kashmir shaivism · Vijnana Bhairava Tantra (Kashmir Shaivism), one of the 112 dharanas taught by Bhairava to Devi
Vijnana Bhairava: Withdrawing the Gaze Into the Void
A dharana of gazing at an object and then slowly withdrawing both the gaze and the mental knowledge of it, letting the object's impression dissolve rather than simply looking away, until only an open void of attention remains.
The theory, briefly
This dharana starts the same way as the tantra's steady-gazing dharana does — with an object in front of the eyes — but moves in the opposite direction. Instead of sustaining a fixed, unblinking gaze, the aspirant casts a gaze on some object and then slowly withdraws it, gradually eliminating the knowledge, thought, and mental impression of that object along with the visual withdrawal. The text states that in doing this, one comes to abide in the void.
The commentary gives two ways to carry this out. The first, sunyabhavana, is imaginative contemplation that the whole world is insubstantial, mere void — once the whole world is held as void, any particular object within it naturally becomes void too. The second, bhairavi mudra, is a pose in which the eyes stay open without blinking, but attention is turned fully inward to the essential Self, so that although the eyes are open, the aspirant sees nothing of the external world.
Either way, the dharana teaches fixing attention on the essential Self and withdrawing it from everything else, so the external world gradually loses its hold on the mind.
The practice
Withdrawing Gaze and Knowledge Together
10–18 minutes · Seated wherever you already are, facing any object at a comfortable distance — nothing special is needed.
- 1Cast your gaze on any object in front of you.
- 2Slowly and deliberately withdraw your gaze from it, as though retracting attention rather than simply glancing away.
- 3As you withdraw, let go of the knowledge and mental impression of that object along with the visual withdrawal — release knowing it, not just looking at it.
- 4One way to carry this further: hold the imaginative contemplation that the whole world is insubstantial, mere void — once the whole world is held as void, this one object naturally becomes void too.
- 5A second, alternative way: keep your eyes open toward the object without blinking, but turn attention fully inward to your own essential self, so that although the eyes remain open, nothing of the external world is really seen.
- 6Either way, the aim is the same: to fix attention only on your own essential Self and withdraw it from everything else.
- 7Let attention settle into the resulting openness — the void left once the object and its impression have both been released.
- 8Notice, as this becomes familiar, how the external world's usual hold on your attention loosens — not because you've pushed it away, but because attention has simply stopped feeding it.
None stated in the source.
You might also like
Vijnana Bhairava: The Darkness of Night
kashmir shaivismA dharana of entering deep darkness with eyes open, using the absence of any visible form as a doorway rather than something to be afraid of or to fill with imagined light.
Yoga Vasishtha Sara Sangraha
advaita vedantaA condensed digest of Vasishtha's teaching to Sri Rama, tracing the spiritual journey from Rama's dispassion through the seven Bhumikas (stages of knowledge) to liberation — including a distinctive practice of watching ordinary life as a detached observer before turning meditation fully inward.
Dhyāna: The Unbroken Flow of Attention
classical yogaThe seventh limb of Patanjali's path: deepening concentration into a continuous, unbroken stream of attention on a single object, distinguished from the intermittent return-and-refocus of dhāraṇā.