhairavi.
26. With the body relaxed at the moment of expiration and inspiration, perceive, in the dissolution of dual thought, the heart, center of energy where the absolute essence of the state of Bhairava flows.
27. When you have completely inspired or expired and the movement stops by itself, in that universal and peaceful pause, the notion of "I" disappears, and Shakti is revealed.
28. Consider Shakti as a living luminosity increasingly subtle, led from center to center, from bottom to top, by the energy of breath, through the lotus stem. When it calms in the upper center, it is the awakening of Bhairava.
29. The heart opens and, from center to center, the Kundalini rises like lightning. Then the splendor of Bhairava manifests.
30. Meditate on the twelve energy centers, the twelve joint letters, and free yourself from materiality to reach the supreme subtlety of Shiva.
31. Focus attention between the two eyebrows, keep your mind free of all dualistic thought, let your form be filled with the essence of breath to the top of the head, and there, bathe in luminous spatiality.
32. Imagine the five colored circles of a peacock feather as if they were the five senses scattered in unlimited space and reside in the spatiality of your own heart.
33. The void, a wall, whatever the object of contemplation, is the matrix of the spatiality of your own mind.
34. Close your eyes, look at the entire space as if it were absorbed by your own head, direct your gaze inward and, there, see the spatiality of your true nature.
35. The central channel is the Goddess, like a lotus stem, red on the inside, blue on the outside, that traverses your body. Meditating on its internal emptiness, you will access divine spatiality.
36. Cover the seven openings of the head with your hands and merge into the bindu, the infinite space, between the eyebrows.
37. If you meditate in the heart, in the upper center, or between the two eyes, the spark that will dissolve discursive thought will occur, as when the eyelids are rubbed with the fingers. You will then merge into supreme consciousness.
38. Enter the center of the spontaneous sound that vibrates by itself, as in the continuous sound of a waterfall, or, by inserting your fingers into your ears, hear the sound of sounds and reach Brahman, the immensity.
39. Oh Bhairavi, sing "OM," the mantra of the loving union of Shiva and Shakti, with presence and slowness. Enter the sound, and when it fades, glide into the freedom of being.
40. Concentrate on the arising or disappearance of a sound, then access the ineffable fullness of the void.
41. Being fully present in the song, in the music, enter the spatiality with each sound that arises and dissolves in it.
42. Visualize a letter, let yourself be filled with its luminosity. With open consciousness, enter the sonority of the letter, then into an increasingly subtle sensation. When the letter dissolves in space, be free.
43. When you reach the luminous spatiality of your own body radiating in all directions, you free yourself from duality and integrate into space.
44. If you simultaneously contemplate the spatiality above and that of the base, the energy outside the body takes you beyond dualistic thought.
45. Reside simultaneously in the spatiality of the base, in that of the heart, and that of the peak. Thus, by the absence of dualistic thought, divine consciousness develops.
46. In an instant, perceive non-duality in a point of the body, penetrate that infinite space, and access the essence freed from duality.
47. Oh woman with doe eyes, allow the ether to penetrate your body, merge into the unspeakable spatiality of your own spirit.
48. Suppose your body is pure luminous spatiality contained by the skin and access the limitless.
49. Oh Beauty! With the senses scattered in the space of the heart, perceive the essence of Shakti as a gold dust of unspeakable fineness that shines in your heart and from there spills into space. Then you will know supreme bliss.
50. When your entire body is penetrated with consciousness, the one-directional mind dissolves into the heart, and you then penetrate reality.
51. Fix your mind on the heart by dedicating yourself to the activities of the world, thus the agitation will disappear, and in a few days, you will know the indescribable.
52. Concentrate on a fire increasingly burning that rises from your feet and completely consumes you. When only ashes remain scattered by the wind, know the tranquility of space returning to space.
53. See the entire world transformed into a gigantic bonfire. Then, when everything is nothing but ashes, enter bliss.
54. If the increasingly subtle tattvas are absorbed in their own origin, the supreme Goddess will be revealed to you.
55. Reach an intangible breath, concentrated between the two eyes, then when the light is born, let Shakti descend to the Heart, and there, in the luminous presence, at the moment of drowsiness, reach the domain of dreams and know the mystery of death itself.
56. Consider the entire universe as if it dissolves into increasingly subtle forms until its fusion in pure consciousness.
57. If you meditate on the Shiva tattva, which is the quintessence of the entire universe, without knowing a limit in space, you will know the ultimate ecstasy.
58. Oh Great Goddess! Perceive the spatiality of the universe and become the jar that contains it.
59. Look at a cup or a container without seeing the sides or the matter in it. In a short time, become aware of space.
60. Remain in an infinitely spacious place, devoid of trees, hills, rooms; let your gaze dissolve into the virgin space, from there comes the relaxation of the mind.
61. In the empty space that separates two moments of consciousness, the luminous spatiality is revealed.
62. At the precise moment you have the impulse to do something, stop. Then, no longer being in the impulse that precedes or in the one that follows, understanding unfolds with intensity.
63. Contemplate the indivisible forms of your own body and those of the entire universe as if they were of the same nature, thus, your omnipresent being and your own form will rest in unity and you will reach the nature of consciousness.
64. In all activity, concentrate on the space that separates inspiration from expiration. In this way, access happiness.
65. Feel your substance: bones, flesh, and blood, saturated with cosmic essence, and know supreme happiness.
66. Oh Beautiful with doe eyes, consider the winds as your own body of bliss. At the moment you shiver, access the luminous presence.
67. When your senses shiver and your thought reaches immobility, enter the energy of breath, and at the moment you feel a tingling, know the supreme joy.
68. When you practice the sexual ritual, let the thought reside in the shivering of the senses like the wind in the leaves, then access the spatial happiness of loving ecstasy.
69. At the beginning of the union, remain in the fire of the energies released by intimate enjoyment; merge into the divine Shakti and continue burning in space without knowing the ashes at the end. These delights are indeed those of the Self.
70. Oh Goddess! The enjoyment of intimate happiness born from union can be reproduced at any time by the luminous presence of the mind that intensely recalls this pleasure.
71. When you reunite with a loved one, remain totally in that happiness and penetrate that luminous space.
72. During the euphoria and expansion caused by delicate foods and drinks, remain completely in this delight and, through it, savor supreme happiness.
73. Merge into the bliss perceived during the enjoyment of music or in that which overwhelms the other senses. If you are only this bliss, you access the divine.
74. Wherever you find satisfaction, the essence of supreme happiness will be revealed to you if you remain in that place without mental fluctuation.
75. At the moment of falling asleep, when sleep has not yet arrived and the waking state disappears: at that precise moment, know the supreme Goddess.
76. In summer, when your gaze dissolves into the sky, clear to infinity, penetrate that clarity which is the essence of your own mind.
77. The entry into the spatiality of your own mind occurs at the moment when intuition is freed through the stillness of the mind, from the uninterrupted suction of love, from violent feelings, agony, or death.
78. Sitting comfortably with feet and hands in the void, access the space of ineffable fullness.
79. In a comfortable posture, with hands open at shoulder height, a zone of luminous spatiality gradually spreads between your armpits, overwhelms the heart, and causes deep peace.
80. Fixing the gaze without blinking on a stone, a piece of wood, or any other ordinary object, thought loses all support and quickly accesses Shiva/Shakti.
81. With the mouth open, place your mind on your tongue in the center of the oral cavity, with expiration emit the sound "HA" and know the peaceful presence in the world.
82. When lying down, see your body as devoid of support. Let your thought dissolve into space, then the content of deep consciousness will also dissolve, and you will know pure presence, freed from sleep.
83. Oh Goddess, enjoy the extreme slowness of the movements of your body, of a mount, of a vehicle, and, with a peaceful mind, slide into the divine space.
84. The gaze open on a very pure sky, without blinking, the tension dissolves with the gaze and, there, you reach the wonderful stability of Bhairava.
85. Penetrate the luminous spatiality of Bhairava spread in your own head, exit space and time, be Bhairava.
86. When you access Bhairava by dissolving duality in the waking state, when this spatial presence continues in sleep, and subsequently you traverse the night of deep sleep as the very form of Bhairava, you know the infinite splendor of awakened consciousness.
87. During a black and moonless night, with eyes open on the darkness, let your entire being merge into that darkness and access the form of Bhairava.
88. With eyes closed, dissolve into darkness, then open your eyes and identify with the terrible form of Bhairava.
89. When an obstacle opposes the satisfaction of a sense, gather that moment of spatial emptiness which is the essence of meditation.
90. Pronounce with all your being a word that ends with the sound "AH" and in the "H" let yourself be carried by the flow of wisdom that arises.
91. When the mind freed from all structure is fixed on the final sound of a letter, the immensity is revealed.
92. Walking, sleeping, dreaming, having abandoned consciousness all support, know yourself as luminous and spatial presence.
93. Pinch a place on your body and, through that single point, access the luminous territory of Bhairava.
94. When by contemplation the emptiness of the ego, of the acting intellect, and of the mind is revealed, all form becomes unlimited space and the very root of duality dissolves.
95. Illusion disturbs, the five sheaths obstruct vision, the separations imposed by dualistic thought are artificial.
96. When you become aware of a desire, consider it for the duration of a snap of the fingers, then abandon it suddenly. Then return to the space from which it just emerged.
97. Before desiring, before knowing: "Who am I, where am I?", such is the true nature of the "I". Such is the deep spatiality of reality.
98. When desire and knowledge have manifested, forget the object of that desire or knowledge and fix your mind on desire and knowledge freed from all object as if they were the Self. Then you will reach deep reality.
99. All particular knowledge is of a deceptive nature. When the thirst for knowledge manifests, immediately realize the spatiality of knowledge itself and be Shiva/Shakti.
100. Consciousness is everywhere, there is no differentiation. Perceive this deeply and thus triumph over time.
101. In a state of extreme desire, anger, greed, bewilderment, pride, or envy, penetrate your own heart and discover the stillness that underlies those states.
102. If you perceive the entirety of the universe as a chimera, an unspeakable joy will arise in you.
103. Oh Bhairavi! do not reside in either pleasure or suffering, remain constantly in the ineffable and spatial reality that links them.
104. When you realize that you are in everything, attachment to the body dissolves, joy and happiness arise.
105. Desire exists in you as in everything. Notice that it is also found in objects and in everything the mind can perceive. Then discovering the universality of desire, penetrate its luminous space.
106. Every living being perceives subject and object, but the tantrika resides in their union.
107. Feel the consciousness of every being as your own consciousness.
108. Free the mind from all support and access non-duality. Then, woman with doe eyes, the limited being becomes the absolute Being.
109. Shiva is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. Since you have the attributes of Shiva, you are similar to him. Recognize the divine in you.
110. Waves are born from the ocean and lose themselves in it, flames rise and then extinguish, the sun rises and then disappears. Thus everything finds its origin in the spatiality of the mind and returns to it.
111. Wander or dance until exhaustion, with total spontaneity. Then, suddenly, let yourself fall to the ground and, in this fall, be total. Then the absolute essence is revealed.
112. Suppose you are gradually deprived of energy and knowledge: at the instant of this dissolution, your true being will be revealed to you.
113. Oh Goddess, listen to the last mystical teaching: just fix your gaze on space, without blinking, to access the spatiality of your own mind.
114. Stop the perception of sound by covering your ears. Contracting the anus, enter into resonance and perceive what is not subject to either space or time.
115. At the edge of a well, probe, motionless, its depth until you marvel and merge into space.
116. When your mind wanders outside or inside, it is precisely there where the Shaivite state is found. Where then could thought take refuge to no longer savor this state?
117. The mind is in you and around you. When everything is pure spatial consciousness, access the essence of fullness.
118. In stupor or anxiety, through the experience of extreme feelings, when you are before a precipice, when you flee from combat, when you know hunger or terror, or even when you sneeze, the essence of the spatiality of your own mind can be perceived.
119. When the vision of a certain place brings forth memories, let your thought relive those moments then, when the memories are exhausted, shortly after, know omnipresence.
120. Look at an object then, slowly, withdraw your gaze. Then, withdraw your thought and become the receptacle of ineffable fullness.
121. The intuition that emerges from the intensity of passionate worship flows into space, liberates, and allows access to the territory of Shiva/Shakti.
122. With attention fixed on a single object, all objects are penetrated. Then one relaxes into the spatial fullness of their own Self.
123. The purity exalted by ignorant religious people seems impure to the tantrika. Free yourself from dualistic thought, and do not recognize anything as pure or impure.
124. Perceive that the spatial reality of Bhairava is present in everything, in every being, and be this reality.
125. Happiness is found in the equality between extreme feelings. Reside in your own heart and access fullness.
126. Free yourself from both hatred and attachment. Then knowing neither repulsion nor bondage, slide into the divine in your own heart.
127. You, with an open and calm heart, meditate on what cannot be known, on what cannot be understood. Now that all duality is out of reach, where then could consciousness stop, to escape ecstasy?
128. Contemplate the empty space, access non-perception, non-distinction, the unattainable, beyond being and non-being: touch the non-space.
129. When thought is directed towards an object, use this energy. Surpass the object and, there, fix the thought in that empty and luminous space.
130. Bhairava is one with your luminous consciousness. Singing the name of Bhairava, you become Shiva.
131. When you affirm: "I exist," "I think this or that," "such a thing belongs to me," access what has no foundation and, beyond such affirmations, know the unlimited and find peace.
132. "Eternal, omniscient, without support, Goddess of all that is manifested..." Be that and access Shiva/Shakti.
133. What you call the universe is an illusion, a magical apparition. To be happy, consider it as such.
134. Without dualistic thought, what could limit consciousness?
135. In reality, bondage and liberation exist only for those who are terrified by the world and do not know their fundamental nature. The universe is reflected in the mind like the sun on the waters.
136. At the instant your attention is awakened through the mediation of the sense organs, penetrate the spatiality of your own heart.
137. When knowledge and the known are of a single essence, the Self shines.
138. Oh, beloved, when the mind, intellect, energy, and limited being disappear, then the wonderful Bhairava arises!
139. Oh Goddess, I have just exposed one hundred and twelve dharanas. Whoever knows them escapes dualistic thought and attains perfect knowledge.
140. Whoever grasps just one of these dharanas becomes Bhairava in person. His word concludes in the act, and he obtains the power to transmit or not the Shakti.
141-144. Oh Goddess, the being who masters just one of these practices is freed from old age and death, acquires supernatural powers, yoginis and yogis distinguish him, and he presides over their secret meetings. Liberated in the very heart of activity and reality, he is free.
The Goddess said:
Oh Lord, let this wonderful reality that is the nature of the supreme Shakti be followed! Who is then worshipped? Who is the worshipper? Who enters into contemplation? Who is contemplated? Who receives the oblation, and who makes the offering? To whom is the sacrifice made, and what is the sacrifice?
Oh woman with doe eyes, all these practices are those of the external path and correspond to ordinary aspirations.
145. Only this contemplation of the highest reality is the practice of the tantrika. What resonates spontaneously in itself is the mystical formula.
146. A stable mind devoid of characteristics, that is true contemplation. Mental visualizations of images of deities are nothing but artifices.
147. Worship does not consist of offerings but in realizing that the heart is the supreme consciousness freed from dualistic thought. In perfect ardor, Shiva/Shakti dissolve into the Self.
148. If one penetrates just one of the yogas described here, one will know a fullness that will extend day by day to the highest perfection.
149. When the five elements, the senses and their objects, dualistic mind, and the very void are thrown into the fire of supreme reality, then there is a real offering to the Gods.
150-151. Oh Supreme Goddess, here, the sacrifice is none other than the spiritual satisfaction characterized by happiness. The true place of pilgrimage, Oh Parvati, is the absorption in the Shakti that destroys all stain and protects all beings. How could there be another worship, and who then would receive it?
152. The essence of the Self is universal. It is freedom, happiness, and consciousness. Absorption in this essence is the ritual bath.
153. The offerings, the worshipper, the supreme Shakti are nothing but one. This is deep worship.
154. The breath goes out, the breath comes in, sinuous in itself. In perfect harmony with the breath, Kundalini, the Great Goddess, rises. Transcendent and immanent, she is the highest place of pilgrimage.
155. Thus, deeply established in the rite of great happiness, fully present in the ascension of divine energy, thanks to the Goddess, the yogi will reach the supreme Bhairava.
155.bis 156. The air is exhaled with the sound "SA" then inhaled with the sound "HAM". Thus the recitation of the "HAMSA" mantra is continuous. The breath is the mantra, repeated twenty-one thousand times, night and day, this is the mantra of the supreme Goddess.
157-160. Oh Goddess, I have just exposed to you the ultimate mystical teachings that nothing can surpass. May they only be transmitted to generous beings, to those who venerate the lineage of the Masters, to intuitive intelligences freed from cognitive oscillation and doubt, and to those who put them into practice. Because without practice, the transmission dissolves, and those who have had the wonderful opportunity to receive these teachings return to suffering and illusion even though they have had an eternal treasure in their hands.
Oh God, now I have grasped the heart of the teachings and the quintessence of the tantras. Life will have to be left, but why renounce the heart of Shakti? Just as the space illuminated by the rays of the sun is recognized, so Shiva is recognized thanks to the energy of Shakti, which is the essence of the Self.
Then Shiva and Shakti, radiant with bliss, united again in the undifferentiated.