Samadhi is
natural state of equipoise. Samadhi
is the ultimate aim of yoga. When, while sitting in meditation, you become
unconscious of yourself and the act of meditation itself, that state is called Samadhi.
Samadhi is
a divine state of consciousness. Samadhi means "to bring together
to merge". Once Dharana has occurred, meditation and Samadhi
may follow. It has been explained as a non-dualistic state of consciousness in
which the perception of the experiencing subject becomes one with the
experienced object and in which the mind becomes still, one-pointed or
concentrated while the person remains wide awake. Hence, Samadhi is union
with the Divine. It refers to an abiding in which mind becomes very still but
does not merge with the object of attention and is, thus, able to watch and
gain insight into the changing flow of experience. The final step in the
eight-fold path of yoga is the attainment of Samadhi.
In
the condition of Samadhi, the body and senses are at peace as if asleep
yet the ability of mind and reasons are attentive as if awake. One goes beyond
consciousness. During Samadhi, we understand what it is to be an
identity without differences and how an enlightened soul can enjoy pure
awareness of this pure identity. The conscious mind drops back into that
unconsciousness from which it first emerged. There is an end to the separation
that is formed by the "I" and "mine" of our misleading
perceptions of reality. The mind does not differentiate between self and
non-self or between the object contemplated and the process of contemplation.
The mind and the intellect have come to a close and there is just the
experience of consciousness, reality, unimaginable and unexplainable ecstasy.
The
attainment of Samadhi is a hard task. Entering Samadhi primarily
takes great determination and maintaining it takes even more will. The opening
stages of Samadhi (laya and Savikalpa Samadhi) are
only provisional. Normal levels of meditation can be held involuntarily, as in
"being in the state of meditation" rather than obviously
"meditating". The ability to obtain positive results from meditation
is much easier said than done. Samadhi is the only stable reality. All
else is ever-changing and does not bring eternal peace or contentment.
Among
the minor Samadhis, Savikalpa Samadhi turns out to be the uppermost.
Ahead of savikalpa comes Nirvikalpa Samadhi, but there is
a great gap between these two. They are two drastically different Samadhis.
Again, there is something even beyond Nirvikalpa Samadhi called Sahaja
Samadhi. Savikalpa is a crossing point of trans-meditation and
higher awareness state — Asamprajñata. The state is so named because
mind preserves its consciousness that is why in Savikalpa Samadhi one
can experience guessing, thought, bliss and self-awareness. In Savikalpa
Samadhi, for a short period of time you misplace all human consciousness.
In this form, the conception of time and space is on the whole poles apart. For
an hour or two hours, you are fully in another world. When you are in Savikalpa
Samadhi, you see that almost everything is done; you have nothing to do. In
Savikalpa Samadhi, there are thoughts and ideas coming from different
places but they do not influence you. While you are meditating, you remain
composed and your inner being functions in a dynamic and confident way. From Savikalpa
Samadhi, everyone has to revisit to ordinary consciousness. Even in Savikalpa
Samadhi, there are grades. Some aspirants reach the highest grade while
less aspiring seekers reach a lower step of the ladder where everything is not as
lucid and dramatic as on the highest level. Asamprajñata is a step
forward from Savikalpa. According to Patañjali, Asamprajñata is
higher awareness position with non-existence of gross awareness.
Nirvikalpa or Sanjeevan
is the highest uplifting state of consciousness. Nirvikalpa Samadhi is
the highest Samadhi. It lasts for a few hours or a few days and then one
has to come down. Very often, one fails to remember his own name and age. One
cannot speak or think accurately. But through continued practice, one becomes
able to come down progressively from Nirvikalpa Samadhi and directly
function in a normal manner. In this state, there is no longer mind, duality, a
subject-object attachment or experience. Upon entering Nirvikalpa Samadhi,
the discrepancies we saw before have faded and we can see everything as one. In
this state, only pure awareness remains and nothing detracts from
comprehensiveness and perfection. When you are a little higher, when you have
turned out to be one with the soul in Nirvikalpa Samadhi, there will be
no ideas or thoughts at all. The realization of Nirvikalpa Samadhi can
never be satisfactorily expressed. In Nirvikalpa Samadhi, there is no
mind; there is only immeasurable peace and bliss. In Nirvikalpa Samadhi,
there is unlimited bliss. When you enter into Nirvikalpa Samadhi, still,
you not only be aware of bliss, but essentially grow into that bliss. There you
enjoy an utterly divine all-pervading ecstasy. When you are in Nirvikalpa
Samadhi, you see the universe as a tiny dot in the interior of your huge
mind. Staying in Nirvikalpa Samadhi is natural but even from this
condition one must ultimately return to ego-consciousness. Or else this highest
level of Samadhi leads to Nirvana,
which means total unity, the logical end of individual identity and also death
of the body. Usually, when one enters into Nirvikalpa Samadhi, one does
not want to rush back into the world again. If one stays there for eighteen or
twenty-one days, there is every chance that the soul will go away from the body
forever. One cannot function in the world while in that condition of
consciousness; it is simply not possible. But there is a divine privilege. If
the Supreme wants a particular soul to work here on earth, even after
twenty-one or twenty-two days, the Supreme can take that human into another
channel of lively divine consciousness and have him revisit to the earth-plane
to be active.
It is exclusively feasible to
stay in Nirvikalpa Samadhi and yet be completely functional in this
world. This state is known as Sahaja Nirvikalpa Samadhi or Sahaja
Samadhi. Sahaja Samadhi is by far the highest kind of Samadhi. In
this Samadhi, one is in the uppermost consciousness but, at the same
time, one is capable to work in the gross physical world. One upholds the
experience of Nirvikalpa Samadhi while at the same time entering into
worldly actions. One has become the soul and, at the same time, is utilising
the body as an ideal tool. In Sahaja Samadhi, one does the customary
things that a common human being does. But in the intimate recesses of the
heart, one is surcharged with divine enlightenment. When one has this Sahaja
Samadhi, one becomes the master of truth. One can go to the highest and
then come down to the earth-consciousness to manifest at his sweet will. Even
after achieving the highest form of consciousness, anyone is rarely blessed
with Sahaja Samadhi. For Sahaja Samadhi, the Supreme's
immeasurable grace is necessary. Sahaja Samadhi comes only when one has
recognized indivisible oneness with the Supreme.
