By Victor M Fontane
Samadhi is the eighth and the last stage of Ashtanga (eight-limbed) Yoga of sage Patanjali. There are two types of samadhi - samprajnata or conscious meditation, and asamprajnata or superconscious meditation. In the first, the thinker stands apart from thought; in the second, both become unified. These are subdivided into various forms, each reflecting a different plane of self-awareness.
Samprajnata samadhi
It is characterised by ratiocination, deliberation, joy and an unqualified ego (Yoga sutra I.17). In this state, one acquires control over the inner nature but cannot break oneself free from self consciousness, so as to obliterate the difference between the knower, knowledge and the objects of knowledge. It is a state of partial self awareness, the penultimate step to unitary consciousness.
Samprajnata samadhi is also called savikalpa samadhi because the mind remains identified with the object of meditation and, sabija (with seed) samadhi because it contains the seed of consequent births (Yoga sutra, I.44-46). Samprajnata samadhi is of four types: vitarkanugata, vicharanugata, anandanugata and asmitanugata.
Asamprajnata samadhi
It is the highest form of samadhi as the soul is absorbed in the Self. It marks the cessation of mental activity. Chitta, the mind, retains only unmanifested impressions. (Yoga sutra I.18), and is filled with sattva guna, quality of goodness. As one transcends duality, one reaches the state of pure being, and shines in one’s own glory. It is an exalted state of consciousness, born of supreme knowledge that is self luminous. The knowledge derived from testimony and inference is about common objects; that from samadhi is of much higher order, ‘being able to penetrate where inference and testimony cannot go.’ (Yoga sutra,1.49). Asamprajnata Samadhi, also called nirvikalpa samadhi, bestows final liberation (Yoga sutra, 1. 51). It has no alambana, prop, for contemplation. It is nirbija, ‘without seed’, because the seeds of karma cannot sprout any more after having been roasted in the divine fire of knowledge.
Asamprajnata samadhi is of two types: bhava pratyaya and upaya pratyaya. Bhava pratyaya is natural samadhi due to righteous actions of past life. It is possible in the case of videha ( lit. bodiless or incorporeal) or prakriti-laya (lit. absorbed in nature) yogis – those who got stuck in the joy of anandanugata samadhi or the pride of asmitanugata samadhi respectively, and were unable to achieve the super conscious state in their previous birth. Such souls ascend the summit of spirituality, effortlessly, but sometime fall due to worldly allurements.
Upaya pratyaya samadhi is attained by establishing the mind in divine knowledge through intense spiritual practice. By overcoming four obstacles, namely, laya, torpidity, vikshepa, distraction, kashaya, attachment, and rasasvada, enjoyment, the veil of avidya or nescience that conceals the supreme reality is lifted.
Samadhi is not deep sleep but complete self awareness. It is not emptiness of the mind but the fullness of being. To quote Eknath Easwaran: ‘The whole of reality is there, inner as well as outer: not only matter and energy but all time, space, causality, and states of consciousness.’
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