अन्तर् मौन
Antar Mauna — Inner Silence
antar = inner, mauna = silence — the silence behind thought
Stop fighting thoughts — sit back and watch them arrive, perform, and leave on their own.
In the simplest words
Sit quietly and let your thoughts come like cars on a road — you just watch them from the footpath. Don't chase any car, don't push any away. After a while the road gets quieter all by itself.
What it is
Most beginners believe meditation means stopping thought, and lose the fight in a minute. Antar mauna — systematised by Swami Satyananda from older tantric practice — begins from surrender: first attend deliberately to outer sounds; then let thoughts come freely and simply watch them like street traffic from a balcony; then, as the watching steadies, thoughts thin on their own, and stray moments of true silence appear between them. The stages matter less than the stance: everything in the mind is allowed, and none of it is you. It is the tradition's kindest answer to 'I can't meditate, I think too much.'
Where it comes from: Tantric antar mauna, systematised by Swami Satyananda Saraswati (Bihar School of Yoga).
Before you practise — health first
With significant trauma, grief or depression, open-field watching can surface heavy material — keep sessions short, eyes half-open if needed, ground with the breath, and work alongside a professional you trust. Distress is a signal to stop and rest, not to push through.
How to practise
Sit steady, eyes closed; spend two minutes only listening — every sound welcomed, none followed.
Turn inward and give thoughts open permission: 'come, all of you.'
Watch each thought arrive, play and dissolve — a spectator, never the actor.
If one hooks you and carries you off, note 'thinking' kindly and step back to the balcony.
When gaps of quiet appear, rest in them without grabbing; end with three slow breaths.
Practise now
Practice timer
Finished sessions are added to your sadhana log — stored only on this device.
When & how long
Ten to twenty minutes, after some pranayama — the breath-work first makes the watching far easier.
What it is kept for
The 'too many thoughts' meditator; unhooking from mental loops; the stage between breath practices and true dhyana.