Jyoti — Teachings on Inner Radiance & the Practice of Trataka
By Anna Caldwell - Yoga, Sound Healing & Meditation Online and Mallorca, Spain
The word jyoti appears throughout the oldest layers of Indian sacred literature: the Rig Veda, the Upanishads and the tantric texts. It s significance, though not a direct translation can mean flame, radiance and divine light. Jyoti signifies something very specific, in that it refers to light that lives within the human being and human consciousness rather than external light like a flame or the sun. It is light as the very nature of consciousness itself.
The Chandogya Upanishad speaks of a light that shines beyond the heavens, beyond everything and then says: "This same light shines within you." Of course, at the time, that was considered a radical teaching: that divinity is not something that lives outside of us, but is the very awareness that thinks, observes and is reading these words right now.
In Sanskrit philosophy, pure consciousness is called chit and is described as inherently self-luminous (svayamprakasha). This consciousness does not need another light to be seen because it is the light by which everything else is known. When you see a colour, hear a sound, feel an emotion, we can ask ourselves what is the knowing quality behind all of that? That silent witnessing presence is jyoti.
The tradition doesn't say the light is weak, broken or absent at all. Far more poetic, beautiful and optimistic, this tradition says that our light can become covered or hidden, like a flame inside a lantern whose glass has become dusty and smudged. The coverings are called kleshas, or, natural condensations of forgetting, the way we gradually mistake the costume for the self. The entire arc of yoga is essentially one movement: the patient, devoted clearing of the glass.
It is light as the very nature of consciousness itself.
To Practice Trataka Meditation:
Trataka is one of the classical practices of Hatha Yoga. The word means to gaze or to look steadily. Traditionally it is practiced with a candle flame and it is can be of the most direct embodiments of the Jyoti teaching. You begin with the outer light as an object of focus, and gradually the practice turns inward, until the flame you are gazing at and the awareness you are gazing with begin to feel like the same thing.
It is a practice of one-pointed attention (dharana), considered in the yogic tradition to be essential preparation for deeper meditative states. By training the mind to rest without wandering, we begin to experience the natural stillness that underlies our ordinary restless thinking.
To practice:
Find a comfortable seated position in a darkened room. Place a lit candle at eye level, about an arm's length away. Allow your gaze to soften and settle on the flame … not staring hard, but resting. Let the flame fill your attention gently.
Stay with the outer flame for two to three minutes, allowing thoughts to settle without forcing them away. When you feel ready, softly close your eyes. You will see the afterimage of the flame on the inside of your eyelids — hold it there. Let it glow. When it begins to fade, open your eyes and return to the candle, then close again.
Do this three to five times.
To close, keep your eyes shut and bring your awareness to the center of your chest. Imagine the same small flame burning there steady, quiet, untouched by anything. Rest here for as long as you like.
There is a beautiful image in the Upanishads of a pot of water left outside on a clear night. The moon is reflected in the water. If the water is disturbed, the reflection is broken and fragmented. But as the water stills, the reflection clarifies, until the moon appears whole and luminous. The practice of yoga (the breath, the movement, the sound, the flame) is simply the stilling of the water.
On June 12th, 2026 I will be hosting “Inner Illumination: Kundalini Yoga & Sound Bath, reflecting on the teachings of inner light at Mountain Wellness Deia. Sign up here for your spot here in Mallorca
