SAMADHI: AID TO SELF-KNOWLEDGE

Existence is One only. That existence is eternal, infinite, absolute, transcendent, immanent, omnipotent, omniscient, and Self-caused. That existence is Brahman, or Satyam Jnanam Anantam Brahma, or Truth-Knowledge-Infinity, a foundational Vedic declaration from Taittiriya Upanishad (2.1.1). It signifies Brahman alone is real (Satyam), the world is an appearance, or dependent reality (Mithyā), and Jivatma, or the individual self, is not other than Brahman (jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ). Brahman is eternal, infinity, complete, full, absolute, and all inclusive. The  Ultimate Reality, or Brahman, is described by Adi Shankaracharya as Nirguna (devoid of Gunas or attributes), Nirākara (formless), and Nirvisesha (devoid of unique qualities). He is Sat-Chit-Ananda, or Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, an appropriate description by Tej Bindu Upanishad (3.11). Liberation (Moksha) is not the production of a new state but the removal of ignorance, or Avidya, through Self-knowledge (Atma-jnana) of this identity. Swami Sivananda explains "Sravana, Manana, and Nididhyasana" are the three stages of Vedantic Sadhana (Methods of Vedantic Sadhana, Divine Life Society, Rishikesh). "Sravana," or listening, is the first step where one listens attentively to the sacred scriptural teachings and the instructions of a Self-realised teacher. It involves absorbing the core truth enunciated as "Mahavakyas", or Great Sayings, in the Upanishads: (i) Prajnanam Brahma: "Consciousness is Brahman" (ii) Aham Brahma Asmi: "I Am Brahman" (iii) Tat Tvam Asi: "That Thou Art" (iv) Ayam Atma Brahma: "This Self is Brahman." Manana, or reflection, is deep contemplation and pondering over what one has heard by application of Self-enquiry, logic, and reasoning to remove all doubts and reservations until one perfectly cultivated the learning intellectually. "Nididhyāsana," or meditation, is the final stage of profound, uninterrupted meditation. Once all doubts are eliminated through "Manana," one meditates constantly on the absolute Truth until the intellectual understanding transforms into direct, intuitive realisation. Within "Nididhyāsana", meditation may take the form of repeated contemplation of the "Mahavakyas" until the conviction becomes effortless and natural. When thisthis process occurse distinction between "practising 'Samādhi'" and simply being the Self falls away. The Jñānī, or a Self-realised person, does not withdraw from the world; the world is seen as non-different from the Self, and action continues withwithout being bindingam "Samādhi," or absorption, represents a distinct way of experiencing Atma-jnana (Self-knowledge), Atma-sakshatkara (Self-realisation), and ultimately Jivanmukti (living liberation). is neither the goal nor a necessary mystical experience but an in-experienced condition that can quiet the mind so that Atma-jnana, or Atma-sakshatkara, becomes firm. Liberation, or Moksha, from the desires, longing, phenomenal attachment, and cycle of birth, death, and ignorance, is often considered the life pursuit to become one with Atman, or Self.

1. Outline
"Samādhi" is a mental solitude to be one with Atman, or Self. It is non-dualistic. It is not an isolation of pure consciousness (Purusha) from nature (Prakṛti) through the cessation of mental modifications (Citta-vṛtti-nirodha). "Samadhi" is primarily described as a settled, tranquil, and desireless state of the mind—rather than a temporary trance, forced withdrawal of the senses, or mere physical stillness (Yoga-Vasistha, 5.56.1-20). "Samādhi" is the culmination of that process. Rather in "Samādhi" consciousness and the world are not two realities; instead the latter is a dependent reality as its existence is not absolute but in relation to Brahman, only. Consequently, the highest "Samādhi" cannot be a temporary mental state that one enters and exits. Atman, or the Self, is the ever-present witness of all states—waking, dreaming, deep sleep, and even the deepest absorption. As Ramana Maharshi, Swami Sivananda and other teachers of Vedantic tradition emphasise, any experience that is witnessed cannot itself be Atman, or  the Self. Yoga-Vasistha (5.56.1-20) repeatedly defines it as the mind’s natural rest when it is free from agitation: He who does not associate his soul with phenomena enjoys a cool tranquility within himself called "Samādhi.” It emphasises "Samādhi" is when the mind is tranquil, freed from its fears, grief and desires, and Atman is at rest and quiet for lack of its passions. "Know the inaction of the mind is the best state of Samādhi.” Yoga-Vasistha stresses that this settledness arises from insight, not technique. True "Samādhi" is Self-knowledge “burns away all worldly desires as straws”—not merely sitting silent in seclusion.​ Yoga-Vasistha (Book 5, Upasama Khanda / Chapter 56 on Becoming Quiet) asserts he who does not associate his Atman, or Self, with phenomena enjoys a cool tranquility within himself called "Samādhi". He who is certain that phenomena relate only to his mind and have no connection with his soul, and who remains calm and cool in himself, may either be engaged in business or sitting quietly in meditation. Both of these are happy souls as long as they enjoy a cool calmness within themselves. This samadhi is the result of great and austere penance. If the mind of a man who appears to be in "Samādhi" is unsteady, he is a mad man. On the other hand, when the mind of a man who appears to be mad is devoid of desires in his mind, he is in "Samādhi". The worldly man who is enlightened in his mind and the enlightened sage who is sitting in his hermitage are both alike in their "Samādhi" and have undoubtedly reached the state of enlightenment.
The key characteristics of "Samādhi", according to Yoga-Vasistha, include:
(i) Equanimity in action or stillness: A person may be engaged in worldly affairs or sitting quietly; both can be in "Samādhi" if the mind remains cool, calm, and unassociated with phenomena. The appearance of stillness is irrelevant if the mind is still restless; conversely, outward activity does not disturb a desireless mind.​
(ii) Detachment as the essence: It is “a settled distaste for the objects of sense.” The mind becomes firm like a diamond or unmoved like a rock against the winds of passions, pride, and enmity. Neutrality toward objects (neither attraction nor aversion) constitutes steadiness.​
(iii) Mind in its natural state: "Samādhi" is the mind resting in its own nature (svastha) once the sense of duality (observer vs. observed, “I” vs. world) is resolved. Impressions and desires are annihilated; the world is no longer taken as ultimately real. This is the state of the jīvanmukta (living liberation).​
Vedantic tradition describes two principal forms of "Samādhi" that appear in the course of "Nididhyāsana": "Savikalpa samādhi" is absorption “with distinctions” ("Sa-vikalpa"). The mind takes the form of Brahman (“I am Brahman,” “all this is Brahman”), yet the triple distinction of knower, knowing, and known still lingers, however faintly. It is a relative plane of consciousness: one is aware of Brahman as permeating the field of awareness but has not yet established complete identity. Classical analogies include the clay elephant that reminds one of a living elephant—the form is useful, yet the reality is clay alone. Savikalpa "Samādhi" is preparatory; it stabilises the mind and allows insights to arise. "Nirvikalpa samādhi" is absorption “without distinctions” ("Nir-vikalpa"). The mental modification that has assumed the form of Brahman merges so completely that the distinctions of knower, knowledge, and known are obliterated. The classic image is salt dissolved in water: the salt loses its separate form and only water remains. At this point there is only the Self. Texts such as the "Vedāntasāra" and passages traditionally associated with Shankara’s tradition describe this as the absolute plane of consciousness. In some Advaita formulations, this state is called "Samprajñāta" or "Nirbīja" (seedless). "Samādhi". "Nirvikalpa samādhi"—even if prolonged—is still a state of mind. When it ends, the world and the sense of individuality reappear. What is permanent is "Sahaja samādhi" (natural, effortless absorption), also described as the continuous, unbroken recognition “I am Brahman” while the body-mind functions in ordinary activity. This is "Jīvanmukti"—living liberation. In this condition the mind may be active or still; the knowledge that the Self is the substratum of all experience remains unshaken. Vedantic teachers equate the true meaning of "Nirvikalpa" with this "Sahaja" state rather than with a temporary trance. Adi Shankaracharya (Upadeśasāhasrī) underlines the point: Atman is characterised by neither distraction nor concentration; both are states that come and go. "Nirvikalpa samādhi" is a way forward for liberation, but essentially it is Atma-jnana, or Self-knowledge, that alone liberates one from Avidya, or ignorance. A mind that has been prepared by ethical living, discrimination, and the three stages of Vedantic study can assimilate the teaching without having entered a state of objectless absorption. In "Samādhi" the mind is quietened and is less prone to the doubts and restlessness that obstruct "Nididhyāsana". It can subdue certain latent tendencies (Vāsanās) and make Self-knowledge vivid. Yet it remains within the realm of experience. Atman is never an object that appears; it is that by which all objects and all experiences appear. To treat a still mind as the goal is to mistake a reflection of light for the light that illumines it. Practically, "Samādhi" leads to Self-knowledge. The sequence remains "Sravaṇa–manana–nididhyāsana".

2. Scriptures
Vedantic scriptures say true "Samādhi" is not limited to formal sitting. A knower of the Self remains in "Samādhi" whether seated quietly or engaged in ordinary affairs, so long as the mind stays calm, cool, and free of desire. One who appears mad but is inwardly free of desire is in "Samādhi"; one who appears calm but whose mind is restless is not. From the moment the mind is absorbed with Truth, the sage enjoys ceaseless "Samādhi". Yoga-Vasistha (5.56.1-20) says bluntly, "Samadhi" is a settled state of mind. It is that state of consciousness in which the world's appearance is completely quiescent and which is free from sorrow, fear, and desire, and in which the Self rests firmly in its own true nature—that is known as "Samadhi". When the mind is tranquil, after it is freed from its fears, griefs, and desires, and the soul is set at its rest and quiet, in want of its passions, it is then called the state of its "Samadhi" or nonchalance. It is that state by which the self becomes composed, with worldly attachments pacified within and free from grief, fear, and longings, that is known as samādhi. Yoga-Vasistha describes it as a settled state of the mind:
- A cool tranquillity within oneself in which the soul is no longer associated with phenomena.
- A settled distaste for the objects of sense, which forms the core and essence of meditation. When this habit matures, the mind becomes firm as a diamond.
- The inaction of the mind (freedom from desires, fears, grief, and the dualities of gain/loss or acceptance/rejection) is called the best state of "Samādhi".
- One-pointedness is the best means to this detachment.
- After Brahman is known as present in the mind and the bliss of release from identification with the body is felt, sensations are lost, the deer-like mind (which browses on sense-objects) becomes spiritualised, mental faculties fly away, and only pure, indivisible consciousness remains, full of the Supreme Self.
- Full knowledge of truth combined with continuous renunciation of desire leads to the “Nirvāṇa" meditation of infinite joy.
- Practices such as hearing teachings, reflecting on the scriptures, and repeating mantras support the process, but the decisive factor is the progressive thinning and quieting of mental activity.
- In deeper absorption the yogi becomes absorbed like a wingless mountain, pleased only with the Self, with sensations numbed and the soul resting in tranquillity.
Yoga-Vasistha (Book 6: Nirvāṇa Prakaraṇa, Chapters 118, 123, and 126) delineates the Seven Bhūmikās (Stages of Wisdom):
• Śubhecchā: A sincere longing for the truth and freedom from worldly illusions.
• Vicāraṇa: Right enquiry, reflection, and study of sacred scriptures.
• Tanumānasā: The thinning or attenuation of mental activity focused on the Absolute Truth.
• Sattvāpatti: The attainment of purity and direct realisation of the Self (Brahmavid).
• Asaṃsakti: Complete non-attachment and freedom from delusion (Jīvanmukti).
• Padārtha-abhāvanā: Deep perception where dualities dissolve and objects are seen as non-separate from consciousness.
• Turīya (or Turīyātīta): The supreme, transcendent state of unbroken "Samādhi" and liberation (Videhamukti). It is the fourth/transcendental state beyond the three ordinary states of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep.
The higher stages involve "Samādhi". The sixth is described as a witness-like "Turīya" awareness; the seventh is beyond even that (Turīyātīta), pure awareness free of duality, perpetual absorption in the Self, and the state of living liberation (Jīvanmukti). Beyond the body lies the disembodied state. These stages are not rigid external achievements but progressive clarifications of what is already the case; ignorance falls away and the mind rests in its own nature. In various narratives Sage Vasiṣṭha or other sages enter deep absorption: the mind expands to the measure of the divine mind, past impressions and the pure light of intellect become visible, and the seer realises that all bodies and worlds are forms of Brahman, while material shapes are fabrications of the mind. The final fruit is assimilation into the everlasting spirit, freedom from wishes and strivings, and continuous bliss—the mind having “flown away” into pure consciousness.
"Samādhi" is the natural, effortless resting of awareness in its own source once desire and the sense of separate doership have subsided. It is both the means and the fruit of the path, culminating in the seventh "Bhūmikā" of perpetual, non-dual awareness.

3. Remarks
"Samādhi" is the mind’s settled, desire-free equanimity rooted in Atma-jnana, or Self-knowledge—available in ordinary life once the mind is no longer identified with phenomena. "Samādhi" is the firm, settled abidance in the non-dual Self (Atman/Brahman). It is the natural fruit of Self-knowledge rather than a temporary trance produced by yogic technique. One does not attain "Samādhi" as a new experience and then return to ordinary life. When the conviction “I am Brahman” becomes firm, the mind loses its capacity to create disturbance. Action continues according to residual "Prārabdha karma", but without the sense of agency or attachment. This is the settled state of mind referred to in the tradition. Thus, Vedanta neither rejects nor elevates "Samādhi" to an end in itself. Savikalpa and Nirvikalpa absorption are recognised as possible stages that can purify and stabilise the mind. The permanent fruit, however, is not a special meditative state but the ordinary, continuous Self-knowledge, i.e., the recognition that one was never other than Brahman. In that recognition, every moment is already the highest "Samādhi".

-Asutosh Satpathy