Samadhi

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Samadhi (Sanskrit: समाधि) in Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and yogic schools is a higher level of concentrated meditation, or dhyāna. In the yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali.

Prabhupada samadhi

It has been described as a non-dualistic state of consciousness in which the consciousness of the experiencing subject becomes one with the experienced object,[1] and in which the mind becomes still, one-pointed or concentrated[2] though the person remains conscious. In Buddhism, it can also refer to an abiding in which mind becomes very still but does not merge with the object of attention, and is thus able to observe and gain insight into the changing flow of experience.[3]

In Hinduism, samādhi can also refer to videha mukti or the complete absorption of the individual consciousness in the self at the time of death - usually referred to as mahasamādhi.

Contents

Nomenclature, orthography and etymology

Samadhi (समाधि samādhi, Hindi pronunciation: [səˈmaːdʱɪ]) is the state of consciousness induced by complete meditation. The term's etymology involves "sam" (together or integrated), "ā" (towards), and "dhā" (to get, to hold). Thus the result might be seen to be "to acquire integration or wholeness, or truth" (samāpatti). Another possible etymological breakdown of "samādhi" is "samā" (even) and "dhi" (intellect), a state of total equilibrium ("samā") of a detached intellect ("dhi").

Rhys Davis[4] holds that the first attested usage of the term samādhi in Sanskrit literature was in the Maitri Upanishad.[5]

In Hinduism

Samādhi is the main subject of the first part of the Yoga Sūtras called Samādhi-pada. According to Vyāsa, a major figure in Hinduism and one of the traditional authors of the Mahābharata, "yoga is samādhi." This is generally interpreted to mean that samādhi is a state of complete control (samadhana) over the functions and distractions of consciousness.

Samādhi is described in different ways within Hinduism such as the state of being aware of one’s existence without thinking, in a state of undifferentiated “beingness" or as an altered state of consciousness that is characterized by bliss (ānanda) and joy (sukha). Nisargadatta Maharaj describes the state in the following manner:

When you say you sit for meditation, the first thing to be done is understand that it is not this body identification that is sitting for meditation, but this knowledge ‘I am’, this consciousness, which is sitting in meditation and is meditating on itself. When this is finally understood, then it becomes easy. When this consciousness, this conscious presence, merges in itself, the state of ‘Samadhi’ ensues. It is the conceptual feeling that I exist that disappears and merges into the beingness itself. So this conscious presence also gets merged into that knowledge, that beingness – that is ‘Samadhi’.[6]

Daily meditation is required to attain samādhi. The initial experience of it is enlightenment and it is the beginning of the process of meditating to attain self-realization (tapas). "There is a difference between the enlightenment of samādhi and self-realization. When a person achieves enlightenment, that person starts doing tapas to realize the self."[7]

According to Patañjali[8] samādhi has three different categories:

  1. Savikalpa - This is an interface of trans meditation and higher awareness state, asamprajñata. The state is so named because mind retains its consciousness, which is why in savikalpa samādhi one can experience guessing (vitarka), thought (vicāra), bliss (ānanda) and self-awareness (asmita).[8] In Sanskrit, "kalpa" means "imagination". Vikalpa (an etymological derivation of which could be 'विशेषः कल्पः विकल्पः।') connotes imagination. Patañjali in the Yoga Sūtras defines "vikalpa" saying: 'शब्द-ज्ञानानुपाति वस्तु-शून्यो-विकल्पः।'. "Sa" is a prefix which means "with". So "savikalpa" means "with vikalpa" or "with imagination". Ramana Maharshi defines "savikalpa samādhi" as, "holding on to reality with effort".[9]
  2. Asamprajñata is a step forward from savikalpa. According to Patañjali,[8] asamprajñata is a higher awareness state with absence of gross awareness.[10]
  3. Nirvikalpa or sanjeevan - This is the highest transcendent state of consciousness. In this state there is no longer mind, duality, a subject-object relationship or experience.[11] Upon entering nirvikalpa samādhi, the differences we saw before have faded and we can see everything as one. In this condition nothing but pure awareness remains and nothing detracts from wholeness and perfection.

Entering samādhi initially takes effort and maintaining it takes even more effort. The beginning stages of samādhi (laya and savikalpa samādhi) are only temporary. By "effort" is not meant that the mind has to work more. Instead, it means work to control the mind and release the self. Note that normal levels of meditation (mostly the lower levels) can be held automatically, as in "being in the state of meditation" rather than overtly "meditating." The ability to obtain positive results from meditation is much more difficult than simply meditating. It is recommended to find a qualified spiritual master (guru or yogi) who can teach a meditator about the workings of the mind. As one self-realized yogi explained, "You can meditate but after some time you will get stuck at some point. That is the time you need a guru. Otherwise, without a Guru, there is no chance."[12]

Samādhi is the only stable unchanging reality; all else is ever-changing and does not bring everlasting peace or happiness.

Staying in nirvikalpa samādhi is effortless but even from this condition one must eventually return to ego-consciousness. Otherwise this highest level of samādhi leads to nirvāṇa, which means total unity, the logical end of individual identity and also death of the body. However, it is entirely possible to stay in nirvikalpa samādhi and yet be fully functional in this world. This condition is known as sahājā nirvikalpa samādhi or sahājā samādhi. According to Ramana Maharshi, "Remaining in the primal, pure natural state without effort is sahaja nirvikalpa samadhi".[9]

In Bhakti

The Vaishnava Bhakti Schools of Yoga define samādhi as "complete absorption into the object of one's love (Krishna)." Rather than thinking of "nothing," true samādhi is said to be achieved only when one has pure, unmotivated love of God. Thus samādhi can be entered into through meditation on the personal form of God. Even while performing daily activities a practitioner can strive for full samādhi.

"Anyone who is thinking of Krishna always within himself, he is first-class yogi." If you want perfection in yoga system, don't be satisfied only by practicing a course of asana. You have to go further. Actually, the perfection of yoga system means when you are in samadhi, always thinking of the Visnu form of the Lord within your heart, without being disturbed... Controlling all the senses and the mind. You have to control the mind, control the senses, and concentrate everything on the form of Vishnu. That is called perfection of yoga" - A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada [13]
"Meditation means to absorb your mind in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is meditation, real meditation. In all the standard scriptures and in yoga practice formula, the whole aim is to concentrate one's mind in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is called samadhi, samadhi, ecstasy. So that ecstasy is immediately brought by this chanting process. You begin chanting and hear for the few seconds or few minutes: you immediately become on the platform of ecstasy." - A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada [14]

Divine trance (bhava samādhi) is a state of samādhi induced through devotion and spiritual song. The individual manifests the divine being which is the object of his or her devotion. Shivabalayogi explained that bhava samādhi awakens spiritual awareness, brings about healing, and deepens meditation.[15]

As leaving the body

Yogis are said to attain the final liberation or videha mukti after leaving their bodies at the time of death. It is at this time that the soul knows a complete and unbroken union with the divine, and, being free from the limitations of the body, merges effortlessly into the transcendent Self. Mahāsamādhi (literally great samādhi) is a term often used for this final absorption into the Self at death.

Samadhi mandir of Meher Baba

As mausoleum

Anandamayi Ma Samadhi Mandir, Kankhal, Haridwar

Samādhi mandir is also the Hindi name for a temple commemorating the dead (similar to a mausoleum), which may or may not contain the body of the deceased. Samādhi sites are often built in this way to honour people regarded as saints or gurus in Hindu religious traditions, wherein such souls are said to have passed into mahā-samādhi, (or were already in) samādhi at the time of death.

According to I.K. Taimni

I. K. Taimni, in The Science of Yoga, [16] Taimni's commentary on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, provides a lucid and precise understanding of samadhi. In simple terms, Taimni defines samadhi as "knowing by becoming". Samadhi, as pointed out above, is the eighth arm of Patanjali's Ashtanga (eight limbed) yoga. The last three of the eight limbs are called Antaranga, or Internal yoga, meaning they occur solely in the mind of the yogin. The three limbs are: dharana, dhyana and samadhi. Together, the three are collectively called samyama. Dharana, dhyana and samadhi are sometimes translated as concentration, contemplation, and meditation, respectively. These translations do not shed any light on the nature of dharana, dhyana and samadhi. Dharana, dhyana and samadhi are altered states of consciousness and have no direct counter-part in normal waking experience, according to Taimni's explanation of them.

According to Taimni, dharana, dhyana and samadhi form a graded series.

Dharana. In dharana, the mind learns to focus on a single object of thought. The object of focus is called a pratyaya. In dharana, the yogi learns to prevent other thoughts from intruding on focusing awareness on the pratyaya.
Dhyana. Over time and with practice, the yogin learns to sustain awareness of only the pratyaya, thereby dharana transforms into dhyana. In dhyana, the yogin comes to realize the triplicity of perceiver (the yogin), perceived (the pratyaya) and the act of perceiving. The new element added to the practice of dhyana, that distinguish it from dharana is the yogin learns to minimize the perceiver element of this triplicity. In this fashion, dhyana is the gradual minimization of the perceiver, or the fusion of the observer with the observed (the pratyaya).
Samadhi. When the yogin can: (1) sustain focus on the pratyaya for an extended period of time, and (2) minimize his or her self-consciousness during the practice, then dhyana transforms into samadhi. In this fashion then, the yogin becomes fused with the pratyaya. Patnajali compares this to placing a transparent jewel on a colored surface: the jewel takes on the color of the surface. Similarly, in samadhi, the consciousness of the yogin fuses with the object of thought, the pratyaya. The pratyaya is like the colored surface, and the yogin's consciousness is like the transparent jewel.

Samadhi can be compared to normal thought as a laser beam can be compared to normal light. Normal light is diffuse. A laser beam is highly concentrated light. The laser beam contains power that normal light does not. Similarly, samadhi is the mind in its most concentrated state. The mind in samadhi possess power than a normal mind does not. This power is used by the yogin to reveal the essence of the pratyaya. This essence is called the artha of the pratyaya. The release of the artha of the pratyaya is similar to cracking open the shell of a seed to discover the essential elements of the seed, the genetic material, protected by the shell.

Once perfected, samadhi is the main tool used by a yogin to penetrate into the deeper layers of consciousness and seek the center of the yogin's consciousness. Upon finding this center, the final act is using a variant form of samadhi, called dharma mega samadhi, to penetrate the center of consciousness and emerge through this center into Kaivalya. Kaivalya is the term used by Patanjali to designate the state of Absolute consciousness free from all fetters and limitations.

Thus it can be seen that, according to Taimni's interpretation of the Yoga Sutras, samadhi is the main tool the yogin uses to achieve the end goal of yoga, the joining of the individual self with the Universal Absolute.

In Buddhism

Samādhi, or concentration of the mind, is the third division of the eightfold path of the Buddha's threefold training: wisdom (pañña), conduct (sila), concentration (samādhi) - within which it is developed by samatha meditation. Some Buddhist schools teach of 40 different object meditations, according to the Visuddhimagga, an ancient commentarial text. These objects include meditations on the breath (anapanasati), loving kindness (metta) and various colours, earth, fire, etc. (kasiṇa).

Important components of Buddhist meditation, frequently discussed by the Buddha, are the successively higher meditative states known as the four jhānas which in the language of the eight-fold path, are "right concentration". Right concentration has also been characterised in the Maha-cattarisaka Sutta as concentration arising due to the previous seven steps of the noble eightfold path.[17]

Four developments of samādhi are mentioned in the Pāli Canon:

  1. Jhāna
  2. Increased alertness
  3. Insight into the true nature of phenomena (knowledge and vision)
  4. Final liberation

Post-canonical Pāli literature identifies three different types of samādhi:

  1. momentary samādhi (khaṇikasamādhi)[18]
  2. access concentration (upacārasamādhi)
  3. fixed concentration (appaṇāsamādhi)

Not all types of samādhi are recommended either. Those which focus and multiply the five hindrances are not suitable for development.[19]

The Buddhist suttas also mention that samādhi practitioners may develop supernormal powers (abhijñā, also see siddhis) and list several that the Buddha developed, but warn that these should not be allowed to distract the practitioner from the larger goal of complete freedom from suffering.

The bliss of samādhi is not the goal of Buddhism; but it remains an important tool in reaching the goal of enlightenment. Samatha/samādhi meditation and vipassana/insight meditation are the two wheels of the chariot of the noble eightfold path and the Buddha strongly recommended developing them both.[20]

Analogous concepts

According to the book "God Speaks" by Meher Baba, the Sufi words fana-fillah and baqa-billah are analogous to nirvikalpa samādhi and sahajā samādhi respectively.[21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Diener Michael S. ,Erhard Franz-Karl and Fischer-Schreiber Ingrid, The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen, ISBN 0-87773-520-4
  2. ↑ Dictionary.com (links directly to samadhi definition)
  3. ↑ Richard Shankman, The Experience of Samadhi - an in depth Exploration of Buddhist Meditation, Shambala publications 2008
  4. ↑ n.d.: unpaginated
  5. ↑ T. W. Rhys Davis (n.d.). 'Introduction to the Subha Sutta'. Source: Metta.lk (accessed: Thursday December 24, 2009)
  6. ↑ See quotes from The Ultimate Medicine
  7. ↑ Thomas L. Palotas, Divine Play: the Silent Teaching of Shivabalayogi (Lotus Press, 2006, ISBN 0-9760783-0-9), pp.45, 77-79.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Parikshiti Mhaispurkar. "Samadhi - A Scientific Phenomenon?". yogapoint.com. http://www.yogapoint.com/info/samadhi.htm. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi. 2006. p. 391. 
  10. ↑ Stein, Joel (August 2003). Time Magazine 162: 5. 
  11. ↑ The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion. 1994. p. 251. ISBN 9780877739807. 
  12. ↑ Palotas, Thomas (2006). Divine Play: the Silent Teaching of Shivabalayogi. Lotus Press. p. 226. ISBN 0976078309. 
  13. ↑ ""This Movement Appeals Directly To The Soul", Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada lecture (1971)". prabhupadavani.org. http://www.prabhupadavani.org/Gita/web/text/GT200.html. 
  14. ↑ 'Center Society on Spiritual Profit' Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, lecture (1968)
  15. ↑ Thomas L. Palotas, Divine Play: the Silent Teaching of Shivabalayogi (Lotus Press, 2006, ISBN 0-9760783-0-9), pp.83-89.
  16. ↑ I.K. Taimni, The Science of Yoga: The Yoga-Sutras of Patanjali in Sanskrit , ISBN 978-8170592112
  17. ↑ ("The Great Forty," MN 117)
  18. ↑ Buddhaghosa, Bhadantācariya & Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli (tr.) (1999). The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga. Seattle, WA: BPS Pariyatti Editions. ISBN 1-928706-00-2; and, Visuddhacara (n.d.).
  19. ↑ "Gopaka Moggallana Sutta". http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.108.than.html#concen. Retrieved 2008-01-15. 
  20. ↑ "Samadhi Sutta". http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.094.than.html. Retrieved 2008-01-15. 
  21. ↑ "God Speaks" by Meher Baba, Dodd Meade, 1955, 2nd ed. p.316

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