Many of us are already familiar with the limbs of yoga leading up to Samadhi; including asana (physical postures) and pranayama (breath, life force). After practicing all seven limbs of the spiritual path of Yoga, the eighth and final step in Patanjali’s eight limbs of yoga is samadhi. The word samadhi literally means “putting together” and is often translated as “integration” or “absorption.” It is a state of consciousness where individual awareness dissolves into the great Whole.
What is Samadhi?
When you practice, train the mind and soul, and go deep inside, you can find the (non-permanent) state of samadhi, or bliss. When you transcend the confines of the ego and are no longer wrapped up in the trappings of like, dislike, judgment, worry, and fear, you are then completely absorbed in the present moment, at all times, while remaining in total awareness. This is a pure state of being.
As you go through your daily tasks, you are no longer replaying the past or looking into the future. You are immersed in the enjoyment of each moment as a sacred act.
Samadhi brings you freedom from the cycle of karma, which is a result of never-ending desires (vasanas) and memories (sanskaras). As the ego is continually concerned with what’s “me” and “mine,” your higher self knows that there is never a lack of anything because there is no separateness in anything. Therefore, all fear is gone, and what is left is pure love.
How does Samadhi fit in your daily life?
Practice the other 7 limbs of Patanjali's path - they are a roadmap to free us from social conditioning and personal ego. Recognize this pure spirit in yourself, and in all beings and all things around you. If you are a divine light, then so are others; including the people you love and the ones you don't like; including animals and plants.
When we can move past the mind and the ego which wants to judge, possess and compare, and when we can see that others are divine as well, we are moving closer to a state of divine connection. Samadhi is not a permanent state and requires discipline and practice; even if we do not attain samadhi in this lifetime, working on Patanjali's limbs of yoga help us to rise higher and evolve as pure beings. Remember that’s it’s a journey and not a destination.
In our essence we are samadhi, therefore we don't need to learn it as something new, instead we'll need to take off layers, un-learn and find our way back.
