On Samadhi and Enlightenment in Yoga

In Samadhi Yoga we train the mind, initially to just be able to concentrate in general, but once this is achieved we focus on specific objects so as to learn their true nature, and in doing so we remove bias and conditioning from the mind. With clear vision and perception we obtain truth, and it is truth which liberates the yogi.

The realisation of the true nature of the self in relation to the manifest and unmanifest world allows us to navigate this world, deftly avoiding unnecessary trouble, sincerely embracing growth, and fixing our gaze on that which truly warrants our obsession…

The cosmic process consists of an initial thrust into the material play of prakriti, followed by a gradual “enlightening” as the individual plays out the individual and collective karma, eventually she begins to outgrow and dis-identify from lower pursuits and searches for something greater, for that which is pure light and love and knowledge. It is the unfolding of hidden potential in innumerable simultaneous forms.

Beware the common use of the term “enlightenment”; it is a nebulous and dilute term that can refer to any number of states of mind, such as the mind that results in effective and sustained practice of samadhi, but also potentially for lesser states such as the elation of lower level spiritual attainments (and often subsequent self-aggrandisement and degeneration), or more morbid states of self delusion.

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