Outer Space (Verse 128)¶

1. Exercise Title & Verse¶

Outer Space (Dhāraṇā 105, Verse 128)

2. Sanskrit (IAST)¶

nitye nirāśraye śūnye vyāpake kalanojjhite / bāhyākāśe manaḥ kṛtvā nirākāśaṃ samāviśet // 128 //

3. English (Literal)¶

Fixing the mind on the external space—which is eternal, without support, void, all-pervading, and free of limitation—one enters into non-space.

4. Main Commentary (Bhāṣya)¶

Padārtha. Bāhyākāśe is the external space or outer sky. Nitye means eternal; the space is unaffected by the events that happen within it. Nirāśraye means supportless, resting on nothing else. Śūnye means void or empty. Vyāpake means all-pervading or omnipresent. Kalanojjhite means free from kalana—limitation, differentiated perception, or the dividing activity of the mind. Manaḥ kṛtvā means fixing the mind or placing attention there. Nirākāśaṃ means non-space, absence of space, or the supreme void that transcends physical spatiality. Samāviśet means one enters, dissolves, or becomes completely absorbed.

Anvaya. The sentence unfolds as: By fixing the mind on the external space—which is eternal, supportless, void, all-pervading, and free of limitation—one becomes completely absorbed into the supreme non-space.

Tatparya. The previous verse contemplated the void directly as ungraspable reality. This verse adds a practical concession: if the supportless void is still too subtle, begin with the outer sky. The point is not to admire the heavens as scenery, but to take the visible expanse of space as a doorway into that which is beyond spatiality altogether. External space appears empty, unsupported, and undivided; by steadying the mind there, the habit of carving reality into objects weakens. Then bāhyākāśa gives way to nirākāśa - not a larger sky, but the non-spatial ground of consciousness that underlies even emptiness.

Sādhana. Sit where the open sky can be seen without obstruction. Do not chase clouds, birds, color, or movement. Place the mind on space itself: unsupported, open, and indifferent to whatever passes through it. Remain there until the visible sky is no longer functioning as an object and only spaciousness remains. At that point, do not manufacture an inner visualization or commentary about "vastness." Let the support fade. When the mind ceases to divide and name, entry is made into nirākāśa, the non-spatial reality to which outer space was only the threshold.

5. Jaideva Singh — The Logical¶

Since it is not easy to concentrate on the abstract void, the aspirant is advised to concentrate first on the vast, illimitable external space (kham or ākāśa). This endless external expanse of vacuity has generally been held to be the symbol of the void, of Brahman, of purity and immensity. Through prolonged concentration on this boundless external space, one acquires the capacity to concentrate on the supportless, objectless reality. After this, one can concentrate with facility on the inner, met-empirical Self (ātman). In the previous verse, Bhairava was designated as śūnya (the void). Here, He is designated as nirākāśa, transcending all void (atiśūnya), indicating the great reality (mahāsattā) that is the very foundation of the void itself.

6. Swami Lakshmanjoo — The Lineage¶

Begin by meditating upon the ether, the bāhyākāśa, the blueish-ness of the sky. In fact, this blueish-ness does not exist; you feel it, but it is just nothingness. It is eternal (nitye), it will not be affected by what passes through it. It is supportless (nirāśraye), void (śūnye), all-pervading (vyāpake), and there is nothing to be perceived in it (kalanojjhite). When you dive deep into the state of this bāhyākāśa, a time will come when you get entry into the supreme voidness of God consciousness (nirākāśa). At the time of entering that supreme void, it is the śāmbhava state. Until then, it is śāktopāya because there is still a support—the blueish-ness of the sky. But that blueish-ness also fades when you gain entry into the supreme void.

7. Mark Dyczkowski & Christopher Wallis — Context & Philology¶

Neither author provides published verse-specific commentary here beyond translation support. Wallis renders the culmination as becoming "completely immersed in empty fullness," while Dyczkowski translates it as absorption into the transcendent absence of space. Their value here is philological rather than interpretive: both confirm that the verse moves from contemplation of outer space to entry into a reality that is beyond space itself.

8. Daniel Odier — The Somatic Grounding¶

Odier’s translation instructs the practitioner to "contemplate empty space" to "attain to nonperception, nondistinction, the elusive." The physical practice is simply resting the gaze in the empty expanse. It is not an abstract visualization; it requires looking into actual space until the distinction between "being and not-being" dissolves and one reaches "nonspace."

9. Paul Reps — The "Sudden Hit"¶

Enter space, supportless, eternal, still.

(Note: The official translation concordance verifies this line as mapping to Verse 128, though some editions of Reps's text place it at a different numerical offset).

10. Upāya Type¶

Śāktopāya transitioning to Śāmbhavopāya. Lakshmanjoo is explicit: as long as the practitioner is using the blueish-ness of the physical sky as a support, the practice is Śāktopāya. When that support fades and one enters the supreme void of God consciousness (nirākāśa), it becomes the Śāmbhavopāya state. Singh agrees that the dhāraṇā originates as Śāktopāya.

11. Resonance Check (Adhikāra)¶

This practice is ideal for the visually-oriented practitioner who feels confined or agitated by closed-eye internal concentration. It serves those who need the tangible immensity of nature to help the mind release its grip on small, contracted thoughts.

12. The "What Else?" — The Pitfall¶

The trap is allowing the gaze to land on objects. If you look at the sky but end up following the movement of a bird, a cloud, or an airplane, you are no longer resting in bāhyākāśa (space); you have returned to kalana (differentiated perception). The instruction is to concentrate on the space itself, not the things passing through it.

13. Verse-Specific Glossary¶

bāhyākāśa: the external space, the physical sky or outer ether used as a preliminary support.
nirākāśa: non-space, absence of space; the supreme, objectless void of consciousness that transcends physical spatiality.
kalana: limitation, differentiated perception, or the mind's activity of dividing reality into discrete objects.
śūnya: the void or emptiness; here, used both for the external vacuity of the sky and the inner reality of consciousness.