Samadhi
Samadhi is a term used in Hindu and Buddhist yogic meditation.
The Hindu tradition
Samadhi (pronounced some-ah-dhi) is Sanskrit for the practice
which produces complete meditation. According to Vyasa, "yoga is
samadhi" deciphered as complete control (samadhana) over the
functions of consciousness. The exact meaning and usage of the term
varies among the Indian religious traditions (such as Hinduism and
Buddhism) but its meaning is from 'sam', with, together + 'a' towards +
'dha' to bring. The result is various degrees of veridical coalescent
acquisition of truth (samapatti).
Samadhi is the state of being aware of one’s Existence without
thinking, in a state of undifferentiated “Beingness”. Three
intensities( depths) of Samadhi Are usually understood 1. Sa-vikalpa
Samadhi, 2. Nir-vikalpa Samadhi, and 3. Sahaja Nir-vikalpa Samadhi.
Savikalpa Samadhi refers to the initial (beginning) state of Samadhi Nirvikalpa Samadhi is the end result.
In Sa-vikalpa Samadhi we get the taste of Bliss and Beingness but
are still attached fast to our erroneous identification with the body
as well as to our numerous worldly attractions.
Entering Samadhi in the beginning takes effort. Holding on to a
state of Samadhi takes even more effort. The beginning stages of
Samadhi are only temporary.
Upon entering Nir-vikalpa Samadhi the differences we saw before have
faded and only one and the same Substance is seen with which we then
gladly identify. In this condition nothing but pure Awareness remains
and nothing is missing to take away from Wholeness and Perfection.
Samadhi is the only stable unchanging Reality. All else is ever changing and does not bring everlasting peace or happiness.
Staying in Nirvikalpa Samadhi is effortless but even from this
condition one must eventually return to ego-consciousness. However, it
is entirely possible to stay in Nirvikalpa Samadhi and yet be fully
functional in this world. This condition is known as Sahaja Nirvikalpa
Samadhi.
Nirvikalpa Samadhi is achieved through the advanced and prolonged
practice of Kriya Yoga and is the state of oneness with the Atman - the
Soul.
In Nirvikalpa Samadhi, all attachment to the material world and all
karma is dissolved. All awareness is withdrawn step by step from the
physical, astral and causal bodies until self-realization or oneness
with the soul is achieved. During this process, breathing ceases, the
heart stops beating. Aware and fully conscious oneness with soul is
then achieved in a most loving way and all cells of physical body are
flooded with the Ocean of Divine Love and Divine Bliss for any period
of duration - hours, days, weeks until the individual shifts his
awareness from the soul back to the physical body.
Nirvikalpa Samadhi is a preparatory step to Maha Samadhi and serves
as extreme uplifting of all body vibration and leads to complete
healing of karmic wounds to the open doors to God and divine love for
further progress on your way to God.
Samadhi is the main subject of the first part of Yoga Sutras called Samadhi-pada.
Samadhi is also the Hindi word for a structure commemorating the dead (tomb).
Maha Samadhi (literally great samadhi) is the Hindi word for a realized yogi's conscious departure from the physical body at death.
Maha Samadhi is the final conscious abandoning of the physical body.
Every infinitesimal piece of attachment or karma is completely
surrendered unto God and dissolved into the Divine Ocean of Love. The
individual transcends to worlds beyond karma and returns to God to
merge into God.
- "In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna speaks about Samadhi and about principal stages of Nirvana: Nirvana in
Brahman (the Holy Spirit) and Nirvana in Ishvara (the Creator).
- But in India the term “Nirvana” became widely used by Buddhists at
some point in time and later on this term along with Buddhism, was
“forced out” from India by Hindus. Instead of using the term “Nirvana”
Hindu schools started to expand the meaning of the term “Samadhi” by
adding to it various prefixes. Various schools used these composite
words and because of this the term “Samadhi” got “diffused” and lost
its unambiguity. This is why it makes sense to get back to accurate
terminology that God introduced into spiritual culture through
Krishna." [1]
Samadhi in Bhakti The Vaishnava Bhakti Schools of Yoga define Samadhi as 'compelete absorbtion in the object of one's love (Krishna)'. Rather than thinking of 'nothing', true samadhi is said to be achieved only when one has pure, unmotivated love of God. Thus even while performing daily activities a practitioner can strive for full samadhi within their heart.
The Buddhist tradition
Samadhi, or concentration of the mind, is the second of the three parts of the Buddha's teaching: sila or conduct, samadhi or samatha (concentration), and vipassana (insight or wisdom).
It has been taught by the Buddha using 40 different objects of meditation, such as mindfulness of breathing (anapanasati) and loving kindness (metta). Upon development of samadhi,
one's mind becomes purified of defilements, calm, tranquil, and
luminous. Once the meditator achieves a strong and powerful
concentration, his mind is ready to penetrate and see into the ultimate
nature of reality, eventually obtaining release from all suffering. In
the language of the eight-fold path, samatha is "right concentration".
ortant components of Buddhist meditation, frequently discussed (1, 2) by the Buddha, are the succesively higher meditative states known as the four jhanas.
The Buddhist suttas mention that samadhi practitioners may develop
supernormal powers (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.
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