Raja Yoga, Message 30
SAMADHI
"The same dhyana is samadhi when it shines with the object alone, as it were, devoid of itself." (III-3)
When the mind is completely absorbed in meditation it is termed samadhi. The mind loses its own consciousness and becomes identified with the object of meditation. The meditator and the meditated, the thinker and the thought, the subject and the object, become one.
In concentration the mind is simply fixed on the object. In meditation the mind is filled with one idea of the object alone. All other thoughts are shut out. In samadhi the mind is stilled, the subconscious is silenced, the thoughts are controlled and all surging, bubbling emotions are subdued. The yogi passes into the transcendental calm or the stupendous ocean of silence and attains the transcendental knowledge of Brahman the eternal. Samadhi installs you in the Atman. Through samadhi the finite Self is absorbed in the infinite or absolute consciousness.
Samadhi is beyond the reach of mind and speech. There is no language or means to give expression to it. Even in worldly experience you cannot express the taste of an apple to one who has not tasted it, or the nature of a colour to a blind man.
Samadhi or blissful divine experience arises when the ego and the mind are dissolved. It is a state to be attained by one's own effort. It is limitless, divisionless and infinite, an experience of being and of pure consciousness. When this experience is realised the mind, desires, actions and feelings of joy and sorrow vanish into a void.
In samadhi there is no mental tension. There is perfect stillness or perfect poise. There is total mental inhibition. The senses, the mind and the intellect cease functioning. Form-perception and reflex-perception totally vanish. The meditator loses his individuality and becomes identical with the Supreme Self. He becomes an embodiment of bliss, peace and knowledge. Just as the river joins the ocean, the individual soul mixes with the Supreme Soul. All limitations and differences disappear. The yogi attains the highest knowledge and eternal bliss. This is the aim of existence, the final beatitude of life. The yogi is an established sage or an illumined jivanmukta now. He is liberated while living, he is absolutely free from pain, sorrow, fear, doubt and delusion. He has become identical with Brahman. The bubble has become the ocean. The river has joined the ocean, and has become the ocean. All differences and distinctions will totally vanish. He will experience: "I am the immortal Self. All indeed is Brahman. There is nothing but Brahman."
When the mind is concentrated on Brahman (Supreme Self) it becomes one with Brahman, like camphor with the flame, salt with water or water with milk. Mind melts in Brahman and becomes of the nature of Brahman. The meditator becomes Brahman. Then there is no duality. This is the state of kaivalya, a state beyond description. It induces awe, supreme joy and unalloyed felicity. You will have to realise it yourself.
True samadhi gives super-sensual knowledge. All doubts, delusions and the three knots of nescience (avidya), desire (kama) and action (karma) are destroyed by the fire of wisdom. It gives absolute fearlessness and an unruffled state of mind. This state is described in detail in the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita.
The ultimate Truth or Brahman or the Absolute can be experienced by all persons by regular practice of meditation with a pure heart. Mere abstract reasoning and study of books will not do. What is wanted is direct experience.
Direct experience is the source for higher intuitional knowledge or divine wisdom. This experience is super-conscious or transcendental. There is neither the play of the senses nor the intellect here. It is not an emotional experience. There is revelation, insight or intuition. The senses, mind and intellect are at perfect rest and they do not function at all. This experience is neither an imaginary experience of a visionary dreamer, a reverie nor an hypnotic trance. It is a solid living truth like a fruit on the palm of your hand. The third eye or the eye of wisdom is opened in the experiencer. The extraordinary experience comes from cognition through the spiritual eye or the eye of intuition. The eye of wisdom can be opened when the senses, mind and intellect cease functioning, when the Brahmakara vritti (where the mind thinks of Brahman to the exclusion of all other thoughts) is raised by completely eradicating all desires, wrath, greed, pride, egoism and hatred.
There is neither darkness nor void in this experience. It is all light. There is neither sound nor touch nor form here. It is a magnanimous experience of unity, or oneness. There is neither time nor causation here. You become omniscient and omnipotent, you become the 'all-knower'. You know everything in detail. You know the whole mystery of creation and get immortality, higher knowledge and eternal bliss.
All dualities vanish here. There is neither subject nor object, neither form nor formlessness, neither duality nor non-duality. There is neither tossing of the mind nor one-pointedness. There is neither gain nor loss, neither pleasure nor pain, neither east nor west, neither day nor night.
This state is beyond all relativity. It is not a state of inertia or nothingness, but a state of 'everythingness'. You enter into a state of absolute awareness, in which time and place disappear; every place is 'here', every period of time is 'now' and everything is 'I'. In this state you obtain bliss and eternal life, you transcend the limitations of empirical existence and attain a rich inner life. It is not merely an emotional enthusiasm or an exhilarating feeling. It is direct, unique intuitive experience of Truth or Absolute consciousness. It is blissful union, a state of pure consciousness beyond all expression, feeling, throbbing and thrill. There is perfect awareness in samadhi. The aspirant rests in his centre — the goal of his search — and realises absolute freedom, independence and perfection.
Samadhi is the means of liberation or freedom from births and deaths. It leads to the direct intuitive perception of the Truth or the Infinite. It puts an end to all troubles of life and the causes of rebirth. It annihilates the impressions or samskaras which give rise to fresh births, and it helps one to tide over even the karma that determines one's present life, even though all the fruition of his past karma has not ended. In samadhi there is no perception of duality, which is the cause for fear. Avidya (ignorance) is absent.
The sage born of samadhi-experience gets established in his own Self. He is endowed with cosmic vision and transcendental divine knowledge.
It is only through samadhi that you can know the Unknown, see the Unseen and get access into the Inaccessible. The sum total of all knowledge of the three worlds and of all secular sciences is nothing but mere husk when compared to the infinite knowledge of a sage who has attained the highest state of samadhi. Samadhi bestows supreme knowledge, you are freed from the wheel of birth and death and get liberation.
If the desires and attachment to the objects of the world vanish entirely, and if you are in that immovable state, you have become a jivanmukta. You will abide in your own Self. You will rest in the non-dual supreme seat. The jnana-vision will arise in you. The light of wisdom will shine unobscured like the sun in the absence of clouds. You will be absolutely free from delusion and sorrow. You will actually feel that the Self alone pervades and permeates everywhere in this world. You will shine with the effulgence of Brahman. You will possess equal-vision and a balanced mind. You will be free from longing for sensual objects, because the mind will always be made cool with the bliss of Brahman. You will be bathed in the cool ambrosial nectar that flows from a contented and quiescent mind.
Samadhi comes only after constant and protracted practice of meditation. It is not a commodity that can be obtained easily. Those who can really enter into samadhi are very very rare.
How to Attain Samadhi
Faith or confidence in the efficacy of yoga, power for concentration of the mind, memory for contemplation, samadhi and discernment or the direct perception brought about by meditation, become the means for the attainment of the supreme.
To begin with, meditation should be done on a gross form. When you advance in meditation you can take to abstract meditation, or meditation on subtle things or ideas. The mind should be gradually disciplined and trained in meditation. It cannot all at once enter into the highest asamprajnata samadhi or that which constitutes the highest subtle essence. That is the reason why Patanjali Maharishi has described the practice of various kinds of lower samadhis. When the mind is extremely attached to gross objects it is not possible to fix it on subtle objects all at once. There must be a gradual ascent in the ladder of yoga. You should place your foot cautiously on each rung of the ladder. You should pass through successive stages before you attain the highest asamprajanata or nirvikalpa samadhi. But those who have passed through the lower stages in their previous births can attain to the highest stage at the very outset through the grace of the Lord. If the yoga student has reached a higher stage he need not revert to the lower stages.
Samadhi becomes natural through long practice of intense meditation, and not through pranayama or any hatha yoga practice.
In neophytes, pratyahara (abstraction) first takes place. Then dharana (concentration) begins. Then dhyana (meditation) slowly commences. Before samadhi manifests, their minds, getting impatient and tired, drop down. In trained yogis you cannot say where pratyahara ends and dharana begins, where dharana ends and dhyana begins, where dhyana ends and samadhi begins. The moment they sit on the meditation seat all the processes occur simultaneously with electric or lightning speed, and they enter into samadhi at their conscious will.
There are four classes of yogis:
1. Prathama-kalpika, one who is just a beginner or neophyte. The light is just appearing. He has not attained any siddhis. He is just practising savitarka samadhi.
2. Madhu bhumika, one who has entered nirvitarka samadhi and who has attained intuition. The stage is also called madhumati, because it brings such knowledge as gives satisfaction, just as honey does. (Madhu means honey.)
3. Prajna jyoti, the yogi who has attained mastery over the elements and the senses. This yogi cannot be moved or tempted by the invitations of celestial beings even. He has attained the stage of madhu-pratika.
4. Atikrantabhananiya, the yogi who has attained the stages of sorrowlessness and thoughtlessness. He has attained kaivalya or full independence.
The raja yogi can get all siddhis without samyama by spontaneous illumination through purity. Prasankhyanam is the highest illumination, through full discrimination between purusha (spirit) and prakriti (nature).
The disciple should not sit idle and expect a miracle from the guru to push him directly into samadhi. Just as a man anxiously seeks the means of escape from the midst of a burning house, so also the aspirant should have a burning desire to free himself from the fire of worldly existence (samsara). Then only will he be able to enter into deep meditation and samadhi.
To still the waves of the mind and hold it steady in samadhi needs constant and protracted practice of meditation. There may be breaks in the meditation in the beginning, but practice can make you perfect. Later on you can remain absorbed in meditation. You can merge yourself in samadhi with a mind steady like a flame protected from the wind. Before getting sanguine success in meditation, get victory over the asana pose first. Sit upon your seat with the steadiness of a rock for two or three hours. If the body is steady the mind also will be steady.
Do not mistake a little concentration or one-pointedness of mind for samadhi. Simply because you have risen a little above body-consciousness on account of a little concentration, do not think that you have attained samadhi.
Advanced aspirants should stop all sorts of work and study of religious books even, if they want to enter into samadhi quickly. They should observe mauna and remain in a solitary place on the banks of Ganges, Jumuna, Narmada or any river. They should live on milk alone or milk and fruits. They should plunge themselves in sadhana in right earnest, reducing sleep to two or three hours. They should start the practice in the beginning of winter.
To attain samadhi one should observe strict celibacy and dietetic restrictions and must have purity of heart. If these are not attained there is no possibility of attaining that state. These preliminary qualifications should be grasped well, then only must one try to enter the portals of samadhi. So, no-one can enter into samadhi until he is himself a greatly purified soul. The mind should be perfectly purified, then only the mechanism or vessel will be fit enough to receive the descent of divine light. It should be sufficiently strong to bear the pressure or sudden expansion of consciousness or cosmic vision which is above mind and which covers the whole existence in one sweep of this new exalted, magnanimous experience.
Samadhi is a positive, real state. It is all knowledge. During meditation, when the mind passes into a calm state of samata, when you feel a peculiar concentration and bliss (ananda), think you are entering into samadhi state. Do not disturb this state; try your best to keep it for a long time. Mark this state very carefully. Just as a very skilful archer in shooting at the bird is aware of the way in which he takes his steps, holds the bow, the bow string and the arrow at the time when he pierces the bird — 'thus standing in this position, holding thus the bow, thus the bow string and thus the arrow, I pierced the bird' — and ever afterwards would not fail to fulfil these conditions that he might pierce the bird, even so the aspirant should note the suitable conditions, thus: 'eating this kind of food, following such a person, in such a dwelling, in this mode, at this time, I attained to this meditation and samadhi'.
As a clever cook in serving his master notes the kind of food that his master relishes and henceforward serves it and gets gain, so the aspirant, too, notes the conditions such as the nourishment, etc. at the moment of attaining meditation and samadhi, and in fulfilling them gets ecstasy again and again.
The Mind in Samadhi
The mind becomes Brahman when it is purified and brought into samadhi state. The state in which the mind remains free from sensations is liberation. Therefore the state of the mind remaining unconnected with the senses or with the mind's own functions or actions — hopes, fears, etc. — is liberation. Mind, without mingling with Brahman, cannot be disconnected from sensations. Just as salt mingled with water becomes water, so mind mingled with Brahman ultimately becomes Brahman itself. When the mind becomes Brahman this world (which is the creation of the mind) also melts away in Brahman and becomes Brahman itself. Therefore 'All this is Brahman' will be direct experience only to he who has practised this.
In samadhi the purified mind withdraws from its natural or habitual occupation and gets itself fixed upon the Atman, which is not touched by the mind. It withdraws itself from the external objects, looks within and concentrates on the Innermost Self. It resolves itself in the Atman, its source, and becomes the Atman itself. It takes the form of the Atman, just as camphor becomes the fire itself. Knowledge of Brahman or Atman is real experience and not mere knowing. "To know Brahman is to become Brahman" is the emphatic declaration of the Upanishads.
Deep Sleep and Samadhi
Samadhi is deep sleep with the full knowledge of the Self. You get this sleepless sleep when you have burnt the five sense organs in the fire of wisdom, when you have extricated yourself from the clutches of ignorance and controlled all desires.
Study the condition of deep sleep. There is neither the play of the mind nor the play of the senses. There are no objects, there is neither attraction nor repulsion. Wherefrom do you derive the bliss in sleep? The experience in sleep is universal — there is no difference of opinion here. Everyone says: "I slept soundly. I knew nothing. I was very happy in sleep." During deep sleep you rest in the Atman and enjoy the bliss of Atman which is independent of objects. The difference between deep sleep and samadhi is that in deep sleep there is the veil of ignorance, whereas in samadhi this veil is removed and destroyed by the fire of knowledge.
Some aspirants mistake 'deep sleep' and the state of tandra or 'half sleep' for nirvikalpa samadhi. This is a terrible mistake. If you experience samadhi of any kind you will have super-sensual knowledge. If you do not possess any intuitional knowledge, be sure that you are far from samadhi. You can experience samadhi only when you are established in yama, niyama or good conduct and when you have a very pure heart. How can the Lord be enthroned in an impure heart?
If you can consciously induce a state like deep sleep, it is no longer deep sleep, but samadhi; it is sleepless sleep wherein the senses and the mind entirely cease their function. The aspirant enjoys the perfect joy of freedom, of vast, infinite, supracosmic experiences and the supreme silence of the Imperishable. This sleepless sleep is the superconscious state (maha nidra). It is perfect awareness wherein the individual soul has merged itself into the Supreme Soul. There is no waking from this sleep.
Cosmic Consciousness
There are several different degrees of samadhi, from the gross or savitarka samadhi to the highest or nirvikalpa samadhi. In the lower form of samadhi the yogi attains cosmic consciousness, which progresses to absolute consciousness in nirvikalpa samadhi. In the state of absolute consciousness the seer, the sight, the things seen; or the knower, knowable and knowledge; or the subject and the object, become one. In cosmic consciousness there is yet the seer and the seen.
In cosmic consciousness the lower mind is withdrawn from the external objective world, the senses are abstracted in the mind and the individual mind becomes one with the cosmic mind or Hiranyagarbha, the Over-soul or the Soul of the universe. The function of the intellect, the objective mind and the senses are suspended. The yogi becomes a living soul and sees into the life of things through his new divine eye of intuition or wisdom.
The state of cosmic consciousness is grand and sublime. It is beyond description. The mind and speech return back from it baffled as if they are not able to grasp and describe it. Language and words are imperfect. It induces awe, supreme joy and highest unalloyed felicity free from pain, sorrow and fear. This is divine experience.
Sri Sankara, Dattatreya, Varna Deva, Jadabharata, Mansoor, Shams Tabriez, Madalasa, Yajnavalkya, Rama Das, Tulsi Das, Kabir, Hafiz, Tukaram, Mira, Gouranga, Madhavacharya, Ramanujacharya, Lord Jesus, Lord Buddha, Lord Mohammed and Lord Zoroaster all had experience of cosmic consciousness. Arjuna, Sanjaya and Devaki also had the experience of cosmic consciousness. Devaki saw the whole universe within the mouth of the baby Krishna.
The yogi who has experience of cosmic consciousness acquires all divine powers. He attains many kinds of psychic powers which are described in the Srimad Bhagavatam and the Raja Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Maharishi.
This new experience bestows enlightenment, which places the experiencer on a new plane of existence. There is an indescribable feeling of elation and indescribable joy and bliss. The yogi experiences a sense of universality, a consciousness of eternal life. It is not a mere conviction. He actually feels it. The individuality has gone. The little 'I' has melted. The differentiating mind that splits up, has vanished. All barriers, all sense of duality, differences and separateness have disappeared. The idea of caste, creed and colour have gone. There is no idea of time and space, there is only eternity. He has the feeling of one who has obtained all that he desires. He feels, 'There is nothing more to be known by me.' He feels perfect awareness of a super-conscious plane of knowledge and intuition. He knows the whole secret of creation, he is a knower of all the details of creation. He is omniscient.
Absolute fearlessness, desirelessness, thoughtlessness, I-lessness, mine-lessness, anger-lessness, an aura in the face and freedom from grief are some of the signs that indicate that a man has reached the state of super-consciousness. He is also always in a state of perfect bliss. You can never see anger, depression, cheerlessness or sorrow in his face. You will find elevation, joy and peace in his presence.
Cosmic consciousness is perfect awareness of the oneness of life. The yogi feels that the universe is filled with one life. He actually feels that there is no such thing as blind force or dead matter, and that all is alive, vibrating and intelligent. This is the experience of the scientist Bose also. He has demonstrated it through laboratory experiments.
He who has cosmic consciousness feels that the universe is all 'mine'. He is one with the supreme Lord, he is one with the universal knowledge and life. He experiences bliss and joy beyond understanding and description. In the moment of illumination or great spiritual exaltation he has the actual divine universal vision. He is conscious of being in the presence of God. He sees the light of God's countenance. He is lifted above the ordinary plane of consciousness and reaches a higher state of consciousness. He has a cosmic or universal understanding.
He does not worry about death or future, about what may come after the cessation of the life of the present body. He is one with eternity, infinity and immortality.
During illumination the flood-gate of joy breaks. The yogi is inundated with waves of indescribable ecstasy. Bliss, immortality, eternity, truth and divine love become the core of his being, the essence of his life, the only possible reality. He realises that the deep ever-lasting fountain of joy exists in every heart, that the immortal life underlies all beings, that this eternal, all-embracing, all-inclusive love envelops, supports and guides every particle, every atom of creation. Sin, sorrow and death are now but words for him, words without meaning. He feels that the elixir of life, the nectar of immortality, is flowing in his veins.
He feels no need for food or sleep. He is absolutely desireless. There is a great change in his appearance and manner. His face shines with a radiant light. His eyes are lustrous pools of joy and bliss. He feels that the entire world is bathed in a sea of satisfying love or immortal bliss which is the very essence of life.
The whole world is home to him. He could never feel strange or alien in any place. The mountains, the distant lands which he has never seen would be as much his own as the home of his boyhood. He feels that the whole world is his body. He feels that all hands, all feet, are his.
Fatigue is unknown to him. His world is like child's play, happy and care-free. He beholds God only, everywhere. Chairs, tables and trees have a cosmic significance for him. His breath will stop completely sometimes, and time and space vanish for him. He experiences absolute peace and bliss beyond understanding and description. He actually feels that all is himself only; that snakes, scorpions and tigers are as much part of himself as his own eyes, nose, hands and feet.
He is one with the ether, flower, sun, ocean and sky. He feels the elixir of life, the nectar of immortality flowing in his veins. He feels that the entire universe is bathed in a sea of satisfying love. He has knowledge of Brahman and sees the real universe, which is the essence or background of the universe of matter, energy and mind. He is in a state of bliss and ecstasy beyond understanding and description.
Turiya — The Fourth State
The transcendental experience is also called by the name turiya or the fourth state. The first three states are 'waking', 'dreaming' and 'dreamless sleep', and the fourth is 'turiya'. The first three states are common to all. The fourth is latent in every human being.
When you are established in the fourth state, when you experience the transcendental state of Brahmic consciousness, the truth — which had been before but an intellectual abstraction — becomes a living reality definitely experienced by you.
Various names such as samyag darshan, sahaja avastha, nirvana, turiya-atita, aparoksha-anubhava, Brahma-sakshatkara, nirvikalpa samadhi and asamprajnata samadhi are given to this transcendental state, but all of them unmistakably point to the same goal. Real spiritual life begins after one enters into this state of super-consciousness.
You will realise at all times, and under all circumstances, that you are identical with the invisible existence, knowledge and bliss; that you pervade all persons and objects; and that you are beyond all limitations. If you have the knowledge of the Self or Brahman at all times without any break, then you are established in the Self. This is a state to be experienced within, but cannot be expressed in words. This is the final state of peace, the goal of life. This experience will give you freedom from all forms of bondage.
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