Updated: August 31, 2024
So how
do we experience fundamental reality? How do we experience the source
of all experience? How do we get in
touch with our true self? How do we experience
our immortality? Our timeless being? And traditionally, yoga has been
the method, starting with the Yama
Niyama, which is social-emotional
intelligence; Yoga Asana, understanding
the body as a field of awareness; Pranayama, breathing techniques to show the interface
between consciousness, mind and the body
as a field of awareness;
Pratyahara, introsceptive
awareness and interoceptive mastery, which means
controlling the autonomic nervous system; Dharana, focused awareness;
Dhyana, meditation; and,
ultimately Samadhi. But there is no subject-object
split, and you have arrived
at the source of all experience,
including the source of the experience that
we call observer or witness. The experience that
we call witnessing and the mode of
observation and the experience
that we call object, which is actually a perceptual
activity. Reified as the concept object, but Samadhi is the state where
all three exist as pure
potentiality. In other words,
in Samadhi, observer
and observed one, and
so is the process of observation. Seer and
scenery are one, but so is this
seeing as part of it? Actually
the seeing is the most important.
The seer and scenery are by-products
in every scene. Another story, another discussion,
at some point. But Samadhi is
freedom. Samadhi is freedom
from all suffering. Samadhi is
liberation. Samadhi
is spontaneous, right-knowing. Spontaneous
right-thinking. Spontaneous
right-speaking, spontaneous
right-speaking, spontaneous
right-doing. As byproducts of the state of Samadhi, or to be established
in being, what in yoga is
called, "Yogasthah Kuru Karmani",
established in yoga or
in the source of all experience
perform action. That we read in that Bhagavad Gita, one
of the Upanishads, when Krishna tells Arjuna, nistraya gunān arjuna;
which means "go beyond the gunas". Gunas are the principles through
which creation operates, okay? These principles
are creativity, transformation
and inertia.
Everything
that you see in modern terms. You could even
call it spin,
charge and mass, but go beyond that. So Samadhi is a state
of culmination of all meditation
practices. And when we
experience it, that is freedom,
tranquility, bliss, ananda
shanti. It is, as I said,
the eighth and final limb of the Ashtanga
yoga tradition. It's also actually part of Buddhism. Samadhi is seen as state of union, the source
of all existence, which is considered
divine, divine
consciousness. So pure
consciousness is divine
consciousness. When you experience
Samadhi, the mind becomes
first completely focused on an object
of meditation. Soon, thoughts and distractions
are dispelled. The body starts
to feel still and the breath
slows down and even stops. The experience
of Samadhi is blissful, peaceful, and it is also in Buddhism,
described as the state of pure
awareness, where
the practitioners mind becomes
completely clear focused, and then the mind
is transcended and this state of
awareness is said to be necessary for achieving
enlightenment.
In fact,
it is enlightenment. Now there are
different levels of samadhi. The first level is
called, Sarvitarka samadhi, in which the meditator is aware
of the object of meditation and of
their own thoughts about the object. You say,
that's an object, there, this statue
behind me. But you have
thoughts about it. In fact,
that's not a statue. That's a human
construct. That's a qualia
experience. A combination
of sensations, images, feelings, thoughts,
perceptions. In any case, the first stage of
Samadhi, is where..
Which
I just mentioned. Sarvitarka Samadhi,
where there is awareness
of the object of meditation. But there's always
also thoughts about the object
of meditation. And the second stage is called Nirvitarka
samadhi. Nirvitarka samadhi. And here the meditator
is only aware of the object
of meditation. Only aware, silent witnessing. So there's no
evaluation, there's no
description, there's no thought
about the object. The object appears as the object on the screen
of consciousness.
And there's a third
level of Samadhi, called Samapatti
samadhi, in which
the meditator, as the observer,
or subject, completely merges with the object
of meditation and loses
all sense of the self. There's
only the object. Okay? And then there are
states beyond that. There are states
beyond that, where subject disappears,
object disappears, and there's only
pure consciousness. Let's
see what Patanjali has to say
about these states, because it is
Patanjali who is the master of yoga. So according
to Patanjali, there is something
called, asamprajnata,
Asamprajnata samadhi. It's called
"seed" samadhi. This is a state
of deep concentration
or awareness where the mind is
focused on a single object
of meditation.
There's
still some awareness of the self
and the world, which is very subtle. As I mentioned. Sarvitarka Samadhi, the mind focuses on every aspect of
the object's form. So when you look
at these objects, you focus on form,
color, texture. Then there's
Savichara samadhi, where you, or the mind,
analyzes the object
of meditation, thinking about its
meaning and significance. What is the meaning
behind that object? Lakshmi, that I'm
pointing out to, that she's the goddess
of abundance, which is the
symbolic representation of all
the attribute words such as giving
and receiving, which create
abundance.
And if I shift
my computer a little bit,
you'll see these other objects. Shiva, Shakti,
the snake, rituals, and these are
all ways of actually thinking about the significance, the meaning,
the symbolic representation
of consciousness. Then there is
something called Sa-ananda samadhi, where the mind
becomes absorbed in the bliss
of these objects of meditation. And then something
called Sa-asmita samadhi, the mind loses
all sense of self and becomes one with the object
of meditation. And there's asamprajnata
samadhi, seedless. Now, it's gone
beyond even the seed of manifestation. This is the state of
pure consciousness where there is no awareness
of any object, no awareness
of the observer. It's the highest
state of samadhi. And this said to be
the goal of all practice. Interesting,
isn't it? This is freedom. But yoga has much
more to offer the spiritual
traditions of that come from yoga and the
Upanishads, or even into other
types of Smadhi.
Dharmamegha samadhi, the state of Samadhi, where
the mind is filled with wisdom
and compassion. Nirvana samadhi,
Buddhist practice, this is the ultimate state of liberation,
where there is no need for recycling
Bodhisattva. But one can actually choose to
incarnate in order, in order to help others
sentient beings. So none of these types of samadhi
are mutually exclusive. It is possible to experience different types of samadhi
in the same meditation session. The type of samadhi
that is experienced
will depend on, of course,
the meditator's level of practice and the object
of meditation. But knowledge of samadhi actually allows us to know that as the source
of experience, we are the creators
of the experience we call mind,
body and universe and that
reality is different in different states
of consciousness. Which means perception
is different in different states
of consciousness.
Which also means
that biology is different
in different states of consciousness. Which means
knowledge is different
in different states of consciousness. It also means that reality
is different in different states
of consciousness. Our current science
is based on the waking state
of consciousness, and it's very
effective. Imagine
if we had access to all these states
of consciousness. What a science
that would be.
And I think once we bring, you know,
the ideas of Western science and bring them together
with the ideas that come from Eastern wisdom
traditions, because Western science is all about
what's out there and Eastern
science or yoga is all about who wants to know and
where is that, that wants to know? So, you know,
when we combine the understanding
of consciousness and our current understanding
of science, science
will have its glory.
Science
needs a revision in order
to have its ultimate glory as seeking truth, not just creating
models of truth, but accessing truth. Okay? So if this is
useful, give me your feedback and I will continue to share these ideas
with you, even take you through
some meditations to experience these types
of Samadhi. Let me know..
