SAMADHI AND THE DISSOLUTION OF THE MIND
1. Samadhi Defined
Samadhi is the eighth step of yoga. The great Sage Gheranda says, “There is no yoga
without samadhi. None is so fortunate as the person who attains samadhi. Samadhi can
be attained by devotedly serving the guru and securing his grace.”1 in this statement an
important doctrine, full of truth, is laid down. Since in samadhi one has to achieve the
constraint of the mind by stopping its fluctuations, the sage has said that there cannot be
yoga without samadhi. The end product of any yoga can only be this. It matters little by
what name we call it. Another doctrine laid out in the above statement is that the state of
samadhi is not attainable without the grace of a realized guru. Only a lighted candle can
light an unlighted one. The truth of this cannot be negated simply because some
inexperienced people do not agree with it.
In Hatha Yoga Pradipika it is said, “As salt dissolves in water, so the mind dissolves into
the soul and becomes one with it. The unity of soul and mind is called samadhi.”

2. Yogi Yajnavalkya
Yogi Yajnavalkya says, “The union of jivatman (soul) with paramatman (God) is known as
samadhi. The state in which the jivatman establishes itself in the paramatman is the state
of samadhi.”

3. Raja Yoga, unmani, manomani, amaratva, laya, tattva, sunyasunya, paramapada,
amanaska, advaita, niralamba, niranjana, jivanamukti, sahajavastha, turyavastha – all
these are other words for samadhi.
Sage Patanjali says, “That stage of meditation in which one realizes the goal, and forms
dissolve from the mind, is the state of samadhi.”

4.After intense practice, when meditation is no longer meditation, but becomes identified
with or merged into the goal, this is called samadhi.
Samadhi means union with God. The union of the one who has mastered samadhi is
never disturbed. The states of waking, dreaming, or sleeping are, therefore, not
hindrances. The seeker remains continuously conscious that he is atman and not the
body. As a big hall is seen after breaking down the walls standing between four rooms,
the yogi experiences only samadhi after the differences between the aforesaid states
vanish. This is called sahajavastha (the natural state).