Brahmanubhuti Talk 42
(Jada Samadhi & Chethana Samadhi)
Today let us contemplate on two types of Samadhi or super-conscious absorption.
There are two types of Samadhi or transcendental states. One is called Jada Samadhi and the other one is called Chetana Samadhi. Jada Samadhi means unconscious state, Chetana Samadhi means conscious state. In Nidhidhyasa, you have to be in a conscious state. You have to be fully awake; you have to be fully alert. People think that meditation means going into some state where you forget yourself. No, that is called Jada Samadhi. You have to understand the principle of Enlightenment or Liberation. It is the Buddhi or intellect, which is the master of the body; Buddhi is the one which controls the mind and senses; Buddhi is the decision maker. So, that Buddhi mistakes Self to be the body. That is called Ahankara, or ego. Buddhi identifies with the body as the Self, rather than the actual Self. This Ajnana can be removed through Jnana. That is why Shravana and Manana are important.
Then, you go into Nidhidhyasa, contemplate on the truth, and stay in the truth. That is Nidhidhyasa, which will lead to a Nirvikalpa Samadhi or Vedantic Samadhi. Don’t confuse the state of Samadhi as inert state, unconscious state. All learning in life, whether it is Samadhi, can happen only in the waking state. For the Enlightenment to happen, Buddhi has to be fully awake. You should be fully aware, but silent. This is called Chetana Samadhi, or conscious Samadhi. People have a very, very wrong understanding of meditation. They say, ‘I had deep meditation, for one hour, I didn’t know what happened’. They went into either unconscious Samadhi, which is Jada Samadhi, or sleep. You should not enter into Jada Samadhi at all. If you enter into Jada Samadhi, you will miss the Enlightenment or learning which happens in Enlightenment. Be very careful about Jada Samadhi.
There is an example of Jada Samadhi I can give – one person was meditating, near a riverbed, and he asked his disciples to fetch a glass of water. The disciples went into the nearby village to get water. In the meanwhile, this monk went into Jada Samadhi. There was a flood in the river and he was buried. After a week, people were able to dig him out, and bring him back to life. He woke up, and the first thing he asked was, ‘Where is my glass of water?’ He had not learnt anything, no wisdom was there. It is completely a blank state. This blank state will not help you. This blank state is not meditation. This blank state is not Nidhidhyasa.
Nidhidhyasa or meditation is a fully aware, alert state, where you are able to discriminate; and by Vedantic logic what teacher has taught, ‘I am not the body, I am not the mind, I am not the intellect’, drop the thoughts, and make the mind calm. That is all. Don’t be impressed by somebody who says, ‘I went into Samadhi for seven days, and after I woke up, a big anthill had grown on my body.’ Nothing he has learnt. It is Jada Samadhi, unconscious Samadhi. Don’t be impressed by somebody who says, ‘I can sit without water and food for ten days.’ There are many yogis who know how to do it. There are some practices, like Khechari Mudra, which can block the impulse in the body, and they enter into a sort of hibernation, just like a polar bear or any other animal. This is called Jada Samadhi. Absolutely zero knowledge, zero wisdom, will come in that state. But, people will get impressed. ‘Oh! This person is able to sit in Samadhi for so many days, without food, without air.’ No use at all. It is a waste of time.
Whereas, if you enter into Chetana Samadhi, you will come out wiser, you will come out Enlightened. In Chetana Samadhi, you are fully aware, awake; you have contemplated on the Vedantic Truths which you have gained through Shravana and Manana, and your mind has become silent and you are seeing the truth, in a waking state. What is the truth? I am not the body, I am not the mind, I am not the intellect, I am the Pure Consciousness, silent Consciousness. This is wisdom.
Guru Nanak ji, the great saint of Sikh Parampara, entered Samadhi for three days. The first thing he uttered after he came out of Samadhi was, ‘Sat Naam ik Omkar’ – Omkara is the True Name; ‘Sat Sri Akaal’ – Sat or the Truth is Akaal, or timeless. This is the wisdom, the words of wisdom that came through his mouth. This is Chetana Samadhi, just three days of Chetana Samadhi. Compare this to the people who spent days together in Samadhi, unconsciously, and after coming out, just asking for a glass of water. There is no wisdom. So, avoid Jada Samadhi. And people think that Samadhi is escaping from reality. People try to do so many things to escape from reality – alcohol, movies, food, and sleep. Samadhi becomes another means or way, for many people to escape from reality. No, Samadhi is a fully awake state, where the wisdom is gained – wisdom about body, mind and world is gained. Whatever you learnt through Shravana and Manana is internalized. You wake up or get up as a wise person. Foolish are those people, who enter into Jada Samadhi. Be careful about Jada Samadhi. Work on Chetana Samadhi.
Why is Chetana Samadhi important? Because, I repeat, all learning will happen only in a waking state. No learning can happen in a trance-state, no learning can happen in sleep, no learning can happen in a dreaming state, no learning will happen in a hypnotic state. So, Samadhi is not entering into a hypnotic-like state, Samadhi is not like entering into a sleep state, Samadhi is not like entering into a dream state. Samadhi is a fully aware and awake state, where the mind is silent. Intellect is sharp enough to grasp the wisdom. Be careful about Jada Samadhi. Don’t enter into Jada Samadhi.
Pranams