“The expansion of one’s sakti, in contrast to its contraction, is both a practice and a state of being. Here, the yogi, directs the prana-sakti outward, through the openings of the senses. That might sound surprising. You might ask, “Isn’t that what people do all the time? Is sensory perception truly a practice that brings us to inner bliss?” It is, but only if this ‘expansion’ of the sakti happens in the right way. That is, only if the yogi perceiving exterior objects is able, at the same time, to anchor his attention on his inner center, the Self. From that perspective, the energy moving outward is seen as identical to the energy vibrating within– even though the yogi may be experiencing an invasion of sounds, smells, and other sensations.

As I’ve discovered on the occasions when this state has opened up within me, my awareness of the hustle and bustle continues; it is, however, now contained within a vast and silent cavern. This is the ‘cave of the heart’ that Gurumayi describes, a space that encompasses both inner and outer or, as she puts it, both heaven and Earth. This extremely esoteric practice, known in Saivism as bhairavi-mudra, is described in a scriptural passage quoted by Kshemaraja in his commentary:

If you project the vision and all the other powers {of the senses) simultaneously everywhere onto their respective objects  by the power of awareness, while remaining firmly established in the center like a pillar of gold, you (will) shine as the One, the foundation of the universe.”

— The Splendor of Recognition: An Exploration of the Pratyabijna-hryadayam, a Text on the Ancient Science of the Soul, Swami Shantananda