This technique as mentioned in Vigyan Bhairav Tantra text combines focused internal gaze with deliberate sensory deprivation to accelerate the process of enlightenment, leading the practitioner to permanently reside in their highest state.
Sensory Deprivation: The Shanmukhi Mudra
The instruction outlines a two-part practice: an initial concentration leading to a powerful physical seal:
By concentrating on a point between the eyebrows, a light will be seen. Then, with the fingers of the hand, close the seven openings of the senses in the head. The light will gradually dissolve, and one will then permanently reside in their highest state. (Verse 36)
The practice begins similarly to Verse 31, focusing on the Bhrumadya (the point between and above the eyebrows) with closed eyes until an internal light appears.
The core of this technique is the subsequent use of Shanmukhi Mudra (The Six-Door Seal):
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The seven openings of the senses in the head (two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and the mouth) are closed by the fingers.
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Specifically, the forefingers close the eyes, the thumbs close the ears, the middle fingers close the nostrils, and the ring and little fingers close the lips.
The Mechanics of Accelerated Liberation
The Mudra intensifies the internal focus and speeds up the realization process:
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Directing Awareness Inward: Closing the senses blocks out all external sensory input, forcefully directing the practitioner’s awareness “with greater force within,” toward the light already perceived between the eyebrows.
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External Cut Off: The external environment is “completely cut off,” which allows the internal light—the focus of concentration—to “dissolve faster”.
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Breath Suspension: The commentary notes that closing the nostrils would normally cause suffocation, but since the Shanmukhi Mudra is only performed after the internal light appears, the breath is already suspended naturally, making the closure safe.
The Highest State of Permanent Abode
The ultimate goal is to move past the perception of the light (which is still a gross form) and into the formless, ultimate state of the Divine:
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Light Dissolves: As concentration deepens within the sealed senses, the light itself “gradually dissolve[s]”.
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Permanent Residence: When the light dissolves, the practitioner will “permanently reside in their highest state”, which is eternal joy and liberation.
The message is a powerful metaphor: to transcend the temporary nature of external happiness and suffering, one must literally shut the doors of the senses and focus entirely on the internal source of bliss.