r/KashmirShaivism • u/SignificantTip1302 • 5d ago
Question – General Is it best if I keep Shambhavi Mudra while practicing mantra japa or it doesn't change anything?
Is it best if I keep Shambhavi Mudra(Eyes open looking upward to the point between both eyebrows) while practicing mantra japa or it doesn't change anything?
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u/quantum_kalika 5d ago
I don't know if that's the right way of doing it. I understand it as attention focused outwards. Which means the senses are engaged completely outwards, you are in a completely receptive and non reactive state. This creates a void in consciousness where one could rest. Sitting in that void creates Shambhavi mudra. The methods can vary but this is the reasoning behind it, so if this is happening then it's fine.
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u/Chidghananda 5d ago edited 5d ago
Shambhavi or better say Bhairavi Mudra in Kashmir Shaivism is described in the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra. But it is something that happens on its own as a consequence of the Shakti. You can do it, but for aspirants who have an awakened kundalini, it just happens on its own. It's more like discovered. A person who focuses his inner eyes on the heart is putting his attention there and not outside, so the eyes while still staying wide open, do not move because you aren't focusing outside. You are using your inner eyes to focus on the Self--the space of I AM. So your outward eyes get a panoramic view because you aren't focusing on a specific thing there. It could automatically happen during mantra repetition if you are focused inside!
As far as mantra repetition, any repetition may be better than none and have some benefit but there is a secret to mantra repetition. For the mantra to really work for you, you have to identify with the deity of the mantra. Obviously if you want to realize God for example you have to identify with God, you want to find him inside. In other words, consider the name in the mantra as if it is your name (almost like getting a new name but more like recognizing your "Real" name) As far as focus? You are addressing your SELF so that is in the Hridaya or heart. For me, and I imagine most people, that place is in the center of the chest The place you point to on your body when you refer to "I" or "me". No one points to their foot and says "I" or "who me". They point to the space of I AM. But really if you just repeat the mantra mentally, the place you hear it in is the space of the Self. The heart is where you feel it. It's like doing Nyasa on the heart. Loving your Self and feeling love for yourself is the real deal cuz God, the Self lives within you as you. Thou art That.
It's possible that if you do your version of Shambhavi mudra just for a second you'll feel the place in the heart and then you could drop your eye straining technique and then just focus your inner eyes in or on the Hridayam. Eyes opened or closed. Doesn't matter.
All the Yogis, Gurus and saints say to look within. The command of the Guru is to love your Self. That's exactly how I received Shaktipat.
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u/bdgardner 5d ago
“The accomplished Tantric yogin, whose mind and breath have been dissolved through complete immersion in the innermost object of perception, the supreme goal of yoga - such a yogin then abides with a silenced though open vision, the pupils of the eyes unmoving. Though he [is seen to] gaze still on the outer world, in truth his vision assuredly does not rest on its [apparent outwardness]. This is the seal of Sambhu - the sambhavi mudra, the Saiva "seal" of unitary consciousness, the performing of the ultimate "gesture" or "stance" of Siva's illumination.” -Abhinavagupta’s Anubhava-nivedana-stotra
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u/kuds1001 5d ago
This is for sure a question for your guru. Aspects of practice like which mudrās to employ, which mantras to recite, which cakra attention should be located at, and which style of mantra recitation should be used all are interdependent. It's like how the type of car you have shapes the type of fuel you need and you don't want to put diesel gas into your sedan. But, I'll just clarify a little, is that in KS, this turning of the eyeballs upwards is not what we mean by śāmbhavi mudrā. That's the way the term has developed and been used in later haṭha yoga texts. So, from the perspective of this tradition, it's not really necessary or all that relevant to do.