Wednesday, August 27, 2014

SAMADHI PAD-SUTRA-17

                 VITARK VICHAR ,SANADA ASMITA ANUGAMAT SAMPRADNYTAH

                 IN SAMPRADNYAT SAMADHI THERE IS CONFLICT(OR                                        ARGUMENTATION),DELIBERATION OR REFLECTION (BY THOUGHT),JOY AND FEELING OF  "I AM" IN ASCENDING ORDER

      Now this sutra is talking about the stages of the samadhi, called Sampradnyat Samadhi.So the first stage is called Vitark , then the next is Vichar, then is the Sanad and then is Sasmit. In each level there is different level at our body.The first 2 have subclasses. Vitark has Savitrk and Nirvitark.and the Vichar has Savichar and Nirvikar.
      When the devote starts to do meditation, he starts at lower level and then as he progresses , he goes higher and higher. When he meditates at the level of senses, it sill the lowest level. So when we meditate , we try to 'engage' the different senses to help concentrate our mind or Chitta. So we may have slow music to engage our hearing , burn scented candle to engage our sense of smell and a oil or Ghee lamp along with a statue or picture of the Deity to engage our mind and sight.We sit in a comfortable position, without any noise around, so as to allow best concentration. It is also advised to not have eaten heavy meals in last few hours,so as to avoid it causing stomach upset or induce sleep.This all helps us to concentrate . But we still need the help of all these external sources ,so this is called Vitark. We are also advised to chant a Mantra, understand the meaning.and understand or have the 'knowledge'. So our attention is still with all these external help. So this is called SA-VITARK. Once we start concentrating without having to have 'word'or it's 'meaning' or 'understand' it.Now we can just concentrate on the object of our affection , like statue of our favorite God,In this stage we still needs the help from outside sources to prevent our senses wandering and breaking our concentration.So this is still a VITARK , but the sub class called NIRVITARK.
      So in Vitark state of samadhi, we have concentration of mind with help of all the physical help from external sources.Once the devotee practices this for long time , he starts getting better. As mentioned before,the devotee does not need the words, their meaning,or the knowledge that comes with it. He can concentrate without the them . The next state is when one does not even need the statue or the picture or all the other things that are needed before. He can just 'think' about the God and he sees it in front of his eyes and he can concentrate on it. So just the 'Vichar' which means thought, brings the appearance of the statue in front of him. This is the early state of the VICHAR samadhi. When one is aware of the 'time'or 'place', it is called SAVICHAR.So we can just close eyes and think of the God and then we get in to the samadhi. It does not matter, where we are. Then we go in to the state of samadhi, we loose the contact with the time or place and this is called NIR-VICHAR SAMADHI.Something else also happens in this state. We start looking at subtle part of the GOD or the statue. In the very beginning we are aware of all the external things. When there is little noise , we get disturbed , then we are OK even when there is external disturbance , we are able to concentrate , as long as the statue is in front of us . Then we don't need the actual statue and can get in the trance,without the statue, at any time , any place though we are aware of it. And then we loose the time and are not aware of the appearance of the statue , what it is made of . We start looking 'beyond 'it . So the appearance ,which very important in the beginning stages is not important at all .We are beyond it . This is called NIVICHAR SAMADHI.
    One last word. As we start achieving higher stare, we get more subtle.Senses are 'gross',then the 'mind' is subtle. and then the intellect and ego are still subtler.  

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