Patanjali's Yoga Sūtras Samādhi is the eighth limb of the Yoga Sūtras, following the sixth and seventh limbs of
dhāraṇā and
dhyāna respectively.
Samyama According to Taimni,
dhāraṇā,
dhyāna, and
samādhi form a graded series: •
Dhāraṇā ― In
dhāraṇā, the mind learns to focus on a single object of thought. The object of focus is called a
pratyaya. In
dhāraṇā, the yogi learns to prevent other thoughts from intruding on focusing awareness on the
pratyaya. •
Dhyāna ― Over time and with practice, the yogin learns to sustain awareness of only the
pratyaya, transforming
dhāraṇā into
dhyāna. In
dhyāna, the yogin realizes the triplicity of perceiver (the yogin), perceived (the
pratyaya), and the act of perceiving. The key distinction of
dhyāna is the gradual minimization of the perceiver, leading to the fusion of the observer with the observed (the
pratyaya). •
Samādhi ― When the yogin sustains focus on the
pratyaya and minimizes self-consciousness
, dhyāna transforms into samādhi, where the yogin fuses with the
pratyaya. Patanjali compares this to a transparent jewel on a coloured surface: the jewel takes on the colour of the surface. Similarly, in
samādhi, the consciousness of the yogin fuses with the object of thought, the
pratyaya. The
pratyaya is like the coloured surface, and the yogin's consciousness is like the transparent jewel.
Samādhi in the Yoga Sūtras Samādhi is oneness with the object of meditation. There is no distinction between act of meditation and the object of meditation. Samādhi is of two kinds, with and without support of an object of meditation: •
Samprajñata samādhi (also called
savikalpa samādhi and
sabija samādhi,) refers to
samādhi with the support of an object of meditation. :*
Savichara, "reflective": the mind,
citta, is concentrated upon a subtle object of meditation, which is not perceptible to the senses, but arrived at through inference, The stilling of reflection is called
nirvichara samāpatti. :The last two associations,
sānanda samādhi and
sāsmitā, are respectively a state of meditation, and an object of
savichara samādhi: :*
Ānanda, "with bliss": also known as "supreme bliss", or "with ecstasy", this state emphasizes the still subtler state of bliss in meditation;
ānanda is free from vitarka and vicara. Apollo 14 astronaut
Edgar Mitchell, founder of the
Institute of Noetic Sciences, has compared the experience of seeing the earth from space, also known as the
overview effect, to
savikalpa samādhi.
Ānanda and asmitā According to Ian Whicher, the status of
ānanda and
āsmitā in Patanjali's system is a matter of dispute. According to Maehle, the first two constituents, deliberation and reflection, form the basis of the various types of
samāpatti. According to Feuerstein: Ian Whicher disagrees with Feuerstein, seeing
ānanda and
asmitā as later stages of
nirvicara-samāpatti. Whicher refers to
Vācaspati Miśra (900–980 CE), the founder of the
Bhāmatī Advaita Vedanta who proposes eight types of
samāpatti: •
Savitarka-samāpatti and
nirvitarka-samāpatti, both with gross objects as objects of support; •
Savicāra-samāpatti and
nirvicāra-samāpatti, both with subtle objects as objects of support; •
Sānanda-samāpatti and
nirānanda-samāpatti, both with the sense organs as objects of support •
Sāsmitā-samāpatti and
nirasmitā-samāpatti, both with the sense of "I-am-ness" as support.
Vijnana Bikshu (c. 1550–1600) proposes a six-stage model, explicitly rejecting Vacaspati Misra's model. Vijnana Bikshu regards joy (
ānanda) as a state that arises when the mind passes beyond the
vicara stage. Whicher agrees that
ānanda is not a separate stage of
samādhi. According to Whicher, Patanjali's own view seems to be that
nirvicara-samādhi is the highest form of cognitive ecstasy. According to Sarasvati Buhrman, "
Babaji once explained that when people feel blissful sensations during
sādhanā, on a gross level the breath is equal in both nostrils, and on the subtle level
pranic flow in
ida and
pingala nadis is balanced. This is called the
sushumna breath because the residual prana of the sushuma, the
kundalini, flows in sushumna nadi, causing
sattva guna to dominate. "It creates a feeling of peace. That peace is ānanda". In
sānanda samādhi the experience of that ānanda, that sattvic flow, is untainted by any other
vrittis, or thoughts, save the awareness of the pleasure of receiving that bliss".
Asamprajñata samādhi According to Maehle,
asamprajñata samādhi (also called
nirvikalpa samādhi and
nirbija samādhi) whereas
sahaja nirvikalpa samādhi is a continuous state throughout daily activity. This state seems inherently more complex than
sāmadhi, since it involves several aspects of life, namely external activity, internal quietude, and the relation between them. It also seems to be a more advanced state, since it comes after the mastering of
samādhi.
Sahaja is one of the four keywords of the
Nath sampradaya along with
Svecchachara,
Sama, and
Samarasa.
Sahaja meditation and worship was prevalent in Tantric traditions common to
Hinduism and
Buddhism in Bengal as early as the 8th–9th centuries.
Nirvikalpaka yoga Nirvikalpaka yoga is a term in the philosophical system of
Shaivism, in which, through
samādhi, there is a complete identification of the "I" and
Shiva, in which the very concepts of name and form disappear and Shiva alone is experienced as the
real Self. In that system, this experience occurs when there is complete cessation of all thought-constructs.
Bhāva samādhi Bhāva samādhi is a state of ecstatic consciousness that can sometimes be a seemingly spontaneous experience, but is recognized generally to be the culmination of long periods of devotional practices. It is believed by some groups to be evoked through the presence of "higher beings".
Bhāva samādhi has been experienced by notable figures in Indian spiritual history, including Sri
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and some of his disciples,
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his chief disciple Nityananda,
Mirabai and numerous saints in the
bhakti tradition.
Mahāsamādhi In Hindu or Yogic traditions,
mahāsamādhi, the "great" and final
samādhi, is the act of consciously and intentionally leaving one's body at the moment of death. According to this belief, a realized and liberated (
Jivanmukta)
yogi or
yogini who has attained the state of
nirvikalpa samādhi can consciously exit from their body and attain
liberation at the moment of death while in a deep, conscious meditative state. Some individuals have, according to their followers, declared the day and time of their
mahāsamādhi beforehand. These include
Lahiri Mahasaya whose death on September 26, 1895, was of this nature, according to
Paramahansa Yogananda. Paramahansa Yogananda's own death on March 7, 1952, was described by his followers as entering
mahāsamādhi. Daya Mata, one of Yogananda's direct disciples, said that Yogananda on the previous evening had asked her "Do you realize that it is just a matter of hours and I will be gone from this earth?" In the seventh chapter of
Autobiography of a Yogi, titled “The Levitating Saint,”
Paramahansa Yogananda presents a vivid and inspiring account of the exalted life of Bhaduri Mahasaya, also known as Paramahansa Maharshi Nagendranath. Bhaduri Mahasaya relinquished his mortal body on 2 November 1926. To his devotees, this sacred day is reverently observed as Bhaduri Mahasaya’s
Mahāsamādhi Day. Even today, his
Mahāsamādhi Tithi continues to be commemorated with deep devotion and reverence at Shree Shree Nagendra Math and Nagendra Mission in
Kolkata.
Samadhi in the Bhagavad Gita The
Bhagavad Gita describes samadhi as the ultimate state of spiritual realization, marked by profound steadiness of mind and deep absorption in the true self. This state emerges when one transcends attachments to worldly pleasures and power (verse 2.44) and achieves a resolute, unwavering intellect fixed in spiritual truth, free from confusion (verse 2.53).
Buddhist influences Patanjali's description of
samādhi resembles the Buddhist
jhānas. According to Jianxin Li,
samprajñata samādhi may be compared to the
rūpa jhānas of Buddhism. This interpretation may conflict with Gombrich and Wynne, according to whom the first and second
jhāna represent concentration, whereas the third and fourth
jhāna combine concentration with mindfulness. According to Eddie Crangle, the first
jhāna resembles Patanjali's
samprajñata samādhi, which both share the application of
vitarka and
vicara. According to
David Gordon White, the language of the
Yoga Sūtras is often closer to "Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, the Sanskrit of the early Mahāyana Buddhist scriptures, than to the classical Sanskrit of other Hindu scriptures". According to Karel Werner:
Robert Thurman writes that Patañjali was influenced by the success of the
Buddhist monastic system to formulate his own matrix for the version of thought he considered orthodox. However, the Yoga Sutra, especially the fourth segment of Kaivalya Pada, contains several polemical verses critical of Buddhism, particularly the Vijñānavāda school of Vasubandhu. While Patañjali was influenced by Buddhism, and incorporated Buddhist thought and terminology, the term "
nirvikalpa samādhi" is unusual in a Buddhist context, though some authors have equated
nirvikalpa samādhi with the
formless jhānas and/or
nirodha samāpatti. A similar term, '
, is found in the Buddhist Yogacara tradition, and is translated by Edward Conze as "undifferentiated cognition". Conze notes that, in Yogacara, only the actual experience of ' can prove the reports given of it in scriptures. He describes the term as used in the Yogacara context as follows: A different sense in Buddhist usage occurs in the Sanskrit expression '
(Pali: ') that means "makes free from uncertainty (or false discrimination)" i.e. "distinguishes, considers carefully". == Sikhism ==