Editor’s Note:

October marked the inaugural opening of Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama for all our family members from around the globe. Swami Ritavan Bharati, our Ashram Pramukha and Spiritual Guide, used this occasion, following the pandemic years, to gather an international audience with the theme of Yoga Nidra.  The weeklong retreat offered many themes and practicums on Yoga Nidra along with special meditations guided by Swami Ritavan.

This meditation was adapted from the archive of meditations by Swami Veda Bharati. The practice below is shared to offer the initiates of the Tradition a glimpse into the vast collection of special meditations guided by Swami Veda. If you would like to incorporate this meditation within your daily practice, you are requested to kindly reach out to your mantra initiator and/or the AHYMSIN Spiritual Committee for personal guidance.

Swami Ritavan also shared an audio recording of a guided meditation on “Om-jyoti”, which can be heard here:

OM; Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya…Lead me from darkness to light, lead me from darkness of ignorance to the to enlightenment! Let this become a prayer encompassing your entire heart and mind; an affirmation: jyotiraham, jyotiraham, jyotiraham. I am light, I am light, I am light!

Sit in your meditation posture. Your spine is the central mountain of the Universe. The central pole of the universe. The point from where you and the universe begin and end. Fix your spine – steady, motionless, erect. Bring your awareness to the asana, the seat you’re sitting on. Worshipfully surrender this seat and offer it to guru parampara, to guru lineage – may they come and meditate on this seat.

Your body, a temple of God, constructed of configurations of light. Know it to be thus. Learn to worship in this temple that is made of light – the divine light of divine Consciousness, the emanation of your Atman, your spiritual Self.

Let all your muscles & joints, your neuromuscular system relax so that no tension is blocking the free flow of light.

Established the breath from the seat of prana, at the navel center, with deep diaphragmatic breathing.

Your breath Deepening and Expanding flowing gently, smoothly, unhindered through the entire body.

The whole body breathing from the crown to the adhara and asana, this seat, and from your adhara to the crown, through this entire body.

This space, your body occupies, becoming a configuration of light.

Your breath awareness flowing through this illumined space.

Where now, within that illumined space, a resonance begins silently resounding with Om Jyotihi, Om Jyotihi, Om Jyotihi,

The sound, breath, light, filling this sacred chamber of your being.

‘Om Jyotihi, that Light’, this entire chamber as light and resonance, a single presence of illumination-Jyoti as mantra and breath flowing as one……. keeping to this dharana, moment to moment.

Now, gather this awareness of Jyoti as light and resonance into your field of prana life-force in the nabhi [navel centre], your Manipura chakra.

Within this navel center of consciousness, observe this awakened illumination as mantra-filled breath, breathing through the naval center.

And, now from the navel center to the nasagra [the point where the base of the nose bridge meets the upper lip] and upward to the center between the eyebrows.

This beam of light as mantra and breath flowing from the nabhi chakra, the navel centre to the Ajna centre [eyebrows centre] and back again.

The flow as a beam of light & soundless mantra, the jyoti-mantra ascending and descending as a streak of lightning between the nabhi chakra [navel centre] & the Ajna chakra [eyebrows centre] without a break.

No longer a body with limbs and organs, your consciousness resting in pure awareness, as the flow of this celestial and divine stream. Continue with ajapa-japa [effortless remembrance of the mantra]: OM JYOTI, OM JYOTI, OM JYOTI.

Let this kriya be easy and natural, maintaining the dharana for as long as one may.

May the guru parampara continue to bless you.