The soundless sound
The very sound which we use to relay thoughts and messages, can be made a medium to enter the space of profound inner silence, says Sonia Wadhwa
I read Vigyan Bhairav Tantra very early in life, but its meaning opened up to me only when I started doing meditation.
What is Vigyan Bhairav Tantra? Vigyan means science. Bhairav is the god Shiva. Tantra is the path. For the uninitiated, it is the dialogue between Lord Shiva and Devi Parvati. It is about the eternal questions: What is our reality? What is nature or existence? How can we go beyond and comprehend the truth?
Vigyan Bhairav Tantra explains how we can arrive at and experience the eternal and universal truth. It consists of a series of short exercises and techniques which focus on different spheres of our being. Breath, centring, looking, relating, our dark truths, our inner light, and our sensing are all a part of the dialogue that holds the key to the mysteries of life.
Whatever I write here has been derived from Vigyan Bhairav Tantra, layered with my understanding of it and the experience of sharing it worldwide with people from different cultures and upbringings.
Exploring sound
Let’s explore the sphere of sound—how it pervades our being and plays a key role in our life. The gurgle of swimming in the womb is the first sound known to us, the first sound we connect to. After that, the first whirr—the sound of the first breath. Those are our baby steps in acknowledging sound. This is why listening to the waves of the sea or the sound of a flowing river are so relaxing.
The sound of a percussion instrument connects us to the first heartbeat that we heard—doodum doodum. We live in sounds. There is a hum to our breathing, to our sleeping, to our relaxation, and to our anxieties too. There are sounds all around us.
The nature of sound
Sound travels in circles, so when we are listening, we are in the centre by default. Unlike seeing something, which is linear (you look from Point A to Point B), sound always surrounds you. You can close your eyes and stop yourself from seeing anything, but sounds will always reach you and surround you.
So, the question is: How can we use the same sound to go deeper and also to transcend?
Depending upon where you live, you perceive sound differently. Like me, if you live in big cities, the sound of traffic, the sound of the never-ending hustle-bustle, the cacophony, can all be very disturbing. This is becoming the case in smaller towns too. If you live close to nature—in the hills, near the woods, or the sea or river—those sounds have a different impact on your being.
Yet, if you keep differentiating between good and bad sounds in your mind, you create more problems for yourself. The unacceptance of certain sounds makes it more harsh for you to listen to them. But one thing is sure—we are all affected by sound.
In the Vigyan Bhairav Tantra, Shiva says, “Start with being in the centre of the sound, as though you are bathing in it.” That is what we create during the Alchemy Sound Energy Healing Meditation—the sound bath. It is an experience wherein you are showered with the healing sound of the bowls.
How we relate to sound
One thing is to be understood: the sounds do not hear other sounds. You hear the sounds. The sounds are all around, but you are needed to hear them.
So, you are always the centre. Once you realise this, you can start by accepting and hearing all the sounds. Your ears don’t listen; they are just sound- receiving aids.
In the beginning, we just know sounds. Then sounds become letters and words as we grow up. Those words become sentences, and we begin attaching meaning to them. Those meanings turn into philosophies, concepts, religions, conditionings, politics, anything that you can think of, as thoughts are simply a constitution of words. We resonate with sounds, but we have forgotten their language. We are always working with the language which is working overtime in our mind. When you hear the birds chirping, they are not using a language, but their sounds convey all.
Sounds connect to feelings, whereas words connect you to the mind.
We all know that what we say or our selection of words is not important, but how we say it, conveys the hidden meaning. We are all adept at modulating our voices, our sounds, and they vary if we are talking to our boss, spouse, child, friend, or anyone else. What we are saying is conveyed by our tone.
This is something behavioural; we understand it very well. It is a part of our growing up, yet we have lost the connection to that which can take us to our centre.
It has been proven scientifically that we hear only two per cent of the sounds around us. If we started hearing the remaining 98 per cent around us, we would all probably go crazy. Secondly, we are selective and judgemental too about sound.
Using sound to go within
This technique is about playing with the two per cent of the sound energy available to you. If you drop the two conditions of selecting and judging, and just listen, then you can become aware of your deep inner centre. In the midst of all the sounds, put a finger on your ears and forcibly stop listening to all the sounds. Then in a moment, perhaps, you can become aware and witness the soundless sound— the core within you.
When we chant OM, it is just a sound. The very utterance rings a bell.
In the temple, in the monasteries, in the mosques, the gongs, the azaans, the kirtans, the mantras, the chanting, they all take you inwards—to your silent centre.
Try imagining yourself in a soundless capsule; you are bound to be afraid. But as soon as you hear a word, any word, coming from anywhere, you would know that there is someone around, and you would feel relieved. Likewise, when you go inwards, without the words, you will be exploring unknown territory. You will be dropping your mind. That is scary in the beginning, but slowly, the connection starts happening.
You begin your journey to the soundless sound.
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