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Just prior to the threshold of Tranquility, and sometimes in an overlap of early stages and sometimes indistinguishable is a preliminary or early stage called Laya. Laya is a mental state of quietude easily slipped into that occurs usually in the course of spiritual practice. The experience is temporary as the arrest of thoughts return the moment the pressure is released. The stillness comes and goes. The experience is pleasant and can be sought about by 'deep concentration' and/or breath regulation. It happens, therefore, with one's own volition. It can be repeated by the practitioner and it can also equally be dropped if it is considerd unnecessary or obstructive to further progress. 'Entering into Laya' can be a clear sign of one's progress --- the danger lies in mistaking it for the final goal of spiritual practice and being thus deceived. See also Gedo.

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Manonasa And Manolaya
Manolaya is a temporary absorption of the mind in the object of meditation. When you meditate on the form of Bhagavan Sri Krishna, the mind becomes absorbed in the form of Bhagavan Sri Krishna temporarily.

Manolaya takes place during sleep. The mind gets involved into its cause, the Mula Avidya.

Manolaya is not sufficient for attainment of Jnana. In Manolaya, the mind is prone to revive. Manolaya cannot save you from bondage. Manolaya cannot give you Mukti. It is only Manonasa (annihilation of the lower mind) that can give you liberation. In Manonasa, the mind revives not and is dead. Manonasa is brought about by Brahma-Jnana.

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Thus we are left with two courses. Firstly bring the Prana under control through various arduous Yogic processes, and then to control the mind and withdraw it from external objects and fix it on the Self. Secondly we can try to annihilate the mind through effecting Mano-laya by finding such a higher powerful principle towards which mind will naturally run and into which it will merge itself thus entering into a state of Laya. The sages found that Mano-Laya followed by Mano-Nasa was a safer means to attain Self-realisation than the arduous process of controlling the mind and culturing it which is always attended by the danger of the mind jumping into the old grooves of Vasanas at any moment.

In the course of further practical investigation the Sages and Seers found that Sound had the power to attract the mind and absorb it, so to say.

Thus Mano-Laya and Mano-Nasa through Nada Yoga (union or merger into Sound) was found to be an effective and safe means of Self-realisation.
...
Bear in mind that Mano-Laya is not the goal but that Mano-Nasa and Self-realisation is the goal.

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Extract from : Guru Vachaka Kovai, (The Garland of the Guru’s Sayings) by Muruganar :-

"Mano-laya is a state in which the mind knows no objects, and it is of two kinds – sleep and kevala-nirvikalpa-samadhi. In sleep the mind gets no light from Self, and in kevala-nirvikalpa-samadhi, though the mind gets light form Self, it remains merely as the ‘I’-thought, and the vasanas are neither allowed to function, nor are they destroyed. When one wakes up from either kind of mano-laya, the vasanas start functioning as before, and so no progress is made in laya, however long one may remain in it. Therefore it is said that it is not sufficient to stop with mano-laya, even if it is kevala-nirvikalpa- samadhi. Laya results because the mind is restrained from dwelling upon external sense-objects, but though the mind is not wandering and is therefore peaceful in this state, one cannot progress further."

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how Bhagavan helped a devotee out of mano-laya
Sri Sankarananda, a devotee of Sri Bhagavan, was
employed in Madras in the Postal Department. As
a result of practising mantra japa for a long time, he
attained mano-laya, i.e. stillness of mind. He lost
interest in all mundane things and he could no more
attend to his duties either in the office or at home. He
was all time in laya samadhi. It was at this juncture that
he came to Bhagavan, having taken six months leave.
He sat in the old hall with Bhagavan and soon lost all
outer consciousness. Even after the lunch bell was
given he sat unmoved. Bhagavan brought him back to
consciousness by giving a mild push with His foot and
took him to the dining hall.

Since mano laya samadhi would not lead one to the
ultimate Truth, Bhagavan asked Sri Kunju Swami, Sri
Visvanatha Swami and others to take Sankarananda to
the temple in the morning, to Samudram lake in the
evening and engage him in one way or another throughout
the daytime, thus preventhing him from relapsing into laya.
For many days this process of keeping him awake in the
day time continued till he was overpowered by sleep.
After some time, by the Grace of Sri Bhagavan, Sankarananda
became normal. At the end of his leave he returned home to
continue life in the normal way and also earned a promotion.

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Inner silence here, as I understand it, is having complete awareness of a profound silence inside. It's not complicated. Over analyzing and worrying won't help.
Only consistent meditation, twice a day, and short times as recommended in the lessons and books.

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"Don't blindly believe what I say. Don't believe me because others convince you of my words. Don't believe anything you see, read, or hear from others, whether of authority, religious teachers or texts. Don't rely on logic alone, nor speculation. Don't infer or be deceived by appearances. Find out for yourself what is true and virtuous."

- The Buddha

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Originally posted by Etherfish

You are worried about the unscrupulous, and yet you would believe mantras have no religious or spiritual value because one medical doctor says so? Hmmm

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Now, to bring the sushumna force into power, listen to both tones simultaneously. It may take you about five minutes to hear both tones at the same time. Next, follow both tonal vibrations from the ears into the center of the cranium, where they will meet and blend into a slightly different sound, as two notes, say, a "C" and an "E," blend into a chord. The energy of the nadis is then flowing in a circle, and you will enter the golden yellow light of the sushumna current. Play with this light and bask in its radiance, for in it is your bloom. The unfoldment progresses from a golden yellow to a clear white light. Should you see a blue light, know that you are in the pingala current. If you see a pink light, that is the color of the ida. Just disregard them and seek for the white light in the tone of the combined currents until finally you do not hear the tone anymore and you burst into the clear white light. Thus you enter savikalpa samadhi -- samadhi with seed, or consciousness, which is the culmination of this particular practice of contemplation.

After doing this for a period of time, you will find that you lose interest in the exterior world. It will seem transparent and unreal to you. When this happens, you have to learn to bring your consciousness back through meditation, deliberately into the processes of inner knowing and thought, and back into the exterior world through concentration. It requires a deliberate concentration then to make the exterior world seem real again to you.

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Would you believe it if a religious or spiritual person wrote a book saying he did a test and a certain medical procedure has no value, and therefore shouldn't be used?

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Meditation isn't something you shop around for like a new car.

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it isn't something you can understand from an intellectual perspective.

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Then after consistent, twice a day meditation over months or years, step back and see how things have changed, and if you are doing the right thing. You have to decide for yourself, because everyone is different.

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