Naad Hint

Yogeshwarananda instructed that I explain what he termed as the naad link. He said this, “Even though the tendency is to focus visually as a practice in its own right, for the greater part, that is based on the addiction to the visual sense. Humans have that addiction. In some animal species, the predominant sense is the one of smell. One can observe how a cow is dominated by the smelling sense. It will not eat a vegetation if its nose does not recognize the grass as edible. Even if it is edible, still, if the nose does not give a favorable opinion, the cow will reject it. That applies even if it is hungry.

“In humans it is the visual sense which is predominant. Due to that an ascetic may be addicted to, and preferential to, seeing psychic or divine lights. I wrote a book about my experiences with this. However, one should consider that it is easy to reach naad sound resonance. From getting access to naad, one can slip to the visual field and focus there. Naad can assist with the quest for psychic or divine lights. How is that done?

“First the yogi should become anchored to naad sound resonance during meditation but he should observe how he shifts from it and is positioned to resume normal random thought sequences in meditation. After some years of practice, a yogi may get an understanding of how the mind functions, so that when he listens to naad either by being in it or by being near to it, he can observe how he finds the core to have shifted from naad and to be viewing something else, somewhere else in the mindspace.

“After mastering this observation, one will find that during some sessions of meditation, there is no shift from naad, while in some others there are frequent shifts. One yogi may control the core to make it remain absorbed in naad. Because of a weak willpower, another yogi may not have the control.

“When the core finds that it is easy to remain in or focused towards naad, it should study the hearing sense, as to how that sense is aware of naad. When this happens, the core should remain stationary in the mindspace. Being absorbed in naad, it should check on the visual sense. Usually when this is done, the ascetic will realize that the visual sense is closed. It is as if it is non-operative. It will be as if the self is in a closed container such that it cannot see the environment around it. The self should then open the two psychic eyes.

“This action will cause the appearance of a space which has indistinct lights in the distance. There may be a dim glow of light in every direction. That is what the yogi should focus on, for this focus on inner light meditation.”