Let us understand the two types of Nirvikalpa Samadhi, as per Sri Ramana Maharshi’s teachings.
There is internal Nirvikalpa and external Nirvikalpa. Nirvikalpa means ‘without mental modification’. Samadhi means ‘holding onto the Sat, the Absolute, Existence’. Vikalpa means modification.
There are two possibilities here. If you are aware of the external world, but internally you are holding onto the ‘Sat’, that is the Nirvikalpa Samadhi with external awareness. The external awareness is not gone. The mind is calm, pure, silent, like a still ocean. You still have external awareness, but, deep inside, you are holding onto the ‘Sat’.
On the other hand, the internal Nirvikalpa Samadhi is one in which there is no external awareness at all. The mind has merged with the Sat, existence. You can compare that state to that of a lamp’s flame which is covered with a glass; the flame is not moving at all. The mind is absorbed in ‘Sat’. This is called internal Nirvikalpa Samadhi. When internal Nirvikalpa and external Nirvikalpa are realized as one, when there is no distinction between internal and external Nirvikalpa, then what you call as ‘Sahaja Nirvikalpa’ is attained, which is the Supreme State.
Sri Ramana Maharshi speaks of two types of Nirvikalpa, internal and external Nirvikalpa. In internal Nirvikalpa, there is no awareness of the external world. Whereas, in external nirvikalpa, there is holding on to the Sat, which is the inner state, while external awareness is retained. When both are realized as one, there is Sahaja Nirvikalpa, or natural state or supreme state.
Pranams