We all walk on this planet.. some of us, having found the path.. leave footprints, signs of guidance, inspiration and knowledge all the way..to make it easier for others who are on the journey to follow through!! We all are walking on the same journey- you are and will always be along, like you said... “We are all just walking each other home”!! ~ Ram Dass

“When you can't go back, you have to worry only about the best way of moving forward” ~ Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist ~ A wonderful read!!!

If you think you are free- you are free, If you think you are bound- you are bound! It’s all in the mind!!!

Be empty of worrying
Think of who created thought!

Why do you stay in prison
When the door is so wide open?

Move outside the tangle of fear-thinking
Live in silence.

Flow down and down in always
Widening rings of being

~ Rumi

Our thoughts, opinions and judgements about ourselves and and others limit our potential and how we perceive others. We see ourselves and others with the limitation of labels we have created. We can, we can’t, they are, they aren’t etc
Our thoughts, opinions, feelings, judgements are not the truth, but just a passing state created by our fleeting emotions. Our thoughts and opinions are changing all the time, depending on how we feel!

Try this today ~
Observe how every time we are meeting someone, talking to someone or even seeing a stranger on the street how our mind is popping opinions.
Observe how, we are only believing what we think is true and creating a false reality around us.

Now that you are aware of thinking, judging and limiting mind...detach, practice and see~

Thoughts as ‘just thoughts’
Feelings as just ‘feelings’
Emotions as just ‘emotions’
Judgements as just ‘ judgements’

This awareness activity can help you to access greater freedom from  the limiting thoughts!

Food for thought~ for all the teachers around the world!!!

I have come to a frightening conclusion. 
                                         

I am the decisive element in the classroom.

It is my personal approach that creates the climate.

It is my daily mood that makes the weather.
As a teacher I possess tremendous power to make
A child’s life miserable or joyous.
I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration.

I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal.
In all situations it is my response that decides
Whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated.
And a child humanized or dehumanized

~ Haim Ginott 

Stressed!

Stress never gets over..      
We have to learn to get over it!!

Gift experiences and connections over things this holiday season!

Let them go!

On a positive note ~ Can’t agree more!!! Things I absolutely love about winter:))

And..watching with love, wonder and curiosity as our daughters build their snowman every winter ~ followed by the tradition of freshly baked cookies and hot cocoa!

Acceptance is the key for handling life well!!

When we don't accept an undesired event.

It becomes Anger;...
When we accept it,

It becomes tolerance...

When we don't accept uncertainty,
It becomes Fear;
When we accept it,
It becomes Adventure....

When we don't accept other's bad behavior towards us,
It becomes Hatred;...
When we accept it,
It becomes Forgiveness....

When we don't accept other's Success,
It becomes Jealousy;...
When we accept it,
It becomes Inspiration....

Acceptance is the key for handling life well...

~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Arjav~ Living in harmony with ones thoughts, words and actions!

Whenever we are not in harmony with what we are thinking, saying, and doing, we end up causing more friction in our mind, thoughts and heart. This ultimately leads to conflict, agitation, anger and tremendous suffering.

Arjav is a Sanskrit word that means living in harmony with ones thoughts, words, and actions.

Incorporating the knowledge of Arjav in our self care yoga practice everyday provides with  a wonderful opportunity to dive deeper and look within ourselves. 

Checking- in with ourselves, our thoughts and feelings without applying any filters of judgements. Keep asking yourself again and again (Punah Punah)- 

What is it I really want? 

How am I feeling? 

What’s causing me suffering? 

Reset, again n again! 

🌹Peace, Love n Grace

Shikha

Nourish ~Knowledge and handout from my today's self care workshop

Settle into stillness with self Inquiry!

Tune into the present moment awareness!
~Close your eyes
~Take a deep cleansing breath in and relax as you breath out. 

~Become aware of the feeling of breath coming in to your body...as the air becomes your breath. 

~Become aware of the feeling of breath leaving your body..as your breath becomes the air.

When you feel settled and still ask yourself~

Who am I?

Why am I here?

What is the purpose of my life? 

Where am I going? 

Am I happy? 

This inquiry into self is a very simple act of contemplation and introspection which can take you to experience deep stillness. Don’t be in a rush to look for the answers, carry the questions with a wonder in your awareness, just stay with the questions and let the answers reveal.

Our present holds a seed of our future..what happens now, in this present moment influences what happens next!!!..Live well, Choose well!!

The problem begins when things created by our mind start ruling over our minds...

Happiness is....

Be an architect of your future!

Take a moment everyday to pause and reflect if your thoughts, words, actions and choices in alignment with the person you want to be?

Drive all blames into one!

This is advice on how to work with fellow beings. Everyone is looking for someone to blame and therefore aggression and neurosis keep expanding. Instead, pause and look at what's happening with you. When you hold on so tightly to your view of what they did, you get hooked. Your own self-righteousness causes you to get all worked up and to suffer. So work on cooling that reactivity rather than escalating it. This approach reduces suffering-yours and everyone else's
 ~🌹Pema Chodron

Be grateful to everyone!

Others will always show you exactly where you are stuck. They say or do something and you automatically get hooked into a familiar way of reacting-shutting down, speeding up, or getting all worked up. When you react in the habitual way, with anger, greed, and so forth, it gives you a chance to see your patterns and work with them honestly and compassionately. Without others provoking you, you remain ignorant of your painful habits and cannot train in transforming them into the path of  awakening.
🌹~ Pema Chodron

Introspection for self care ~ Organize Internally!

Take a pause every now and then for a moment...

Check-in with your own self.

Hello me! How am I feeling in this moment today?

Observe your true feelings, thoughts, arguments in mind, contentment, frustrations, anger, boredom as they are in this moment with wonder and curiosity!

Ask yourself...Why am I feeling this certain way? What is it that I truly want? Take a stock of where you want to go.. and where you stand today..

Make sure you take a pause and understand yourself, your motivations and intentions today!

🌹 Shikha Pasrija

Happiness is the new rich, Inner peace is the new success, Health is the new wealth, Kindness is the new cool, Live simply!

Logic depends on knowledge and since your knowledge is limited, your logic is also limited. If you can recognize this, you can take a a leap into the unknown, otherwise you are stuck in a whirlpool.

Sri Sri@www.artofliving.org

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves!

At the end of each day, someone were to play a video of you back to yourself and you could see it all, you would wince quite often and say "Ugh!"

You probably would see that you do all those things for which you criticize all those people you don't like in your life, all those people you judge. 

Basically, making friends with yourself is making friends with all those people too, because when you come to have this kind of honesty, gentleness and goodheartedness, combined with clarity about yourself, there's no obstacle to feeling loving-kindness for others as well.

So the Ground of Maitri is ourselves!

🌹Pema Chodron ~ The wisdom of no escape

* Maitri towards ourselves doesn't mean getting rid of anything, change ourselves or become something better. It's about befriending who we are already. It is accepting ourselves just as we are right now without any judgements.

What you seek is seeking you!

As you start to walk on the way....
the way appears!
~Rumi

First Day of School - Such a beautiful poetry!

In summertime the butterflies

dance around our dogwood tree.

Now summer's done and school's begun,

they're fluttering in me!

Will my teacher like me?

Will I make new friends?

Will I learn to write my name

before the school year ends?

Look! There's my teacher now-

she winks as I walk in.
And a boy with a friendly, freckled face
just flashed me a wide grin.

We learn to write alphabet-

and it's only the first day!

hey, I think those butterflies

are fluttering away!

I'll see you soon, my sunny friends

back where you belong-

dancing 'round the dogwood tree

when summer sings its song.

Maria Fleming’s 

'What if I fall?' Oh but my darling, What if you fly?”

“There is freedom waiting for you,
On the breezes of the sky,
And you ask 'What if I fall?'
Oh but my darling,
What if you fly?”
― Erin Hanson

Contemplation and Compilation ~ Patanjali Yoga Sutras 3.1-3.56

The combined practice of the last 3 limbs of yoga (Dharana, Dhanaya and Samadhi) constitute Samyama. 

These last 3 limbs help us explore internal world through the self knowledge or Svadhayay. By the practice of samyama and svadhayay the yogi gains control over his senses, ego and mind which helps him gain various powers (siddhis) and discover the hidden knowledge of universe (tanmantras). 

Dharana is holding the attention on to some particular object internal or external~for example on dwadashanta (12 inch above head) or solar plexus.

Our mind is very lucid and the moment we fix our attention on an object it slips away to another thought. The continuous practice of dharana helps us achieve Dhayana which is the ability to concentrate constantly on an object and keep unbroken attention there for a long period of time.  

Samadhi is the third state which is achieved when we get deeper into dhayana and dissolve in the self. 

How do we know we have attained samadhi? ~ 

When the idea of time, space and body vanishes! The more the time, body and space is passed unnoticed the more we are in samadhi. 

When the past and present come and stand in one, the mind is said to be in samadhi.

Directing attention to one place, keeping it there for a long time and completely dissolving in that moment, when we are able to achieve all these at the same time that is samyama. 

Through the continuous practice of samyama one gains control over siddhis and recieves the infinite knowledge of the mechanisms of the internal and external world. 

This takes the yogi from gross to subtler level and it needs to be done slowly in stages. Also, the knowledge of siddhis can free or bind the yogi. To reach the state of mind that is absolute kaivalya and free of karmic impressions, yogi must stay like an innocent seer and not get attached to the power of siddhis.

Contemplation and Compilation ~ Patanjali Yoga Sutras 2:20- 2:55

Everything and everyone in this universe is made up from same energy and a yogi knowing this does not blame people for their actions. He sees the whole world as one and as a playground of karma where everyone is simply playing their role as a postman delivering the joy or suffering based on our previous karma equation with them.
He accepts the people and situations as they are.

He lives in knowledge and sees that the actions of the people around him don't define them, rather they are just a manifestation of the role they are playing. 

The yogi understands that the whole world is just a play (maya), hence he stays detached from events. Even when he is actively involved he does not get emotionally engaged. 

A yogi knowing this truth about the world does not run away from the situations and experiences, rather he becomes a master by gaining confidence, courage and conviction. 

For others, they perceive the world and all happenings as real, they live in ignorance all their lives and keep suffering. 

How does one attain the state of mind which is devoid of suffering?

For a meaningful and purposeful life a yogi lives by an eightfold path which is called an ashtanga or eight limbs which brings stillness in yogis mind, body, soul, spirit and tranquility in emotions on and off the mat. 

The 8 limbs of yoga are ~

• Yamas - Attitudes and behaviors towards other people and environment, moral discipline
• Niyamas - Attitudes and behaviors towards ourselves, inner observances
• Asanas - Practice of physical poses
• Pranayamas - Rhythmic control of prana or life force by controlling the motions of inhalations and exhalations
• Pratyahara - Withdrawl of senses
• Dharana- One pointed focus, concentration
• Dhayana - Meditation, uninterrupted concentration
• Samadhi- State of equanimity, bliss and ecstasy

Yamas, The first limb of Yoga emphasis on living ethically and morally with sense of integrity and focusing on ones behavior for ones personal fulfillment that will also benefit society. 

The sutras do not imply people are good or bad based on their behavior, but choosing certain behaviors lead to certain results.

The 5 Yamas are

• Ahimsa - non harming/non violence/not causing physical or emotional pain to ourselves, others or nature
• Satya- Staying truthful, living with integrity, speaking with the intention of being truthful
• Asetya - Non stealing or not taking more than what you need
• Brahmacharya - non excess, self restraint or right use of energy
• Aparigraha - Non greed, non possessiveness or non hoarding

Niyamas, are the second limb of Patanjalis 8 limbs, They are the moral codes that guide us
towards the positive behavior, self discipline and spiritual observances for personal growth.

The 5 Niyamas are

• Saucha - Cleanliness - physical and mental hygiene
• Santosa - Contentment by accepting life and situations as they are
• Tapas - Practicing self discipline with enthusiasm
• Svadhaya - Contemplating, self observation, study of ones inner self and Sacred scriptures
• Ishvara Pranidhana - Devotion, Dedication and Surrender to God

The knowledge of Niyamas teaches a yogi to respect his boundaries. They also help us to be truthful to our strengths and weaknesses and not compare ourselves with others. They learn to be mindful of our thoughts and surrender all good and bad and whats not in our control to the Divine and stay happy and free of the emotional baggage.

Through the practices of asanas and pranayama first, we can learn to control the physical body, then the movement of the breath, then the senses and finally the mind.

Contemplation and Compilation ~ Patanjali Yoga Sutras 1:42 - 2:19

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 - 

1. 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. 
2. 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), 
3. Asmita ( stuck in the ego or the I ness, stubbornly sticking to the opinions despite the fact being contrary to it, arguing meaninglessly) , 
4. Raga ( cravings for pleasure), Dwesha ( hatered or aversion), 
5. 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 - 

1. Unmanifested form - Before the thoughts come to surface and get converted into action. 
2. 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.

Contemplation and Compilation ~ Patanjali Yoga Sutras 1:21 - 1:41

Our success on any spiritual path or any other path depends on how committed and regular we are in our practices. 

If we are mild, we see mild results and if we our commitment is intense we see sustainable progress. 

To stay free of physical, emotional and mental distress which can become a huge obstacle in any path, it is very important to surrender all good and bad and stay free of suffering.

Suffering arises when 

1. We can get trapped in ignorance and give importance to something which is not important or which is not worthy of importance. 
2. When we think too much about me n I~ Always thinking what people think about you, living with the superiority or inferiority complex. 
3. Having strong cravings, aversions or hatred and fear for anyone or anything. 

Our consciousness is pure love and devoid of all these miseries, karmas, fruit of karma and latent desires or impressions or opinions. 

There are 4 types of Karmas ~

• Karmas that brings us merits, 
• Karma that brings us demerits, 
• Karma that brings both merits and demerits and 
• Karma that's devoid of both merits and demerits

Though our supreme self is all knowing and knowledge itself, a Guru is necessary to help us go within and understand ourselves. 

The supreme Purusha or Ishvara or the first Guru that existed is addressed by the sound OM. 

When we are still in our senses, emotions and breath we can feel the humming in our body, the Pranava. 

The Anahata is the unsaid sound of OM that can lead us into deep meditation. 

The Anahata is Ajapa, the one that need not be repeated, it is always going on and just needs to be noticed.

If we are thinking continuously and churning on the thoughts we can not get attuned to this never ending vibration. 

What we think we become, knowingly unknowingly we are imbibing the qualities of our thoughts. 

Japa or Mantra meditation is the simple technique that can help us make our mind steady and transforms it in the qualities of the mantra. Repeating mantra there comes a clarity in our thoughts and feelings. 

By holding on to this infinite sound from mantra one can overcome 9 obstacles. 

• Physical disease, 
• Mental sickness, 
• Doubt in oneself, 
• Doubt in teacher or the path, 
• Doing something wrong willfully (careless) or not doing what you are supposed to do, 
• Laziness, 
• Obsession with the sensual objects and not being able to let them go, 
• Hallucination, 
• Feeling that you are going no where with practices or one has not attained any state, 
• Instability in spiritual experiences where the feeling of good experiences vanishes and leaves one craving, and when our body is not obeying us anymore, we want to do something but unable to anymore. 

The 5 signs that we are overtaken with these 9 obstacles are 

• Sadness in heart and soul,
• Bitterness, 
• Disturbed inhalation and exhalation, 
• Unstable thoughts, confusion and 
• Confusion and distraction

Our patience, perseverance on one pointed path whatever we have chosen can help us get over the obstacles and the symptoms. 

Our goal in life is to keep the serenity of our mind. 

In this world we come across 4 types of people and the guide to deal with them is through~ 

• Happy people ~ Friendliness
• unhappy people ~ Compassion
• the virtuous people ~ Delight and disregard
• the wicked people ~ Be indifferent

When we do so we are not disturbed by the people around us. 

You can also bring the stillness in the mind by focusing on the breath and by breaking the natural rhythm of the breath, through concentrating on any object of senses, focus on your past experiences in meditation or deep sleep and finding the right spiritual Guru who can guide you. 

Our regrets, fears, anger, anticipation memory, wrong knowledge, fantasy, judgments, thoughts, feverishness, calculations does not let us see the things the way they are and does not let us be in harmony or Samadhi. 

Our eyes, senses, behavior, ambitions, words reflects what we are deep inside and when we polish ourselves through steadiness they also become devoid of all the colors and become clear like crystals. 

We are able to see things as they are without adding anything to them. In Savitarka samadhi there are some thoughts that come and go but they do not disturb the peace of mind and harmony. 

When the mind, soul, the object of senses and memory through which the object of senses are held are in harmony the samadhi happens.

The goal of Samadhi is physical and mental silence, knowledge dawns on us that is beyond the learning's of our limited mind. 

You do not need to study the scriptures the knowledge and the wisdom filled with truth and awareness comes to you~ Rtambhara Prajna makes a yogi Jivan Mukta ~ the one who lives with liberation and without personal attachment.

Contemplation and Compilation ~ Patanjali Yoga Sutras 1:12- 1:20

For any practice to become firmly established and successful in our lives it needs to be done ~

Continuously, without any gaps, with patience, honor, respect, faith, gratefulness, enthusiasm and without any attachment or personal desires. 

Mere practicing for a long time is not sufficient. Some people practice for a long time and they still stay bound, unsettled, restless, disappointed and disturbed. The reason is that they stay attached and result oriented in their practices which makes them anxious and impatient. They lack honor and respect which when practiced brings quality, stability and steadiness.

It is our constant craving and desire to be happy all the time that makes us miserable. Happiness is our nature but wanting to be happy is a creation of misery.

Our mind is continuously gathering things to satisfy its desires through our senses and it also has a tendency to stick and remember only negative things experiences and words. The wisdom is to learn to discriminate what is good for us or what is not and to learn to apply restraint before the mind goes and grasp as it wants. 

Practicing dispassion or non attachment (vairagya) helps us understand this pattern and helps to put an end to this vicious cycle of misery by bringing heightened awareness, stability and  steadiness that helps us be more peaceful and centered amidst the emotional turmoil and storms. 

Dispassion helps us be free from the regrets of the past and anxieties of the future and lets us be completely centered and 100 percent in the present moment. 

Detachment of mind from its desires and enjoyment is vairagya which is on the sensory level and detachment of mind from memory, past impressions and sanskaras is param vairagya which comes after we learn to repose and rejoice in our true self. 

Samadhi is the steadiness in prana, state of equanimity and a process of going inwards which can be achieved by being completely aware and present in the moment. There are 2 kinds of samadhi

• Samprajnata or Sabeeja samadhi or Savikalpa samadhi 

Samadhi which you can experience during an activity. We have often done this as child, looking with depth and becoming one with the object. The depth in our eyes indicates the steadiness and stability in our soul. In sabeeja samadhi we are totally relaxed and happy with heightened awareness and sharp intellect. 
The past impressions, thoughts, memories and  sanskaras are still buried on our mind in this state and can pull us in the worldly experiences through thoughts.  The practice of Vairagya, non attachment helps to dive deeper into the experience.

Guided meditation is an example of sabeeja or samprajnata samadhi.

4 stages of Samprajnata samadhi

1   Savitarka ~ accompanied by reasoning - In this samadhi mind contemplates on the gross object, sound, or a mantra. The contemplation on single object makes mind steady, focused, quiet and relaxed. 
2.  Savichara ~ accompanied by reflection - In this samadhi mind moves from outer layer of object to the inner realms and contemplates. You experience Tanmatras and through practice gain great control over Tanmatras. Example of Tanmatras are seeing lights, divine, hearing chants, or other extraordinary experiences while meditation. They key is not to get attached to the Tanmatras and observing them as just an experience on the path of Samadhi. Many people get entangled at this stage. Vairagya or non attachment is needed here to achieve the next stage.  

3.  Sa-ananda ~ accompanied by rejoicing or ecstasy

4.  Sa-asmita ~ accompanied by contemplation on I-ness, you are there and you are aware of nothing else. Prakriti Leya 

• Asamprajnata or Nirbeeja samadhi or Nirvikalpa or Nirvichara 

After mastering the 4 stages of Samprajnata samadhi one can get into Asamprajnata samadhi, Param Vairagya where no impressions and no feeling of I-ness exists. The one who has attained this state is called Jivan Mukta, the one who lives but at the same time is liberated.

We have existed before and we will exist after, when we practice meditation we are not only bringing harmony within ourselves but influencing all the subtle layers at different levels of existence in the creation in the present birth and future births.

Mokshabhekso Bandah ~ Even the desire of liberation is a bondage in itself! 

The minds nature is to desire then how do we get over this bondage?- Turn your desires into greater causes. Think, how can you contribute and be useful to society and planet, what is the purpose of your life and how can you be of service. Any desire that does not have a personal or selfish motive will never bind us but will help us channelize our energy.