EXECUTION STAGE - SAMADHI (समाधि)

EXECUTION STAGE – SAMADHI (समाधि)
ONLY YOG – (केवल योग) THE ENDLESS
ULTIMATE FOR ALL ‘UltimatES’
YOGIC ENLIGHTENMENT

EXECUTION STAGE – (SAMADHI समाधि)

TADEVARTH MATRANIRBHASAM SWAROOP SHUNYAMIV SAMADHI
तदेवार्थ मात्र निर्भासं स्वरुप शून्य मिव समाधिः
SAMADHI is putting in unflinching efforts with single minded devotion and forgetting anything else after having understood the inherent meanings of DHARNA and DHYAN.

This is the last step for putting in efforts in execution stage for an achievement. It must involve the efforts put in for making a DHARNA and all the efforts put in for sticking to that DHARNA. The inherent meanings of DHARNA and DHYAN have already been explained as practicing and ensuring that any DHARNA must be based on YAMS only and DHYAN can be ensured through observance of NIYAMS only. For understanding SAMADHI, these meanings of that only (तदेवार्थ मात्र) must be understood (निर्भासं) first. The word TAD (तद) stands for DHARNA and DHYAN that have been defined consecutively by Patanjali in the preceding sutras. SAMADHI is, therefore, a name given to the efforts throughout. All the requirements of DHARNA and DHYAN point towards a single common ingredient of putting in unflinching efforts. SAMADHI cannot be devoid of efforts. It is in a way the final execution effort that Patanjali calls PURUSHARTH (पुरुषार्थ) and it is in addition to the efforts put in for DHARNA and DHYAN. He, therefore, emphasizes it only in the above definition of SAMADHI by using the words SWARUPSHUNYA (स्वरुप शून्य) meaning completely forgetting anything else. With this definition, SAMADHI cannot be thought off as a concept in isolation as understood by spiritualistic explanations. The pre-fixation of an aim and sticking to that are the essential requirements of SAMADHI. That’s why Patanjali introduces a new term SANYAM (संयम) in the next sutra only (TRAYAMEKTRA SANYAM त्रयमेकत्र संयम) which means that combination of DHARNA, DHYAN and SAMADHI together only should be understood as SANYAM – the ultimate in efforts. It means SAMADHI is just one part of the combination defined as SANYAM (संयम) with DHARNA and DHYAN added to it. SANYAM only leads to some achievement that Patanjali calls PRAGYA (प्रज्ञा) – meaning awareness of a principle behind any existence. In the process there is every possibility of an accidental achievement also. Nonetheless the contribution of efforts for accidental achievement cannot be denied. Patanjali calls such achievement as SAMAPATTI (समापत्ति) as there was no pre-planned DHARNA for it and in a way it was just a by-product of an overall effort SANYAM. The spiritualistic translations have confused SAMADHI with SAMAPATTI and many other terms used by Patanjali mainly due to their presupposition of considering SAMADHI a concept in isolation. For them SAMADHI becomes of many kinds under SAMPRAGYAT (सम्प्रज्ञात) meaning with PRAGYA and without PRAGYA that is ASAMPRAGYAT (असम्प्रज्ञात). They also consider SAMADHI as SAVITARK (सवितर्क) and NIRVITARK (निर्वितर्क) – the terms already explained under FORMATION OF DHARNA. Overall the spiritualistic translations tend to confuse even the spiritualists. That’s why they tend to make mockery of each other’s viewpoints. But still, for all of them SAMADHI is the ultimate achievement of a yogi wherein he becomes thoughtless, emotionless and effortless and his soul meets the God when there is no need to know anything or do anything. This state is possible only when one is drugged and can go into trance - a kind of comatose or suicidal effort in the name of the soul leaving the body at will by resorting to unverifiable high sounding, awe inspiring tricks of taking JAL SAMADHI, BHU SAMADHI and entering into someone else’s body etcetera. These are all effortless actions and thus cannot be SAMADHI.