The Experience of Brahman Explained 

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The Experience of Brahman Explained | The Nature of Samadhi and why it's Essential for Moksha

 

In order to fully understand why samadhi is required for moksha, it is necessary to understand the actual experience of Brahman and the major types of samadhi that allows this to happen. This article will address the nature of savikalpa samadhi, kevala nirvikalpa samadhi, sahaja nirvikalpa samadhi and mahasamadhi. It will also explain which of these helps in producing the two different types of muktis, i.e. Kramamukti (liberation without form) and Jivanmukti (liberation with form). 

 

Disclaimer: Any attempt to explain Brahman to the satisfaction of a mind that is driven by reason and familiar with the concretization of thought is full of enormous difficulties, because that which is inexplicable cannot be explained by any amount of reasoning and logic. The difficulty in understanding and knowing Brahman logically is well explained in the Kena Upanishad: “Even gods are not free from their ignorance of Brahman.” The Vedic seers themselves had this problem in their mind when they called Brahman vaguely as "It", "This" or "That." So please bear this in mind as you read through this article and try not to take every word I say literally. I have tried my best to explain the experience of Brahman as precisely as I possibly can but words will never do justice to describe something which transcends descriptions. One must therefore experience this truth directly to fully grasp the highest knowledge. 

 

Mandukya Karika 3.37:

 

“The Self (Atman) is beyond all expression by words beyond all acts of mind; It is absolutely peaceful, it is eternal effulgence free from activity and fear and it is attainable by samadhi.”

 

The Vedas describe Brahman as pure consciousness which is beyond the reach of words and their meanings. Words cannot explain it nor can human thought grasp its nature. It cannot be seen with the eyes or heard with the ears.  It is beyond the senses and beyond any means of comprehension. 

 

If this is the case, how is it possible for one to know Brahman? There are several sources of knowledge the human mind can access, mainly that of perception and inference. However, on the spiritual plane, with reference to knowledge of Brahman, perception has to transcend the senses to gain divine wisdom. The enlightened sages have all said this divine wisdom is one of peace, eternal effulgence and absence of activity, and it is possible to experience this when the mind is pure and tranquil. 

 

But if Brahman is beyond the mind, how can it be experienced?  Do we experience Brahman with the mind or do we experience Brahman without the mind? Furthermore, what does it mean to experience Brahman? In order to fully understand this, we must first dive into the nature of Brahman and its two aspects. 

 

The two aspects are: 

 

1. Saguna Brahman (with qualities)

2. Nirguna Brahman (without qualities)

 

When we speak of Brahman, we usually refer to Nirguna Brahman which is devoid of any qualities. The Saguna aspect however, is the entire phenomenal universe subject to the categories of space, time, and causation. Though the Nirguna aspect transcends the Saguna aspect, this doesn’t mean Nirguna Brahman is separate from Saguna Brahman or beyond it. Saguna Brahman is just a word we use to describe Nirguna Brahman when it appears to be dual. There is only Nirguna Brahman.  Either it is perceived as Nirguna or it is perceived as Saguna. The difference lies only in its perception. Whatever the perception may be, it doesn’t in any way alter the truth of there being only Nirguna. 

 

The mind or avidya is what brings about this deception. It is the mind that projects the imaginary universe which comprises of thoughts that fuels the false imagination. The mind is not something separate or added onto the self. It is an imaginary superimposition (adhyasa) upon the pure self which we only use as a concept to explain the reason behind the perception of saguna (only because we perceive it this way). With the use of the mind, Nirguna is disguised as Saguna. Without the use of the mind, there is no trickery in play. Therefore, Nirguna Brahman is devoid of objective knowledge that allows anything to be comprehended or known as something seemingly separate from itself. Since objective knowledge (i.e. relative knowledge) can only be grasped with the mind, this makes Nirguna unthinkable, incomprehensible, unknowable and unimaginable.

 

Nirguna Brahman is also synonymous to permanent nirvikalpa samadhi without an appearance. According to Tripura Rahasya, an ancient Advaita text, nirvikalpa samadhi is one’s natural state and is the under-current in all three states of consciousness (waking, dreaming, deep sleep). This is the continuous experience of every being. It is only seemingly interrupted by thoughts and objects and since one’s mind is always extroverted, one remains ignorant of this fact.  

 

Nirvikalpa is chit (consciousness). It is effortless, formless and the true nature of the self. To some people whose minds have become purified from long practice in the past, nirvikalpa samadhi can come suddenly as a flood (e.g. kevala nirvikalpa samadhi for the yogis). This is where the self is shining in its full glory void of all objects, thoughts and objective phenomena. For others, it can come in the course of their sadhana or spiritual practice which slowly wears down the obstructing thoughts and reveals the screen of pure awareness while performing their daily actions (e.g. samadhi for the jnanis).  This is where the self is shining even in the presence of empirical phenomena.

 

Ramana used to refer to this screen as Aham Sphurana or I’-‘I. This is a term that is often used in the spiritual texts of Tripura Rahasya. I’-‘I denotes the unbroken experience of the self without any disturbances from thoughts. The experience keeps going with a continuous “I” without being broken into: “I am a Jiva”. In other words, you are stuck as the identity of the pure witness (turiya) instead of being identified with the body-mind (jiva). It is only the disturbance of thoughts (and attending to them) that makes the mind extroverted again, thereby breaking the pure “I” and reasserting duality. This continuous I’-‘I can only come with a sattvic mind and can only remain unbroken without effort in the pure sattvic state. 

 

This means that full and permanent realization while retaining form is only attained by abiding in the sattvic state (jnani samadhi) without the possibility of attending to objective knowledge that is projected by Rajas and succumbing to delusion due to the concealment of Tamas. In the pure sattvic or transparent mind, one cannot say that abidance in this state is abidance in the mind; rather, it is abidance in the self where the mind is at complete rest (equilibrium). This is because the mind IS the self when its completely internalized.  The self is only called the mind when attention is projected outward and perceives broken experiences.  When the mind is pure sattva, this experience is referred to as wakeful samadhi (i.e. jnani samadhi).  In this experience, the mind is not inactive but completely alert.  You simply hold a distinct personality (turiya) as you remain firmly detached and strictly witness the mind's activities silently and objectively.  This should be distinguished from yogic samadhi (i.e. kevala nirvikalpa samadhi) which only persists when thoughts and objects are not present.  

 

Regardless of the type of samadhi experienced, the pure self is what you’re always experiencing since this is the real you and the only you. Brahman is the subjective experience of the feeling “I”. It is the most brightly shining of all things, but so long as its shining is mixed with any other thing (thoughts), it is not shining sufficiently clearly. In order to shine with complete clarity, “I” must shine alone, that is, it must be experienced on its own, in the absence of all other things. When it starts to shine alone in complete isolation of other things, the “I” becomes more intensely clear. This clarity becomes evident in samadhi. 

 

Trupura Rahasya 80:

 

“Absolute Reality is manifest in Samadhi…”

 

So if one can experience the pure self as the pure self (without the use of the mind as experienced in kevala nirvikalpa samadhi), then how can the mind remember that experience if it wasn’t present or active during such a moment? This is a common question asked by many seekers who have never experienced samadhi and who tend to use logic and reasoning to explain why experiencing Brahman is not possible. The confusion lies in the word ‘experience’. Either you experience with the mind, in which case you can think and say that you are having an experience or you can experience your true self as the true self (without the mind), in which case you cannot think or say anything about the experience because there is no mind present to think or say anything. 

 

Kena Upanishad 11:

 

“It is Known to him to whom it is Unknown; he knows it not to whom it is known. (It is) Unknown to those who know, and Known to those who do not know.”

 

Try saying that verse 3X fast. This means that the true knower of Brahman has firm conviction that Brahman is unknowable during the moment Brahman is realized. But if one thinks they know Brahman in that very moment, he is not realized and still fooled by the mind since it’s only possible to know something with the mind.

 

The experience of Brahman in kevala nirvikalpa samadhi is only understood when the mind becomes present again after the self-experience. So how is this possible? Well, you are always experiencing the self because there is only the self. Your existence and awareness right now proves that you are having a self-experience (even when it’s perceived as Saguna) [Remember: there is only one truth regardless of how it’s perceived]. So when you abide as the pure self (void of thoughts) and then cling back to the mind (full of thoughts), you can now remember what happened. This doesn’t mean what happened was something that happened within space and time. It means your attention turned away from everything including the constructs of space and time and had a temporary self-experience. In this moment, your true self was shining with clarity void of all constructs. When the mind becomes active again, that clarity diminishes because the constructs are now present obscuring the true clarity from being realized. But you can now leverage the mind and its constructs to understand just how complete that true clarity was. So how can you not know just how strong the profound presence was when the mind then reasserts itself to look back on that utterly still moment? It can now compare both experiences and clearly acknowledge realization.

 

Tripura Rahasya 56:

 

“When the mind has completely resolved into the Self, that state is called Nirvikalpa Samadhi (the undifferentiated peaceful state). After waking up from it, the person is overpowered by the memory of his experience as the one, undivided, infinite, pure Self and he knows 'I am That'…”

 

This remembrance however is much different than recalling the experience of deep sleep or the experience of absence without the shining “I”. In deep sleep, one merges into the Self but without awareness of the “I” due to the pervasion of tama guna which conceals this truth from being known clearly. In kevala nirvikalpa samadhi however, one attains the self with full awareness. The experience of nirvikalpa samadhi is like being fully locked in and frozen as the “I” but with absolutely nothing to “know” due to the absence of objective knowledge. It is an incessant experience of the “I”.  When objective knowledge arises, the “I” can now cling to something that can now be known and grasped. The switch from no-mind to mind is a switch from being fully aware to being aware BUT with something to know. Therefore, you can see just how the experience as the self can be known when the mind is used again, given you are always aware throughout the entire process from beginning to end. 

 

Tripura Rahasya 82:

 

“Samadhi and sleep are obvious because their experience remains unbroken for some appreciable period and can be recapitulated after waking up.”

 

Waking up from the samadhi doesn’t mean you were previously unconscious and now you become conscious upon waking up. It simply means you were fully conscious in samadhi as Brahman, and upon waking up, you are now conscious as Brahman but through the connection of the body-mind upadhi. When the gross body is active, this is known as the ‘waking state’.  Waking up simply means the gross body is active again. It doesn’t imply that you were previously unaware as Brahman and now you are aware as the body-mind. In samadhi, you were already fully aware as the self. Why? Because the self itself is pure awareness! This however is not the case with deep sleep. In deep sleep, the self is not shining completely so it cannot be realized during that state. 

 

Trupura Rahasya 90-93:

 

“The unmanifest state, the first-born of abstract Intelligence revealing 'There is not anything' - is the state of abstraction full of light; it is, however, called sleep because it is the insentient phase of consciousness. Nothing is revealed because there is nothing to be revealed. Sleep is therefore the manifestation of the insentient state.  But in Samadhi, Brahman, the Supreme Consciousness, is continuously glowing.“

 

So now that we understand the difference between samadhi and deep sleep and how nirvikalpa samadhi is not an experience of the mind but rather an experience as the self; is there a way of knowing the self simultaneously with the use of the mind? Also, how can one progress to a point where the screen of awareness becomes permanently exposed and not just temporarily, without any potentiality of identifying with the body and mind ever again?

 

Well, in order to achieve full, complete and total liberation while living with form in the physical realm, subjective meditation is necessary. Subjective meditation is known as Nididhyasana. Nididhyasana or atma-vichara is usually followed by sravana and manana in the traditional advaita system, although this doesn’t necessarily mean these steps should be followed linearly within a single lifetime since a particular step may bear fruit in future lives. Also, nididhyasana can culminate through advance karma yoga, or advance nirguna upasana yoga.  Shankara points out the three phases which leads one to samadhi thereby producing liberation.  

 

Shankara Bhyasha Brahma Sutras 1.1.2:

 

“This kind of reasoning includes the (1) hearing of the texts (Sravana), (2) thinking about their meaning (Manana), and (3) meditation on them (Nididhyasana). This leads to intuition.”

 

Intuition here is just another word for samadhi. 

 

This is clarified in 2.3.33:

 

“Hearing, reasoning, and meditation lead to Samadhi, in which state perfect Knowledge dawns.”

 

Intuition here is equivalent to wakeful samadhi (not yogic samadhi). This type of intuition is also known as atma-jnanam since the knowledge of Brahman reflects on the purely sattvic mind without it going inactive. This allows the enlightened soul to realize their true nature since there is a reflection to witness while you abide in your own primordial presence. The comparison between both is the knowledge itself.

 

Shankara’s commentary on Gaudapada’s Mandukya Karika 3.37:

 

“The Ātman is denoted by the word Samādhi as it can be realised only by the knowledge arising out of the deepest concentration (on its essence) or, the Ātman is denoted by Samādhi because the Jīva concentrates his mind on Ātman.”

 

The word Intuition is also referred to as Aparokshabhuti. Aparokshabhuti is intuitive, direct and self-evident knowledge. Anubhuti is the condition of being the self (i.e. samadhi). Strictly speaking, we are always the self. Hence, anubhuti is ever present and is not something new. However, since we normally identify our self with the body-mind. With reference to this false identification, aparokshabhuti is the state where all such limiting conditionings disappear and when we remain just as the true self (nirvikalpa samadhi). 

 

When we practice atma-vicara or what Shankara refers to as meditation, i.e. nididhyasana, the aim is to turn one’s attention away from objective phenomena and turn towards the self by negating all that is non-self until one ‘intuits’ the self directly. What we are seeking to experience is a greater clarity of self-awareness until such clarity becomes absolute.  The only way to experience such clarity is by withdrawing from the disturbances of the mind and by having an unbroken experience of the self throughout daily action no matter where you are or what the circumstance. This continuous experience of the self (or the “I”) is what Shankara refers to as the Brahmakara Vritti. This is not an actual vritti or thought but only a term we use to describe the functioning of the mind when it turns into “no-mind” (i.e. Brahman). This functioning persists the more you have an unbroken experience of the self. This is none other than wakeful samadhi and must be practiced persistently until the functioning  becomes natural and maintained without effort. Only then will the mind merge with the self or “become it” as a result of destroying all the vasanas that sustains the mind's survival or the potential to identify with body-mind.  Before this final goal is reached, the mind will actively be in use while trying to keep samadhi in motion. One will therefore become exposed to this higher truth while operating in the relative plane. This is known as savikalpa samadhi.

 

Shankara's Vedanta Sara 820/831/832:

 

“In the relative plane of consciousness, one is aware of Brahman as permeating the whole of one’s field of consciousness. Inasmuch as one has yet to establish complete identity with that which one contemplates, it is called ‘relative’. Savikalpa samādhi is that which is blended with the objects of knowledge. There are faint traces of one’s ego consciousness, such as the ideas of ‘I and mine’, as also the impression of one’s likes and dislikes. There is at the same time a realization of the Ātman as the unchanging witness, who alone is the seer, and the perceiver of the ‘me’ consciousness, and of one’s likes and dislikes.”

 

This means the Jiva will not turn into Brahman all at once. It will first receive glimpses or intermittent flashes of the self during savikalpa samadhi. Though this true state will not come with complete clarity since the false identity has yet to be completely given up or be fully merged with the real one as the pure self. This means savikalpa samadhi is still within the Saguna aspect of Brahman. Savikalpa samadhi is when one holds on to the self with effort due to mental disturbances. In order to transition this samadhi to sahaj nirvikalpa samadhi thereby rendering the screen of awareness permanently exposed, i.e. attaining moksha, one must practice meditation (savikalpa samadhi) persistently until there is no longer the potentiality of being entangled with the body-mind ever again. This is how one destroys the aham-vritti and remains as the pure self permanently and not just temporarily. You must hold the “I” continuously until it becomes fully locked in and where effort in remaining there is no longer required. This is how one achieves the status of jivanmukti (Vedanta’s version of enlightenment). 

 

Shankara's Vedanta Sara 817/834:

 

“One who desires to attain liberation should therefore practice meditation unceasingly, until all the wrong ideas that arise in the mind as to the nature of the Ātman are completely eradicated. It is in this way that one comes to identify oneself with the witnessing consciousness, and merging in that consciousness all which one conceives within oneself, such as one’s likes and dislikes.”

 

Therefore, before nirvikalpa samadhi can be permanently established, the jiva must become a knower of Brahman through savikalpa samadhi; where effort is made at turning attention away from the false identity, and towards the true one, i.e. the pure self. If this is done long enough, the mind (upadhis) will dissolve and witness principle (sakshi/turiya) will have nothing left to attend to other than itself (it’s own Nirguna formless form). Without samadhi, one will remain glued to the body-mind upadhis and hence will not be free from the cycle of rebirth since attention continues to be projected outward. If attention doesn't remain unbroken, there is no liberation (since the nature of Brahman is unbroken attention). 

 

Shankara Vivekachudamani 357:

 

“Through the diversity of the supervening conditions (Upadhis), a man is apt to think of himself as also full of diversity; but with the removal of these he is again his own Self, the immutable. Therefore the wise man should ever devote himself to the practice of Samadhi, for the dissolution of the Upadhis.”

 

Shankara has been very clear on the essentiality of samadhi and why it’s absolutely necessary for moksha. This is referenced in many of his complete works including bhashyas on the Brahma Sutras and the Upanishads, Aparokshabhuti, Vivekachudamani, Upadesasahasri, Soundarya Lahari and many more. Many who have been following recent traditional acharyas have said that the real traditional view of Advaita is a non-mystic approach; however mystical experiences are a natural occurence when one is turning the mind inward through the deepest layers.  This happens during nididhyasana which is to negate all that is non-self.  These mystical experiences must be negated first by exposing them, until they are all fully negated after being fully exposed! 

 

Since many followers on the path of Jnana Yoga do not practice yogic samadhi, many have now been led to believe that samadhi in general is not required at all. So they remain stuck with knowledge purely at the conceptual level (when attention is pointed outward and now only aware of physicality).  In other words, they have not negated the physical body! They will be surprised to find out that samadhi will be a natural occurrence if they practice nididhyasana correctly. Samadhi will be a natural outcome for all who have cultivated a sattvic mind to reflect jnana (knowledge of Brahman).  This knowledge is what will dissolve ignorance or the illusion of the mind.  Note: the term jnana should not be confused with the path of jnana yoga. The path of Jnana Yoga is simply using theoretical knowledge of the self as the foundation for subjective mediation in order to produce liberation directly while living.  This is something that cannot be done via objective meditation, the method of producing liberation via krama-mukti (i.e. liberation through the higher realms after discarding all bodies). This is unless of course the seeker decides to use his discriminatory power developed from practicing yogic samadhi to help cultivate wakeful samadhi through nididhyasana. Seekers on the path of jnana yoga use the words of Vedanta as the means to knowledge (Pramana). However, this is only conceptual knowledge that is used as a means to achieve higher knowledge (experiential knowledge). Mystical experiences will naturally occur when progressing through the path of jnana yoga.

 

While one can intellectually know Brahman through the srutis, this is still considered lower knowledge (i.e. relative) because it is fully leveraging the body-mind. The mind in this case continues to be externalized. So long as the mind is externalized, the nature of pure Brahman can never be known. Intellectual knowledge therefore cannot produce liberation on its own although it is a step in the right direction. It is necessary to intellectually understand the nature of Brahman and Atman being identical (as stated in the mahavakyas) before self-inquiry can be done successfully to produce liberation in the physical realm without the dependency of the physical body dying. Transcendence of body-mind (which is required for moksha) can only come with the higher knowledge derived from savikalpa samadhi which serves as a pathway to connect the attention of awareness entangled with the false self to that of the innermost self, i.e. Nirguna or absolute knowledge (where body-mind is no longer present). Savikalpa samadhi is what destroys primordial ignorance (the very root of the mind) because it is what connects you with the beyond.  It is the necessary function that turns the mind (Saguna) into Brahman (Nirguna) to produce liberation. Without samadhi, one will remain entangled with the body-mind no matter how many times they recite verses from the scriptures. So forgive me Iswara as I still have a few more verses to recite.

 

Adhyatama Upanishad 1.17:

 

“The knot of the ignorance (mind) in the heart (self) is broken completely only when one sees his Self as secondless through Nirvikalpa Samadhi.”

 

So can Brahman be experienced? Yes, it absolutely can. Either you experience it fully as the self through nirvikalpa samadhi or you experience it partially with the mind through savikalpa samadhi. However, no matter what the experience is, you’re always experiencing Brahman. Why? Because there is only Brahman! There is never a time you are not experiencing Brahman. It is so obvious, you just don’t notice it in its complete purity due to the distractions from thoughts and the annoying superimpositions of the upadhis that tricks you and prevents this self-luminous truth from being fully realized. Though it must be noted that when the clarity of “I” grows and becomes absolute, by itself, it cannot be known and therefore we cannot even call it a normal experience because it is unknowable as itself. Yet you remain as that in a pure and unknowable self-experience. 

 

The higher knowledge of Brahman becomes more clear to the jiva when the ego submits more and more. This is why the truth of Brahman is known more clearly in the higher realms where the Sages reside, simply because these realms are much subtler and causal in nature due to there being very little ego present. This allows the truth of Brahman to shine more clearly as you slowly transition your identity from Jiva to Brahman as you move up the realms through subtlety. It is worthy to note that moksha can also be redeemed in the highest and most subtle realm Brahmaloka (where the unaltered truth of Brahman resides). This is where the jiva can either deeply and subtlety gravitate towards Nirguna on its own terms via inner travel through yogic samadhi upon death of all three bodies or be merged/released there automatically after residing there until the end of the kalpa (cosmic cycle). As the lokas withdraw in during cosmic dissolution, the jiva will naturally relinquish all causal and subtle desires to remain in turiya permanently.  If turiya is not firmly established, the jiva may revert back to the causal or astral realms. But when Turiya is established with complete loss of doership, liberation in this case is known as Kramamukti or liberation in steps, i.e. the gradual and scenic route to moksha through the higher realms. This is important to note because it signifies that knowledge of Brahman becomes more evident and clear as one’s ego becomes smaller. In Brahmaloka, there is only a very small trace of ego left which then gets completely vanished when submerged in the absolute. 

 

This is difficult to comprehend for those who have not experienced deep states of savikalpa samadhi through self-inquiry (the jnani’s way) or deep transcendental states of Brahmaloka via yogic samadhi (the yogi’s way). The physical realm is very dense and solidified, so the truth of Brahman is more obscured in this realm, i.e. it is an altered truth obscured by the ego. Therefore, the average human mind is unable to access such truths since they are strongly identified with the false self. The Rishis and Sages (many of whom reside in higher realms and thus have direct access to this knowledge) incarnate to the lower realms to expound these higher truths to help elevate mankind. Without this knowledge, humans wouldn’t have access to this wisdom unless they themselves are spiritually qualified to receive this knowledge directly via deep meditation. This higher knowledge can only bloom experientially once the ego submits and when the mind begins to lose its own identity (something that cannot happen unless one first knows that it is even possible to happen). Therefore, theoretical knowledge is needed for jivas in this physical realm as a means to become exposed to higher truths. This higher truth will gradually become more known to you directly as you put this theoretical knowledge into practical use. 

 

This means knowing Brahman is not always a flip of a switch from mind to no-mind. This will result in manolaya or temporary kevala nirvikalpa samadhi which comes as a sudden rush bypassing the clear understanding of the true self. This experience at best will serve as validation of there being a pure self which the jiva can now use in the waking world as higher knowledge to identify themselves with the supreme identity (through self-inquiry) and thus destroy the very root of ignorance (mind). Full realization however will come as a gradual unfoldment of the mind becoming no mind due to the vasanas that are destroyed in this very transformative process. It will not come by the mind switching to no-mind abruptly due to the halting of vasanas. If you experience the self temporarily, it is called practice. If it is everlasting and permanent, it is the supreme experience. 

 

When the mind is turned into Brahman, this assures one to clearly know their own light of consciousness in the process which ultimately allows them to rest in their natural self permanently. This means they get to abide as turiya where Atman still has it's witnessing function.  This is the pure sattvic state that is irreversible once it's fully locked in (this can be done either in Brahmaloka without the three bodies or through the physical realm with the status of jivanmukti). If one rests in the self temporarily (i.e. kevala nirvikalpa samadhi), it means they have bypassed the knowledge of Atman. Instead of maintaining the inquiry with an alert mind through discrimination, they have succumbed to inactivity/bliss and the mind has plunged into dormancy.  When one abides in turiya permanently, there is no potentiality of diverting attention away from the self. Why? Because the mind has assumed the form of Brahman so there is no longer such thing as a mind for the witness principle to entangle back with. Attention is placed on the self and remains permanently unbroken. In temporary kevala nirvikalpa samadhi however, the mind has not assumed the form of Brahman but only took on that form temporarily. Therefore, the potentiality to experience the phenomenal world still exists and remains hidden for the duration of the time one is submerged in the self.  Therefore atma-jnanam can only come when one abides as turiya while still witnessing the appearance of duality. Temporary nirvikalpa samadhi is therefore not full knowledge as there is no doer in such a state to acknowledge realization (i.e. it is unknowable).  If the doer (false knowledge) is not exposed to Brahman (true knowledge), the illusion cannot be destroyed. Only when it is exposed, can it be destroyed (otherwise it remains hidden only to reappear again).

 

The shift of mind becoming no mind through self-inquiry results in the gradual transition from savikalpa samadhi to sahaj nirvikalpa samadhi bypassing the need for kevala nirvikalpa samadhi.  This transformation can take many lifetimes in the physical realm to master and many more to keep it unbroken without effort. This steady unitary awareness when the mind becomes no-mind does not get disturbed even when objects are perceived, whereas kevala nirvikalpa samadhi is continued only in the absence of the objects. 

 

Note: The jnani’s way to liberation differs from the yogi’s way to liberation through mahasamadhi. Mahasamadhi is when the yogi consciously exits the body through yogic samadhi and attains liberation thereafter in the highest heaven after extinguishing all vasanas to arrive at turiya.  This means the yogi's attention travels inward as each body dies until it gets exposed in its own source of attention (Brahman). Most of the karma would have already been burned by constant practice of savikalpa samadhi during the waking state prior to physical death (if not the jiva will be drawn to come back in the astral or physical realms). Depending on the prarabdha karma, the yogi will either be led to immortality sooner upon death or much later. The jiva will know intuitively if mahasamadhi is the course of action they should take and will be called upon to undertake the ultimate sacrifice when ready. With sahaj nirvikalpa samadhi however, the jnani is liberated while living (jivanmukti). This is rupini or liberation with form. In this case, instead of consciously exiting the body like the yogi, the jnani turns the mind into Brahman by keeping savikalpa stable throughout any daily action. This can only be done using viveka. By doing so, the jnani fully locks in the pure aham or sattvic state and achieves immediate liberation without the need of going anywhere. This means the jnani gets to witness the physical body perform actions without effort, volition and thought. For the jnani, there is no need to kill the body and go to Brahmaloka since liberation can be produced right here in this very world itself since Brahman is non-dual. There is no place where Brahman is not. This is why objective meditation cannot produce this type of mukti since it objectifies Brahman. 

 

The jnani therefore is not concerned with whether or not the body is alive or dead because he is no longer the body and completely identified with witness principle and thus already one with Brahman (sadyo-mukti). This can only happen to a Sage who is due to exhaust all prarabdha in this very life itself while occupying the gross body. Hence, this is only possible for extremely qualified Sages.

 

With mahasamadhi, liberation is produced through Brahmaloka without witnessing the physical body since the yogi consciously decided to kill it by exiting through the brahmarhandra. The mind will eventually become no-mind as it slowly dissolves in the totality of bliss in Brahmaloka until it merges with turiya. With sahaj nirvikalpa samadhi, there is direct liberation in the physical realm while witnessing the physical body act (though it no longer appears to be "physical"). This is the status of turiya (the underlying observer/witness of all material activities). Upon disembodiment of the physical body with the full exhaustion of prarabdha, this status becomes turiyatita. This means the witnessing aspect ceases and there is complete and total self-absorption in infinity.

 

These are the differences between samadhi for the yogis and samadhi for the jnanis. Though, the difference doesn’t lie in the actual experience of samadhi but rather the method of fructifying it and the approach of using it to produce their own unique way for liberation. 

 

Note: There is no one mukti that is superior to the other. We will all be liberated one way or the other according to Ishwara’s will and it will happen according to one’s own innate tendencies. Mukti however cannot happen without samadhi since the very nature of moksha is permanent non-dual samadhi! Saying samadhi is not required for moksha is equivalent to saying money is not required to be financially rich. Without samadhi, one will remain connected to the body-mind upadhi and hence will not be free from the cycle of rebirth. It is also important to note that knowledge of liberation and how close you are will come intuitively through savikalpa samadhi. You cannot attain liberation if you’re unconscious of how close you are or unconscious of when it will happen. Liberation is a highly conscious process and cannot be produced blindly. It is not something you will be surprised with after death since it is a gradual process. You will never truly know who is qualified for moksha. Only the person who is qualified will know, solely because of the revelations they receive during deep samadhi which confirms their status of mukti (liberated). Sages who have already worked out their karma receive divine visions which come as intuitive understandings of when it’s time to leave. This is how you know you are close and exactly why moksha cannot be redeemed without samadhi. 

 

[Brief Summary of my Experience] Many years ago, my status of mukti was confirmed with an initiation to Brahmaloka. This knowledge came intuitively through the use of kundalini energy focused intensely in the ajna chakra during deep savikalpa samadhi and also many times after during the interim period of savikalpa when coming down from nirvikalpa samadhi.  Sages from the higher realms and divine intelligence have communicated telepathically that it is my full birth right to reap this spiritual reward if I choose to. This is a reward that I have been granted with for many past lives as well but chose to delay the process for the enjoyment of maya and for the upliftment of others out of compassion and love. Reaping this reward would require me to go into mahasamadhi and give everything up completely.  Mahasamadhi will happen when the perfect time arises which I will know intuitively as the time approaches. For now, it is a mission of mine to not only explain the yogic path to liberation in extreme vivid detail but also the jnani’s path. With self-inquiry, I have been able to cultivate wakeful samadhi intermittently throughout the day and during sleep without the use of kundalini energy.  Those on the yogic path who can go into samadhi at will or can keep it in motion easily will find it just as easy to do the same through atma-vichara using the non-dual methodology which I have found the benefits to be much more everlasting and permanent. So I now understand just how profound both approaches are for liberation and just how special it is to use both as a means to burn vasanas/karma and to give up the sense of doership while performing actions in daily life. Again, there is no one way that is superior to the other. There is only the approach you will be called upon to undertake as the time approaches to say your final goodbye. 

 

The point of my story is that higher knowledge (no matter which way you cultivate it) will only arise when the mind becomes pure thereby rendering the ego useless. This very process itself is samadhi. If samadhi does not fructify, it will be very difficult for one to understand the knowledge of Brahman through mere words on paper. Brahman is disguised as the mind, so it’s here right now as we speak even though it doesn’t seem to be this way. This truth or knowledge will become more evident to you as a Jiva when the ego submits more with little traces of “i-ness” left to clearly experience this already self-shining truth. This is because Brahman becomes more manifest as ignorance is removed.

 

Shankara Bhyasha Brahma Sutras 1.1.4:

 

“When ignorance is removed Brahman manifests Itself, even as when the illusion of the snake is removed the rope manifests itself.”

 

Ignorance in this case, is not relative ignorance which can only be resolved through the use of relative knowledge, e.g. becoming qualified as a mechanic will help resolve ignorance about how to repair cars. Ignorance per Shankara’s commentary is none other than the mind itself (avidya) which can only be fully resolved by higher knowledge (samadhi). In other words, the only way to remain permanent as Brahman instead of the mind, is to use this higher knowledge to become Brahman. This is how ignorance is removed. 

 

The ego is also synonymous to the mind, even though in Vedanta, the ahamkara (ego) is explained as one of the several different functions of it. However these functions are only meant for analytical exposition and not for the actual inquiry. In addition, the functions cannot be sustained without an underlying presence to own them. In other words, once the doer goes (ego), everything else goes with it (all other functions). Therefore, when we say ignorance is being removed, this simply means the owner of actions (ego) is becoming weaker/smaller. It will no longer seem/feel as if you are operating the body-mind but rather witnessing the operation of the body-mind. This is samadhi. Either you operate as the ego or you operate as Brahman. But the gradual transition from one to the other will give you a taste of both as one becomes smaller (less identifiable) while the other becomes larger (more identifiable). In other words, as one goes down in identity, the other goes up in identity (both move up and down proportionately at the same time depending on which way attention drifts). This is how the process of mind becoming no-mind works (i.e. the culmination of savikalpa samadhi). [Remember] there are two aspects of one truth. As you remove ignorance, the saguna aspect turns into the nirguna aspect. You don’t jump from one to the other as if they are separate. This will only result in laya which you will need to come back from. You will always be introduced with savikalpa samadhi before nirvikalpa or absolute reality is fully manifested.

 

It’s very difficult to explain or even understand the experience of Brahman, which is why you must experience samadhi yourself to fully grasp this higher knowledge. Otherwise, one tends to resort to logic and reasoning which only pollutes the understanding of Brahman and the nature of experience. Furthermore, entertaining concepts and thinking in general will only obstruct higher knowledge from manifesting because any activity of the mind, e.g. an active intellect or any action with doership involved, prevents the knowledge of Brahman from arising. 

 

Kaivalya Upanishad 2:

 

“By knowing It (Brahman) alone, one attains Immortality —there is no other way to its attainment. Neither by work, nor by offspring, nor by wealth, does one attain Immortality, but by renunciation alone.”

 

The word work or karma in this case denotes the sacrifices (ritualistic and philanthropic actions) described in the Vedas which assumes actions done with doership. An action is dependent upon the doer (the instrument of action) and the result. Because it is associated with these two factors, karma or action is utterly distracting from the knowledge of non-dual Brahman. If you are always entangled with the body-mind in your actions, how can you expect the Atman to be realized if you’re stuck in the false identity? The externalized mind must work to become internalized.

 

Shankara Bhyasha Brahma Sutras 1.1.4:

 

“As brahman is your inner Self, you cannot attain it by any action. It is realized as one’s own Atman when the ignorance is annihilated.”

 

Actions are acts done with doership. Inactions are actions done without doership. Actions therefore will not manifest higher knowledge of the self simply because you are entangled with the instrument of action. But if doership is renounced, the ego submits and thus ignorance (entanglement with the instrument of action) is removed allowing the Atman to be realized since there is nothing left to identify with. Actions can be done for purification of the mind. You can leverage doership or the sense of “I am” in your spiritual practice as a means for purification. Renunciation however is for revealing truth. Once the mind is purified enough, you should renounce doership completely through meditation in order for truth to be revealed as it cannot come if you’re completely invested in the activities of the wrong identity. The false identity needs to be given up totally in order to be merged in with the real one (Brahman). This means that even the knowledge of the Vedas need to be given up when true knowledge arises. This is when true knowledge takes over in unbroken motion.

 

One who uses the body-mind for purification is performing sadhanas. However, one who has renounced the body-mind becomes the knower of Brahman. What then is use of sadhanas for such an individual? Knowledge itself cannot be said to be an activity of the mind. Therefore, the mind needs to be renounced for higher knowledge to manifest. The renunciation of the body-mind manifests samadhi. The wise, by means of knowledge alone through samadhi realize the eternal and self-luminous Brahman; there is no other path to its realization and most certainly no other path to liberation.

 

Shankara’s Vivekachudamani 375:

 

“The extremely dispassionate man alone has Samadhi, and the man of Samadhi alone gets steady realization, the man who has realised the Truth is alone free from bondage, and the free soul only experiences eternal Bliss.”

 

Only when we purify our minds by continuing our spiritual practices and developing our level of concentration will we be able to renounce completely and manifest the higher knowledge of Brahman. When samadhi comes, you will truly know the real truth that has been hidden from you all along simply waiting to be uncovered. 

 

Yoga Vasistha:

 

“Knowledge of truth, O Lord, is the fire that burns up all hopes and desires as if they are dried blades of grass. That is what is known by the word samadhi – not simply remaining silent! That is known as samadhi in which there is eternal satisfaction, egolessness and clear perception of what is…” 

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