Use sound as a passage toward feeling

What the Method Is

The core instruction for this meditation method is: “Intone a sound audibly, then less and less audibly as feeling deepens into this silent harmony”. This technique guides the practitioner to use sound as a conduit to move from the mind, which is associated with sound, to the heart, which is associated with feeling, eventually leading to a state of silent harmony.

How It Is Done

This meditation involves a systematic approach to manipulating sound awareness to transition into a deeper state of feeling and silence:

  • Choose a Sound with Feeling: While any sound can be used, it is better to choose a sound for which you have some pre-existing feeling or love, such as a certain mantra (like “Aum,” “Amen,” “Maria,” “Ram”), a deity’s name, a lover’s name, or even your own name if you hold respect for it. The presence of feeling for the sound allows for a deeper connection and helps in the transition from mind to heart.
  • Intone Audibly (Outwardly): Begin by intoning the chosen sound loudly and audibly, allowing others to hear it initially. This helps the practitioner to hear it clearly and leverages the habit of speaking to others.
  • Be Attuned to the Sound: While intoning, become deeply filled with the sound, forgetting everything else and literally becoming the sound. Feel its vibrations throughout your entire body, as if every cell is resonating with it. This is about “in-tuning” yourself with the sound and developing affection for its musicality.
  • Move to Inward, Less Audible Intonation: Once a deep harmony and attunement are felt, gradually reduce the volume of the intonation, moving from loud external chanting to internal, inaudible (to others) repetition. Even when intoning inwardly, initially attempt to maintain an internal “loudness” so that the sound spreads throughout the body, revitalizing and cleansing every cell.
  • Refine the Sound and Intensify Alertness: Continue to make the sound slower, more subtle, and less audible, as this allows it to penetrate deeper within the being, reaching the heart – the deepest, most central core. Crucially, as the sound becomes more subtle, the practitioner must simultaneously become more alert and aware. This prevents the practice from leading to sleep or auto-hypnosis, which can occur with repetitive or monotonous sounds. The “alert inner ear” is essential.
  • Drop the Sound: When the sound becomes so subtle and atomic that it’s on the verge of disappearing, suddenly drop it. This creates an “explosion of silence” where thought ceases, but feeling remains. The goal is to reach a point where sound dissolves into soundlessness (or “soundfulness”) and the practitioner dissolves into total awareness.
  • Practice Environment: It is suggested to practice in a small room or a sacred space like a temple, mosque, or church, especially if you are not strong enough to fill a large space with your sound. Consistency of location can help charge the space with vibrations.
Commentaries and Insights
  • Sound as a Bridge from Mind to Heart: The core purpose of this method is to use sound as a passage to move from the mind to the heart. The mind is seen as inherently tied to sound and words, while the heart is the center of feeling. By focusing on and then transcending sound, one can access the deeper, intuitive realm of feelings.
  • The Nature of Mind and No-Mind: Osho explains that the mind is fundamentally a process of words and sounds. Thoughts are sequences of words, and words are sounds with agreed-upon meanings. Meditation is the state of “no-mind”, which is a state of soundlessness or “soundfulness”. This technique uses the mind itself as a “jumping board” to go beyond the mind.
  • Words, Sounds, and Feelings: The technique emphasizes a reverse process from how we ordinarily interact with language. We typically move from sounds to words, then to thoughts, and finally to philosophies. This method reverses the journey:
    • From philosophies/thoughts (words with meaning)
    • To words/letters
    • To sounds (words without linguistic meaning, like a bird’s song)
    • To feelings (the subtle, deeper layer hidden below sounds). Only by moving below feelings can one truly get below the mind.
  • Cultivating Sensitivity: Humans have become very insensitive, often only feeling the touch of things rather than their deeper essence or the accompanying internal feelings. This method, particularly the emphasis on subtle sounds, forces the development of heightened inner sensitivity and alertness.
  • Transformation into Silent Harmony: The consistent practice leads to a state where sound disappears, and only feeling remains. This feeling is described as a deep, unaddressed love, not directed towards any specific person but as an omnipresent state of the heart. It transforms the practitioner from a “Hindu, Mohammedan, or Christian” into simply a “human being”. This state of silent harmony allows the world to feel warm and enveloped in a “sound-womb”.
  • Warnings: Hypnosis vs. Awareness: A critical insight is the danger of falling into sleep or auto-hypnosis (referred to as yoga tandra or hypnos) due to the repetitive and harmonious nature of sound-based meditations. To avoid this, the practice must be accompanied by constant, active listening and alertness, preventing it from becoming a mere tranquilizer. The more subtle the sound becomes, the more intense awareness is required to not fall asleep.
  • Tantra’s Positive and Existential Approach: Tantra is presented as a science of subjective experience that focuses on “how” to achieve truth rather than philosophical “why” questions. It is amoral, not concerned with good or bad actions, but solely with cultivating awareness and accepting what is. It starts from where one is (e.g., in the body, with current desires) rather than where one should be. This method leverages the existing mental process of sound to transform it.
  • The Role of a Master: While these are generalized methods, initiation from a master can make the technique qualitatively different. A master can choose the most suitable method for an individual, make minute alterations, and even transmit the method at a “right moment” (e.g., during sleep or trance) for deeper penetration into the unconscious. This personal, living relationship with a master facilitates the process and can lead to immediate enlightenment.
  • Simplicity and Effort: The technique, like many Tantra methods, appears simple but requires significant effort and sustained awareness. The mind often resists simple methods, seeking complex ones to satisfy the ego’s desire for challenge and accomplishment. However, these simple methods are potent because they directly address fundamental realities and can indirectly lead the mind beyond its usual thought patterns. The ultimate aim is a state of effortless spontaneity, but initial effort is necessary to break old habits.
  • The Body-Mind Connection: Tantra emphasizes the body as the starting point for spiritual transformation, understanding that physiological and psychological processes are interconnected. The body is seen as a vehicle to move to the spirit, and its energies can be consciously used and transformed.
  • Beyond Duality: When the sound disappears, the experience transcends the dualistic nature of the mind. Everything that happens in this state has “no opposite to it”. This non-dual experience is akin to Zen’s no-mind or the Upanishadic “soundfulness”.