Summary of discussion on Vijnana-bhairava-tantra made by Guru Yogi Matsyendranath and Rev. John Dupuche

Vijñānabhairava-tantra 126

Technique: equanimity

na dveṣam bhāvayet kvāpi na rāgam bhāvayet kvacit |
rāgadveṣavinirmuktau madhye brahma prasarpati || 126 ||

“One should entertain neither hatred nor attachment to anything. When one is free from attachment and hatred, brahma moves in the centre.”

The practitioner has neither hatred (dveṣam) nor attachment (rāgam) to anything (kvacit). This technique is easily stated; its execution is extremely difficult, for the natural reaction to injustice is hatred; and the human being is naturally full of desire.

The technique is to consider those situations where the natural response is hatred or attachment, to acknowledge the evil or the pleasure and to see them as limited states, and respond to them with equanimity, to be simply free of hatred and attachment (rāgadveṣavinirmuktau).

As a result there is an influx of brahma.  The word brahma has a number of meanings. It is etymologically related to growth or increase, but can also refer to bliss. ‘Bliss is the form of brahman’ (brahmaṇya-ānanda).

The word prasarpati is linked to the word ‘serpent’ (sarpa) and suggests the gliding movement of the snake. The kuṇḍalinī is often described as a snake.

Then brahma spontaneously moves the middle (madhye). The term ‘middle’ has several meanings. One is more general, meaning the very centre of one’s being, the core of one’s reality, in the very heart, at the deepest level. Another refers to the suṣumna, the central channel, which is felt in the region of the spine.

Thus in the very midst of turmoil and pain, there is a joy and a bliss that nothing can take away. This bliss becomes perceptible to all who meet us. The sense of brahma spreads through our whole body and our whole existence.

The Christian attitude is is proactive. It involves replacing hatred with love, and attachment with poverty of spirit. This requires great strength of character and is possible only by acquiring the divine mind. It is in fact one of the greatest powers (siddhi), far greater than the eight powers such as the ability to make oneself extremely light (laghimā) or immensely heavy (gurimā) etc., powers much admired in the literature. It is the sweetest revenge: to make use of evil and turn it into good. As a result, far from doing us harm, evil is now to our advantage. It is disempowered by a greater power.