Recently, I was taking an exercise for a few devotees. I asked them to write about their relationship with Krishna and how they wish to improve it. One devotee mentioned that he closes his eyes while praying rather than looking at the Lord. He felt it was some form of mental speculation to close the eyes instead of actually seeing the Lord.
Many times, we might also have pondered this question: Should I close my eyes or keep them open while praying?
Shubha Vilas Prabhu has written a book titled “Open-Eyed Meditations.” Some of us may prefer ‘closed-eyed meditation!’ Which is the right way?
Here are some thoughts:
Open-Eyed Meditation:
It appears a bit out of place to imagine that devotees are praying with closed eyes when the Supreme Lord is standing in front of them. When Dhruva prays to Prśnigarbha, Prahlāda to Nṛsiṁhadeva, and Arjuna to Krishna, they are praying with their eyes wide open, glancing at the beautiful form of the Supreme Lord.
It is mentioned in SB 7.9.7: “Prahlāda Mahārāja fixed his mind and sight upon Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva with full attention in complete trance. With a fixed mind, he began to offer prayers in love with a faltering voice.”
I thought about this: when we are speaking to someone, we won’t ever close our eyes in front of them. We speak while looking at them.
Why not do the same while praying to Krishna?
Here’s what Śrīla Prabhupāda says during a morning walk:
Morning Walk, Sept 26, 1975 – Ahmedabad
Indian man (3): Now, actually, when you pray God actually, do you open your eyes or do you close your eyes? What do you do?
Indian man (2): We close our eyes. We also…
Indian man (3): Why do you close the eyes?
Prabhupāda: No, we don’t close. We are going to see God in the temple, so we don’t close. You close, and therefore you cannot understand. We see in eye to eye. [laughter]
Closed-Eyed Meditation:
What if we are accustomed to keeping our eyes closed?
Generally, I keep my eyes closed most of the times during Śikṣāṣṭakam prayers, Maṅgala-ārati and other āratis. Is there any room for closed-eyed meditation in bhakti?
Yes, there is. Dhruva Maharaja had the darsana of the Supreme Lord both with open eyes and closed eyes. It is mentioned, “As soon as he opened his eyes he saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead personally present, just as he had been seeing the Lord in his heart.” SB 4.9.2
When we are not exclusively taking darśana of the Lord, we can have our eyes closed while praying. Smaranam and vadanam can be performed even with closed eyes.
Here’s what Mukunda Mahārāja recalls when he first saw Śrīla Prabhupāda:
“His eyes were closed, and he softly chanted a simple Sanskrit prayer while playing a hand drum. The small audience joined in at intervals, in call-and-response fashion. A few played hand cymbals, which accounted for the bell-like sounds I’d heard. Fascinated, I sat down quietly at the back, tried to participate in the chanting, and waited.”
Likewise, when Prabhupāda chanted in Tompkins Square Park, he had his eyes tightly closed.
Smaranam depends greatly on what we have already heard. When our sadhana is strong, divine thoughts will naturally arise from within. In such moments, closing our eyes can help us come closer to Krishna. At the same time, we don’t need to concoct Krishna’s form when the eyes are closed. It’s just that we wish to focus more on praying than on seeing. With closed eyes, we can remember the holy places we have visited, or some wonderful pastimes of the Supreme Lord, or we can offer our heartfelt prayers and express our longings with total absorption.
Also, if we are getting distracted by other things in the midst of our darśana and prayers, closed-eyed meditation may be better. The Lord is present both within and without. Understanding this is such a big relief for closed-eyed meditators !
Disturbed Meditation:
But if both inside and outside we see only garbage, then whatever we do becomes a problem. In such a case, we must deeply yearn for Krishna’s grace, and take the path of less resistance – whichever option offers fewer distractions!
For example, I am sitting amongst devotees for chanting, and I’m turning repeatedly to thoughts other than Krishna, of some past happenings, of sense gratification and imagining useless, negative or dirty things with closed eyes—then better to keep eyes open. Similarly, if I am in the midst of overwhelming distractions, then it’s best to close the eyes and chant or pray.
Undisturbed Meditation:
For pure devotees, distractions do not exist. Krishna’s vision is both within and without. It doesn’t matter whether their eyes are open or closed – bahir nṛsiṁho hṛdaye nṛsiṁhaḥ.
Below is another excerpt from a morning walk:
Dec 23, 1975 – Bombay
Indian man (3): I see. We cannot do with the closed eyes.
Prabhupāda: Hmm?
Indian man (3): With open eyes, why we cannot do the prayers and this bhakti-yoga? What is the…
Prabhupāda: For the disturbed mind. Those who are settled up, they can see always, open or closed.
premānjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is Śyāmasundara, Kṛṣṇa Himself with inconceivable innumerable attributes, whom the pure devotees see in their heart of hearts with the eye of devotion tinged with the salve of love. [Bs 5.38].
Conclusion: Absorption!
Whichever option helps us to be absorbed, at whatever time, place, or circumstance, we must go ahead with it. After all, Krishna is bhāva-grāhī!
And bhāva doesn’t depend upon the state of our eyes; it depends on the state of our heart!
Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura was blind, but he had the highest vision of Krishna.
Duryodhana had a perfect eyesight, but he only offended Krishna upon seeing Him!
PS: While reading Brhad Bhagavatamrta, came across this: Brhad Bhagavatamrta states, “When some devotees, even while seeing Krishna in person, close their eyes and appear to withdraw into their minds, this may seem to be meditation, but in fact it is not. Rather, it is a transformation brought on by excessive joy, like the trembling and other signs of ecstasy in devotees in pure love.” (2.3.182)
