Sarita loves to answer your questions, so if there’s something you’d like her advice on, please email her and let her know if you are happy for it to be published (you can remain anonymous). Here she answers a question on: awareness through breath.
Question
Hi Sarita,
I’m new to Tantra, having discovered you through your lovely website. Help, where do I start?! I have some experience with other meditations, I especially enjoy breath work – is there something you could recommend for me?
Many thanks,
Love Karen x
Answer
In the Vigyan Bhairav Tantra, there are several methods which use awareness of breath as meditation. One that I am very fond of is as follows: “When in worldly activity, keep attention between two breaths, and so practising, in a few days be born anew”.
This is a meditation which is specifically meant to be done while engaged in worldly activity, so it is perfect for someone just beginning their exploration into Tantra. When we move into meditation, in essence we are witnessing the body, mind and emotions, and as we become more and more attentive, we will become aware of the gaps in-between thoughts. As we dive into the gap, we discover a space beyond mind, beyond time, an eternal space of deep bliss and fulfillment. This meditation on the space between breaths has the ability to take us into the eternal now very easily. And as a result, the way we perceive and experience the world changes. We may find ourselves watching it like a film, with a sense of detachment and even a sense of humour, as if we are watching an amusing theatre production
One of my friends took part in The Tantra Meditation Retreat, which I teach each year in Osho Nisarga, India. During the retreat we practised the meditation listed above every day. He fell in love with this meditation and continued practising it as he was leaving the retreat to go and catch his plane back to the West. He was on an overnight sleeper from Dharamsala to Delhi. In the morning he opened his eyes and enquired when they would be arriving in Delhi, only to be told that he was on the wrong train headed in the wrong direction. What followed was the kind of mad cap adventure which India is famous for. He got on another train which broke down. He scrambled down a long hill and got a rickshaw which also broke down. He got a bullock cart, and then another rickshaw, and eventually made it to the airport only to be stopped by the immigration official who told him his visa was not in proper order, and that he could not go. Throughout all his adventures, he continued practising the meditation. Finally he did make his plane, at the last possible minute. He said that the meditation kept him focused on his goal of making his plane, and at the same time gave him a relaxed detachment, as the entire time he felt bathed in the peace of oneness, beyond duality.
Often, people who do not know the blessings which arise when we practise regular meditation will say that they cannot meditate since they don’t have enough time. With this meditation, there is no excuse to postpone. The meditation can be practised no matter what situation you find yourself in, whether it be a visit with your parents, a trip to the dentist, or a board meeting in the office. Try it and discover the profound difference it can make in your life.
Love Sarita x
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