#18 Music Instrument Meditation
Listen with undivided attention, towards the end of prolonged sounds of stringed and other musical instruments. By staying with the gradual diminishment of the sound, one will obtain the form of the Supreme Space.Verse 41, Vigyan Bhairava Tantra
As the verse says, one should listen with undivided attention. It is only then that awareness will increase, as the sound becomes more subtle. one will obtain the form of the Supreme Space. Supreme Space is God. One will obtain the form of God.
How sound helps
The sound of stringed and other musical instruments are beautiful. They attract our attention easily. This allows us to concentrate on these sounds continuously. They also have another advantage-they gradually diminish. Usually, even after the sound ends, the echo or vibration continues in our mind for some time. As a sound becomes more and more subtle, our awareness becomes greater and greater in order to hear the subtle sound. After the sound ends, our awareness increases further, in order to catch the subtle vibrations that continue. Finally, the vibrations end in the void, the silence. By this time, our awareness has increased greatly.
How to do this technique
- This practice should be done with eyes closed.
- Choose an instrument that you enjoy listening to.
- Listen to the sound of somebody else playing your favorite instrument. If that is not possible, play the stringed instrument yourself. Play it a few times and then put it down.
- Listen to the sound of the instrument gradually diminish. When the sound ends, listen carefully to the subtle vibrations that continue.
- One can also do a variation of this practice. Once the sound and the vibration ends, there is only silence. Continue to be aware of the silence. By listening to the gradual diminishment of the sound, one’s awareness increases greatly.
This increased awareness is carried over into increased awareness of the silence. One is now more aware of the silence then one would have been if one had straightaway meditated on the silence. It is important to maintain awareness as the sound diminishes.