When Darkness Turns Peaceful: The Quiet Maturity of Dhyāna

Today, I felt the Kundalini stationed at the navel chakra. I rose a little late, around 6 a.m., and practiced spinal breathing, my Guru-given poses and pranayama, along with some self-devised postures and a top-to-bottom chakra meditation—without holding the breath as daily routine. Soon, enough yogic pressure built up to launch dhyāna.

I sat in vajrāsana, keeping my eyes turned upward toward the eyebrow center, and even beyond—straight up toward the unlimited height of Ekārṇava. The breath gradually became regular and calm, though not completely suspended as on previous days.

The śūnya dhyāna was deep, with occasional flashes of my Guru Nārāyaṇa’s image—alive and radiant. Guru Tattva is not actually outside but within. When one turns inward, it naturally emerges from inside. It is the intermittently appearing image in the mind during dhyāna that keeps the mind from wandering—by focusing it upon itself until it finally dissolves into Brahman. In a way, it acts like a cargo vehicle of the mental world, carrying awareness directly toward Brahman.

That is why many religions give prime importance to the Guru. They design their lifestyles to encourage introversion and dhyāna, allowing a stable Guru-image to form within the mind itself. However, for this process to become truly effective, there must be a suitable person embodying divine qualities—only then can he or she become a true Guru. In the absence of such a living master, divine idols may serve as substitutes, though they cannot compare to a living Guru, who is like an animated idol of God, and therefore far more transformative.

The Guru principle is revered in every sect and religion, but it seems that Sikhism understands the essence of Guru Tattva most profoundly.

I felt that just as Kundalini energy nourishes the chakras within the body, it also nourishes the chakras beyond the body, extending infinitely into śūnya. The same Kundalini that maintains physical vitality also helps transcend the body, merging into the endless expanse of Ekārṇava śūnya.

Today, I gave priority to the nourishment of śūnya rather than to any specific chakra. Still, the intermediate chakras seemed to receive their share of energy naturally whenever it was directed upward toward Brahman. I could sense the energy supporting the area behind the navel chakra along the spine, while the other chakras felt calm and balanced—not blissfully inflamed like the navel center.

Yesterday, my energy had settled at the Anāhata chakra. It had descended gradually—from Sahasrāra downward—each day resting at the next lower chakra. A day earlier, I had also conserved Mūlādhāra energy, which perhaps rose swiftly to the navel. This rapid movement might be due to the role of descending energy; although all energies rise from Mūlādhāra, the descending current seems to return from Sahasrāra like the monsoon rains returning from the mountains. When the forward and returning monsoons (the western disturbance rains) meet over an area, they bring catastrophic rainfall. Similarly, when descending and ascending energies meet at a chakra, they cause its profound activation, often producing a mental upheaval that can be difficult to control at times although quantum darshan helps in it.

In any case, śūnya dhyāna was peaceful. Later, I tried focusing directly on the navel chakra to give it an extra boost. The breath then turned irregular, as if adjusting itself to channel energy into the navel center. When I shifted my focus back to the Ājñā chakra, the breath again became calm. After a few such cycles, I gently ended my dhyāna and stood up to begin my morning routine.

There comes a time in meditation when bliss fades, and only silent awareness remains. I am experiencing this now—no bliss, but a completely still and neutral space. I can’t even call it darkness, because darkness usually frightens or repels one; yet I feel the exact opposite. I find perfect peace there, a deep relief from the agitation of breathing. At first, this may seem like something is lost—but in truth, it marks the maturity of dhyāna.

Earlier, the mind sought experiences—light, warmth, or waves of joy. Darkness felt empty and unsettling. But when the storms of breath and thought finally rest, perception changes. The same darkness no longer threatens; it simply is. Nothing outside has changed—only the seer has.

This is the quiet flowering of awareness: peace without excitement, clarity without effort. Even without inner light or sensation, a subtle luminosity begins to shine—the light of knowing itself.

When this awareness deepens, life feels transparent and gentle. Speech, work, and movement unfold within the same still space that once appeared only in meditation. There is no need to hold awareness—it holds itself. I am still waiting for that stage to blossom within me.

In this simplicity lies the true radiance of dhyāna: not a blaze of visions, but a calm seeing that never leaves, even in the heart of darkness.

Healing Through Dhyana: My Journey of Heart and Throat Chakra

A few days ago, I experienced a strong emotional blow due to social reasons. I had high expectations from highly paid laborers, expecting some great work, but they delivered nothing more than child’s play. I was deeply disturbed. That evening, when I sat for dhyana, I noticed my breathing naturally suspended at my Anahata chakra. Instantly, I felt immense relief, and my heart was healed surprisingly and immediately.

The very next day, I faced a heated debate with a few fellows, which tensed and disturbed me. Being more tired that evening, I skipped my dhyana practice. However, I did receive some relief through sympathetic family interactions. On the following morning, I noticed my breathing naturally settled at my Vishuddhi chakra, and during dhyana, I experienced a smooth breath suspension and healing at the throat. This taught me that worldly conflicts are not necessarily opposing dhyana. In fact, when tactfully handled, they can sometimes favor it rather than hinder it.

This experience led me to reflect on the deeper mechanisms of chakra energy, breath, and meditation. The emotional blow activated my Anahata chakra, which is the center of love, trust, and emotional processing. Breath suspension during dhyana allowed prana, or life energy, to flow precisely where it was needed, releasing tension and producing immediate healing. This shows how meditation can catalyze self-healing by aligning breath and awareness with the chakra that has been activated by specific emotional events.

Even when I skipped dhyana during the heated debate, some relief still came through external emotional resonance, like the support and sympathy of family members. While this relief was partial and slower than meditation, it shows that external support can act as a mild substitute for dhyana in harmonizing chakras.

The shift to Vishuddhi chakra the next morning was directly related to the intellectual and verbal stress from the debate. The throat chakra governs communication, expression, clarity, and mental processing. After tension in Anahata, the energy naturally rose to Vishuddhi, allowing breath suspension there and smooth, instant energetic recalibration through dhyana. This shows that chakras respond to context-specific triggers: the heart for emotional stress, the throat for intellectual or verbal challenges.

One of the key insights from these experiences is that worldly conflicts can actually favor dhyana. When handled tactfully without being drowned in the drama, meditation can utilize activated chakras for healing and alignment. Life stress can thus become a guide, highlighting where energy is stuck or needs refinement, rather than an obstacle.

The general mechanism appears as follows:

  1. Trigger → Chakra activation → Breath aligns → Awareness directs prana → Healing.
  2. External stress does not block dhyana; instead, it creates a map of where energy is stuck, which meditation can resolve.
  3. Each chakra responds to a preferred type of stress:
    • Muladhara → survival, security
    • Svadhisthana → relationships, pleasure
    • Manipura → power, confidence
    • Anahata → love, trust, emotional hurts
    • Vishuddhi → speech, clarity, mental tension
    • Ajna → intuition, decision-making
    • Sahasrara → transcendence, cosmic awareness

Through these insights, I realized the intelligent interplay between emotional triggers, energetic responses, and meditation. Dhyana does more than quiet the mind—it serves as a precise tool for emotional and energetic recalibration. Conflicts, when approached with awareness, can become openings for inner work, and each chakra reacts to the stress that naturally pertains to it.

In essence, meditation works in harmony with life’s challenges. Emotional pain or tension doesn’t block growth—it illuminates the path for healing, showing exactly where awareness and prana should be directed. My personal journey through Anahata and Vishuddhi chakras illustrates this beautifully.

For anyone practicing meditation, this experience emphasizes that being tactful in worldly interactions and observing where stress manifests in the body can guide dhyana to the most needed areas. Emotional, intellectual, and verbal challenges can activate corresponding chakras, and dhyana can then harmonize them, turning ordinary life events into precise tools for self-healing and awakening.