समाधिः- Samādhi
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Blog author Jayaraman Mahadevan
समाधिः- Samādhi
Etymology
Samādhi = Sam + ā + dhā+ki
- In this word Sam and ā are the prefixes – meaning – well (steadily) and total/complete
- dhā is the root - meaning - dhāraṇa-poṣaṇayoḥ - to hold and to nourish
- ki is the suffix – meaning - the act of - this affixed to the root according to the grammatical rule 3.3.92 of sage pāṇini in the text aṣṭādhyāyī.
In essence –samādhīyate iti samādhiḥ - the act of fixing/holding the mind completely and steadily is samādhi .
Lexicon
In the following two instances Amarakośa lexicon discusses the term Samādhi.
First Instance
saṃvidāgūḥ pratijñānaṃ niyamāśravasaṃśravāḥ |
aṅgīkārābhyupagamapratiśrava-samādhayaḥ | | 1.5.5
samādhi is one among the ten synonyms for aṅgīkāra – acceptance. The other terms are - saṃvid, āgū, pratijñāna, niyamāśrava, saṃśrava, aṅgīkāra, abhyupagama and pratiśrava.
Second Instance
syuḥ samarthana-nīvāka-niyamāśca samādhayaḥ। 3.3.98
Samādhi is used in the following three senses – substantiate (samarthana), speechlessness (nīvāka), rule (niyama).
Speechlessness (nīvāka) is worth noting. In the state of Samādhi. No words exist, even mentally. Only the object remains. This is a very useful and relevant description of the term under consideration.
Textual occurrences - Yogic texts
[1]Yogasūtra and its commentaries
There are nine occurrences of the term samādhi in this text. The references are as follows –
श्रद्धावीर्यस्मृतिसमाधिप्रज्ञापूर्वक इतरेषाम् ॥ १.२० ॥
ता एव सबीजः समाधिः ॥ १.४६ ॥
तस्यापि निरोधे सर्वनिरोधान्निर्बीजः समाधिः ॥ १.५१ ॥
समाधिभावनार्थः क्लेशतनूकरणार्थश्च ॥ २.२ ॥
समाधिसिद्विरीश्वरप्रणिधानात् ॥ २.४५ ॥
तदेवार्थमात्रनिर्भासं स्वरूपशून्यमिव समाधिः ॥ ३.३ ॥
सर्वार्थतैकाग्रतयोः क्षयोदयौ चित्तस्य समाधिपरिणामः ॥ ३.११ ॥
जन्मौषधिमन्त्रतपःसमाधिजाः सिद्धयः ॥४.१ ॥
प्रसंख्यानेऽप्यकुसीदस्य सर्वथा विवेकख्यातेर्धर्ममेघः समाधिः ॥ ४.२९ ॥
śraddhāvīryasmṛtisamādhiprajñāpūrvaka itareṣām .. 1.20 ..
tā eva sabījaḥ samādhiḥ .. 1.46 ..
tasyāpi nirodhe sarvanirodhānnirbījaḥ samādhiḥ .. 1.51 ..
samādhibhāvanārthaḥ kleśatanūkaraṇārthaśca .. 2.2 ..
samādhisidvirīśvarapraṇidhānāt .. 2.45 ..
tadevārthamātranirbhāsaṃ svarūpaśūnyamiva samādhiḥ .. 3.3 ..
sarvārthataikāgratayoḥ kṣayodayau cittasya samādhipariṇāmaḥ .. 3.11 ..
janmauṣadhimantratapaḥsamādhijāḥ siddhayaḥ ..4.1 ..
prasaṃkhyāne'pyakusīdasya sarvathā vivekakhyāterdharmameghaḥ samādhiḥ .. 4.29 ..
A short note reference-wise is attempted here – 1.20 considers samprajñāta samādhi as among the tools to attain asamprajñāta state. 1.46 groups the four samādhis- savitarka, nirvitarka, savicāra nirvicāra as sabīja samādhi – states of samādhi that have the seeds (to come down to worldly state or states that have arise due to some seed as support). 1.51 – presents the highest state of samādhi the Nirbīja state – which arises by the suppression of the sumbliminal impressions that arise out of ṛtambharā prajñā. 2.2 mentions that the practice of kriyāyoga are for attainment of samādhi and the weakening of the afflictions. 2.45 mentions that samādhi is attained by devotion to īśvara. 3.3 defines the word samādhi as the eighth limb of aṣṭāṅgayoga. It has been stated here the state of dhyana itself is samādhi, but in this state only the awareness of the object remains and the mind that is holding on object even becomes as if non-existent. 3.11 mentions samādhipariṇāma one among the three Citta-pariṇāmas. It is stated as change of mutation of the citta where the all-ponitedness reduces and one-pointedness manifests. 4.1 mentions that samādhi is one among the five ways to attain supra sensory powers. 4.29 discusses Dharmamegha samādhi the highest state where only the pure knowledge of the consciousness exits.
Bhagavadgītā
Though there is no direct verse that clearly defines Samādhi in this text, we find the term mentioned in two places and the commentary of Bhagavad-Rāmānujācārya is quoted to clarify the meaning of the term Samādhi in those two contexts.
sthitaprajñasya kā bhāṣā samādhisthasya keśava 2.54
Bhagavad-Rāmānujācārya’s commentary - What is the speech of a man of firm wisdom who is abiding with the mind controlled? What words can describe his state? What is his nature? This is the meaning of 'How does a man of firm wisdom speak etc.?' His specific conduct is now described as his nature can be inferred therefrom.
brahmaiva tena gantavyaṃ brahmakarmasamādhinā।।4.24।।
Bhagavad-Rāmānujācārya’s commentary - He is the Brahma-karma-Samādhi who contemplates thus on all acts as filled with the Supreme Brahman or as having the Supreme Brahman as the Self.
Haṭhayogapradīpikā
In three consecutive verses the term Samādhi is defined in the text.
salile saindhavaṁ yadvat sāmyaṁ bhajati yogataḥ ।
tathātmamanasoraikyaṁ samādhirabhidhīyate ।। 4.5
As salt in water unites and dissolves into it, a likewise merging of the mind and self (atman) is Samādhi.
yadā saṁkṣīyate prāṇo mānasaṁ ca praleyate ।
tadā samarasatvaṁ ca samādhirabhidhīyate ॥4.6
When prāṇa is without any movement (in Kumbhaka) and the mind is absorbed in the self, that state of harmony is called Samādhi.
tatsamaṁ ca dvayoraikyaṁ jīvātmaparamātmanoḥ ।
Prāṇaṣṭasarvasaṅkalpaḥ samādhiḥ so'bhidhīyate ॥
That state of equilibrium which is the union of Jīvātman and the Paramātman, in which there is the end of all desire-ideation(Saṅkalpa), that is called as Samādhi.
Observations
As evident from the references above all the Yoga texts discuss the samādhi. And by this it could be understood that samādhi is central to any stream of Yoga. Yogasūtras stand out with the detailed discussions and also the various divisions of samādhi that it presents. As evident from the above even for Haṭhayoga, contrary to the perceptions, samādhi is of great importance. Such clarity emerges only by the perusal of the texts.
[1] Though chronologically Bhagavadgītā should be given earlier, as the term here are discussed are centered on Yogasūtra occurrences from Yogasūtra is given first.
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