Antar Mon

[Guest guest]

Hello Balaji,

 

Antar mon or antar mouna is a kind of meditation that is taught in

the

satyananda school of yoga. I couldn't find anything about it on

the

internet and even in my books it is not referred often. The swamis

that I met in satyananda ashram talked often about antar mon but did

not explain in detail how it is done. I believe there is nothing too

complicated about it, it's a way to develop "awareness"

through "self-

observation". One observes ones thoughts and emotions without

judging

them, he just becomes the observer and allows these thoughts to exist

without interfering with them and without identifying himself with

them.

 

 

The technique of self-observation is a a purely tantrik one and is

used by some magickal systems that derive much of their knowledge

from

tantra, such as the movement of modern Gnosticism. Developing

awareness through self-observation and other methods, is actually one

of the most important aspects of this yoga.

 

 

 

For your information I will quote a text from Swami Sivamurti

Saraswati, acharya of Yoga and establishing member of the European

Yoga Fellowship about Antar Mon ( http://www.satyanandashram.gr ).

 

 

"There are many different meditation techniques, but the one

accented

by Satyananda Yoga is the technique called antar mouna or inner

silence. It is very similar to the Buddhist technique of vipassna,

but

it has been especially modified by our spiritual master- Paramahansa

Satyananda- to suit the modern life, full of mental tensions,

restlessness, desires, dissipations and oscillations. Antar mouna is

a

systematic practice to become increasingly aware, and allow

subconscious thoughts, past conditionings, and pentup emotions to

slowly bubble up to conscious perception, where we can learn to

handle

them and to dispose them. One becomes aware, and witnesses with non-

attachment, the contents of the subconscious mind: long forgotten

memories, fears, hatreds and so forth. Thoughts and feelings, that

have been programmed in the mind from childhood, come to the surface

and are exhausted. The mind becomes progressively tranquil and one-

pointed. Eventually a stage is reached, where thoughts and emotions

from the subconscious tend to be almost insignificant. These are

merely the remnants, the most overpowering thoughts and emotions

having previously been exhausted. These minor thoughts cause little

harm, and are more a nuisance than anything else. At this stage the

thought processes of the mind can be suppressed to induce a state of

thoughtlessness. This can eventually lead to the state of meditation

and experience of ones being, of Consciousness, This experience, more

that anything else in life , will transform ones whole understanding

of existence and ones place in the universe. Antar mouna has six

stages through which on becomes increasingly more aware. This

awareness, this experience of witnessing through the different

states,

makes one realize they are not the mind. That they are something

beyond the body, mind and senses. What, then, is "that"? Who

is "that"

which is witnessing? St Francis of Assisi sums up the yogic

viewpoint,

and the spiritual direction in life, in his maxim, "That which is

looking, is what you are looking for." In yoga this is

Consciousness.