Sam in Sanskrit means equanimity and dhi means faculty of consciousness.
Samadhi means deeply sustained equanimity.
Samadhi happens when there is a harmony in one's nature, senses, soul and prana.
Samadhi brings dignity, strength and dispassion in our lives.
There are 2 kinds of Samadhi ~
- Samprajnata (with conscious awareness) and
- Asamprajnata (without conscious awareness).
Asamprajnata is the last and highest stage of samadhi where the mind, body and self are completely lost in the meditation. Yogi in this ultimate state of samadhi has also obtained a complete control over their breath, heartbeat and other organs, they can freeze the time and live longer or drop the body when they wish to.
Kinds of Asamprajnata samadhi
Nirvitarka, Nirvikalpa, Nirvichara and Nirbija- thoughts, ego, sanskaras cease to exist in this samadhi, they dissolve completely and only consciousness remains. This is the state of being one with the divine, there is no mind only infinite ecstasy and limitless bliss. Yogi can stay in this blissful state for 21 days and makes a choice to return to the world or leave the body.
Yogi can also through proper guidance learn to get in Nirvikalpa and Nirvichara state and function normally in the world. (there is no vikalpa~no reasoning, no vichara~no reflection), mind is under control and no longer imagines and wishes anything and there is no movement of thoughts)
Samprajnata Samadhi is a Sabeeja Samadhi (beeja means seed, there is an object of meditation in mind) ~ We all have often done this as children. This is the Samadhi that you can experience while activity.
Example - Prakriti Leya ~ You see the mountain you become one with the mountain, you see the ocean you become one with the ocean. This can happen when we have a depth and steadiness in our eyes and soul.
Our eyes are the window for us to see the world and for the world to see our soul, our souls steadiness. We perceive and receive the knowledge of the world through our senses. Patanjali says when we drop all the resentment, let go of all apprehensions, inhibitions, fears and become free, hollow and empty we become like a crystal. Our soul reflects our true divinity and senses reflect the blissful soul.
There are 4 kinds of Samprajnata samadhi ~
- Sa vitarka ( irrefutable or irreversible logic eg. when someone dies or a relationship ends or movie ends the state of mind with a blank),
- Sa vichara( thoughts are present but not disturbing the mind),
- Sa ananda (blissful state) and
- Sa asmita(I am) Samadhi.
Guided meditation, mantra meditation, tratka meditation etc are sabeeja or samprajnata samadhi where there is councious awareness, where mental impressions are not erased. We are aware of the outside world, of the self and of the inner self. There is a gentle separation of the observer and the object.
Kriya Yoga, the yoga of action has 3 parts that help us minimize the obstacles and attain equanimity.
1.Tapah ( experiencing the opposite values, willingly without grumbling, willingly doing what is not very easy or self discipline.
- Tapas of Body- maintaining a healthy body,
- Tapas of Speech-speaking pleasant truth and
- Tapas of Mind- Maintaining the pleasantness and contentment in the mind, silent and not a chattering mind
2. Swadhyaya ( being alert in self study, observing ones thoughts, emotions, breath),
3. Ishwara Pranidhana (surrendring to the divine).
The 5 root causes of misery in life that makes us cling to life in the body are -
- Avidya ~ living in ignorance - considering permanent as impermanent and impermanent as permanent that which is not joy to be joy, thinking we are just our thoughts and emotions.
- Kaleshas can be in present in us in dormant ( eg. a newborns past sanskaras), feeble( mind of advanced practitioner, present in them but impressions like a line in thin air), intercepted ( mind of begining practitioner, the kaleshas have subsided temporarily but can immediately come to the surface) or sustained form (Kaleshas manifest in abundance in average person who has no say over them and can get carried away easily with their thoughts and emotions),
- Asmita ( stuck in the ego or the I ness, stubbornly sticking to the opinions despite the fact being contrary to it, arguing meaninglessly) ,
- Raga ( cravings for pleasure), Dwesha ( hatered or aversion),
- Abhinivesha ( Abhinivesha is fear of unknown, intellectually you know everything but you have a bit of abhinivesha. abhinivesha is not bhaya or fear.In crude form its fear in subtle form its a form of care. example- walking on edge of lake, you are careful so the body does not get hurt. a certain amount of abhinevesha is essential but more can turn into insecurity or fear or paranoia.
Regular Sadhana can thin down and destroy these kaleshas and hindering thoughts over a period of time.
Hindering thoughts can come in 2 stages the potential form -
- Unmanifested form - Before the thoughts come to surface and get converted into action.
- Manifesting form - the thoughts that are being put into action.
Meditation helps manifesting thoughts first and with practice breaks the ego and thins down the potential thoughts. If we will not cleanse our consciousness of these 5 kaleshas or impurities then we will suffer in this life and next ones as miseries are forming the bank of karma. while some karma we will live here the rest becomes the reason for next birth.
There are 3 kinds of karma
1. Prarabdha karma
2. Agami Karma
3. Sanjita Karma.
Our species, span of life, experiences of pleasure and pain are determined by the karma which is a fruit of the 5 root causes of misery or obstacles.
We are solely responsible for our good and bad karma's.
All pleasure from outside world is temporary and ends in pain, for the fear of losing co exists.
To the one of discrimination every thing turns pleasurable from painful as the learn to detach and live in the moment. They stay unaffected by the highs and lows, thoughts, situations and emotions. The root cause of pain needs to be eliminated so we can avoid the pain that has not sprouted yet. We associate and identify ourselves and give importance to possessions than ourselves, that leads to pain and misery. This does not mean we should not enjoy in world, The world is here to enjoy but we should not forget the self keeping ourselves separate from our senses.
Every aspect of this world is an expression of consciousness. everything is manifested out of consciousness, everything is dynamic - flowers, mountains, butterflies, rivers, oceans all are dynamic, changing. Everything is being governed by certain principles and going through changes and stages of evolution. The entire creation is made of 5 elements, 5 sense organs and the mind. The entire creation is there to give us pleasure and relief. And all pleasures turn into pain if we do not detach ourselves from them.
Normally, we understand what we see and perceive through our 5 senses but through constant sadhana we can dive deeper and see the subtle layers of existence and feel the energies.
