Microsoft Word - Taimni - The Science of Yoga.doc

Samadhi is not used for any specific or definite state of the mind. It stands for a very
wide range of super-conscious states of the mind which lead to and end in Kaivalya.
The state of Samadhi must be attained before entry into the higher realms of con-
sciousness is possible. It ushers the Yogi into those realms but the investigation of
those realms and the mastery of the forces and powers which work on those realms has
still to be accomplished by the Yogi. It will be seen therefore that the mental state de-
fined in III-3 is merely a preliminary condition which qualifies the Yogi to enter upon
this task of investigation and control just as a Master's degree of a university qualifies
a student to enter upon a course of independent scientific research. In the ten Sutras
beginning with I-42 some further light is thrown upon the technique of Samadhi which
has to do with the investigation and mastery of these realms on the one hand and the
realization, of Reality which lies beyond those realms on the other. Samadhi with the
former objective is called Sabija Samadhi and that with the latter objective Nirbija
Samadhi.
When the Yogi has mastered the technique of Samadhi as given in I-3 and can
perform Samyama on anything which can become an object of Samyama, and of which
the inner reality has to be discovered, the question arises: How does he make further
progress? How does he utilize the power which he has so far acquired for the investi-
gation and mastery of the higher realms of existence which he can now contact through
his subtler vehicles?
The technique of these further stages of progress is hinted at in I-42-51. It is not
given in detail because no one who has not gone through the Yogic discipline and
reached the advanced stage where he can perform Samyama can really understand
these things even theoretically. The Sutras mentioned above should therefore be un-
derstood not to embody the technique of the higher stages of Samadhi but merely as
pointed to these stages which exist and their relative position in the line of progress.
They are suggestive, not explanatory. They are like the sketch map of a country which
a traveller may intend to explore. Such a sketch map merely gives the relative position
of the different parts of the country and the direction in which the traveller should pro-
ceed in order to reach his goal. But something more is needed for exploring a country
than a mere sketch map.
Before we proceed to consider the above mentioned Sutras let us first try to un-
derstand the distinction between Sabija and Nirbija Samadhis. In connection with I-17
on Samprajnata Samadhi it was pointed out that this kind of Samadhi has four stages.