#91 Ashwini Mudra
Close the ears, and compress the opening of the rectum. Then by meditating on the sound without vowel or consonant, one permanently enters God.Verse 114, Vigyan Bhairava Tantra
The sound without vowel or consonant is the sound of silence. Silence is the opposite of sound. It is the absence of any sound. Silence is our true nature. It is in silence that we find God. In silence, the mind is still. In silence, the ego is absent. By meditating on silence, we are meditating on our true nature. It is therefore a direct way to reach our true nature. The practice of compressing the opening of the rectum is called Ashwini
Mudra. It is used to prevent the escape of energy, and to redirect it upwards for spiritual purposes. When you practice this mudra, you should take care to avoid tensing any other part of the body. Sometimes when· people practice Ashwini Mudra, they inadvertently tense their waist or their legs. This should be avoided. If you find it difficult to practice Ashwini Mudra, you should omit it from this practice. You can also practice this meditation without doing Ashwini Mudra. Then, in effect you will be practicing Verse 38. To practice this meditation, sit comfortably and close your eyes. Then close the ears. This is done by pressing the small outer flap of the ear against the opening of the ear, with any of your fingers. Maintain this position for the rest of the practice. Then close the opening of the rectum, by performing Ashwini Mudra.
Maintain Ashwini Mudra for the rest of the practice. Now, focus on the silence within. By closing the ears, all external noise is blocked out. One now has to concentrate on the silence within. Sometimes stray thoughts may disturb the silence. When thoughts arise, ignore them. Focus once again on the silence. By concentrating on silence, the mind becomes silent. This is a natural phenomena. We are attracted to silence because it is our true nature. It is also in silence, that we feel very peaceful. It is a feeling we start longing for. What a relief it is to have the mind silent. There are no thoughts, just silence and peace. After a while, you eagerly look forward to your meditation. All external noise is· blocked out, and all internal noise is stopped by focussing on the silence. Then, there ensues a beautiful feeling of peace. Peace that turns into joy, and joy that eventually turns into bliss. Bliss of union with God. Peace comes automatically with silence. It has to. It is a part of silence. It is noise that disturbs us. There are also certain sounds that soothe us, and there are some sounds that take us to God. One of the best amongst these is the sound of silence