Samadhi and vairagya in the Yoga Sutras

Samadhi and Vairagya in the Yoga Sutras

Eastern philosophy offers depthful insights into life, afterlife and the inseparable relationship between the creator and the created. The Vedas, the Upanishads, the yoga sutras, the Bhagavad Gita and many other classical texts exude with the declaration of the impermanence of the mortal body and the supreme, immortal nature of the soul. These Upanishads and other metaphysical treatise indicate that the essential purpose of human birth is to realize this truth, which is clouded in the veil of Maya. (Illusion). By way of Yogic practices such as asanas, pranayamas and meditation, the aspirant evolves spiritually and gradually transcends from consciousness of the material plane to that of the supreme self or what is called as the state of Samadhi. A brief discussion of the important concepts such as Purusha, kaivalya, Samadhi would offer a better understanding of the subject.

Prakriti - Purusha

Hindu religion is rich and diverse in its philosophical outlook and has followers of both dwaita (duality between god and man) and advaita (monism, "you are god"). A central concept in the Hindu religion is the fundamental differentiation between the body and the soul. The body, which is governed by sensual impulses, is subject to decay and destruction. Death, the inevitable phenomenon is proof enough for the impermanence of material existence. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna explains the difference between the Prakriti and the Purusha. Prakriti is the creation, (nature, represents the physical body) while Purusha, the indweller, is the soul or the atmic principle. Prakriti represents all the multifarious forms and names that exist in the world. It is defined as ASAT or untrue, that which is subject to change and destruction. While there may be wide variations in the names and forms (variations in prakriti or nature), the intelligent principle or the Purusha is the same in all of creation. Purusha is the consciousness or the eternal witness that resides in the physical body and is not affected by the changes that happen. Purusha is defined as 'SAT' or that which is not subject to destruction, eternal, soul, self, etc. (Ramananda Prasad)

The whole cosmic drama is the result of the manifestation and interplay of these two differing aspects of godhead. "Know that all creatures have evolved from this twofold energy, and Brahman is the origin as well as the dissolution of the entire universe" (7.06). (Ramananda Prasad). The supreme Purusha is the ultimate godhead (Brahman), the one without another. It must be understood that Prakriti and Purusha are just two different aspects of the absolute godhead. To quote from the Bhagavad Gita again, "This Prakriti is My lower energy. My other higher energy is the Purusha by which this entire universe is sustained, O Arjuna." (7.05). (Ramananda Prasad) Having touched upon the basic precepts of Hinduism, let us now explore the path and the methods prescribed by the ancient seers who achieved direct union with god.

Patanjali's Ashtanga yoga (Eightfold path)

Patanjali in his famous Yoga sutras describes the eight limbs of yoga, which lead an aspirant to self-realization. These stages are abstention from evil doing (yama), the various observances (niyamas), posture (asanas), control of prana (pranayama or breath control exercises), withdrawal of the mind from sensual objects (pratyahara), concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana) and the final stage of absorption in Atman (samadhi). (Swami Prabhavananda, 96). Through this eight-fold path, a yogic practitioner cleanses his mind of all impurities and by means of continuous discrimination frees himself of attachment to the objects of the objective world and contemplates more within the self. He acquires various forms of sidhiis (special powers) as he advances in the spiritual ladder. A yogi, however, considers these special powers as a hindrance for his ultimate pursuit and thus at every moment develops dispassion for these distractions by means of vairagya.

Vairagya

Vairagya refers to a state of mind characterized by the discrimination of the temporary, fleeting nature of the worldly pleasures from the state of permanent joy. Vairagya is nothing but non-attachment to the objective world. As sage Patanjali indicates in his Yoga sutra, "Non-attachment is self mastery; it is freedom from desire for what is seen or heard" (Swami Prabhavananda, 10). A vairagi or a spiritual aspirant who practices Vairagya constantly discriminates his thoughts. Every sensory impulse or desire that crosses his mind is weighed on the scale of discrimination and thus impure thought waves are eliminated before they take a stronghold. (Swami Sivananda) Vairagya dawns from the truth that lasting pleasure is not to be found in the sensory realm. Vairagya is the gateway to divine wisdom. It helps the mind get fixated in the supreme self. Thus, the aspirant by means of exercising Vairagya and doing contemplation and meditation achieves the culmination of his spiritual quest and enters into Samadhi or blissful union with god.

Samadhi and Kaivalya

From the accounts of self-realized saints, it is understood that Samadhi is a transcendental experience that cannot be expressed easily. Samadhi is the ultimate superconcious experience for the spiritual aspirant. It is the blissful union with god where there is only one and the feeling of duality ceases to exist. A person immersed in Samadhi is conscious of his supreme self and he rests in the state of supreme bliss. Samadhi transcends the waking state, dream state and deep sleep state and it results in the melting of the false self or the false personality. The ego of the limited self is shed and the aspirant is immersed in the nectar of transcendental bliss of the supreme self. Samadhi is the goal of all life and in this state the distinctions between the subject and object and the perception of the opposites cease to exist. The senses, the mind and the intellect cease to function in samadhi and it is the state of perfect awareness where the individual is merged with god. "In samadhi the meditator and the meditated, the thinker and the thought, the subject and the object become one." (Swami Sivananda, 293). Samadhi yields liberation from the cycle of births and deaths that result as a result of accumulation of karma.