What is vipasana?
Many people on Quora keep
asking questions about Vipasana. That is why I thought that this time I should
write a beautiful blog-post on Vipasana.
Vipasana/vipashyana
(vi-special, pashyana-seeing) means special pashyana means a special type of
eyesight. The normal seeing is the extroverted seeing through which all of us
see. The special seeing is the introverted seeing, through which one sees the
thoughts and emotions present inside his own mind. In the normal seeing, the
mind does not behave as a witness, but in the Vipasana, the mind stays as a
witness. There is bondage with normal seeing, while liberation is attained with
Vipasana. Ordinary seeing does not provide real happiness, while Vipasana gives
real happiness. Ordinary seeing does not bring real peace, while Vipasana
brings real peace. However, it is important to note that the basis of Vipasana
is the general seeing, because from the general seeing, a lot of subtle
material is gathered in the mind, towards which we are able to focus Vipasana’s
special seeing. Therefore, the general seeing also has its own separate
significance. That is why it is said that without science, spirituality is lame,
and science without spiritualism is blind. Therefore, there should be a proper
mix of science and spirituality in life.
How to get spiritual
benefit with Vipasana
When we become detached from
the thoughts and feelings of the mind, then it makes sense that what we gain
from those thoughts and emotions, we already have that. Apart from our thoughts
and feelings, we have our own absolute form / soul. So all the qualities of
thoughts and emotions start to be revealed in the soul, such as light, bliss,
peace etc. In fact, those qualities are already present in the soul, but are
buried due to attachment to the physical and mental world. This purification of
the soul is also known by the name of “Shedding of the dark clouds of
illusion” or “The removal of the black screen of ignorance” etc.
The removal of the dark cloud of ignorance from the soul
However, it does not seem that the soul is slowly being cleansed, just as the darkness of the night clears slowly with the rise of morning. Although some negligible cleansing of soul may occur (that is not noticeable directly), that results in feeling of peace and non-duality, but that is momentary/temporary. The truth is that light engulfs the darkness in the soul suddenly, as if by switching on the light bulb in a dark room. In reality, it is the mind, not the soul that is cleansed. The soul is always clean. When the mind becomes completely clear, or simply say that the mind becomes devoid of the waste of thoughts, then the black curtain on the soul suddenly disappears. The common man gets discouraged upon seeing that his soul is not getting clean at all. With this, he gives up the effort of meditation.
Another misconception of the common man is that the thoughts of the mind cover the soul, in the expressed form only, not in the unexpressed or the latent form. That is why most people force their thoughts to be shut down and live under the illusion that they are yogis. In fact, thoughts of the mind (with attachment) are very wicked. They cover the soul with darkness even in their sleep state. That is why these buried thoughts have to be destroyed by various meditative practices. This work is most easily done with vipasana. Vipasana can lead to direct enlightenment alone, without any other meditation, as happened to Buddha. It is other thing that it does not appear possible in normal worldly life without the help of Kundalini.
Types of Vipasana and its
supporting factors
Vipasana is of two types,
active and passive. In the active vipasana, the mental peg (anchor) that is
used to tether the mind is made by force. With that, the mind sticks to that
peg all the time. Due to this, the mind is not able to pay deep attention to
the thoughts and emotions that grow inside it, due to which it keeps witnessing
them with detachment towards them. Mantra chanting, Mala-chanting, breathing,
kundalini, name chanting, japa-tapa, fasting, and all other spiritual
activities work as the pegs.
In Passive Vipasana, a
peg for the mind is created itself during daily activities. For example, during
driving, the mind is on the road, so during that time there is spontaneous
witnessing of thoughts and emotions. Similarly, during other adventure
activities, sports, events, arts, other disciplines etc., the more vipasana
that accompanies these activities, the higher their quality is considered. The
quality of Vipasana along with them is indicative of their quality. This vipasana
of the contestant continues to be induced to the people living with him, the
audience as well.
Vipasana from Kundalini
Kundalini (a lonely image
permanently settled in the mind) is the best peg for Vipasana. This mental peg
keeps loosening, so it should be strengthened by daily Kundalini-yoga.
Passive Vipasana most
influential with the help of Kundalini
The Tantric Kundalini itself was stuck inside the Premyogi vajra. She was very strong and clear. She was persistent. She was as a charming mental girlfriend (along with the company of tantric Guru). She became one of the most powerful peg for his mind. Due to her attractiveness, she was also working as a mental video player along with as a mental peg. Due to this, the events of his own past life were bursting as colorful images in the mind of Premyogi vajra. All the pictures were becoming dim in front of that charming peg. All images were getting vipasana on its own, due to which they were fast merging into the soul. His soul was being purified very fast with that. Finally, within two years he became zero. In the end, his final thought in the form of above told mental anchor was also uprooted by divine circumstances, giving him a glimpse of momentary enlightenment. This incident is described in detail in his Hindi book “Physiology Philosophy – A Modern Kundalini Tantra (A Yogi’s Love Story)” and in English in the book “Love story of a Yogi- what Patanjali says”.
This proves that it is necessary to have an attractive mental peg, so that it can expose clear images of the thoughts and emotions that are buried in the depths of the mind, and they all begin to fade away. Kundalini (especially Tantric Kundalini) is the most attractive, so Kundalini is the best mental peg for Vipasana. Its attractiveness goes on increasing with continued meditation. When everything becomes void, then that last mental peg has to be discarded as a final leap for enlightenment. Based on this basic psychological principle, millions of books and practices have been created.
Some people choose to focus on their breaths to keep them anchored and not get lost in their thoughts.
What does meditation really mean?
कृपया इस पोस्ट को हिंदी में पढ़ने के लिए इस लिंक पर क्लिक करें (कुण्डलिनी से विपासना या विपश्यना)