[Advaita-l] Topic for Discussion: What is Nirvikalpaka Samaadhi?

[kuntimaddi sadananda]

Shree Aurobind Padiyathji – PraNAms

First thanks for the email. I am providing my understanding below.
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Hari Om! Sadaji, 
Your reply from which I'm quoting the portion which I've some clarity requirements. Kindly clarify them for me. 
Quote :
The thought-less mind happens normally in deep-sleep state. In the deep-sleep state there is akhanda ajnaana vRitti or constant unbroken thought of ignorance of subject-object duality, as the mind is folded. Deep sleep state is not meditation since mind is folded and cannot abide in the knowledge of aham brahmaasmi. 
Unquote :
Now my doubts are
1. If there is mind in deep sleep it has to have either asti or nasti experiences. But as your definition it is folded, means what is the swaroopa or swabhava of that mind? 
2. Is it the amanibhavah? 

3. Akhanda ajnAn Vritti is not a state possible in deep sleep as ajnAna vritti has to have an object. Ignorance of? ??? Nothing? That's not ignorance. Ajnana is absence of Jnana not Jnana of nothing. 
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Sada: The deep sleep state is also called kaaraNa Shareera or Anandamaya kosha. The detailed analysis of this has been done by Shree Vidyaranya Swami in Pachadashi in the 11th Chapter. I have done exhaustive presentation of this under the title – Who slept very well? – one can get in the archives or I can send you the word document as it is very lengthy. 

In essence, as one goes to sleep – the annamaya kosha folds into praanamaya, praanamaya into manomaya and manomaya into vijnaanamaya and vijnaanamaya with all the other koshas together folds and that folded vijnanamaya is called ananda maya. Here ananda is not pure sat chit ananda but reflected ananda. The reflection of sat aspect is expressed in terms of the existence of the koshas, and chit aspect as chidabaasa –as the very life principle, and ananda aspect as absence of subject-object duality or absence of suffering. The very absence of subject-object duality is expressed as ignorance, which is undifferentiated since any differentiation requires objectification. Hence these three – sat chit and ananda – are recollected once one is awake – I slept very well, I did not know anything (this is the ignorance we are talking about) and I was happy. Law of memory operates in the sense that the experiencer and recollector of those experiences have to be the same.

Hence, whether a king or a pauper, a chemistry professor or one who is ignorant of Chemistry – the experience of deep sleep state is the same. This is objective ignorance. The muula avidya will be there for those who have not realized and jnaani also sleeps with objective ignorance but without muula avidya. Hence Jnaani sleeps as jnaani and also says I slept very well and I did not know anything (objective ignorance). More details are discussed in the stated article.  
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4. If I'm to recall the statement described as that of deep sleep is - "Sadisambhadya na vidhuh sadisambhadhyamahe". Here the term "na vidhuh" is not a state of ignorance as the object of vidhuh is Sat Chit Ananda only and it is ever present in all states. But mind which is present only in jagrat and swapna is absent in sushupti. Without vritti there is no mind because that's the swaroopa of mind. 

Sada:  The mind will not be there only during videha mukti, the body merges into virat swaruupa, mind merges into Hiranyagarbha and the intellect merges with Iswara. Mind is folded does not mean it is not there. It is there in the folded state and unfolding occurs during waking and dream – just as the fellow is there inside the blanket! 

When an ajnaani dies, it is the mind  or subtle body goes out of the body leaving the body dead, and travels to different lokas required to exhaust the next set of vaasanaas. Hence within vyaavhaarika mind never dies. Vritti is not the mind – it is the modification of the mind or perturbation in the mind. Chitta vRitti nirodha should be making the mind calm and quiet by some techniques.  For jnanam, the mind should be active as Jnaana vRitti has to take place – hence the advice is to go teacher for Vedanta study. Tat viddhi praNipaatena pari prashnena sevayaa – one has to approach the teacher with proper attitude with appropriate questions. For example, in Vivekchudamani the student provides a series of seven questions for the teacher  konaama bandhaH, etc. 
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5. The knowledge of Aham Brahmasmi is never within the scope of mind. I'm I right? 

Sada: Not true. It is the mind that has ignorance. Shankara addresses this exhaustively in the analysis of kshetrajnam cha api maam viddhi – sloka in response to puurvapaksha. Manaeva manushyaanaam kaaranam bandha mokshayoH – says AmRitabindu Upanishad. Mind is responsible for both bondage and liberation too. 
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5b. Mind with the indriyas can only comprehend world external. The moment it turns inward it stops being mind. 
Mind comprehends both external and internal worlds –Theses are called external perceptions and internal perceptions. For external perceptions indriyas or sense organs are involved. For internal perceptions – such as angry, happy, love – all emotions – they do not involve indriyas. They are directly perceived. In the external perceptions – there is idam vRitti related to external object but as discussed in my article – there is aham vRitti that spontaneously rises as I know – this is pot, etc. In that there is also a notion of ownership that arise with that knowledge depending on the I- that one associates with – A jnaani may equate that I know to saakshii while ajnaani will equate that I know to individual jeeva – in both cases it is via chidaabhaasa only. 
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Hope this helps
Hari Om!
Sada

So how can we say in deep sleep the mind is folded? 

Pl enlighten me. 
Hari Om! 
Aurobind Padiyath