Quote Originally Posted by sarabhanga View Post
Namaste,


Compared with taijasa (dreaming), prAja (deep sleep) is even closer to samAdhi, but it is not possible to reach samAdhi from unconsciousness.

The teaching of svAmI lakshmanjU is not advaitavAda; rather, his parAdvaita is a kind of dvaitAdvaita or vishiSTAdvaita vAda.

Neither jAgrat nor svapna, alone, is any nearer to samAdhi, but the yoga is (of course) found in their twin, the jAgratsvapnau (wakeful sleep or lucid dreaming). And the parAdevI may be found in this jAgratsvapnau ~ although parAdevI is bhairavI, who is only the mAyA of bhairava. Such shAktopAya occurs in taijasa, and it may lead one to brahmA and brAhmI (i.e. to nArAyaNa), but not to brahma (or nara). shAmbhavopAya, however, may lead one directly to advaitam.

The bhaNDasura is the bandhapAsha and the pashubandha.
The idea of 'sleep' and 'deep sleep' being close to samAdhi is neither advaitavAda nor dvaitavAda but plain wrong knowledge. If it were true then we have a chance of getting a samAdhi every night without any conscious effort!

'wakeful sleep' is close to samAdhi and 'wakeful deep sleep' is samprajnata/asamprajnata samAdhi as described by patanjali.

srI vidyAraNya in his pancadashi( 1.60) describes dharma megha samAdhi to be the highest stage reached in Yoga( complete knowledge of prAjna and eradication of all vAsanas) before individual notion is destroyed in the great oneness of turIya.

From panchadasi:

1.54. And, when by shravaNa and manana the mind develops a firm and undoubted conviction, and dwells constantly on the thus ascertained Self alone, it is called unbroken meditation (nididhyAsana).

1.55. When the mind gradually leaves off the ideas of the meditator and the act of meditation and is merged in the sole object of meditation. (viz., the Self), and is steady like the flame of a lamp in a breezeless spot, it is called the super-conscious state (samAdhi).

1.56. Though in samadhi there is no subjective cognition of the mental function having the Self as its object, its continued existence in that state is inferred from the recollection after coming out of samadhi.

1.57. The mind continues to be fixed in paramAtman in the state of samadhi as a result of the effort of will made prior to its achievement and helped by the merits of previous births and the strong impression created through constant efforts.
1.58. The same idea Sri Krishna pointed out to Arjuna in various ways e.g., when he compares the steady mind to the flame of a lamp in a breezeless spot.
1.59. As a result of this (nirvikalpa) samadhi millions of results of actions, accumulated in this beginningless world over past and present births, are destroyed, and pure dharma (helpful to the realisation of Truth) grows.
1.60. The experts in Yoga call this samadhi a rain cloud of dharma (dharma megha) because it pours forth countless showers of the bliss of dharma.
1.61. The entire network of desires is fully destroyed and the accumulated actions known as merits and demerits are fully rooted out by this samAdhi.
1.62. Then the great dictum, freed from the obstacles (of doubt and ambiguity), gives rise to a direct realisation of the Truth, as a fruit in ones palm Truth which was earlier comprehended indirectly.
1.63. The knowledge of Brahman obtained indirectly from the Guru, teaching the meaning of the great dictum, burns up like fire all sins, committed upto that attainment of knowledge.
1.64. The direct realisation of the knowledge of the Self obtained from the Gurus teaching of the great dictum, is like the scorching sun, that dispels the very darkness of Avidya, the root of all transmigratory existence.
1.65. Thus a man distinguishes the Self from the five sheaths, concentrates the mind on It according to the scriptural injunctions, becomes free from the bonds of repeated births and deaths and immediately attains the supreme bliss.



~RL