About Third-Eye Sensations

Dear Lokesh,

These sensations could possibly be due to the concentration of energy in the third eye, also called the spiritual eye.  You may be starting to sense the spiritual eye; however, you should NOT be experiencing any pain or tension. A slight pressure between the eyebrows during meditation is okay.  Sensing the spiritual eye is what should be happening and is a sign that you are concentrating as you should be, as long as there is no tension, and the area between the eyebrows is relaxed. Let’s explore the possibilities of why you are feeling tension and something to try if need be.

Shambhavi Mudra

I had to look up the practice of shambhavi mudra because this term is not used in the meditation teachings as brought by Paramhansa Yogananda, whose teachings we follow at Ananda. As I understand it, the technique involves bringing attention to the point between the eyebrows, but it is done with some degree of tension.

The instructions I found online were: “Roll both eyes upwards and try to gaze at the eyebrow center. When you do this, you will be able to see the two eyebrows as two curved lines meeting at the center. It forms a kind of V-shaped line with a dip at the center. Concentrate the eyes on this dip in the lower center region of the V-shaped line. Maintain this position for as long as you can. Initially, the eye muscles will start to pain after a few seconds or within minutes. Relax the eyes and bring it back to the normal position. Rest for some time and try again. With practice, one can maintain this gaze for a longer period of time.” I wonder if this describes the technique you are using.

Ananda Meditation and Focusing on the Third Eye during Meditation

Yogananda taught concentration at the point between the eyebrows — referred to as the Krishna or Christ Consciousness center or the spiritual eye. It is a central aspect of our meditation practice. But the concentration is done without tension. The eyes are gently uplifted as if gazing at a distant mountain peak.

A way to learn this is to hold your right arm out in front of you with your thumb pointing upward. Then lift the arm so that the thumb is level with the top of your head. Gaze at your thumbnail. Your eyes should now be gently uplifted. Close your eyes and keep this gently uplifted gaze. You should never feel any pain. If you do, the eyes are turned up too far. If you feel pressure between the eyebrows during meditation, you might be furrowing your eyebrows as you concentrate. Keep the forehead muscles relaxed. Your difficulty during the day may be because you now have an unconscious habit of keeping your forehead muscles tense and your eyebrows furrowed. This can give you a headache.

If you are already keeping your muscles relaxed and void of tension, you may actually be perceiving a change in your consciousness since you have practiced keeping your gaze fixed on the spiritual eye consistently for some time now.

A consistent practice of focusing on the point between the eyebrows is one of the goals of deep meditation and living everyday life. This is because we, through our meditation practice, are seeking access to higher states of awareness called superconsciousness.

The uplifted eye gaze aims to help us access these higher states of awareness. When we enter higher states of consciousness, our eyes will naturally uplift. By uplifting our eyes as part of our meditation practice, it supports our effort to enter those higher states.

You might be interested in learning the basic meditation technique that Yogananda taught, called Hong-Sau meditation, which includes concentrating on the spiritual eye. You can learn it for free at www.ananda.org/meditation/meditation-mini-course/.

Many Blessings,
Nayaswami Mukti

Updated by Ananda Communications May, 2023