"Nidrā Yoga" by André Riehl (as appeared in « Pranam » – France, Spring 2001)

Among the major spiritual traditions originating in India, there is a mainstream shivaite discipline little known to the western world called Shaivasiddhânta. It is linked to a tremendous dynamic devotional movement which developed in southern India around the Xth century and subsequently spread throughout the whole of the country to Kashmir and even further, beyond the confines of the Himalayas. Its period of strongest influence was the XIVth Century.

Shaivasiddhânta, a doctrine founded on the Agamas, but also on the Vedas, is sometimes translated by adepts of Sanskrit as the “mitigated way” whereby the imperceptible original principle of creation (Shiva) and the evolving dynamic of creation (Shakti) remain in an inseparable union, though differentiated (in Sanskrit “bhedâbheda”, different and non-different); hence the term “mitigated way”.

Every action necessarily tends toward a desired goal, and when reached or just about to be, it becomes evident, at that precise moment, that it is not the end of the quest. Struck by this truth, the seeker comes to an awareness which is beyond words, a vast and silent savouring without beginning or end. Accepting this realization is tantamount to giving full space to the indescribable state of the “In-Between” that reconciles and marries duality with non-duality.

For he who has started his journey (âchârya), the Teaching is the harbinger of a double message: the path is without future, and the past is without existence. The path is nothing other than Presence at the core of each step. And yet, as long as the belief of a journey remains, it appears essential to move forward. This is why the “mitigated way” insists on this intimate union of the Moving with the Immobile. It is at the heart of this that moves (thought) that maintains steady the state of meditative tranquility born from deep sleep: Nidrā. Nidrā yoga however is only one of the many facets of Shaivasiddhânta.

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Nidrā has several meanings within the mythology of India. For one, it is the ultimate state of meditation where Shiva, the archetypal Yogi, melts away and the manifestation (Creation) dissolves. It is also the light sleep which, at the end of a cosmic cycle, precedes Vishnu’s awakening, the great creator of worlds. Finally, it is the sleep of Brahma who maintains the universe in its four stages: manifestation, presence, dissolution, and void.

From a more literal point of view, Nidrā means meditative sleep. It also signifies blossoming, flowering, and hatching.

Lastly, Nidrā yoga (a genitive Sanskrit composite generally translated as « the yoga of sleep ») asserts that we are but the dream of the imperceptible creative force.

It appears that at the very heart of a dream or deep sleep, when we are conscious, the state of the “In-Between” emerges, reconciling all the differences of the manifestation and leaving space for an intimate perception of non-separation. Therefore, it could be said that Nidrā is nothing other than a state of pure openness without object. The « Iceberg metaphor » is sometimes used to describe it. The ice mass can be seen as made of three layers:

These three layers or states, in spite of appearances, have no definitive borders. All it takes for the iceberg to be modified is a change in temperature, warming or freezing. What is certain is that the separations are no longer measurable. Moreover, the surface layer is the most unstable, almost non-existent, given the movement of surrounding waves. Ultimately, there is no real separation as all the iceberg’s layers are of the same essence. Only one’s perception differentiates them. One has to simply realize that the iceberg is the sum of these parts.

Beyond the metaphor, consciousness (the iceberg) is not different from what constitutes it (the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious). Even more telling, this iceberg is of the same nature as the ocean in which it floats. In their profound nature, all these elements are simultaneously different and yet not different. The simultaneous perception of these 3 states of consciousness engenders turîya, the Sanskrit term meaning “pure impersonal mind” or “the fourth state” in which different and non-different are inseparable and cannot be dissociated.

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In its practical form, Nidrā yoga may be considered according to three degrees or levels, all dynamic and intertwined: sleep, dream, and death.

- Sleep :

The work consists of bringing about a state of very deep relaxation through conscious thought in each part of the physical body (muscles, organs, and bones) and at the same time developing a very sharp awareness of all these elements. This systematic and detailed acknowledgement of the body induces a state of relaxation and, simultaneously, a very intense awareness well beyond what is normally considered “relaxation”. At this level of the practice, one also calms all sensory processes while at the same time making their functioning more dynamic.

- Dream :

The second part of the work mainly focuses on thought processes and mental imagery. It consists in dissociating the energy generated by mental images and subconcious memories and in restoring the fluidity which has been restrained by mental and psychic constraints. This work is better known under “liberation of Samskaras” (latencies and engraved memories capable of having important repercussions, notably blockages within the body and psyche). In this part of the work, we approach the very process of thought organisation, its role, limits, activities, and effects on behaviour.

- Death :

In its third phase, Nidrā yoga touches upon the threshold of what is possible, the very origin of thought, and "death" as the cessation of thought. Awareness is invited to inch its way into the very heart of deep sleep (the dreamless sleep). Having thus run through the tortuous labyrinth of thought in the waking state, daytime revery, and the various degrees of nocturnal dreaming (personal, collective, and archetypal), this last stage consists of identifying, by melting into it, witness-consciousness, that which allows us to realize that we have slept although no particular recollection of this sleeping phase remains in memory. This manifests itself under the form of a sudden grip, the savour of which is silence and space. We are enraptured, in every meaning of the word.

The formal teaching of this Nidrā yoga approach ends here. However, it opens toward an ultimate phase of transmission, unfurling in a natural and spontaneous manner. Slowly revealing itself by unpredictible and unforeseen strokes, the very nature of being alive bares itself in its non-possessible virginity: the One and the Many are identical and, at the same time, different.

We return here to the iceberg metaphor and the ocean which, while being of the same nature (water), have different appearances and properties. A complementary image sometimes used is that of clouds also composed of water, but in vapour form, to signify the three stages of thought: solid, fluid, and evanescent.

These incursions into the Real are neither meaningful nor meaningless. They are accompanied by an intimate feeling of joy without object or reason.

If this way has been kept open and untouched, it is mainly because nothing was ever mentioned other than this awareness beyond words, of this prime innocence.

To cross the multiple fields that form consciousness with eyes wide-open always bears the risk that one may linger on only one of its elements, thus perpetrating a fragmentation at the heart of personality. It is for this reason that the “mitigated way”, while granting the fundamental priority to the essential, does not turn a blind eye on the peculiarities that make up the individual, although these can produce false certainties.

Thus, it has been possible to elaborate a teaching through the ages that is supple, strict, and open. It is not about manipulating, or even adapting the quest, but in taking into account all our beliefs, aspirations and hopes, to deepen their meaning, prevent their falsification, and finally to be free at the very heart of silence.

This process of stripping away is itself the bearer of numerous secondary effects (or experiences) that should be given their proper place, lest they become subjects of interest. For this reason, the teaching always puts forward observation and attention which are a form of alertness void of objectification.

To be in the silence without object implies no reference. What emerges at the end of the exploration of one’s self is surrender, letting-go. This does not come from knowledge. The ultimate point lies in the acknowledgement that even to realize that we know nothing is already excessive.