A camera shutter is the most important part of a Camera! A camera can capture a fresh view only when the shutter grants it the opportunity. Besides we can end up with a poor image in poor ambient lighting. A camera flash assures sharp and clear images even in such conditions. Therefore, we can take the flash to be the second most important part of a Camera. We can learn some bit about human awareness from the example of a Camera! This understanding makes us understand Bhairav and Bhairavi!
Every human being experiences moments of expanded consciousness. However these are brief moments and they happen from time to time. Every one of these brief moment is like the opening of a camera shutter. Secondly, these experiences come to everyone at different points in life. Some may experience it after a long time. Some may experience it more frequently. For example, one can get it while painting a beautiful picture. Someone else may get it during a pleasant social interaction. But where does the camera analogy come in here?
Camera and Meditative experiences
Ancient texts on consciousness say that higher awareness arises as a lightning. Therefore Human nervous system must be trained to retain the memory of these brief experiences. The memory of such events otherwise becomes useless. They are like a picture captured by a camera in poor lighting conditions.
Ancient Seers named the nervous energy which brings flashes of higher awareness as “Bhairavi”. The expanded state of consciousness which corresponds to this nervous energy is “Bhairav”. The Sanskrit text Vigyan Bhairav records 112 distinct methods by which a human brain is made to experience Bhairav consciousness by bringing esoteric knowledge or Vigyan to the brain.
Meditating in a group acts like a camera flash. Similarly, the presence of a Meditation Master can also act like the camera flash. Consequently, the brain can retain the memory of expanded awareness. Therefore, trying to master the techniques from a book like Vigyan Bhairav is like taking a picture in poor lighting conditions. The authors of Vigyan Bhairav deliberately wrote the important sections in a cryptic manner. This was a way of preventing these methods from becoming like a poorly shot picture.
It takes an expert to explain a text like Vigyan Bhairav. Such an expert must first have the experience described in the text. Only then can they create the experience to another person. Sri Sri Ravishankar has unique abilities. He conducted the “Unveiling Infinity programs around the world in 2018. I was able to attend his program and was able to know the nature of Bhairavi from Vigyan Bhairav text.