T H E S E R I E S
YOGItimes magazine for the modern yogi
The Complete Practice of Yoga
Part 9: Samadhi: Death and Birth
“ If I am lucky I will die again today.”		 by Mike Stokes
photography by Minoru Hino
Asanushi-ichoh kannon made in Japan, 1970 by Takeji Kogawa, Aomori Japan
Photography by Minoru Hino, Aomori Japan - mac8600.com - hino@www.mac8600.com
The eighth limb of yoga according to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is samadhi. Samadhi is defined as merging with the object of one’s attention to such a degree that self-awareness disappears. In samadhi there is no feeling of, “I am focusing on something.” Instead there is a total loss of self. In the moment of Samadhi consciousness, you literally disappear. You have zero awareness of yourself. The only awareness you have is of the object on which you are meditating. This is distinct from dhyana in which you merge with the object of your meditation and you are aware of self and other in union. In samadhi, you are gone. There is only the other.
There are two main types of samadhi, Sabija/samprajnata samadhi and nirbija/asamprajnata samadhi.
Sabija/samprajnata Samadhi is a state in which your consciousness is still in the physical world. Sabija means seed. This means that the seeds of desire and fear still exist in your being and can germinate into cravings and aversions. This samadhi is also described as samprajnata. Samprajnata means distinguished. Distinguished in the sense of distinguishing between things. In other words, we are in the realm of duality, or that which makes things different. Or, to put it another way, we are in the physical world of nature.
Nirbija means seedless or impotent. In this state you no longer have the seeds of attachment. You can no longer be attached to anything. The sense of being an individual self has completely disappeared. This is a state in which human desire and fear are completely gone. This samadhi is also described as asamprajnata. Asamprajnata means undistinguished. In this state, you are beyond the realm of duality in nature and move into the realm of the eternal, the infinite: the god realm. In this state you directly experience the eternal and infinite character of the universe. Your conscious mind now dwells in the world beyond the duality of nature and instead in the singularity of infinity or, to put it another way, in God. In a sense you are no longer human; you are full, conscious spirit incarnate.
To experience Samadhi you must, on some level, die. The identity or ego must die. This is because to experience Samadhi there can be no attachment to anything, including the self. This is why we practice savasana or corpse pose after every yoga class. We practice dying so that we are prepared to enter the state of samadhi. You must ultimately look death in the face, make peace with total annihilation and walk willingly into it. This is requisite to achieving Samadhi, but is not necessarily sufficient. We all will have many samadhi experiences before shifting into an enlightened state permanently. In other words, we die and are reborn within this lifetime many times before we achieve enlightenment. Practicing Samadhi is the practice of dying and being reborn in this lifetime again and again. It is through these multiple deaths and births, that we achieve deeper and deeper levels of samadhi. Each level reveals a new bliss and a new freedom. I like to think of Samadhi not as some far off realm that few of us will ever reach in this lifetime, but as a way of life. It is the act of embracing the cycles of growth in our lives and courageously facing the death of our identites again and again. Each death results in deeper levels of bliss and freedom.
It has been my aim during these past nine months to speak about the eight limbs of yoga in practical, useful terms that you can apply to your everyday life. I hope that I have achieved that aim. The eight limbs of yoga are powerful and graceful tools that provide guidelines and practices that can make life truly fulfilling, inspiring and overflowing with energy and love. Just like a tree, each limb of yoga has branches and leaves that help our bodies and souls absorb and process the nourishment that radiates from spirit. And just like a tree, we need to care for ourselves from the roots up in order to be truly healthy and strong.
Here is a quick review of the eight limbs on the tree of yoga. The eight limbs of yoga according to Patanjali are yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. By practicing the yamas and niyama we develop attitudes and behaviors that help us stay on course in our daily lives. In asana, we practice holding the center by focusing and simultaneously relaxing and we literally get closer to god/the-ultimate-center/non-duality. By mastering the flow of the breath in pranayama, we begin to move beyond the illusions generated by the unconscious thought-breath relationship. In pratyahara, we master the habitual craving of the senses. Dharana, the practice of remembering and returning our attention to our focal point, frees us from the tyranny of our own hidden mental reactions. Dhyana, the state of being united with the object of meditation, teaches us to actually live in the now. Not as a concept, but in actuality. Living samadhi or practicing dying multiple identity deaths, gives us access to new life. With each death comes a new birth and the possibility of unimaginable events and experiences. Living samadhi creates a space in which a life can emerge abundant with new potentials, limitless power and total freedom.
Living a life consistent with the teachings of the eight limbs of yoga can give you a life of unimaginable beauty and bounty. Thank you all for reading my words. When I write, I think that I am creating something for someone else, but really I am also creating myself. Thank you all for giving me the privilege of creating the eight limbs of myself. Namaste.
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