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VBT verse 55 ~ Yukti #28 ~ svātantryam āpnuyāt (an āṇava-upāya practice suitable for intermediate practitioners):
पीनां च दुर्बलां शक्तिं ध्यात्वा द्वादशगोचरे ।
प्रविश्य हृदये ध्यायन्सुप्तः स्वातन्त्र्यमाप्नुयात् ।। ५५ ।।
pīnāṃ ca durbalāṃ śaktiṃ dhyātvā dvādaśa-gocare |
praviśya hṛdaye dhyāyan muktaḥ svātantryam āpnuyāt || 55 ||
Having meditated on the prāṇa-śakti as thick and [then] gentle in the region of the dvādaśānta, [and then] entering into the Heart and meditating [there], the liberated one attains Freedom. OR:
Meditating on the śakti [of the breath] as thick in the heart and gentle/weak in the area of the dvādaśānta, [and then] entering [fully] into that śakti and meditating [on it], one attains freedom in one’s dreams.
(with the reading svapna- for muktaḥ)
Word-by-word breakdown: pīnām = thick, robust; ca = and; durbalām = gentle, weak, feeble; śaktim = on the (prāṇa-)śakti; dhyātvā = having meditated; dvādaśa-gocare, in the region of the dvādaśānta (so Śivopādhyāya), or (possibly) in the twelve fields [of experience]; praviśya = having entered; hṛdaye = in the heart; dhyāyan = meditating; muktaḥ = the liberated one; svapna (alternate reading) = dream(s); svātantrya = freedom, autonomy, independence; āpnuyāt = one would/will attain.
This verse is particularly problematic because there are several different ways to read it. Both principal editions of the text have muktaḥ in the second line, but when Kṣemarāja quotes the verse (in his Spanda-nirṇaya), he gives the reading svapna in place of muktaḥ, which entirely changes the meaning. Swami Lakṣman-jū (SLJ) followed Kṣema’s reading and argued it was the correct one. Above I have given two possible translations for the verse, but there are at least three different ways to construe the grammar, even without the alternate reading! So it’s virtually impossible to know the correct way to read the verse. Usually, in such a case, we turn to the commentaries. But neither commentator helps us much with the problematic aspects of the grammar. No doubt they were also unsure. This is what they say:
Śivopādhyāya: Having first meditated on the vital energy (prāṇa-śakti) at the dvādaśānta as thick and robust, then gradually becoming [more] slender and subtle through the practice of prāṇāyāma, whoever [then] meditates in the heart, that person becomes the very form of the independent Supreme Lord.
Ānandabhaṭṭa: First, having meditated on the vital energy (prāṇa-śakti) as robust—having attained its fullness through nourishment like food and drink—and then, by means of the guru’s instruction, becoming subtle through practices such as breath retention (kumbhaka), one then leads that very energy into the heart or another [sacred] center, or into the dvādaśānta, and thereby becomes a form of the independent Supreme Lord (svatantra-parameśvara-rūpa).
These commentaries guided the first translation of the verse given above. The only difference between them is that Śivopādhyāya suggests a sequentiality (dvādaśānta then hṛdaya), whereas Ānandabhaṭṭa simply presents those two as alternate options.
TO BE EDITED:
It’s hard to extract the exact practice that we’re supposed to do from this verse.
Praviśya hṛdaye—having entered into the heart. The word hṛdaya is sometimes used to mean madhya, the central channel. Re: the second reading of the verse, if you can enter the dream state while the prāṇa is flowing in the central channel, you’ll certainly have a lucid dream.
Dhyāyan—meditating. This is an experience of interiorization of awareness. The suggestion here is that you do this practice of thick then gentle breath (for which see below) while focusing on whichever focal point until awareness interiorizes, Swami Lakshmanjoo says (paraphrase), What you want to do is do the practice sitting up and then when you experience this interiorization of awareness where you feel tranquil and centered and starting to get a bit drowsy, then you lie down and continue the meditation lying down until you fall asleep.
Meditating then on the flow of prāṇa in the central channel, one attains autonomy or freedom in one’s dreams (if we’re going with the reading svapna-). If you have a lucid dream, then you can do dream Yoga. Dream Yoga quite simply is doing Yoga in your dreams. Doing any spiritual practice in the dream state is said to be more powerful than doing that same practice in the waking state. Any spiritual practice, meditation, mantra, but especially energy-body practices, because in the dream state your consciousness is fully occupying the energy body and not the physical body. If you’re like me, you might have to resist temptations: when I enter into lucid dreaming, I like to go flying through the air. :) It’s the quite an amazing experience, to soar high above the land, but if you want to experience these fruits of dream Yoga, you need to resist the temptation to do other things, at least sometimes, and do your practice in the dream state.
In our two primary sources for the VBT, however, we see muktaḥ instead of svapna. muktaḥ svātantryam āpnuyāt simply means “the liberated one surely attains freedom.” If this is the correct reading, the verse is no longer about how to have lucid dreams. It’s about a meditation practice that leads to liberation, breath meditation specifically. The only reason to suspect this reading is that without svapna the practice given is very similar to several other practices in the text, most notably Yukti #1. Also the reading muktaḥ svātantryam āpnuyāt seems a bit banal, “the liberated one attains freedom” being fairly redundant, because by definition if you’re liberated, you’re free.
Furthermore, the reading svapna-svātantryam āpnuyāt is supported by Abhinavagupta’s reading when he cites the verse—which is supta-svācchandyam āpnuyāt. Supta is almost synonymous with svapna, and svācchandya is entirely synonymous with svātantrya.
Now more detail on the practice. Here I rely on Lakshman-jū’s interpretation. He says that meditating on the prāṇa-śakti as thick (pīnā) means sounded, something like the breath has been thickened by sounding it. He’s probably referring to ujjāyī prāṇāyāma, where you constrict the back of the throat, right where the nasal passages meet the throat, and then you get an audible breath sound. This audible breath sound helps immerse awareness in the breath. SLJ suggests that durbalā should be understood as slow or gentle. So what you’re doing here is you’re slowing down the breath, extending it—prāṇāyāma in the sense of breath extension more than breath control.
Having chosen your focal point, heart or dvādaśānta (which here can mean the crown of the head or above), let the breath thicken and slow, making it audible with ujjāyī prāṇāyāma, and practice until you’re experiencing that interiorization of awareness, that pull into the central channel, that tranquil centeredness, and then that drowsiness. After some time you would lie down continue the practice and glide into the sleep state.
YET ANOTHER POSSIBLE READING: double entendre. We can read the verse with a sexual meaning as follows: While contemplating slender, busty Śakti, enter into her twelve finger-widths deep, then meditate in the heart (/central channel); the one who has released attains Divine Freedom. (reading muktaḥ) ~ While this might seem far-fetched, it fits the grammar of the verse perfectly, so it may well have been intended as a secondary meaning. It is supported by the fact that, unusually, we don’t actually have dvādaśānta in the verse, but rather dvādaśa-gocare, literally “in the region of twelve,” possibly meaning “about twelve finger-widths.” Against this reading we have the fact that this is considerably longer than most penises. If we do read the verse this way, the male partner is required to ejaculate (muktaḥ), which is the norm when the sexual act is mentioned in Tantrik sources, because the sexual fluids of both partners are subsequently used in worship.
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
b) If prāṇaśakti which is gross and thick, is made frail and subtle (by yogic discipline, particularly prāṇāyāma) and if a yogī meditates on such śakti either in dvādaśānta or in the heart, by entering mentally into it, he is liberated and he gains his (natural) sovereign power. (OR — If the yogī practises breathing (both inhalation and exhalation) with sound and slowly meditating in dvādaśānta and in the heart (centre), goes to sleep, he will acquire the freedom to control his dream i.e. he will have only the dream that he desires to have.) (SINGH, following SLJ in the second translation)
c) Having meditated on the energy (of the breath) thick (with its natural sound) as well as weak (and lengthy) in the region of the twelve (finger space, then) once entered the heart (when falling asleep) engaged (in this) meditation, one attains mastery over one’s dreams. (DYCZKOWSKI, following SLJ)
d) If the energy of breath is meditated upon as gross and feeble at dvādaśānta, and entering the heart (at the time of sleeping), then one will attain mastery over one’s dreams. (BÄUMER, following SLJ)
e) One should contemplate the (breath) power above the head (at the end of the out-breath): (first) she is gross, (but) then she (will become) subtle. Contemplating (the same energy) having entered the heart (at the end of the in-breath), freed, one will become absolutely free/ one will reach freedom in dreams. (DUBOIS, giving both readings)
f) Having meditated on the gross and weak shakti in the twelve faculties (thus making it subtle), one who enters the heart space and meditates there attains mukti and becomes liberated. (SATSANGI, reading muktaḥ)
g) Meditating on the gross breath as becoming subtle at a distance of twelve fingers and thus continuing the meditation having entered into the heart, one has the possibility of getting free of all constraints and of attaining liberation. (Singh & Maheśvarānanda, reading muktaḥ)
h) Si l’on médite sur l’énergie (du souffle) grasse et très faible dans le domaine du dvādaśānta et (que au moment de s’endormir) on pénètre dans son (propre) cœur; en méditant (ainsi) on obtiendra la maîtrise des rêves. (SILBURN, following SLJ)
i) On doit contempler à la Fin des douze la Puissance (du souffle), longue puis fine. Celui qui contemple (ainsi) est absorbé dans le Cœur. Libéré (du souffle grossier), il obtient la liberté absolue. (DUBOIS, reading muktaḥ)
j) Wenn man über die Energie meditiert, in ihrer materiellen und subtilen Form im Bereich des dvādaśānta oder im Herzen, dann wird man befreit und erlangt Unabhängigkeit (auch über Träume). (BÄUMER, following SLJ)
k) Al contemplar la energía [de la respiración] densa y sutil en el espacio del dvaadaszaanta, al entrar mientras la contempla en el corazón, [el yogui] obtiene soberanía sobre sus sueños. (FIGUEROA, following SLJ)
l) Reach an intangible breath focused between your eyes, then when the light appears let the Shakti come down to your heart and there, in the radiant presence, at the moment of sleep, attain the mastery of dreams and know the mastery of death itself. (ODIER, following REPS)
m) With intangible breath in center of forehead, as this reaches heart at the moment of sleep, have direction over dreams and over death itself. (REPS, following SLJ)