29. NIRVIKALPA-SAMĀDHI
D: Will one’s breathing completely stop when one attains nirvikalpa-samādhi?
A: No, breathing persists to a small extent.
D: What is the characteristic of nirvikalpa-samādhi?
A: The absence of awareness of the distinction of the seer, the seen and the act of seeing is indeed its special characteristic. The Ātman is clearly perceived. Further, supreme bliss is experienced.
D: Will there actually be a positive experience of supreme bliss in nirvikalpa-samādhi or is there merely the absence of sorrow?
A: There is not only the absence of sorrow but also the attainment of supreme bliss. Even in jaḍa-samādhi the bliss of the Ātman is experienced but to a much lower degree.
D: I heard that akhaṇḍākāra-vṛtti is present in nirvikalpa-samādhi. Acharyal said that there is no awareness of the distinctness of the seer, the seen and the act of seeing in nirvikalpa-samādhi. If so, will the knowledge of akhaṇḍākāra-vṛtti be there in samādhi? (Akhaṇḍākāra-vṛtti is a plenary mental activity having the Ātman for the object.)
A: No. When one is in the state of nirvikalpa-samādhi, one will not be aware of the presence of the akhaṇḍākāra-vṛtti.
D: If so, how can it be said that the akhaṇḍākāra-vṛtti existed during nirvikalpa-samādhi?
A: One can know that by means of inference and scriptural statements. If recollection is to arise, there should have been a preceding experience. When the mind comes down from nirvikalpa-samādhi, there is a memory to the effect that supreme bliss was experienced earlier. For the memory to be present, there should have been an experience. If there is to be an experience connected with the mind, there should have been a thought. That mental vṛtti is called akhaṇḍākāra-vṛtti.
D: An object is required for a thought to arise in the mind. What is the object of the akhaṇḍākāra-vṛtti?
A: The Ātman.
D: When an object is perceived, the mind assumes its form. Only then does knowledge of the object arise. In dreams too, the mind assumes the form of what is seen, with the difference that the senses do not play a role. So, in both waking and dream states the vṛtti assumes the form of an object. Acharyal said that Ātman alone is grasped by akhaṇḍākāra-vṛtti. How can Ātman become an object of the vṛtti as It does not have a form at all?
A: When it is said that the akhaṇḍākāra-vṛtti’s object is the Ātman, what is implied is that the mind is so extremely pure at that time that it just cannot be discerned distinctly from Brahman. The mind is then like a pure crystal. The effulgent Ātman manifests in it clearly. Just as a crystal, when placed in the vicinity of a red flower appears red, so also is the nature of the Ātman assumed by the mind. This akhaṇḍākāra-vṛtti is the one that destroys ignorance.
D: Will a single experience of nirvikalpa-samādhi be sufficient to attain brahma-jñāna?
A: Normally, it is not sufficient. During nirvikalpa-samādhi the Ātman is experienced. After emergence from that state, the experience gradually begins to fade. However, just after coming down from it, everything is perceived as Ātman. Nothing distinct from the Ātman is discerned. To cite an example, one feels, “I am a big ocean. It is in me that the bubbles constituted by the world are produced.” The experience of nirvikalpa-samādhi must be had to be understood. Verbal descriptions are woefully inadequate. If one gets the experience of nirvikalpa-samādhi repeatedly, one’s jñāna becomes stable. After the realisation becomes stable, the mind is destroyed and one becomes a jīvanmukta.
D: Why should one descend from nirvikalpa-samādhi?
A: If prārabdha is not exhausted one is obliged to emerge even from nirvikalpa-samādhi. We can find different illustrations for this in the Yoga-vāsiṣṭha.
D: Can one attain jñāna without experiencing nirvikalpa-samādhi?
A: Jñāna is nothing but the knowledge of one’s True nature. Technically, it can be obtained even through just vicāra (enquiry). Nirvikalpa-samādhi is a wonderful means but it is improper to say that it is the only means.
D: During nirvikalpa-samādhi will there be an awareness of oneself and the surroundings?
A: No.
D: Can one be awakened from nirvikalpa-samādhi?
A: In most cases, it can be done with some difficulty. Sometimes, it becomes almost impossible to wake one up. All this depends on the depth of the samādhi.
D: Can one predetermine the duration of one’s stay in nirvikalpa-samādhi?
A: Yes, if there is sufficient practice. If a suitable resolve is made, before going into samādhi, one can descend from the exalted condition at the predetermined time. For example, if one thinks, “I will do pūjā in an hour”, and goes into samādhi, then one can come down from samādhi after being in that state for exactly one hour.
D: Will Acharyal kindly explain the experiences that precede the onset of nirvikalpa-samādhi?
A: It is impossible to give a precise description and the steps preceding nirvikalpa-samādhi are not unique. However, I will give a rough account of what can happen. First, awareness of the body and the surroundings gradually vanishes. Then, only the thoughts of the mind are perceived. As meditation proceeds further, mental activity subsides. One feels, “I have become infinite like the sky.” Then comes a great blissful experience. After this, there is a sudden change and awareness of the differentiation of the seer, the seen and the act of seeing ceases. That experience is completely beyond words.
D: What is the procedure to be adopted to attain nirvikalpa-samādhi?
A: Usually, nirvikalpa-samādhi can be attained if one repeatedly gets savikalpa-samādhi.
D: Will the awareness of the distinction of the seer, the seen and the act of seeing cease in savikalpa-samādhi also?
A: No. It ceases only in nirvikalpa-samādhi. The term savikalpa-samādhi itself shows that this is a samādhi with the distinction of the seer, seen and seeing present.
D: Will the joy got in savikalpa-samādhi be the same as that in nirvikalpa-samādhi?
A: No. The joy of nirvikalpa-samādhi is unparalleled. But it can be said that the happiness obtained in savikalpa-samādhi is very great when compared to the joy derived from sense-objects.
D: Can it be said that liberation will definitely be had by one who arranges for his death in nirvikalpa-samādhi?
A: It cannot be said so. Mokṣa can be attained when jñāna becomes thoroughly unobstructed and fructifies. If prārabdha remains and one arranges to have oneself killed in samādhi, rebirth can occur.
D: Can it be said that if one dies while in nirvikalpa-samādhi, one can attain jñāna easily in one’s next birth?
A: Yes. It may be said thus.
D: Is there a possibility for one to fall from spiritual life even after attaining nirvikalpa-samādhi?
A: Yes, there is the possibility of a fall, until complete, firm realisation of the Truth arises. I have come across persons who have slipped after nirvikalpa-samādhi.
D: Can nirvikalpa-samādhi be obtained by means of drugs, self-hypnosis, etc.?
A: No.
D: Is it possible to feel thirst, hunger etc., immediately after the mind comes down from prolonged nirvikalpa-samādhi?
A: These are normally not felt. Rarely, a little body ache may be felt because of the body having remained erect and motionless for long.
D: Will Acharyal say something about nirvikalpa-samādhi from personal experience?
A: (Smiling) Do you think that all the while I was merely repeating like a parrot what is contained in the śāstra-s?
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❑ Incidents from Acharyal's Life
Acharyal describes the event that marked His attainment of nirvikalpa-samādhi for the first time:
Before going for meditation, I decided, “I should, during My meditation this evening, prevent Myself from being overwhelmed by the bliss of savikalpa-samādhi. Then, by impressing upon Myself that I am bliss itself and not one who enjoys it, I should focus My mind more thoroughly on the Ātman. Once My mind were to become fully established on the Ātman and devoid of every transformation of a form other than that of the Ātman, how can any distinction between bliss and the one experiencing bliss or, for that matter, any other subject-object distinction and the sense of individuality show up at all? By establishing the mind on the Ātman and remaining without any thought, I would be acting in accordance with the instruction, “One should gradually withdraw with the intellect endued with firmness; making the mind established in the Ātman, one should not think of anything.”
I reached My place of meditation on the hill around one and a half hours before sunset. Sitting in the siddhāsana, I performed two cycles of prāṇāyāma together with the jālandhara, uḍḍiyāṇa and mūla bandha-s to promote mental tranquillity. Then, as usual, I directed My gaze towards the centre of My brows and chanted the prāṇava. That day, I beheld an unbounded expanse of blue, resembling the sky.
The notion, “I am the non-dual Brahman apart from which nothing whatsoever exists” that was prominent and naturally persistent since the previous evening, had been intensified by My savikalpa-samādhi-s of the morning and by My reading and reflection of the afternoon. So, I did not have to cultivate it. I had barely seen the soothing expanse of blue when it vanished. I felt Myself expanding and becoming like space. The sense of ‘I’ nearly vanished and My mind entered savikalpa-samādhi.
The bliss was very great. However, with effort, I restrained Myself from being overwhelmed by it and thought, “I am not the one experiencing bliss but am bliss itself.” In a trice, a sharp change occurred. Awareness of the distinction of the concentrator, concentration and the object of concentration completely disappeared. No more was there any sense of individuality or of space, time and objects. Only Brahman, of the nature of absolute existence, pure consciousness and ultimate bliss, shone bereft of the superimposition of even a trace of duality.
After about two hours, the mind descended to the level of savikalpa-samādhi, and mild awareness of the distinction of the concentrator, concentration and the object of concentration reappeared. Though the bliss of savikalpa-samādhi was by far greater than the joy of any worldly enjoyment, it was nothing compared to the absolute, non-dual bliss of nirvikalpa-samādhi. Gradually, I became lightly aware of the body and of the build up of breathing that must have almost totally stopped earlier.
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❑ Experiences of Devotees
Acharyal could fathom the innermost recesses of His disciples’ hearts and fulfil whatever aspirations the devotees had. For example, years ago, I had a strong desire to behold Acharyal in nirvikalpa-samādhi. I did not express my feelings to Him but what can be hidden from the omniscient One? One day, He asked me to accompany Him to the Kālabhairava temple and there, He sat down for meditation. He asked me to sit close to Him and then remarked, “We will meditate.” I saw His eyes close partially. Slowly, the heaving of His chest became slower and slower and soon, no trace of breathing was discoverable by me, though I was very close to Him. He seemed to radiate peace. Suddenly, I felt a force dragging me into meditation. I too closed my eyes and my mind soared to the heights of concentration. I thought that a moment had elapsed before I was able to regain awareness of the body. I opened my eyes and observed Acharyal. Slowly, His breathing commenced and in a few moments He opened His eyes. Turning to the Kālabhairava idol, He called out the Lord’s name and after prostrating, came out of the temple. Actually, over half-an hour had elapsed. On coming out of the temple, He said, “Nirvikalpa-samādhi is very nice. Is it not?” Thus, He had fulfilled my wish to behold Him in that sublime state even prior to my expressing the desire. Of course, since then, I have been privileged to see Him on numerous occasions in that acme of meditation, nirvikalpa-samādhi and to even photograph Him in samādhi.
[A disciple]
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