What Is Samadhi?

[Sat1176]

Simple explanation.

[Ragmaala]

simple and nice.

I am still at the stage of attention.

[Truthseeker]

SUNN SAMAADHI:

CONVERSATION WITH GOD

"Everyone speaks of the Sunn Sunn, or Absolute God, the unmanifest Void.

How can one find this Absolute Void? Who are they, who are attuned to

this Absolute Void?" They are like God, from whom they originated. They

are not born, they do not die; they do not come and go. O Nanak, the

Gurmukhs instruct their minds (sggs 943). In the Sunn, or Primal Void,

the Infinite Being assumed His Power. He Himself is unattached, infinite

and incomparable. He Himself exercised His Creative Power, and He

gazes upon His creation;... This Primal Void is pervasive throughout all

the ages. That humble being who contemplates this state is perfect;

meeting with him, doubt is dispelled (sggs 1037).

<><><><>

Man's ultimate quest is the final evolutionary frontier which is within man himself. It is the Truth spoken by the scriptures and the Enlightened Beings that the Absolute God resides deep within each and every one of us, and that He is realized through control and purification of the mind. One who knows this mystery of this All-pervading Principle, knows Him. Therefore, in the search for God, none can afford to forget the basic rudiments of Spirituality that the same One God lives within all beings. Accordingly, the Gurbani (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, SGGS) reminds us that those who search Him in the externalities of the world are mentally deluded.

• Sabh kish ghar mahi baahari naahee. Baahari tolai so bharam bhulaahee: Everything is within the home of the self; there is nothing beyond. One who searches outside is deluded by doubts (sggs 102).

God, who is Eternity-Consciousness-Bliss, does not talk through our material senses. He does not talk through the mouth either. He talks to his humble servants in the state of "Sunn Samaadhi", when they are completely Desireless, Egoless, notionless or Nirvikalpa — the state where one's psychological ego is completely silenced. This is the state beyond speech, body, and mind; the sate in which one is completely enraptured with the Essence of the Divine Name or God-consciousness. Hence the state of "Sunn Samaadhi" is God's Mind! Whoever contemplates this state has attained the Spiritual Perfection. In short, in "Sunn Samaadhi" Aatmaan (Soul) can talk to the Parmaatamaan (Super Soul), continuously. The Gurbani confirms it as follows:

• Sunn samaadhi guphaa tah aasan. Keval brahm pooran tah baasan. Bhagat sang prabh gost karat: One sits there, in the cave of Sunn Samaadhi; the unique, perfect God dwells there. God holds conversations with His devotees (sggs 894).
• Sunn samaadhi Naam ras maate. Aath pahar jan Hari Hari japai: In the Sunn Samaadhi, they are intoxicated with the essence of the Divine Name. Twenty-four hours a day, His servants chant the Name (sggs 265).

Simply put: "Sunn Samaadhi" is the state of Absolute Spiritual Silence. However, here the "silence" must not be mistaken for verbal non-communication. It is at a more fundamental level where there is no notion (or false ego). To put it otherwise, it is the state of Intuitive Poise or Silent Trance corresponding to mind's complete absorption in the Formless Being. In other words, when mind is one hundred percent fixed for understanding the real Self, it is said to be in Sunn Samaadhi. For example, for someone to say that he is in Sunn Samaadhi is to say that he has fully realized God-consciousness (Naam-consciousness or Shabad-Surati). Among all forms ofSamaadhi, this is the highest form. It is Self-realization. At this stage there is no longer any connection with worldly pleasure; for one is then transcendental to all sorts of joy derived from the senses. Also, at this stage, one attains perfect understanding that he is eternally the Sewak, Daasa, or servant of God. Once the devotee becomes situated in this Transcendental position, he never descends from it. When the nonapprehension of Reality is destroyed in the direct experience of the Reality, Maya (delusion, ignorance, egoism, etc.) folds her magic kit and disappears, never to come back. This is an irreversible process. Therefore, unless a devotee has reached this position, he is unsuccessful.

• Sunn samaadhi rahahi liv laage ekaa ekeee shabad beechaar...: Some remain absorbed in Sunn Samaadhi, their minds fixed lovingly on the One Lord; they reflect only on the Shabad. In that state, there is no water, land, earth or sky; only the Creator Lord Himself exists. There is no intoxication of Maya there, and no shadow, nor the infinite light of the sun or the moon. The eyes within the mind which see everything — with one glance, they see the three world (sggs 503).
• Naamaa kahe chit Hari siyu raataa sunn samaadhi samaaugo: Says Naam Dev, my consciousness is imbued with God; I am absorbed in the profound state of Samaadhi (sggs 973).

Before we dive deeper into the Gurbani's exploration of this sublime state of Sunn Samaadhi, it might be helpful to know that there are some other terms that are virtually synonymous to it. They include: annihilation of mind, purification of mind, seedless trance, celestial trance, deepest trance, celestial void, nothingness or emptiness, celestial silence, celestial realm, celestial stillness, absolute void, profound void, primordial void, unmanifest void, state of thoughtlessness, state of absolute absorption, state of no "I, me, mine, your", state of no-mind, state of celestial ecstasy, state of complete surrender to God, state of enlightenment, Chauthaa Pad, Turyaa Avasthaa, Sahaj Avasthaa, Tenth Gate, vision of Reality, awakening of Kundilini, intuitive poise, primal Samaadhi, deepestSamaadhi, deep meditation, cave of the heart, liberation from bondage, platform of transcendental consciousness, absorption in the Formless, living dead, living liberated, talk within, God Union, silent talk, Kingdom Of God, the Absolute Lord Himself, God Communion, Divine Darshan, and so on. In short, it's the absorption in Naam-Rasa,Naam-Ranga, or natural state of Unconditioned Consciousness.

• Sahaj samaadhi sadaa liv hari siou jeevaan haru gun gaaee: I am absorbed in Sahaj Samaadhi; lovingly attached to the Divine forever, I live by chanting His Praises (sggs 1232).

The Gurbani has laid tremendous emphasis on advancing to this state of Sunn Samaadhi. Here the Soul becomes absorbed in the fire of the Divine Wisdom which roasts the seeds of ignorance, false ego or the body-bound inclinations. The individual looses the sense of individuality — the Soul realizes itself and the Infinite Consciousness as one. This the state in which one sees the One Spirit in all beings and all beings in One Spirit; the ocean in all waves and all waves in the ocean; the clay in all pots and all pots in the clay; the gold in the bracelet and the bracelet in the gold; the sun in the rays and the rays in the sun; the string in the beads and the beads in the string; the moon in the waters and waters in the moon; the fragrance in the flower and flower in the fragrance; the wood in the fire and fire in the wood!

• Udak smund salal kee saakhiaa nadee trang smaavahige...: Like drops of water in the water of the ocean, and like waves in the stream, I merge in God. Merging my being into the Absolute Being of God, I have become impartial and transparent, like the air (sggs 1103).

This is the state of Saakshi-Bhaav — the Eternal Witnessing. Here one witnesses the ego consciousness, the Soul Consciousness, and the Infinite Consciousness all existing together. A man in this state may even be outwardly engaged in worldly duties in the fulfillment of God's Cosmic Plan, he may even look irreligious and uneducated, but he ever remains immersed in God Consciousness with one hundred percent involvement of his mind; without any loss of God-unoin. He lives amidst the so called impurities of the material world without being affected by them just as the bird flies in the sky without leaving any footprints or mark; or just as the lotus flower floats untouched upon the surface of the water; or just as the duck swims untouched across the stream! Like the water vapor in the sky, he remains absorbed in the Self within. This is the state of perfect Freedom from bondage.

• Sahje sahaj milyaa jagjeevan Nanak sunn samaae: In absolute ease and poise, one meets the Life of the World (i.e., God). O Nanak, one is absorbed in the state of absolute absorption (sggs 774).
• Sunn nirantar deejai bandh....: Focused deep within, in perfect absorption, the soul-swan does not fly away, and the body-wall does not collapse. Then, one knows that his true home is in the cave of intuitive poise (sggs 939).
• Sunn samaadhi mahaa parmaarath teen bhavan pat naamam: The consciousness in deep Samaadhi, the Supreme Being, the Lord of the three worlds — these are all Your Names, Lord (sggs 634).
• Girah kutanb mahi sahaj sumaadhee. Nanak naam ratte se sache bairaagee: In their own household and family, they are in Sahaj Samaadhi. O Nanak, those who are attuned to the Divine Name are truly detached from the world (sggs 1246).

If an individual drop of water were to be separated from the ocean and analyzed for it's chemical composition, it will exhibit the same chemical qualities that of the entire ocean from which it has been separated. Similarly, the Jeeva (individual beings) separated from God, contains the same Transcendental qualities that of the Super Soul (Parmaatamaan) from which it has been separated. As such, Soul's affinity for Sunn Samaadhi is due to its Source, Waheguru, who Himself remains in unbroken Primal Samaadhi. The Gurbani explains that this Primal Void is pervasive throughout all the ages.

• Sunnhu khaanee sunnhu bani. Sunnhu upjee sunn samaanee...: From this Primal Void, came the four sources of creation, and the power of speech. They were created from the Void, and they will merge into the Void. The Supreme Creator created the play of Nature; through the Shabad, He stages His Wondrous Show (sggs 1037).
• Sargun nirgun nirankaar sunn smaadhee aap. Aapan keeyaa Nanaka aape hee phir jaap: He possesses all qualities; He transcends all qualities; He is the Formless Lord. He Himself is in Primal Samaadhi. Through His Creation, O Nanak, He meditates on Himself (sggs 290).
• Arbad narbad dhandhookaara....: For endless eons, there was only utter darkness. There was no earth or sky; there was only the infinite Command of His Hukam. There was no day or night, no moon or sun; God sat in primal, profound Samaadhi (sggs 1035).

If Sunn Samaadhi is the Soul Nature, then why Jeevas (individual beings) are unable to realize it? Our mind has three defects: restlessness, ignorance and inner filth. Mind conditioned with these three defects inhibits us from becoming permanently attuned to God-consciousness. Owing to our bondage of Maya — illusions, duality, false ego, mistaken identity, etc. — and the effects of our past reactionary Karma (Vaasnaas), we keep falling down again and again into body-consciousness. The nature of mental defects is opposite toSunn Samaadhi. A mind free of its defects is one with the Celestial Stillness (Sahaj). Therefore, only that mind which does not get disturbed by the changes in the material world is said to have attained the Absolute Ease and Poise (or Purity).

• Maya phaas bandh nahee phaarai aru man sunn sunn na lookai.....Jiyu pritibimb bimb ko kayu mileehai udak kumbh bigraanaa. Kahu Kabeer aisaa gun bhram bhaagaa tayu man sunn samaanaa: The mortal does not break free from the bonds of the noose of Maya, and he does not seek the shelter of the Sunn, Absolute Being. He does not realize the dignity of the Self, and Nirvaanaa; because of this, his doubt does not depart....As the reflection of an object blends in the water when the pitcher is broken, says Kabeer, just so virtue dispels doubt, and then the soul is absorbed in the Sunn (sggs 475).
• Unman manooaa sunn samaanaa dubdhaa durmat bhaagee...: The disturbed mind has been absorbed in God; duality and evil-mindedness have run away. Says Kabeer, I have seen the One Fearless God; I am attuned to His Name (sggs 333).

Some of the Gurbani's widely repeated terms include "Panch Shabad" (the five celestial sound currents) and "Anhad Naad" (unstruck celestial sound current). Although these primal sound currents reside within our Inner Being, we are still unable to realize them. Why? It is like the deer who in ignorance searches for the musk in the bushes even though the musk is ever present within its own body. Here the Gurbani reminds us that the same condition applies to the man — he also wanders around in the wilderness of doubts caused by his mental ailments. Consequently, he also searches for the Naam, Panch Shabad, or Anhad Naad outside; in other places and objects. In reality, they are all hidden within his own body, "here" and "now". Here the Gurbani reveals the secret to us.

• Panch Shabad tah pooran naad.....Sunn samaadhi prabhu kirpal: The Panch Shabad, the five primal sounds, echo the perfect sound current of the Naad. The wondrous, amazing unstruck melody vibrates. .....There, they meditate only on the Naam. How rare are those who find this place of rest. The love of God is their food, and the Kirtan is their support. They obtain a permanent seat in the Infinite. No one falls there, or wavers, or goes anywhere. By Guru’s Grace, some find this Realm. They are not touched by doubt, fear, attachment or the traps of Maya. They enter the deepest state of Sunn Samaadhi, through the kind mercy of God (sggs 888).

The Gurbani explains to us when this world had not yet appeared in any form, or when the Supreme Being Himself was in Sunn Samaadhior All-in-all, then the Jeeva (individual being) is not there to experience joy and sorrow, or life and death. Similarly, by awakening the Divine Grace within when ones enters into the state of Sunn Samaadhi, he becomes one with his Pure Being. As a result, we again become free from the notion of duality, birth and death, sins and good deeds, happiness and suffering, insult and praise, love and hate, etc. That's why the scriptures relentlessly challenge us to experience this Spiritual State "here" and "now"; for this intimate experience can only be experienced while in the physical body. One comes back again and again into flesh simply to realize his True Nature. Nothing more.

• Tah harakh na sog na janam na marat: There (Sunn Samaadhi) is no pleasure or pain, no birth or death there (sggs 894).
• Tah paavas sindhu dhoop nahee chhahiaatah utpat parlayu naahee. Jeevan mirat na dukh sukh biaapai sunn samaadhi doyoo tah naahee. Sahaj kee akathkathaa hai niraaree: There is no rainy season, ocean, sunshine or shade, no creation or destruction there. No life or death, no pain or pleasure is felt there. There is only the Primal Trance of Samaadhi, and no duality. The description of the state of intuitive poise is indescribable and sublime (sggs 333).
• Jeevat marai marai phun jeevai aise sunn samaayaa: One who remains dead while yet alive, will live even after death; thus he merges into the Primal Void of the Absolute Lord (sggs 332).
• Taaree na tarai aavai na jaai. Sunn sahaj mahi rahio samaai: Man merged in God is not diverted by diversions and reincarnation. He remains intuitively absorbed in the celestial void (sggs 1162).

How can we advance towards attaining this state of Pure Awareness? The teachings of the scriptures are precisely intended to awaken this state within us. By practicing control over the nine gates of the physical senses, one attains perfect control over the Tenth Gate (Celestial Realm). Consequently, the mind turns away from the world and enters into the Mind of God (i.e., Sunn Samaadhi).

• Sahaj sunn ik birva upjyaa dhartee jalhar sokhyaa. Kahu kabeer hayu taa kaa sevak jin ih birvaa dekhyaa: In the profound void of intuitive Samaadhi, the one tree rises up; it soaks up the water of desire from the ground. Says Kabeer, I am the servant of those who have seen this celestial tree (sggs 970).
• Chhet aavai taa sahaj ghar paayaaa. Cheet aavai taa sunn samaayaa: When He comes to mind, I find the home of peace and poise. When He comes to mind, I am absorbed in the Primal Void of God (sggs 1141).

God lives in the cave of the Heart — the deepest Trance or Celestial Void. He does not live in the cave of mountains or jungles. The Primal Lord sits within the celestial sphere of deepest Samaadhiwithin our Inner Being. He is the All-pervading Consciousness that runs in and through everything. In this context, the Gurbani helps eliminate the mental delusions or doubts of the so called Yogis as follows:

• Sun mashindraa Nanak bolai....: Listen, Machhindra, to what Nanak says. One who subdues the five passions does not waver. One who practices Yoga in such a way, saves himself, and saves all his generations. He alone is a hermit, who attains such understanding. Day and night, he remains absorbed in deepest Samaadhi (sggs 877).
• Surati simriti duyi kannee munndaa...: Let contemplation and intuitive meditation be your two ear-rings, and true wisdom your patched overcoat. In the cave of silence, dwell in your Yogic posture; let the subjugation of desire be your spiritual path. O my King, I am a Yogi, a hermit, a renunciate. I do not die or suffer pain or separation. The solar systems and galaxies are my horn; the whole world is the bag to carry my ashes. Eliminating the three qualities and finding release from this world is my deep meditation. My mind and breath are the two gourds of my fiddle, and the Lord of all the ages is its frame (sggs 334).

We mortals are challenged by the scriptures to become "living dead", or Jeevanmukta. How one can be living as well as dead the same time? However paradoxical it may seem, this is the state recommended by the scriptures to pursue. To become Jeevanmuktadoes not mean committing suicide, abandoning one's duties, remaining inactive, or running away from the world. It simply means to transcend the three modes of the material nature, resulting indissolving of the instinctive mind or false ego. As long as one is caught in Maya's tripple-trap, he can not be Jeevanmukta or liberated. Therefore, in simple terms, liberation or Mukti can be defined as freedom from the material consciousness or false ego.Sunn Samaadhi is the death knoll for false ego.

• Janam maran kaa bhram gayaa Gobind liv laagee. Jeevan sunn samaanyaa gur saakhee jaagee: The illusion of birth and death is gone; I lovingly focus on the Supreme Being. In my life, I am absorbed in deep silent meditation; the Guru’s Teachings have awakened me (sggs 857).

There are two kinds of ego: false ego and True or Pure Ego. The True Ego is nothing but the Pure Soul-consciousness. The false ego grows out of man's identification with the body (senses), mind (emotions), and intellect (thoughts). Thus the false ego in man is the mental-ego, which has the potential of being perverted by intellect waves, mental vibrations, and sense impressions.

The experience of Sunn Samaadhi is the elimination of this false ego or the sense of separateness from our real Self (God, Sat Guru, etc.). Just as fire, having consumed the fuel, disappears into its unmanifest form, just as the dreamer and his world of dream merge and disappear upon awakening, so too the false ego, as our sense of individuality, disappears into the experience of the Supreme state,Sunn Samaadhi.

• Sunn samaadhi sahaj man raataa. Taj hayu lobhaa eko jaataa: My mind is intuitively absorbed in Sunn Samaadhi; renouncing egoism and greed, I have come to know One God (sggs 904).

Upon the death of false ego, our senses become widow! This inner transformation results in purification of the mind, necessary for attaining oneness with the Pure Consciousness within. Without the complete removal of false ego or complete inner surrender unto the Self within, the complete oneness with Spirit is not possible; no matter how much one remains in silence or meditation.

• Chuppai chupp na hovayee je laayi rahaa livtaar: God cannot be attained by observing silence, even though one may remain in constant meditation.
• Bin man mooye kaise hari paayi: God is unattainable without annihilation (i.e., purification) of the mind (sggs 665).
• Man maile bhagti na hovayee Nam na paya jaye: Devotional service can not be performed with a filthy mind, and the Name can not be obtained (sggs, 159).

According to the scriptures, once the seeker has purified the instinctive mind, he becomes fit for employing his mind in unwavering contemplation, discovering the total identity of the essence behind both the individuality (Jeevaatmaan) and the universal Self (Parmaatamaan). When the shining Light or the direct knowledge of the real Self — the destroyer of the separateness between the Soul and God — arises in the heart of the individual, then Maya, the cause for the material world, disappears instantaneously, along with its deceptive effects.

The state of Sunn Samaadhi reminds the Soul of its Eternal Nature, Omnipresence, and Omnipotence. The attainment of this highest state is only possible by the practice of deepest love and devotion through the Naam Simran or Shabad Kamaaee (deep meditation). Hearing, perceiving, and contemplating it, the mind is enraptured and becomes Pure. It does not then waver and is no more affected by Maya.

The Spiritual practice of Shabad-Ghaalnaa or Naam-Simran(meditation) helps establish the Purity of the ego outwardly as well as inwardly. As a result, the awareness becomes centered on the Primal Void of the Absolute Self — the victorious union of Soul and Timeless Spirit in Cosmic Consciousness. What it means is that in order to link with the True being within, we must become attuned toShabad-Consciousness; which is the same as God-Consciousness, Divine-Consciousness, Cosmic-Consciousness, Pure Awareness, and so on.

• Jin antar Sahabad aap pachhaanahi gati miti tin hee paaee. Eh manuaa sunn samadhi lagaavai jotee joti milaaee: Those who have the Shabad deep within, understand themselves; they find the way of salvation. Their minds enter into the Sunn Samaadhi, and their light is absorbed into the Light (sggs 910).
• Jo jan Naam niranjan raataa. Nanak soee purakh bidhaataa: That humble being who is imbued with the Immaculate Naam, O Nanak, is himself the Primal Lord, the Architect of Destiny (sggs 943).
• Kahu kabir jo Naam samaane Sunn rahiaa liv soee: Says Kabeer, whoever is absorbed in the Naam remains lovingly absorbed in the Primal, Absolute Lord (sggs 1104).

The devotion and unselfishness are the two rivers. In between these rivers is the shore of Divine Wisdom, or Celestial Silence (Sunn Samaadhi or Infinite Self). Let's pray to Waheguru so that we all can make that place our Home. For all humble servants of God search for the way to get to That Place! Where there is no time ( or birth and death), no creator, no creation, no destruction, no worlds, no universe, no existence, no names, no forms, no "I" and "me", no "mine" and "your", no "this", no "that", no truth, no false, no likes and dislikes, no humans, no demons, no elements, no bodies and senses, no mind and thoughts, no meditation, no sorrow, no enjoyment, no beginning, no middle, and no end: all is at all times, beyond the comprehension of the body-mind-intellect. Only Infinite Awareness exists there.

• Nayu nidh amrit prabh kaa naam....: The nine treasures and the nectar are in the Name of God. Within the human body is its place of rest. The Sunn Samaadhi, and the unstruck sound current of the Naad are there. The wonder and marvel of it cannot be described. He alone sees it, unto whom God Himself reveals it. O Nanak, that humble being understands (sggs 293).

—T. Singh

http://sachanandani.blogspot.ca/2006/12/anhad-naad.html

Edited October 8, 2014 by Truthseeker

[Truthseeker]

Interesting how in the video he says to pay attention.

Similarly, as we do Naam Simran we must keep our attention on the sound of our voice.

dhhun mehi dhhiaan dhhiaan mehi jaaniaa guramukh akathh kehaanee.
The meditation is in the music, and knowledge is in meditation. Become Gurmukh, and speak the Unspoken Speech.