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Rakesh Joshi
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In samadhi there is a state of non-duality. When there is "something" to focus on then it is a state of duality. So in the state of samadhi the object of mediation and meditator are one and the same. Hence there is nothing to focus upon. There is only awareness and bliss.

ता एव सबीजस्समाधिः ॥४६॥ (patanjali yoga sutra)

tā eva sabījas-samādhiḥ ॥46॥

All of these states of consciousness are called sabija samadhi. ||46||

tasyāpi nirodhe sarva-nirodhān-nirbījaḥ samādhiḥ ॥51॥ (PY)

Nirbiija samadhi is attained once even these impressions have become tranquil and when everything has become tranquil. ||51||

From the book of Yogananda Paramahansa

Patanjali defines these states in his classification of the various stages of interiorized meditation. In Yoga Sutras 1:17-18, he refers to two basic categories of samadhi:

(1) samprajnata and

(2) asamprajnata.

As applied to advanced stages of realization, samprajnata refers to savikalpa ("with difference") samadhi, or divine union in which there remains some distinction between the knower and the known, as in the realization "Thou and I are One." In greater or lesser degree, some modifications of nature remain. But in asamprajnuta samadhi, all differentiations of nature are resolved into the one Spirit. The consciousness of "Thou and I are One" becomes "I am He, who has become this little form of 'I' and all forms." This is not the egotist's proclamation, "I am God!"—the brass crown of megalomania—but rather the full realization of the absolute truth: God is the only Reality. Thus asamprajnata, in its absolute definition, is nirvikalpa ("without difference") samadhi, the highest yoga or union manifested by fully liberated masters or those on the threshold of soul freedom. (...)

Patanjali divides samprajnata samadhi into four stages:

(1) savitarka ("with doubt or conjecture"): intuitive experience mixed with argumentative or doubt-ridden mind;

(2) savichara ("with reasoning or pondering"): intuitive experience mixed with discrimination-guided intellect;

(3) sananda ("with joy"): interiorized intuitive experience interpreted by chitta or joy-permeated feeling; and

(4) sasmita ("with 'I-ness'" or individuality): intuitive experience mixed with a pure sense of being.

These four states, which come after interiorization (pratyahara), are the result of deep concentration (dharana), or superconscious perception as limited to the body. (Yoga Sutras 1:17)

When these four stages of samprajnata have been resolved one by one into the next higher state, the yogi goes beyond them and attains asamprajnata samadhi. This comes in deep meditation (dhyana) in which concentration (dharana) is continuous, with no flicker of interruption; then the object of meditation (i.e., a particular concept or manifestation of God) is experienced as manifested not only in the body but in omnipresence. Beyond these states, in the advanced stages of realization, samprajnata and asamprajnata are understood to mean, respectively, savikalpa and nirvikalpa samadhi. Patanjali says that attainment of the highest samadhi is possible "by profound, devoted meditation on (the Lord) Ishvara (1:23).... His symbol is Aum (1:27)." (Chapter I, God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita by Paramahansa Yogananda)

Rakesh Joshi
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