Remain as you are and enjoy this arising of sound from within your own Being. Without effort, naturally resting and being, allow the sound of this raga Gambheera Nattai to flood your awareness resulting in total ease and absorption in sound.
With all thoughts, sensations and concepts about what you are dissolving in sound, quickly and with no reference or idea, return to your own Silence, the simple awareness from which all arises. The Field of no coming and going. Here we live free in a wide open endless beginning.
Prasant Radhakrishnan shares natural peace and freedom through the sound of the saxophone leading to our own innate Silence that we have never lost. For more information about his music, often stemming from the Indian Classical Carnatic style, or to attend Musical Satsang gatherings online, please visit http://www.prasantmusic.com.
In this spontaneous video, Prasant relates the ever expanding growth and strength of our awareness as it become more aware of Itself to a battery that needs to be charged. Until the Self is fully Realized, there will be a sensation either regularly or on occasion, depending on how far along the aspirant is, of the spacious openness of Being not always being fully present…a feeling that it needs be recharged with spiritual practice or some kind of activity. This needs to be acknowledged and addressed.
The simplest and easiest way to continuously recharge is to rest as the awareness itself time and time again. Every time the mind arises, again and again bring it back to resting in Awareness, the Source. This is sometimes difficult. During these times, Prasant highly recommends music, either listening or practicing, combined with his technique of riding music back to its Source and resting as That. (Visit Prasant’s website below for many more articles and videos on Youtube detailing that process).
Prasant also goes into the issue of whether you may want to investigate your media consumption (ie: podcasts, social media, tv shows, news, etc.) to see whether it is really helping you in your quest for Truth or if it is distracting you or pulling you away from it by stimulating mind identification and separation. Of course, no phenomena by itself is a problem in light of the Self. It is only a problem when the mind still causing trouble.
When the Self is Realized there is longer a battery, charger or outlet needed. There is continuously refreshed, always open Truth alone. Like the ocean. Like the sky.
In this video, Prasant goes into detail about not only how music is an instant meditation, but also what the nature of meditation really is. The fact is you are already meditating right now. Your nature itself is meditation. This, right now, is meditation.
Many of us may feel that they are brought into the unfolding ever present NOW while listening to music but the experience fades later on. Prasant shares here that the important insight to take away from every natural experience of music is that the space, freedom and joy you experience with music is always here with or without music. That stays with you when you are away from music. You were there before anything appeared and remain afterwards.
In fact, the experience of Life itself is much like a never ending great symphony of music. Enjoy it by just being yourself…whatever you already are without having to do or change anything to be IT.
In this video, Prasant shares an effective method to dissolve the attachment to the body by noticing it dissolve in music and sound. Ramana Maharshi pointed seekers to the Self by reminding them that “you are not the body.” Identification with the body creates suffering for people (or in some cases even the opposing thought “I am not the body”).
In general, we can become frustrated with the body in some way and this blocks the natural seeing of who we are. In order to easily do away with the mental gymnastics that can arise around this, we go into the beauty and power of music and sound to fill our awareness while noticing our arising sensations and then instantly take us to the source of that, which is This ever present Silence. This is a fresh way to be free, here and now.
In this video, Prasant first explains how it is possible to dissolve suffering through sound and music and a little bit about what suffering is. This is in the context of Realization. Then he goes into a spontaneous guided meditation where he shares a technique to utilize and follow sound to dissolve deeply into your fundamental real nature, the Source and stay there.
Once the Self, the Source is fully realized all that arises after will be seen to be nothing but that same Self, which you have discovered that you are already. Even if a glimpse of the Truth is tasted here, you can continue to soak in that perspective throughout your day to day life by contemplating in the same manner presented here.
Eventually stability in Truth will be evident and easy.
The following is a transcript of a brief 5 minute intro talk given during a Sangeetha Satsang (Music Satsang or music meditation). You can use this to guide you into meditating with any of Prasant’s saxophone meditation tracks on this website or youtube.
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I would like to invite you to join me in this meditation. It’s not really a separate meditation. My understanding, my feeling is that your natural state is meditation.
What we’re going to do now is not something I’m asking you to do differently than you are already doing. So just be the same way that you already are. Part of your feeling that you can explore… So now we’re sitting basically in silence. And from the feeling that you have in silence you hear the sound arising from that. So what you could try… as you hear the sound, first relax into just being how you already are. Just relax.
Then as you hear the sound, just feel the sound. Initially, when you hear the sound it sounds like a sound coming from a separate external source, from somewhere else, right? When you hear the sound you first think I’m playing the sound and sending you the sound…yes? [Audience: Yes] So that’s mostly how people feel regularly.
But in this I’d like to invite you to forget about the idea that there’s a sound coming separately from some other source. Initially, even if you feel that the sound is coming from another place, just forget about that and let the sound come into your awareness. Forget about any feeling you have in the body, just notice the sensations. The sound will start to wash over you and it will take over the awareness. So relaxing in that sound, you become comfortable feeling only the sound so there is nothing else except the sound. And alternating that with silence, you go deeper and deeper into the pure sound. Underneath that sound, as you get comfortable in that sound, you can let go more and more. Just basically relax is all. You’ll go deeper into the Silence that’s beneath the sound. So if there’s sound, there has to be Silence supporting the sound, right? So that Silence is your natural, real nature.
So whenever we wake up in the morning, as soon as you wake up before anything arises, you have this perfect Silence. There’s this perfect Being. That doesn’t have anything in it. And, it has everything in it, of course. If there’s nothing in it, there’s everything in it.
For just this moment, you can always pick it back up later, forget about any and all ideas and definitions you have…what something is, what something is not, what your name is, what your family is, what you’re doing here, what you are going to meditate on, how am I going to meditate, all of that just forget it. Completely drop it, right now, right this instant.
So whatever you’re trying to attain is already here. There’s nothing else to get. That’s your inherent nature. The moment you try to leave, attain something, you’ve left your real nature. This idea is just an opportunity to return back to your real nature. And it’s already here, it’s not that you have to return back to it. It’s already here, but you think it’s somewhere else. So for the time being, maybe you can adopt my idea that everything you need is already here, not anywhere else outside. And just let the music, the sound current of the music…You’ve all heard the sound “Om.” Everyone’s heard of Om. So they say that’s the sound of the entire manifestation. So feel this sound as the Om arising within you. And not only within you, everywhere. Not within, not without. Forget about within and without. Just be exactly as you are right now. Not something else…or a body or anything. Just relax into that sound and eventually relax into the Silence, that’s all. So there’s nothing really to do, just enjoy. Thank you.
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Please enter into silence for a few minutes. If you would like you can sit with one of Prasant’s tracks by utilizing the players below. For more about Satsangs, visit the Satsang page.
The human body plays on the stage of time and space.
Your real nature, the source, is beyond all notions of time and space.
In the morning, the mind arises and creates the sense of time.
In deep sleep there is no time, no space and no world.
Thoughts about the past and future solidify a sense of time.
The infinite now is beyond past, present and future and free of time.
When the mind wants something, even 24 hours a day is not enough.
Dissolved in its source, that which is eternal enjoys Itself before time was created.
The human being has evolved over a long time.
Unblemished Being simply IS, wanting nothing.
When the suffering of the mind is noticed long enough, you want to be free.
The Infinite Self is already ever free and peaceful.
Sadhana (spiritual practice) to purify the mind takes much time and hard work.
The source of the mind is already the essence of effortless ultimate purity.
As sadhana matures, the fortress the mind has built comes crashing down.
The unlimited Self is the very dust that made the bricks and the ground on which it falls.
Repeated glimpses of your real nature seem to come and go as you mature over time.
You may wish this process went faster.
The Eternal Witness looks on with compassionate pristine impartiality. It alone is responsible for the glimpses and the ability to practice.
Many, many experiences of all kinds come and go as Silence deepens, effortlessly.
Imperturbable Presence remains as it always was, perfect.
When you see that time arises from the source that is beyond time and they have no conflict whatsoever, then YOU are beyond time.
Relaxing completely and totally into the effortless purity of liberation, all conflicts are resolved and life carries on without a hitch.
This post is in response to the wordpress daily prompt: Slowly
As a supplement to Prasant’s new series of videos on discovering your real nature through music, here is a video of Prasant (saxophone) and his student and friend, Venkat (trumpet). In this video, Prasant and Venkat explore sound together through spontaneous sustained notes. You are encouraged to go through the simple approach to enjoy the sound, dissolve into the sound and finally discover the source of sound, the Silence itself. This is essentially a form of self inquiry using sound as an aid to dissolve the I-thought, the ego, and recognize the already perfect, ever present Being.
As you meet and enjoy the sound, please note that this does not have to do with musical correctness of pitch or tuning or any concept of musical perfection, but with investigating, feeling and riding the sound itself back to your real nature, that is ever free of all concepts and suffering.
Please also note that this is not an intellectual exercise of observing sound or anything like that. This is a visceral experience of the actual feeling of completely dissolving everything that has ever limited you and awakening to your real nature.
The next few videos will go into more detail on the dissolving step and the recognition of silent awareness or Being. This video is a brief overview. You can use these guidelines while practicing or listening to music. You may find it helpful to do this with Prasant’s other meditation videos here on YouTube. Here is the playlist.
Here is another new video for you, the second video in the series I am doing on YouTube called Naada Yoga for Total Liberation. Please check the blog or my youtube channel to see the other videos. Here is a convenient playlist to watch the series continuously.
Prasant begins this exploration of our experience with a spontaneous brief raga Sriranjani on the saxophone. Then he continues this video series with the first part of exploring your experience through sound: enjoyment. When you first hear the sound of music, or any sound, there is an instant meeting or union with that sound. This meeting allows you to establish yourself in the present moment and begin staying there with the help of music. This is very simple, but if you have many thoughts it is usually difficult. Music and sound help in this situation by giving the mind something to occupy itself, so to speak.
As you stay there and really enjoy the sound, you will melt or dissolve into the sound, which is the next step. This will be covered in the next video. Now the mind is beginning its journey back to its Source. It can happen very quick, so be watchful, be alert, but relax relax relax. This kind of relaxed alertness is easily felt listening to a song you enjoy, as an example.
You can practice the first step or the second if you are comfortable by using Prasant’s other videos for meditation, self inquiry, awakening, enlightenment and Self Realization.
I’m glad to share something new for you today. Naada Yoga for Total Liberation is a fresh approach to spiritual freedom, peace and happiness through music. This is especially suitable for those who are music practitioners, or anyone who simply enjoys music or sound. As I have emphasized in the various videos I have posted in the last several months, it is possible to rediscover and realize your real nature through the ever subtle medium of sound and music.
Many people are aware that Om, the primordial sound, arises from the Self. All sounds are of the nature of Om. Seeing this, it makes perfect sense that if you trace the experience of any sound back to its source and abide there, the Self is revealed. I feel it helps that music usually has deep enjoyment as part of its nature. This approach fully embraces the effortless purity of Being here and now, the Heart. The emphasis is on discovery and abidance in Beingness as there nothing to strive for that is away from your Being.
In future videos, I will go into more detail regarding the various steps in this approach. If you have seen my previous blog posts and videos, I have already given the steps. They are incredibly simple. So, I will give more context and details on this. I feel strongly that this approach is available to all.
Prasant Radhakrishnan 