Nada Bindu Upanishad

Thirunavukkarasu Sivasubramaniam March 30, 2018 2 Comments

Table of Contents

Introduction

Nada Bindu Upanishad is the 38^th of 108 Upanishads and forms part of the Rig Veda. Nada is the sound heard in the ear during deep meditation. Bindu means the dot. It also means the drop, the sperm, and the starting point. The sound of Om is the starting point of the cosmos. Cosmos begins out of Bindu and dissolves into bindu. Nada Bindu Upanishad is the philosophy of the sound Om.

Vairaja Pranava

Vairaja means the son of Virat Purusha. Virat Purusha is the Brahman in the form of the whole universe. Pranava is the general name for various versions of the mantra Om. Hence Vairaja Pranava is a specific version of Om. The Upanishad starts with the explanation of the Vairaja Pranava.

Vairaja Pranava, the Upanishad says, is the king of birds. The right wing of the bird is the letter “A”. The left-wing is the letter “U”. The tail is the letter “M”. Its head is Ardha-matra (half-matra). Its leg and terminal point are three Gunas.(Sattva, Rajas and Tamas). The bird’s body is Truth. Its right eye is the right conduct. Also, its left eye is wrong conduct. Its feet, knees, Hip, navel, heart, throat, and the point between the brows are the seven realms or planes of existence.

Vairaja Vidya

The meditation technique explained here is Vairaja Vidya. One can get rid of all his sins through the Mastery of Vairaja Vidya.

The forms of Pranava are two. One is four matra Pranava and the other one is twelve matra Pranava. One Matra is a time scale of four seconds.

Four Matra Pranava

Matra	Symbol	Relates to
I^st	A	Agni (Fire)
2^nd	U	Vayu (Air)
3^rd	M	Sun
4^th	Ardha Matra	Varuna (Water)

This is Omkara. Those who do not understand this can make a dharana (deep meditation) for a better understanding.

Twelve Matra Pranava

The Upanishad gives a distinctive name for each of the twelve Matras and the place where the Practitioner will go if he parts his life at any of the twelve Matras.

Matra	Name	Next Incarnation
I^st	Ghosini	An emperor
2^nd	Vidyut	Yaksha
3^rd	Patangini	Vidyaadara
4^th	Vayu-vegini	Gandharva
5^th	Naama-dheyaa	Deva
6^th	Aindri	Indra
7^th	Vaisnavi	Vishnu
8^th	Saamkari	Rudra
9^th	Mahati	In the mahar loka
10^th	Dhrti	In the Jano loka
11^th	Naari	In the Tapo loka
12^th	Braahmi	Brahmanhood

Maha Vairaja Vidya

One who is accomplished in Vairaja Vidya will be eligible to opt for Maha Vairaja Vidya. His mind should be fixed on the Brahman. Having set aside ignorance and attachment, he should become consciousness alone. He will attain ecstasy and enjoy the never-ending bliss.

Karma

When Atman starts knowing the truth, the results of the past actions have already begun. There will not be any escape from the results since the results have already begun. But after the realization, that there is no ‘body’ or ‘mind’ consciousness, Karma will become non-existence. The results will not bind the Atman. It is like wrongly identifying rope as a snake. After realizing the rope is a mere rope, the snake disappears. After realization, Atman identifies itself as Brahman and not as a mere body. Then karma will cease to exist. The absence of karma will result in the absence of further incarnations.

How to practice Vairaja Vidya?

Assume Siddhasana
Assume Vaishnavi Mudra: Keep your eyes wide open without twinkling
Listen to the sound of the right ear. For the first time, many sounds may be heard. Practicing further and further subtler sounds will be heard. At first, sounds of the ocean waves, then clouds (thunder), waterfall, tabor, big bell, Military Drum, twinkling bell, flute, and wasp. These sounds will be heard in persistent practice. Only the subtler sound should be listened to in the presence of multiple sounds.
You should forget everything except the most subtle sound. You should forget the outside world and become one with the sound. Finally, the mind will merge with sound. As long as the sound is there, so long as the mind. When the sound ceases, the mind ceases too. The constant application of the Nada of Pranava, the mind, Prana, and Atman will merge. You won’t hear any more sounds. You will be liberated and become a Videha Mukta.

Thus ends Nada Bindu Upanishad

Om Tat Sat!

Reference: Sanskrit Text Reference