tive. He is the Seeker as well as the object of the search. In Sabija Samadhi also he is
really seeking Himself but a veil, howsoever thin, still obscures his vision. In Nirbija
Samadhi He attempts to tear off the last veil in order to obtain a completely unob-
structed vision of Himself. This is what is meant by Self-Realization.
- On attaining the utmost purity of the Nirvicara stage (of Samadhi) there
is the dawning of the spiritual light.
I-47 is meant to draw a distinction between the lower and higher stages of
Samadhi and to emphasize that spirituality is not necessarily associated with all the
stages. We have seen already that Sabija Samadhi begins on the plane of the lower
mind and its province extends upto the Atmic plane. At which point in these successive
stages of Samadhi does the light of spirituality begin to dawn in consciousness? To be
able to answer this question we should recall that the intellect is the separative and
constrictive principle in man which distorts his vision and is responsible for the com-
mon illusions of the lower life. As long as consciousness is functioning within the
realms of the intellect alone it must remain bound by those illusions. Samadhi in the
realm of the intellect, while it reveals the lower aspect of the reality which is hidden
behind the objects on which Samyama is performed, does not necessarily bring with it
perception of the higher truths of a spiritual nature, does not for instance give a vision
of the fundamental unity of life. It is conceivable, for example, that a scientist may
discover many of the truths underlying the physical world by means of Samadhi and
yet remain absolutely unaware of the deeper spiritual truths which are associated with
spirituality. Some of the lower Siddhis such as those dealt with in III-28-32 can be ob-
tained in this manner. In fact the black magicians who are called Brothers of the
Shadow, are all Yogis who are proficient in the technique of lower Yoga and undoubt-
edly possess many of the lower Siddhis. But their work is confined within the realm of
the intellect and they remain ignorant of the higher truths of existence. Their selfish