I'm sure that there are many people who will not believe this, and many more who will not even care, but for those of you who do believe and understand what I'm talking...this is for you. Last night I think I went into Nirvikalpa Samadhi for the first time or at least I know it was some new state of awareness that I had never experienced before. (I admit I do not know much about different stages of Samadhi, but I do know what I experienced) There have been many times when I have gone into what I think was Savikalpa Samadhi and it has been happening more often recently. During those times I would be totally transfixed on God and my love for God would overflow. I would have tears rolling down my face and I felt blissful. And/or I would be able to "astral project." But during those times there was still the awarness of duality, the awareness of "I" and "Thou." But what happened last night was different. Last night I meditated and tried to clear my mind of all thoughts of "I" or "Thou" using the process of "Neti, Neti" (not this, not this) When thoughts arose I pushed them away. I felt my breathing and heartrate slow down and I had this strange feeling of my eyes turning up. And at some point I did lose that awareness of duality, I can only say that now, looking back, because at the time there was no "I" to think about what was happening. And then (this is where it becomes very difficult to describe because it is almost impossible to talk about something without using words like "I" but...) there was a merging of my consciouness into that of The Divine. It was like a faucet was turned on and I was soaked in Pure Love, Light, Consciousness, Existance, and Bliss. And then all was a Divine stillness. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced. I'm not sure how long I stayed like that. But now here I am and I want others to know that you can acheive that. Stay on your path! Do not fear! Pray for the veil to be lifted! Pray with a yearning heart! Call to God as a child calls for its mother! God is granting my prayers, lifting the veil of maya, and blessing me with the experience of pure Bliss. And you can experience that too! Don't give up all you seekers!
NightOwl, I believe you. Congratulations. Just remember, it is always like this. We often just tune it out (until it becomes a habit) because we are told (and not always unwisely) that we have to pay attention to the "real world," you know, popular or common reality. Of course, now that you know what Samadhi is, keep practicing and you will probably find that it becomes easier to enter into this state. Of course, the real trick is to eventually reach a state where you can comfortably be aware of both worlds at the same time. They are not necessarily separate. It makes me happy to know that there are others who are happy to know that . . .
Nirvikalpa if I remember means basically the same thing as nirvana. It translates into time of cessation, so it means basically Bye bye. I don't think you would be back on the internet if you had gone into nirvikalpa, but maybe I'm wrong.
Well, I've done some research and it depends on what type of Hinduism you're talking about. Different groups break the stages down into numerous smaller ones and there are different names for them. I am I guess what you'd call an Advaita Vedantist and I follow the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna. I was reading a bit about his descriptions of Samadhi and according to that what I experienced was Nirvikalpa. (Of course, the more I do it, it will go on for longer periods of time, etc) From what I gathered he said that in Nirvikalpa you do come back. Then there's the higher stage that I believe was called Mahasamadhi. But if anyone does have more info on this subject I'd appreciate it.
mahasamadhi is when the body is completely abandoned and the merging with the Self is complete. Your experience soudns wonderful, I have had a similar experience, it was very beautiful, no thoughts, a complete sense of oneness with everything and the cessation of time, however I was disturbed and I lost it.
That's what I like to hear. That's exactly why I posted this...I figured that it would be enough if I could inspire at least one person...
Dear NightOwl1331, Thank you for the wonderful posts. It is so nice to note that you are not one of those ones who keep their developments as a secret. Please be confident that your views are right and you have been blessed with the never-to-be-lost-again achievement/knowledge. Never again ignorance will touch you. As regards 'samadhis', I suppose you can always come back from Nirvikalpa samadhi if slightest mundane/material desire is left in you. Mahasamadhi is as described by Bhaskar. Thank you again for sharing your experience of the astral consciousness and your merger with that vast, all pervading energy/consciousness that we call God. This is Nirakar (Without form) consciousness. The day is not far off when you will experience the other type(With form-Sakar.) also. You will see your beloved God in whatever form you have loved Him so far. You may hear blissful sounds and messages. You will be glad to know that our dear brother LookingSomewhereDistant had the similar experience like you. The above assertions, by God's grace, are from my own experiences. Go ahead dear, you are the richest person on earth now. Please keep reflecting the light to all of us as you have already done. As you have said, there is hope for all us. Even an ugly caterpillar with poisonous stings can transform itself into a beautiful butterfly. We can also definitely become all beautiful. With love and prayers............Kumar.
nightowl that is great!! I am happy your practice has brought you this joy!! May Kundalini smile on you! Peace, Me
Great post, I too long to be forever with the beloved, good thing the beloved is everywhere, right? I have entered such states during meditation, from psychedelics and smoking ganja in praise of Shiva. I was just at this retreat with my teacher Ram Dass, Krishna Das and this Buddhist lady. It was wonderful, the thing is Krishna Das told everyone this great story that applies to this. Him and his fellow devottee of Neem Karoli Baba, (an amazing guru, saint in India, that left his body in 1973, but the spirit of this guru is always with us), anyway they were chanting together, and all of a sudden, his friend went into deep samadhi... he just freezes up, his hands up in the air, stiff as a board, no longer breathing so it was a really deep state, you know... and Krishna Das is sitting there, getting all jealous. After all a while, the guys still not coming back, he asks his wife when he's coming back, she giggles and says she doesn't know. They carry him off into the back room and stuff... I strive to learn from you beloved brother, please teach me more of what you have gained in your practice. much love...
According to the biography of Swami Vivekananda, He experienced nirkalpa samhadi during his time with Sri Ramakrishna. The experience was evidently overwhelming, and it took Swamiji about a month to recover. Usually, it is said that one does not return from this particular state. In the case of Vivekananda, he was told by Sri Ramakrishna that he would not enter this state again until his time here was up and his work completed. Here is the passage: (Narendra was the name by which Vivekananda was known in his younger days) 'Narendra had had enough of visions and manifestations of spiritual powers, and he now wearied of them. His mind longed for the highest experience of non-dualistic Vedanta, the nirvikalpa samadhi, in which the names and forms of the phenomenal world disappear and the aspirant realizes total non-difference between the individual soul, the universe, and Brahman, or the Absolute. He told Sri Ramakrishna about it, but the master remained silent. And yet one evening the experience came to him quite unexpectedly. He was absorbed in his usual meditation when he suddenly felt as if a lamp were burning at the back of his head. The light glowed more and more intensely and finally burst. Narendra was overwhelmed by that light and fell unconscious. After some time, as he began to regain his normal mood, he could feel only his head and not the rest of his body. In an agitated voice he said to Gopal, a brother disciple who was meditating in the same room, 'Where is my body?' Gopal answered: 'Why, Naren, it is there. Don't you feel it?' . Gopal was afraid that Narendra was dying, and ran to Sri Ramakrishna's room. He found the Master in a calm but serious mood, evidently aware of what had happened in the room downstairs. After listening to Gopal the Master said, 'Let him stay in that state for a while; he has teased me long enough for it.' For some time Narendra remained unconscious. When he regained his normal state of mind he was bathed in an ineffable peace. As he entered Sri Ramakrishna's room the latter said: 'Now the Mother has shown you everything. But this realization, like the jewel locked in a box, will be hidden away from you and kept in my custody. I will keep the key with me. Only after you have fulfilled your mission on this earth will the box be unlocked, and you will know everything as you have known now'. The experience of this kind of samadhi usually has a most devastating effect upon the body; Incarnations and special messengers of God alone can survive its impact. By way of advice, Sri Ramakrishna asked Naren to use great discrimination about his food and companions, only accepting the purest. Later the master said to the other disciples: 'Narendra will give up his body of his own will. When he realizes his true nature, he will refuse to stay on this earth. Very soon he will shake the world by his intellectual and spiritual powers. I have prayed to the Divine Mother to keep away from him the Knowledge of the Absolute and cover his eyes with a veil of maya. There is much work to be done by him. But the veil, I see, is so thin that it may be rent at any time.'
That description of his experience does sound almost exactly like mine. One part of what happened that I didn't mention was that I had the feeling that I should come back to try to tell others about this. And I guess if there wasn't something pulling someone back from a state like that then they wouldn't come back. And I can say with certainty that this has changed me in a profound way. And I can see how there has been an unfolding process that led me to that particular experience. And that process is still unfolding. But I do feel different and I know that I will never go back to being the person I was before this experience. I feel as if I am awakening from a long slumber. I feel as if I am being reborn. And I can only imagine what kind of changes would take place if I again have that experience. And in a way...I feel like it is not yet time for me to try to experience it again because I feel a need to let people know about this. I feel a need to pass on what I have learned. And I feel that doing so in this life of mine will set me free in a way. So that one day, after I know that I have helped others down this path, then there will be nothing calling me back from that state of Bliss.
Samadhi : It is a state of detachment from our known material world. The degree of detachment varies and becomes maximum when all material connections are lost or forsaken by the aspirant during meditation. So, the quality of samadhi varies with the level of detachment. Or it means that the quality of samadhi depends on the quality of meditation. Samadhi is merger(part or full) with the all pervading field of energy of divine consciousness(Brahman). At the point of this never-felt-before merger we get a huge shock depending on the quality of our meditation(Level of detachment). Better the quality of meditation(Higher level of detachment) greater is the shock. Or we can say better the merger, greater is the shock. When total detachment from all connections of this world(Ego,greed,anger, fascination,jealousy,desire, etc.-sense of the body and 'I') takes place during meditation then total merger with the omnipresent field of divine consciousness(Brahman) occurs. So,samadhis are endless types depending on their qualities. Mainly we divide them into two, savikalpa and nirvikalpa. So, the qualities of savikalpa and nirvikalpa samadhis also vary. Nirvikalpa samadhis are mainly known by the loss of 'dehabuddhi'and 'aham-buddhi'(Sense of the body and ego caused by 'I' and 'my'). If slightest of any desire, old or fresh, is left even in a very subtle form then total merger(Maha samadhi) does not take place and we come back again to the mundane realities. If we remember we know that Thakur Sri Ramakrishna could feel before hand the possibility of deep samadhis and just before going into trance He used to make a wish or ask for something , like 'I want to drink water' or 'I want to go to the toilet' etc. To come back some people keep some wishes like doing welfare jobs, spiritual uducation jobs and to live for spreading the words that God is there,He is the most compassionate, benevolent and merciful. There is hope for everybody to know Him and see Him. We say this merger causes shock, actually at the time of union with the vastness of that unknown energy and its unknown qualities, we get scared . But if we can take it and belong there(Get used to it) it becomes all inexplicably good and blissful. It is like after living all life in a poor hut how you would feel when you enter an emperor's palace. Or like how you would feel to touch a bare(without insulation) live electric cable. Higher your resistance(Attachment-gloves, etc.) lesser is the shock and vice-versa(Lesser your resistance-detachment,no gloves- greater is the shock. All samadhis irrespective of the quality are very blissful. Let us enjoy that and not much bother about what the level(Stage) is. Let us slowly and steadily improve upon it. Power of the shock during the merger has been compared with that of an elephant. Even if a friendly elephant is invited to come inside a hut, it would destroy both the hut and its occupant. So it is necessary to build a strong house before we can invite an elephant(Even if it is a tame and friendly one). That is why it is necessary that slowly and steadily, over a long period, we should prepare our body,mind and soul (With the advised means and ways - food, good habits, discipline, meditation, keeping company of saintly people,etc.). It is dangerous to crave for quick achievement of samadhi. Forceful endeavours for getting good and deep meditation(By means of several 'pranayams'-breath control exercises ) can fetch disastrous results and may cause total derangement or even death. Our body,mind and soul should be first of all ready and be deserving. When, as a fresher, we start meditating and nothing happens we become upset,unhappy and frustrated. We fail to understand that it is our dear God's unfathomable compassion and love for us that we do not get it so easily. He does not want us to perish or get hurt. I suppose, both BBB and NightOwl1331 are right in their views. With lots of love and prayers...................Kumar.
I find that part interesting because during the past year I have changed my eating habits to being a vegetarian and I met a couple of people who are on this same path. I've also been just changing the way I live in general...trying to live my live more in tune with my beliefs. So, I think my experience happened exactly when it was supposed to. I feel that God has led me here. I've also had another experience since the last one. That was a few days ago and it was completely spontaneous. I was walking toward my house from my neighbor's yard and I was thinking about how beautiful the world is and that all is Brahman. And I started feeling...different. And from that point I lost awareness of the world. I was in that same state I experienced the other day: pure Bliss . And no awareness of "I" or "Thou." And when I became aware of my thoughts again I found that I was thinking that I had to come back to teach a certain person who heard of my last experience and asked me to tell him of any further developments. The strange thing is that the last thing I remember is walking towards my house, but when I "awoke" I was laying inside my house in the entry way. I have no idea how I got there. But I don't think I fell because I was not hurt and was lying comfortably there. Maybe I actually lyed down myself and just do not remember it, I'm not sure. And I didn't feel ill at all...I don't think I "passed out" or anything like that. I actually felt really good when I awoke. But...that was a very strange experience because I was not meditating...just thinking about how all is Brahman and I could feel that state coming on. Does anyone know anything about this sort of spontaneous samadhi?
Blessed Child of the Divine, Hari om! Your experience in the yard is very similar to my own first glimpse of this state. It happened in a lawn in school, where I sat admiring a flower, the intricacies of the colours, the infinite shades, blending into each other like a perfectly orchestrated music. Then slowly, as I counted the shades in the petals, the counting, along with all other thought, ceased completely. Time ceased, I was the flower, I was unaware of everything. Sadly I was rather rudely interrupted by a classmate, so I was unable to remain in this state...However, like the fragrance of a flower stays in the lady`s hair long after the flower itself has wilted, a deep sense of peace and admiration for the great creative power behind all this immeasurable beauty prevailed.
Dear NightOwl1331, Bhaskar has so nicely described you - 'blessed child of the divine.'! You are my Lord's(Who never leaves us) dear child. He only took care of you and made sure that you are not hurt during the whole experience. Once samadhi takes place it is said that 'Kula Kundalini' rises up through the Shusumna nadi or let us simply put it this way that the kula kundali power gets awakened. I love to call this Kula kundalini shakti as power of divine consciousness. Once this comes up it never goes back into the dormant passive state again. It comes down and stays at a certain level. If you know about the 'Chakras' you will understand what I mean. However, in this condition , slightest thought of God or Godly matter or even talks, company of saints/sadhus, any beautiful thing or thought can cause this kundalini shakti to come up quickly and cause 'spontaneous samadhi'. This was the case with Thakur and all other great yogis who attained samadhi. Slightest hint of the transcendental world and they used to go into samadhi. We love you dear. We adore you. With prayers.........Kumar.
Dear Bhaskar, My dear brother, what a beautiful experience you had! Thank you for sharing with us. All this sharing gives us hope and fortifies our belief and faith in the divine world of God. Both of you (NightOwl1331 and you) are, unmistakably,experiencing the most desirable thing on earth, called samadhi. Please do not worry, nothing can go wrong with you. Go easy about it. He shall take care of everything else. Thakur used to say,"As you desire so you get".If you want only Him and nothing else, only He shall come to you and nothing else. With lots of love and prayers..............Kumar.
Beloved kumarji, Hari om! That greeting I used is the standard greeting used in the Divine Life Society, which was the orgaisation started by Swami Sivananda, who was the guru of my own gurudev Swami Chinmayananda. Sivanandji was a wonderful teacher, so gentle, so inspiring...I will make a new thread with one of his talks on it. May all that is beautiful and blessed smile on you, Thy own self, Bhaskar
To all who have written on this thread: Wow...what an absolutely beautiful thread. I had never seen in before...but now that I have I don't think I will soon forget it. Thank you all for sharing your stories... it is threads like these that remind us not to give up hope...and to keep trying... I have never experienced a complete samadhi...I think I have gone half way there two or three times...but thanks to your stories...any doubt in my mind or heart is gone... and for that alone I thank you... Namaste. Haribol. *Peace and Love* Nicole
yep wonderful post and I am glad you have reached your goal NightOwl1331. To other seekers however it may be worth reading this thread, http://www.kundalini-support.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=327 I am no expert in Hinduism and it's terminology, but Ive had an expeience you could describe as some sort Samhadi. After a long meditation session, while starting to sleep I heard internal chanting, and then a tremendous energy bust shot up my spine into my head where the power of the energy felt like it would kill me. At this point I couldnt feel my body for maybe an hour and I basically assumed I was dead. It was a shock to the system and I was scared to say the least. I wanted it to end. I havent ever had a teacher, i just found a basic meditation technique on the web and went my way. I think it's advisable to have a good teacher, because I think there is a chance of endangering yourself. Thats my experience. I also have a constant ringing noise in my head and I am not the same person I was. I dont enjoy things I used to like. I have little desire to do anything like having a family etc, and this can cause problems in the west with family/friends who dont understand the process. There also seems no going back, so if people just want to have a nice sensual experience and then go back to life as normal you may encounter problems.
