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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 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 Lakṣmanjū (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.
Which dvādaśānta is intended? Because dvādaśa literally means “at the end of twelve finger widths,” which can refer to a number of different regions. If we go from the bridge of the nose, then twelve fingers is a point on the crown of the head, right in the middle of the crown—the fontanel. That’s called the śakti-dvādaśānta in the Tantrik tradition. If we go twelve finger widths down, we have a point at the base of the throat (kaṇṭha-kūpa). This seems significant, because I was told by a Daoist practitioner that this is the point that you focus on in some forms of Daoist practice in order to have lucid dreams. That’s what this verse is about, in one of the two readings. Then from the base of the throat twelve finger widths down is the heart-center, behind the bottom of the sternum.
Any of these points may be used in this practice, Swami Lakshmanjoo says.
Let’s see what the rest of the verse says. Praviśya hṛdaye—having entered into the heart. This would seem to imply “oh, we should be using that focal point then”, except Heart with a capital H (one might say that there’s no capitals in Sanskrit) is sometimes used to mean the central channel. That’s what makes sense to me here, because if you can go to the dreams state while the prāṇa is flowing in the central channel, you’ll certainly have a lucid dream. It makes sense that what would be intended here is not this heart, but rather the central channel of the heart of being, the heart of embodied being itself. Having entered the heart means the central channel, and the commentators are vague on this point, as I recall. None of them really clarified that it’s definitely the central channel, but that’s just what makes sense to me in my reading of these sources. You have to compare the texture looking at other similar sources as well, and we’ll find this usage.
Dhyāyan—meditating, in the central channel. This is an experience of interiorization of awareness. The suggestion here is that you do this practice of thick and gentle breath which I’ll explain further in a moment, while focusing on whichever your focal point is until awareness interior rises which you experience as a kind of tranquility and centeredness at the same time as you’re becoming drowsy assuming you’re doing this meditation at bedtime which is the time to do it if you’re doing it in order to have lucid dreams. That’s what you’re looking for and as Swami Lakshmanjoo says, “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 perhaps a bit drowsy, then you’re going to lie down and continue the meditation lying down until you fall asleep”. This is Swami Lakshmanjoo’s suggestion, and I can attest that it works very well. Meditating then in the central channel, just on the flow of prāṇa in the central channel, the result of which will be svapna-svātantryam āpnuyāt, one attains autonomy or freedom in one’s dreams. Why would that be important in the spiritual path? Because if you have a lucid dream, that’s where you know you’re dreaming and you have control over the dream or yourself in the dream, not necessarily over what happens to you, 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 in the physical body. This especially goes for energy body practices, because in the dream state your consciousness is fully occupying the energy body and not the physical body. Usually they’re inseparable but in the dream state they become separated temporarily, but still linked. Energy body practices are very powerful in the dream state. Any spiritual practice, meditation, mantra, even āsana—do it in your dreams and see what happens. If you’re like me, you might have to resist temptations, like when I enter into lucid dreaming, I like to go flying, I like to fly through the air. It’s the quite an amazing experience, just to soar high above the land and all that, 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 some manuscripts we see mukta instead of svapna. Here’s the context: We’re talking about handwritten manuscripts on palm leaf or birch bark or early forms of paper, and different manuscript copies have different readings. Sometimes, it is just a mistake in writing, but other times we have semantically significant variant readings (that means where the different reading that we see in this manuscript is opposed to that manuscript, creates a whole significantly different meaning). That’s what we have here. Some manuscripts have muktaḥ svātantryam āpnuyāt—The liberated one attains freedom. If this was the right reading, the correct original reading (we can’t know for sure), it would change the whole meaning of the verse. The verse is no longer about how to have lucid dreams. It’s actually about a meditation practice that leads to liberation, breath meditation specifically. And again, I’ll get to the exact detail of how to do this practice in a moment. This breath meditation practice leaves you to liberation, but I would be surprised if this was the original reading. Why? Because it’s a bit banal and it is not really adding a significant new practice in that case, because we already have plenty of breath meditation practices in the text. Also because the language is a bit odd to say muktaḥ svātantryam āpnuyāt, the liberated one attains freedom—it’s kind of redundant because by definition if you’re liberated, you’re free.
I’m going to go with this reading svapna-svātantryam āpnuyāt which is supported by Abhinavagupta’s reading, supta-svācchandyam āpnuyāt. Supta means asleep and so it’s an inferior reading to svapna, but it is in the same ballpark as svapna. That would seem to support this reading that Kṣemarāja has.
What do we actually do? What’s the actual practice? Here again, I’m going to turn to Lakshmanjoo’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. What he’s referring to there is ujjāyī prāṇāyāma and that’s simply 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 really immerse awareness in the breath, really become focused on the breath. It is recommended for any form of breath meditation that this is helpful, this ujjāyī prāṇāyāma and Swami Ji 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. You’re doing that sounded breath and you’re focusing at your focal point whether it’s here or inside the head behind here or here or indeed could be the heart, but since you’re really supposed to be focused on the breath, I think it helps to choose a focal point where you can feel the breath. Such as behind the bridge of the nose, or head of the throat. If you’ve done enough work with sahasrāra this crown of the head point, then you can feel the breath there too.
Having chosen your focal point, practice until you’re experiencing that interiorization of awareness, that pulling 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.
Having selected your focal point, you’re going to simply keep your awareness at that focal point. You let the breath thicken and slow, making it audible with ujjāyī prāṇāyāma and slowing it down. Keep your awareness or your attention fixed at that focal point, and it’s as if you’re feeling the breath passed through your focal point, but you’re staying still there.
YET ANOTHER POSSIBILITY: 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; the one who has released attains Divine Freedom.
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)