Simple Nididhyāsana Exercise with Vijñāna Bhairava (after Upaniṣads, Gītā, and the works of Śri Śaṅkara and Sureśvara)

Simple Nididhyāsana Exercise with Vijñāna Bhairava

In the depths of the Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra, we find some of the most profound instructions for nididhyāsana—the meditative absorption on the nature of the Self. Unlike other techniques that rely on ritual or verbal repetition, this method uses the raw power of awareness itself to dissolve all distinctions.

But the prequel to nididhyāsana is śraddhā-pūrvaka mananam—the contemplative reflection upon śruti and Bhagavān bhāṣyakāra-vachanam

PREQUEL

Mananam before Nididhyāsana: On Ghaṭākāśa and the Self

Before we sit for nididhyāsana—that silent soaking of the mind in the truth heard—we must contemplate. Not as intellectual gymnastics, but as mananam in the Advaitic tradition: firming up conviction (niścaya) that what the śruti says is indeed so.

Let us take one such idea—ghaṭākāśa, the space in a pot—and follow it across the Upaniṣads, Gītā, and the works of Śri Śaṅkara and Sureśvara.

1. Ghaṭākāśa as Mukhya-Samānādhikaraṇyam

In Advaita, analogies are never ornamental. They are pramāṇa-sāhita—a means of knowledge. Among these, ghaṭākāśa, the “pot-space” metaphor, holds a special place.

Śri Śaṅkara uses it in several places to make one point: the Self, like space, is indivisible, unchanging, and all-pervasive, and what appears as division is merely due to upādhi—limiting adjuncts.

As taught by our ācāryas, this metaphor rests on three pillars of mukhya-samānādhikaraṇyam:

• samāna-sattā – Both pot-space and infinite space are on the same ontological level (vyāvahārika).
• samāna-svarūpa – Both are simply ākāśa. There is no essential difference in their nature.
• vastava-bheda-śūnyatā – The perceived separation is due to the pot (ghaṭa), not in the space itself. Remove the pot, and the “contained” space is revealed as never separate.

2. Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 2.1.20 – Śri Śri Śaṅkara’s Bhāṣya

In this seminal passage, the Upaniṣad asserts that no difference exists between one self and another. Differences arise due to nāma-rūpa—name and form—which are merely upādhis. Śri Śaṅkara clarifies:

"Just as jars, wooden vessels, or holes in the earth are distinctions pertaining to ākāśa, similarly, names and forms are distinctions pertaining to the Self."

Swāmi adds pointedly - "In the very nature of things, there is not even the remotest possibility of difference, for the self is not an object of inference."

Even “hundreds of logicians” have failed to establish real distinctions among selves. The ātman is one, indivisible.

3. Bhagavad Gītā 15.7 – The Pot-Space Returns

In his commentary on Gītā 15.7, Śri Śaṅkara points to the pot-space analogy:

“It is like ākāśa in a jar, which is but a portion of the infinite ākāśa, and which becomes the very infinite ākāśa when the jar is destroyed… Having reached That, they never return.”

This is not poetic fancy. Śri Śri Śaṅkara’s intention is clear: the jīva, appearing as distinct due to mind and senses (manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi), is truly aṁśa of the supreme Self. But this "part-ness" is only from the upādhi-dr̥ṣṭi. Once the upādhi is removed, the apparent division ends without remainder.

4. Naishkarmyasiddhi III.17 – Sureśvara’s Affirmation

Sureśvara, the lion among Śri Śri Śaṅkara’s disciples, elaborates the same truth in Naishkarmyasiddhi:

“The Self is like ākāśa enclosed in pots; unchanging, indivisible. The pot-space never truly breaks from the great space.”

In this, the vārtikakāra gives us both the metaphysics and the sādhanā: know that the self never was separate; the notion of "me" is just the pot.

5. Ākāśa as Subtle and Beyond Motion

Many object: space is perceptible—how can it represent the subtle self?

Śri Śaṅkara handles this precisely in Bṛhadāraṇyaka II.iii.2–5 and III.8.7. He explains that ākāśa is:

• Sūkṣma (subtle) – It is not sthūla matter.
• Avyaya (unchanging) – It cannot be modified.
• Nirvikalpa (without distinctions) – Going, coming, or attributes do not apply to it. Movement is for things with boundaries; ākāśa has none.

Thus, ākāśa becomes a profound pointer to the Self: present everywhere, but never touched by its containers.

6. The Takeaway: Pot and Space as Manana

Before we begin the nididhyāsana on space within a pot (ghaṭādibhājane dṛṣṭim vinikṣipet), let us hold firmly in mind:

The pot-space was never truly enclosed. The jīva was never truly bound.
What separates is only upādhi; what unites is always present.

When we “discard the walls” (bhittis tyaktvā), as Verse 59 teaches, we are discarding false ideas of limitation.

What remains is not emptiness, but fullness—Brahman.

 

This is mananam — the firm assimilation of śruti with the help of bhāṣyakāra and vārtikakāra. When this knowledge becomes unwavering, nididhyāsana follows like breath after silence.

 

Heads up / Look ahead into the gist of the Nididhyāsana….

To gaze, not at the pot, but into space; not at the self-image, but into the unbounded Self.

From ghaṭākāśa to mahākāśa, from name-form to formless Being—this is the silent revolution of Advaita.

NIDIDHYĀSANA with Vijñāna Bhairava

īdṛśena krameṇaiva yatra kutrāpi cintanā |
śūnye kuḍye pare pātre svayaṁ līnā varapradā || 33 ||

By such a process (īdṛśena krameṇa), wherever (yatra kutrāpi) the thought (cintanā) is placed—on emptiness (śūnye), a wall (kuḍye), or on a worthy vessel/disciple (pare pātre)—the energy of awareness merges of its own accord (svayaṁ līnā) and bestows grace (varapradā).

The beauty of this verse lies in how it subtly collapses the hierarchy of objects. Whether it’s a wall, a disciple, or even empty space—when approached with śraddhā (or pramāṇika buddhi), each becomes an equal doorway to the Divine. It's a direct affirmation of the immanence of the Self, ever-present in all things.

This is not a technique of doing, but a technique of Being. The “method” (krama) is not mechanical—it is the practice of present-moment awareness infused with śakti. When this focused awareness deepens, the boundary between observer and observed dissolves.

What remains is grace—not something received from outside, but something revealed from within. Grace (varapradā) is the merging of individuality into awareness.

 

Now consider Verse 59, which offers a practical entryway into this insight:

ghaṭādibhājane dṛṣṭiṁ bhittis-tyaktvā vinikṣipet |
tal-layaṁ tat-kṣaṇād gatvā tal-layāt tanmayo bhavet || 59 ||

Cast your gaze (dṛṣṭim vinikṣipet) into the space (bhājane) inside a vessel (ghaṭādi), like a pot or jar, and consciously leave aside (tyaktvā) the enclosing walls (bhittiḥ) that define it. Let the eyes rest not on the form, but on the ākāśa—the space within.

As you do this, something remarkable happens. You enter into that space (tal-layam gatvā), and in that very moment (tat-kṣaṇāt), you dissolve (laya) into the formless. From that merging (tal-layāt), arises a new identity: tanmayaḥ—you are That.

 

This is nididhyāsana:

Form is nothing but space defined by limits.
Remove the limits in thought, and you enter the unbounded.

 

🔻 Summary Reflection

• Practice: Gaze into space (of a pot, a room, or a form) without grasping its boundary. Let the awareness dissolve into that emptiness.
• Realization: You merge not into the pot, but into space. And space is a pointer to the formless Absolute.
• Outcome: The ‘I’ merges into its universal source. This is the direct method—no mantra, no effort, just awakening through seeing.

This exercise, while simple, opens the doorway to  Īśvara caitanya as aham padārtham. Not “I am Īśvara,” but the “I” dissolving in “That”—tanmayaḥ.

Try it not with expectation, but with śraddhā—i.e., pramāṇika buddhi based on contemplation (mananam) of śruti and bhāṣyakāra.

As the text promises - svayaṁ līnā varapradā — when you merge into it, it bestows grace on its own.