Antar Mouna is an ancient tantric meditation technique for the modern mind. It has become a classic meditation practice of the Satyananda Yoga tradition that trains the practitioner in pratyahara (a stage where there is withdrawal of our attention from sense stimuli leading to introversion) and points us in the direction of the next stage known as dharana (focus and concentration).
What Is Antar Mouna?
Antar means inner and mouna means silence. So, antar mouna trains us to reach a state of inner silence. The current state of our mind is very turbulent, perhaps hyperactive, dull or oscillating. There is, in fact, very little quiet or calm generally in our everyday lives, let alone our mind. Our mind is constantly jumping from one subject to another in a state of anxiety and worry over past and future events. It is filled with passions and no end of emotions, thoughts and feelings, which all create ‘inner noise’.
The practice of antar mouna acknowledges this, and works with the premise that we first have to go through and face the ‘inner noise’ before we reach a place of ‘inner quiet’. Thus, antar mouna is a technique to manage the mind and discover the ‘quiet mind’ within.
Origins of Antar Mouna in the Satyananda System
Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati was a great tantric scholar and master. He delved deeply into the tantric philosophical literature and practices, many of which are not published or publicly available as they can easily be misunderstood and misused by the ordinary and unaware mindset. From his studies and research, he formulated the various stages of antar mouna.
One of the main precepts of tantra, which forms the foundation of antar mouna, is that it does not require concentration, but only awareness and observation. This is particularly pertinent for modern day practitioners whose mind is especially dissipated and anxious to start with. In antar mouna, the practitioner is not asked to curb or reduce the mental activity. One is simply asked to take a third-party position and become aware of it, allowing it to express itself. In this way, gradually over time, through the deepening of awareness, the mind is able to release much of its superficial and deep-seated content.
Another main precept of tantra, which is also applied in antar mouna, is not to confront the mind. Throughout the practice we remain in the position of an impartial witness, observing without judgment or immature desire to impose anything different from what the mind is itself expressing.
By abiding with these two fundamental principles, the mind relaxes and becomes more cooperative and balanced.
The Role of Pratyahara in Inner Silence
Antar mouna is classified as a pratyahara technique. On a progressive path of meditation, there are stages, namely: pratyahara (withdrawal of awareness), dharana (focus, concentration), dhyana (meditation, merging with the object of meditation), samadhi (Self-realization). Pratyahara techniques train in moving the awareness from the external world around us to the world inside us. In this way, instead of being constantly preoccupied with the external environment and sense stimuli, we are able to turn our attention inwards and discover what is going on internally in our body and mind. It is a fascinating journey of discovery that, over time, helps us to tame and use the mind as a tool, rather than be dominated and overwhelmed by our physical and mental states.
The Six Stages of Antar Mouna
The six stages of antar mouna are:
1. Awareness of sense perceptions
2. Awareness of spontaneous thought processes in the mind
3. Conscious creation and disposal of thoughts at will
4. Awareness of spontaneous thoughts and their disposal at will
5. Thoughtlessness, a no-thought state
6. Awareness of the psychic symbol
Stage 1 – Awareness of Sense Perceptions
In stage one we learn to witness the effects that sense stimuli and sense impressions have on the mind and how to neutralise responses to external phenomena. We open up to each of the senses in turn (hearing, touch, smell and taste), with the exception of the sense of sight as we keep the eyes closed during the practice. In this first stage we encourage the tendency of the mind to extrovert by observing different sounds in the environment, sensations in the body, smells around us and tastes in the mouth.
When we become more experienced with the extroversion and introversion of the senses, there comes a point when the senses want to introvert by themselves. Finally, we allow them to withdraw, like a tortoise pulls its head and limbs into its shell.
Stage 2 – Awareness of Spontaneous Thought Processes in the Mind
Whereas stage one is concerned with sense perception and stimuli coming from the outside, stage two is concerned with passive observation of the internal thinking processes. In stage two, we impartially witness the spontaneous movements and contents of the mind. With an attitude of passive awareness, we watch the thoughts, memories, reactions, fears, worries, visions and emotions of all kinds that come and go in the mind. This releases a lot of the accumulated tensions gathered over time. It is a very important stage in antar mouna, and it is a stage that we can practise during other times in the day also, not just during a formal mediation session.
Stage 3 – Conscious Creation and Disposal of Thoughts at will
The third stage is the conscious creation of thoughts and disposal of these thoughts at will. We choose a specific thought, and then we choose associated thoughts around it, after which we send it away. We do not allow any other random spontaneous thoughts into the mind. Then we choose another thought and work with that thought in the same way, and we repeat this process as long as we have time. This sounds simple, but it requires a lot of skill. It is important to maintain the witness position as we stir the deeper layers of the mind and unpleasant, painful, frightening content starts to get dislodged and surface.
Stage 4 – Awareness of Spontaneous Thoughts and their Disposal at will
In the fourth stage, we again observe the spontaneous thoughts and movements of the mind, and are on the lookout for strange, unfamiliar or a different quality of thoughts. After stirring the mind up, this stage is very cathartic and brings to our attention even deeper and more subtle thoughts, visions and psychic phenomena. Once we have observed these impressions from the deeper realms of the mind, again we let them go, without clinging in any way. This induces even more thought reduction and mental quiet.
Stage 5 – Thoughtlessness, No-thought State
In stage five, the mind has become so quiet, that the thoughts are few and far between. There is more spaciousness than content.
The aim of stage five is to empty the mind of thought; to experience the mind beyond thought and become aware of the inner silence. One remains vigilant and as soon as a thought appears in whatever shape or form, it is immediately rejected. It is the aim of this stage to negate any thought or vision that comes. The only thought that you are allowed to have is, ‘I will not think’. Ideally, you watch a blank mind.
This is certainly not easy for many reasons. First and foremost, because there is a tendency to fall asleep when the mind is so empty and relaxed. This stage of thoughtlessness leads to the final stage of antar mouna.
Stage 6 – Awareness of the Psychic Symbol
The sixth stage of antar mouna is the visualisation or the awareness of one’s psychic symbol.
In the beginning, the symbol may not be necessary, but it becomes essential when we move into the subconscious and unconscious states of the mind while staying awake. It is necessary to have a point of reference when we go into the mind, otherwise it is like going into an unchartered area. We can get lost in a dream world or fall into deep unconscious sleep. The aim here is to stay awake in the subconscious state, the dreaming state, and the deep sleep state, and to expand beyond the silence of the mind. For this we need a psychic symbol.
When we actually do reach the sixth stage of the antar mouna practice, the symbol will appear regularly. It will just appear brightly in chidakash (the space in front of the closed eyes). If, however, the mind is not ready, it will not come. You will not be able to see it, even if you spend an hour trying.
Benefits of Antar Mouna
Mastering antar mouna brings many and varied benefits. At each stage of the practice, you will discover these benefits for yourself.
The benefits of the practice reach far into our everyday experiences and we become more unaffected, non-attached and immune to all types of sensorial input. It becomes our choice whether to engage in a sensorial input or not.
In addition, when the mind becomes quiet, it becomes extremely powerful. Without the internal noise and conflicts, you can direct the mind like a laser and mentally pierce any object. Anything you want to understand in this world and the next, can be understood with a quiet mind.
When the mind is quiet, it is the perfect receptor of consciousness, with qualities of wisdom, bliss, truth and love. At the moment, our mind is an imperfect receptor due to all the inner noise and interference, but when it becomes quiet, it is transformed into a perfect instrument of the consciousness. Life, then, becomes a spontaneous expression of joy and light and all things good.
Antar Mouna as a Foundation for Meditation
Antar mouna is considered to be one of the foundational practices of yoga. You cannot practice yoga or experience any form of relaxation, concentration or meditation without having inner silence. It is a direct method to approach and manage the mind in a non-aggressive, non-confrontational and non-harmful way.
A Tool for Modern Stress and Mental Fatigue
Antar mouna increases our resistance to external disturbances and creates immunity towards events and people’s behaviour beyond our control. It enables us to uncover and perceive subconscious thoughts and pent-up emotions. These may include images, fears, resentments or a range of long forgotten memories. As they come to the surface they are released consciously and are exhausted. All the energy that was used to keep this material suppressed and under the radar, is now liberated and can be used in a more constructive and creative way.
How does Antar Mouna Transform our Experience?
According to yoga, there is a benevolent force, which is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent - pure love, intelligence and truth. In yoga it is called ‘Consciousness’ and is beyond the mind, but it expresses itself through the mind. This is what we need to try to remember and comprehend on an everyday level.
Through antar mouna meditation, and other similar yogic practices, we progressively purify the layers of the mind so that this Consciousness becomes a clearer and more vivid experience, leading to progressively deeper realizations of the Self.
To practice beginner's and advanced antar mouna meditation, you can visit the Satyam Yoga Prasad app. below:
https://www.satyamyogaprasad.net/audio/audioPractices