Mantra Dhāraṇā · Dhāraṇā 22
यस्य कस्यापि वर्णस्य पूर्वान्तावनुभावयेत् । शून्यया शून्यभूतोऽसौ शून्याकारः पुमान्भवेत् ॥
yasya kasyāpi varṇasya pūrvāntāv anubhāvayet | śūnyayā śūnyabhūto 'sau śūnyākāraḥ pumān bhavet ||
Of whatever letter it may be, experience the before and the after. By the void, having become void, the person takes the form of the void.
Twenty-second dhāraṇā. The most universal of the sound techniques. Yasya kasyāpi varṇasya — of absolutely any letter. You need no sacred mantra nor special syllable. Any sound will do.
Pūrvāntau anubhāvayet — experience (anubhāvayet) the before (pūrva) and after (anta) of that letter. Before the sound arises, what is there? After the sound dies, what remains? The same silence. The same void.
Again the triple formula: śūnyayā śūnyabhūtaḥ śūnyākāraḥ — by the void, made void, with the form of void. The letter is the pretext. The silence surrounding it is the substance. Every word arises from silence and returns to silence. To recognize that silence is to recognize one’s own nature.