{"id":32626,"date":"2013-04-19T18:51:01","date_gmt":"2013-04-19T18:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.in.yoga\/?p=32626"},"modified":"2025-10-17T08:52:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T08:52:38","slug":"dharana-dhyana-samadhi-basic-considerations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.in.yoga\/en\/dharana-dhyana-samadhi-basic-considerations\/","title":{"rendered":"Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi: Basic Considerations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since the next lines of the Yoga Sutras text already contain the category of Samadhi used by Patanjali, at this stage it becomes fairly appropriate to start figuring out the meaning of this term, let alone that this notion probably comes as the most mystified one of all (well, maybe, except for the Chitta J). In order to understand the scale of its misunderstanding let us use the definition given in the Wikipedia [the Russian version of the Wiki \u2013 trans. note].<\/em><\/p>\n

Samadhi<\/strong>\u00a0(Sanskrit<\/a>:\u00a0\u0938\u092e\u093e\u0927\u093f,\u00a0sam\u0101dhi\u00a0IAST<\/sup><\/em><\/strong><\/a>, \u201cwholeness, unity; implementation, performance; composure\u201d) \u2013 in scope of the Hinduism<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Buddhism meditative <\/a>practices \u2013 it is the state when the very idea of personal individuality (but not the consciousness) disappears and there emerges the integrity of the perceiving subject and the perceived object. The Samadhi is the state of (spiritual) enlightenment <\/a>\u00a0achieved by means of meditation when the mind becomes very still and all contradictions between the internal and the external world (the subject and the object) vanish, when the individual consciousness as a microcosm merges with the cosmic absolute as a macrocosm. The Samadhi is the last stage of the Noble Eightfold Path that brings the person most close to the state of Nirvana<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Actually, the above-written is a total nonsense that mixes up the yogic and the Buddhist psycho-practices (in their illiterate, semi-theosophical interpretation) with the concepts of the Greek natural philosophy (the microcosm and the macrocosm), of the Western philosophy (the object and the subject) and of some obscure theology (the cosmic absolute). And as a \u2018confirming kill\u2019 they associate the Samadhi<\/em> with the Buddhist Eightfold Path. But what is the most unpleasant thing here is that this is the way Samadhi<\/em> is \u2018understood\u2019 by the majority of the self-made \u201cyogins\u201d who put some extra-nonsense on the top of this absurdity; for instance (upon analysis of the first page of results given by Google when requesting the \u2018Samadhi\u2019 notion) they say that Samadhi<\/em> is \u201cthe soul\u2019s going beyond the physical body\u201d (the fibs regarding the post-Leadbeaterian astral projections with silver cord), the \u201ccontact with the God and Supreme Reality\u201d, the \u201chighest level of the soul development\u201d and so on. And nobody gives a damn that there is a contradiction between the first and the second parts of the definition because the Buddhist teaching simply does not provide for either \u2018God\u2019 or \u2018soul\u2019. However, all these extravagances are just the mole holes when compared to the top-of-the-top absurdity found on that very first page of the Google searcher results:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe practice of the underground Samadhi is performed in a hole that has some certain size and proportion that one should mandatory take into account when preparing all conditions for this type of Samadhi.<\/p>\n

9\u04459\u04459 feet (1 foot = 30,5cm) \u2013 this is set for experiencing the inviolability and divine infinity.<\/p>\n

7\u04457\u04457 feet \u2013 this is set for contacting the divine energy of Jupiter and the energy of compassion.<\/p>\n

5\u04455\u04455 feet \u2013 this is set for contacting Venus and Moon that lead all mankind to the One Heart\u201d.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, a lot of quite adequate interpreters also fail to facilitate the understanding of this term by translating it, for instance, as the \u201cabsorbtion of consciousness\u201d (Govindan). So we should not take offence at Vivekananda who has modestly translated Samadhi as \u201cconcentration\u201d. At least such translation variant will not do much harm\u2026<\/p>\n

Therefore let us try to free our head from all available stereotypes and preset understandings and to figure out the subject matter of Patanjali\u2019s Samadhi<\/em> relying upon the original source itself.<\/p>\n

First of all let us state the following:<\/p>\n

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  1. The Yoga Sutras mentions nothing about any physiological effects that accompany the Samadhi<\/em>.<\/li>\n
  2. The Yoga Sutras never postulate Samadhi to be the ultimate goal of yoga. On the contrary, the entire third chapter that deals with results one may have by performing Samyama<\/em> (the consecutive experience of Dharana, Dhyana<\/em> and Samadhi)<\/em> on various objects comes as a complete refutation of such opinion. Indeed, if the ultimate goal is achieved what is the point of reflecting about the details and consequences.<\/li>\n
  3. It never states that the state of Samadhi<\/em> if once achieved accompanies the person for a long period of time, let alone for all the time after. Once again, the feasibility of performing Samadhi<\/em> upon various objects obviously refutes this point of view.<\/li>\n
  4. There is no link between the state of Samadhi<\/em> and the death, due to the same very reasons. By the way, unlike the Buddhist nirvana that is entered posthumously. That is why there are no grounds for interconnecting these categories.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n