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“Samprajnata samadhi is accompanied by reasoning, reflecting, and pure I-am-ness.”
–The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Vitarka Vicaranandasmitanugamat samprajnatah
Vitarka: reasoning | Vicara: reflecting | Ananda: rejoicing | Asmita: pure I-am-ness | Anugamat: due to the following, from accompaniment | Samprajnatah: distinguishing, discerning; [samadhi: contemplation]
“There is a danger [in attaining Samadhi]…but we have to face the danger of it. That is why you have to prepare yourself with purity…”
-Sri Swami Satchidananda
…purity of the mind and of your Self-identification…Because the danger that lies before you is the selfishness, and delusion, of the ego. Lack of purity in these areas can get you absorbed in destructive falsehoods (limited-self-centeredness and its resulting Karmas) as opposed to fully concentrated on/into/as the Liberated being that you Truly are. When you lack the discernment and the skill to do the work of fully putting aside all that is false in your nature to completely merge into, and express, all that you are in Truth (but have a huge sense of specialness and accomplishment despite this) you do yourself and everyone around you a great disservice.
So, as Swami Satchidananda emphasizes in his commentary on Sutra 17, and I will add an important additional component to in my own commentary today, “your new-found powers…should,” therefore, “not be used for selfish purposes.”
Why? Well, simply put: your ego gets in the way of truly seeing and being your unbounded Self and functioning at your highest capacity.
When you pursue a goal that expands your mind and/or your abilities, but you have not yet mastered, understood, nor tempered your ego and/or you are attached to that false-sense-of-self (steeped in delusion and lower-self-importance), you will only gas yourself up and burst at the inflexible seams as opposed to expanding gracefully and growing beautifully into the magnificence of all that you are…When your ego expands uncontrollably, like a hot air balloon on steroids, you only create the bigger problem of a grandiose, limited, self-concept that prevents you from seeing the Reality of the ineffable glory of existence itself, again…preventing you from knowing/being all that you are.
Your ego, simply put, makes you dumber, more prone to toxic and destructive errors (far from the helpful and/or the innocent ones that are useful for your growth and learning), and it limits (as opposed to liberates) your potential. If you start to gain even basic knowledge of the higher nature, for example, (and certainly if you acquire any Siddhi as a natural result of practice due to the Reality of existence itself that has nothing to do with your limited expression), an inflated ego will sink you deeper into the intoxication of body-mind identification and delusion on a “cosmic” (and often irreversible) scale.
As opposed to fully clearing away the distortions that support you to fully come into your True Self beyond the limited body-mind, an inflated ego only sinks you deeper into ignorance and binds you more deeply to the potential for immense suffering as it empowers (due to its inherent lack of substance and great fragility/vulnerability) all other obstacles.
Under the influence of ego, you only have an illusion of intelligence, an illusion of security, an illusion of strength, an illusion of power, and an illusion of everything else, as opposed to possessing any true mastery of/power over these things through grounding your Self in, and understanding, the greater Absolute Truth and Reality. And, this is because your “reasoning, reflecting, and pure-I-am-ness” cannot be grounded in the power and Truth that is Absolute when it is steeped in a wispy fantasy such as a false-sense-of-self that warps your very perception of, and relationship to reality itself.
Ego, to spell it out as clearly as possible, is a powerful contraindication for Samadhi, because it gets in the way of your intelligence, capabilities, and your ability to fully see, know, understand, and to be your True Self. Ego, with the appearance of making you potentially appear to be “greater,” or “more,” or whatever you want to play (yourself for), only limits you to a body-mind transactional experience(r) that separates (through distorted awareness) “you” from both your True Nature as unlimited consciousness and potential, and from your inherent connection to/in/beyond this world, other people, and all of existence, at a fundamental level. When you solidify and bind yourself into any shape and/or form (literal or metaphorical) via the ego, you disconnect from who you truly are.
And when you are on the Yogic path with the intention of rising to higher states of being and consciousness that are unbounded and fully connected to all that you are, egoism, to emphasize this point again, and as clearly as possible, is one of your biggest obstacles.
SO, HERE IS AN IMPORTANT REMINDER TO GET OUR LESSON STARTED: The word Samadhi–and the milestone that we are discussing today–can be broken down in the following way: sam-together | a-toward/in the direction of | dhi-to hold. The word can be said, therefore, to mean: “to hold together in the direction of”…which in the case of Yoga, is implied to be toward Union, Self Liberation/Kaivalya (attainment of aloneness/solitude…or the attainment of wholeness…the attainment of “oneness…” Or, to put it yet another way: the attainment of all that is). The ego, absorbed and concentrating primarily on/onto/into itself as a body-mind construct/product, is not, and can/will never be, all that is the boundless and complete nature and the Truth of the Self.
Therefore, going beyond practicing Yoga for personal body-mind attainment and Liberation, to using your personal attainment to serve others with also coming into/expressing, and knowing, the purity of the True unifying Self/essence (and, therefore, also becoming Liberated through/by it) by holding and/or creating the space for these “others'” body-mind healing, growth, and transformation is, I feel, one of the highest honors, and goals, of your inner work if (because it is not required) you are inspired to “make a positive contribution” in others’ lives by spreading “light” and/or Truth in the world. It is also, I would go on to suggest, one of the highest functions of Samadhi (Self-Realization/enlightenment) when you have the ability, or “calling,” to be a healer, a teacher, or a person in service to a greater/bigger cause than your own personal agenda, extending your blessings out from only serving your individual body-mind-ego to serving the greater existence that encompasses all as one without pretense, worldly or selfish agenda, nor expectation.
The best, and fullest way, to serve, know, and be in, the Self/Spirit, is not through ego-self-centeredness (since you are not your body-mind-ego). The best, and fullest way, to serve/Love the Self/Spirit, is to serve the Self/Spirit beyond (but never neglecting) your personal expression, serving the Self/Spirit reflected in/as all beings and in/as all of existence, since Liberation for all is the fullest manifestation, and purest form, of freedom.
If called to serve a greater purpose than your own personal salvation, first, you purify yourself from your own attachment to pain and ego-satisfying clingings, such as the empty pursuit of desires, and so forth, and then you build your capacity to hold a safe transformative space for others to do the same, without running away from (or toward…don’t be dumb) their sadness, delusions, pleasure-seeking and/or destructive behaviors, pain, suffering, and any other things about their body-mind-ego expression that you might find depressing, unsavory, and/or repulsive (if you look at others, or identify yourself, as anything other than just pure Spirit).
Why Selflessness Is Required In Spiritual “Work”
When you are no longer running from your own pain, or clinging to your own desires for comfort, greatness, riches, nor fame, no longer hiding away in your illusory “oasis” of avoidance of bodily death or in your ego denial/delusion about “others,” but simply creating more sacred openings in and around you through your sheer presence (because you are whole and strongly grounded in the Truth of your pure-“I-am-ness” regardless of whether anyone else around you is also grounded in their Truth/light/higher-Self expression, etc.), you have True and full strength and Real connection with the higher power/Truth/who you are, and can then be of service to those who look to you for education, guidance, and/or support, which is the highest honor for any healer, or teacher, on this path.
This journey requires exposing yourself to a wide range of difficult witnessing. So, in order to get to a point where you are of maximum service to your Self, your students, clients, and communities, you must first build the capacity to be non-attached and non-judgmental–even to your understanding of the causes of suffering that you will clearly be able to observe from your studies and work (but, especially to those that you can only speculate about if egoic projections/distortions are still present within you).
To be of greatest, and True, service in the world, you must have a strong foundation of personal ethics from practicing your Yamas and Niyamas, have obtained the skill of discernment to make the best choices in any given moment, and must have already purified yourself from conditioned ignorance and greed to the point where selfish interests truly (and not just because your ego claims so) no longer guide your work or your life (and please note that selflessness, which involves letting go of ego attachments/limited self-identification, does not mean self-abandonment or martyrdom either, since, being a biological being expressed in the world, you need to be honest about your own body-mind needs for wellness, and care for your physical manifestation, in order to do your best work).
This embodied purity is the only way that you can then hold a truthful and useful space for the benefit and healing of those you serve without stealing/wasting their time, energy, or resources, or getting you and them further entangled in ego-body-mind identification and role-play (unless this role-play is briefly and consciously used as a tool for learning).
Always remember that, in your work of using your gifts, understandings, talents, abilities, and pure inner connection in service to the benefit of the eternal unifying Spirit, and the “greater good,” (not just to serve the body-mind-ego of yourself and/or others, since these are the things that you are simply working to regulate and put aside if you are smart and truthful about Liberation), no one is, or should be, coming to get guidance for “you” (because of your image, personality, body, nor persona).
For your work to be truly valuable, no one should be coming to you only for the benefit of their (or your) limited “self” that may be dysregulated and dysfunctional. Helping a dysregulated body-mind to be better at being dysregulated in the world is not helping anyone or anything in Reality.
Remember, please, that, though everyone is at different points on their journey, sincere seekers of spiritual support and/or knowledge, always only truly seek connection with, and/or insight on how to more effectively channel, or teach others who they serve to channel, the light of the Absolute that is in everyone.
If you are engaged in ego role-plays, of “dominant leader” helping “poor, weak/subservient followers,” or any other similar act, with the people who you serve, then you are simply engaged in cultish and disrespectful follies that will keep you and them karmically trapped/bound together in inevitable suffering, which, again, obviously, does not serve anyone.
As a teacher, healer, and someone in service to Spirit, many people may come to you, but true seekers only come to you to talk about “The Light” of Spirit/the Self because they may already have insights that they just need to communicate or to clarify with someone who understands “their language.” Others come to you to learn more, if they are still seeking information/understanding. And many seek your guidance to develop useful strategies to get back to “The Light” when they are “lost,” stuck, and/or suffering, etc.
Your only “job” is to connect to, and to shine, your (“part of” The) Light without egoic agenda, and to provide those who come to you for your specific guidance with understanding and/or alignment (if/when they ask for your help to begin with, since you should avoid, even in your purely shining your light and knowing that it is of value, imposing your ego-will on others). You are best served never giving those who do not “understand” what you have to offer things that they neither ask for, are not ready for, feel they do not need, nor feel they do not want.
In other words, your task is to simply cultivate your skills, purify yourself, shine your light, and do your divinely inspired work, without expectations, and with the utmost integrity, sincerity, and quality because you are called to do so by Spirit/the Self, which seeks connection with freedom to be–and expansion of–itself (in all beings), not bondage and karmic entanglement with any ego-body-minds, above all else.
You are to serve those who seek your help fully without watering down your purpose. And you do this by working beyond just the realm of their body-mind-egos and without overextending yourself (due to ego grasping) to push what you have to offer on everyone in the world.
Everyone may very well be able to benefit from what you do, but, to really underscore this point clearly, not everyone is ready to benefit from what you truly have to offer (to do their higher work), and you should, therefore, only concentrate your energy on those who will truly and fully be supported by what you have to give in this lifetime. Those who are not ready for, or “needing,” what you have to offer do not need to be marketed to, and convinced that they need or want what you have to offer, when you work for something greater than money, fame, and other worldly gains. Even helping just one true seeker (like the ancient story goes) is enough. Focusing your energy on the entire world, or catering to people’s ego-body-mind attachments for the sake of their ego-body-mind attachments (which is what most people ask for), is a waste of your gifts, or, like Jesus is said to have once said, “throwing pearls…”
When called by Spirit to do anything, you serve that call above all else, you do not need to understand why or convince anyone else’s ego of why (since that will become clear eventually), and you do not need to get your ego involved in strategizing to reach those you are meant to serve, since, as long as you do your work, the right people will find you. Trust the higher process.
You are simply tasked with having the clarity and skill to assist every individual who comes to you personally based on what your students/clients specifically need, providing those who you serve with guidance on how to go within to find, or better hear and integrate, answers for themselves, using the wisdoms, techniques, and understandings that you have honed, acquired, and developed from/through, and because of, your calling to do your “work” in the first place. And this is especially true if you are a teacher of teachers, where you must understand that you are amongst colleagues who are simply asking you, because you offered to do so, to share any knowledge or techniques that you may know and they may or may not know, to support them to be the best that they can be with their students/in their work. If your ego is in the way, then the Absolute light is not clearly, if at all, coming through, and those who are seriously on this inner path are seeking/needing only the light of the Absolute and clearer knowledge of it/connection to it, not more of your, or anyone else’s personality, talking, convincing, etc.
This is why Samadhi, and spiritual work in general (that aims to go beyond one’s personal, little, self to serve others and the greater Self) should be pursued and maintained from a place of selflessness (again, not self-abandonment, but in the absence of a false-sense-of-self tied to attachments to external objects or motives) in order to be your best and to do your best work, in the world. When you are selfless (having no attachment to an ego self), you can then fully experience the first stage of “pure I-am-ness” that makes you more clear and impactful in your work, understanding, and interactions with others.
Types Of Samadhi
According to Patanjali, there are two types of Samadhi that can be experienced after concentration (Dharana) and meditation (Dhyana) on the True Self are achieved: Samprajnata Samadhi, which is Distinguished Samadhi (distinguished from the Pure Self), and Asamprajnata Samadhi, which is Undistinguished Samadhi (undistinguished from the Pure Self).
Samprajnata Samadhi can be attained through contemplation on objects/the four different forms of Prakriti (elemental creative force/energy, even down to its original “form” beyond perception) and is distinguished by the observer reflecting on the object being observed so that knowledge of that which is observed becomes a part of the observer. Asamprajnata Samadhi (which we will discuss next week) is a state where no object of observation exists and one rests in the direct experience of simply being the pure Self (one with all that is, without separation). Both types of Samadhi occur in/have different stages, with the culmination of Asamprajnata Samadhi being a state of complete “objectlessness” that leads to Liberation/Kaivalya.
As you rise in conscious awareness, you must move from contemplation on the very tangible and concrete expressions of Prakriti, to the very subtle and elemental forms of it, in order to attain your goal of distinction (knowing your “pure I-am-ness”) and then move to no distinction (being “pure I-am-ness”) which makes you indistinguishable from the “object” of observation (more on this in our next lesson).
IMPORTANT NOTE! Please, as we move forward, remember, that these expressions are scientific, and experiential, not symbolic.
Remember please that Patanjali is a scientist and that Yoga is the study of the body-mind and consciousness that works in the realm of thinking, focus, concentration, and contemplation in order to understand and reflect upon the different states of existence, and awareness available to us. Our bodies and minds are literally our ground for understanding, so we will always be exploring different types, forms, ways, shapes, limits, and expressions of thought and understanding, as well as the different types, forms, ways, shapes, limits, and expressions of the body. None of these states are symbolic in any way.
With this in mind, the different focuses of Samprajnata Samadhi (or distinguished Samadhi) are on:
- Gross object form: Savitarka (sa-with | vitarka-deliberation/reasoning) Samadhi – Focused on gross objects (such as a candle, or even an atom).
- Subtle elemental form/Tanmatras: Savicara (sa-with | vicara-reflection) Samadhi – Focused on subtler elements such as abstract form like symbolism, or concepts like beauty and love.
- “Concrete” Joy manifested from emptiness: Sa-Ananda (with joy) Samadhi (also called blissful Samadhi) – No reflection or reasoning, just contemplation on Joy that composes the Sattvic mind (“devoid of any objects” including citta vrittis or mind-modifications/distortions/thoughts).
- Ego/individuality/”I-ness”: Sa-Asmita (with a sense of “I”) Samadhi – Focused on awareness and the “I” feeling.
This list assumes that you will first work from contemplating and understanding the concrete expressions in existence before understanding the very subtle. It also assumes that this focused, single-minded contemplation from concrete to subtle understanding, will only come after internal purity (scrubbed free from the contamination of ego-body-mind identification and distortion) has been obtained, allowing true and full knowledge to be revealed to the practitioner. In this way, you work from understanding nature to understanding yourself and your place/connection in nature and can contribute to creating more harmony, joy, and balance from this place naturally (and before then, if you are inspired to do so).
Through totally absorbed contemplation that sees/knows the greater Self/Reality, or Samadhi, you study how Prakrti, or un-manifest primal potential, is manifested into physical form using prana (or force) that can be divided into Gunas (or the three constituents of this primal force distinguished by sattva [tranquility], rajas [activity] and tamas [inertia]). You observe how these Gunas create everything that “you are,” see, and interact with in the tangible world, and you come to understand the imbalanced expressions of your (and others’) pure primal potential as you work your way back to your purest expression beyond form, and therefore, to your understanding of, and then being of, your True Self.
You, therefore, work with these four stages of Samadhi in order to gain understanding of your Prakrti, or your primal nature of existence, and this understanding empowers you to better serve within your tangible manifested world from a place of full awareness.
Selflessness, which most who serve already inherently possess, to one degree or another, is the key to unlocking the boons of Samadhi.
By first taking care of the basic foundations of purity of your mind, you can rise higher and higher in your levels of understanding, empathy, and discernment, in order to do your work in the world at your greatest capacity. This, for those who serve and find joy through service, is the ultimate gift that you give to yourself/your Self, and to the world/all of existence.
Journal Prompt
This week, truly look at your intentions.
What is your purpose for seeking enlightenment? Is it to be rich, better than other people, to become someone who is admired, to be at peace so that you can be peaceful in the world, to be informed so that you can educate others…
What is your true reason behind your why (as we have explored previously, in past weeks on our journey)?
Check to ensure that your practice is not for selfish (egoic) reasons, or you run the risk of creating more distortion in the world, and in yourself, as opposed to the balance that you claim to seek.
Investigating multi-dimensional holistic wellness as an inter-disciplinary artist and Yoga-Meditation writer, thinker, and practitioner. Doing experientially-based self-agency work grounded in research, reflection, and practice.