Whenever we pray, think of God, undertake an internal healing procedure like meditation, or even when we make love or kiss someone, we automatically close our eyes. It is a Vedic saying that the soul resides in the heart and all the feelings are felt at the level of heart.
Most learning procedures in meditation involves sitting in an erect posture, closing the eyes, withdrawing from the world and concentrating on the object of concentration. Yoga Sutra of Patanjali describes pratihara (withdrawal of senses) as one of the seven limbs of yoga: Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratihara, Dharma, Dhyana and Samadhi.
After Pranayama, one needs to withdraw from the world and the senses, and then begin dhyana on the object of concentration. The process of pratihara becomes easy and is initiated with the closing of the eyes. The inward journey starts with the detachment of the body from the external world and in yogic language, it is called Kayotsarga, the first step of meditation.
Even when the process of hypnosis is begun, the subject is made to lie down, look at the ceiling and withdraw from the world. The procedure involves asking the person to gently roll up his eyes until he goes into a trance. Rolling of the eyes upwards has the same physiological significance as closing the eyes.
When we close our eyes, there is a suppression of the sympathetic nervous system and activation of parasympathetic nervous system. The blood pressure and pulse rate reduce and skin resistance goes up. A person goes into a progressive phase of internal and muscular relaxation. The inward journey is a journey towards restful alertness where the body is rested yet the consciousness is alert. The intention is to relax the body and then the attention is focused on the object of concentration. Most visualization and meditation techniques involve closing of the eyes.
By detaching from the external stimuli, the activities of the five senses are suppressed and one’s awareness shifts from a disturbed to an undisturbed state of consciousness. This inner journey helps in producing a state of Ritam, Bhara, Pragya where the inner vibrations of the body are in symphony with the vibrations of the nature.
People who visit Vaishno Devi enter the cave and as soon as they have a darshan of Maa Vaishno Devi, they close their eyes. This is natural and instant. Even though Maa Vaishno Devi cannot be felt in the murti, her presence is felt in the heart and that can only be felt by closing the eyes.
Most yogic techniques like Shavasana, yoga nidra, body-mind relaxation, progressive muscular relaxation, hypnosis involves closing the eyes in the very first step. A daytime nap is also incomplete without closing the eyes. A ShokSabha or a two minutes’ silence for remembering someone also require the eyes to be closed. When we think of someone or try to remember something, we automatically close the eyes and explore our memories. To recall something, one has to withdraw from the external world through its five senses.
Only advanced yogis or rishis acquire the power where with open eyes they are in a state of Ritam, Bhara, Pragya. These yogic powers are acquired by practicing advanced sutra meditation for hours, days and years. Lord Shiva is often portrayed in a meditative pose sitting on Kailash Parvat with his eyes semi opened. But for ordinary persons like us where the aim is to be in that phase for only twenty minutes twice in a day, the best is to close our eyes as the first step in meditation.
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