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

[Sunil Bhattacharjya]

Namaste Sadaji,

Having created whatever is there in the universe  the Lord entered into that as Jeeva. Essentially he is the consciousness. But as Jeeva he is the rider in the Chariot. The Jeeva is sentient and the chariot is insentient, but as long as the Jeeva rides  the chariot the Jeeva thinks he is inseparable from the chariot. That is why one can think of Jeeva with the Chariot also, but not by those who want to split hair. Through shastra and Guru he gets the knowledge of  the truth and through Manana and Dhyana he imbibes that and becomes Jeevanmukta and finally he leaves the Chariot (the Koshas) and becomes Videhamukta and free. This I think is the entire Advaitic journey in a nutshell.  

Regards,
Sunil


--------------------------------------------
On Wed, 3/9/16, kuntimaddi sadananda <kuntimaddisada at yahoo.com> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] Topic for Discussion: What is Nirvikalpaka Samaadhi?
 To: "Sunil Bhattacharjya" <sunil_bhattacharjya at yahoo.com>, "A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta" <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
 Date: Wednesday, March 9, 2016, 7:12 PM
 
 Sunilji - PraNAms
 
 Chitta - word was used in many ways - in Vedanta - it is
 used in the sense of subtle body - that includes four
 components, mind, intellect, memory and ahankaara. It is
 used only to designate the memory part also. Sometime mind
 is used to designate all the four. All are thought process
 and names change depending on the function. Tatva bodha or
 Vivikachudmani describes these - in nirvaana shatakam - mano
 buddhi ahankaara chittaani naaham...
 
 All thoughts are inert. Hence inert thing cannot be a jeeva.
 Being a subtle material, the pure sat chit ananda can get
 reflected by the subtle body- called chidaabaasa and by way
 of reflection of consciousness the subtle body also becomes
 conscious entity just as moon by reflection of sunlight
 becomes a luminous body. Reflection of consciousness is
 expression of life itself and jiiva notion arises due to not
 knowing that I am is the original consciousness.
 
 Chitta vRitti - when we add vRitti - now we are referring to
 not just memory but to the total mind - as the absence of
 vRitti - VRitti as discussed in the article - idam vRitti
 and aham vRtti, etc for external perceptions. For internal
 perceptions such as happy thought or angry or emotional
 thoughts there is no indriya input. 
 
 Hari Om!
 Sada
 
 --------------------------------------------
 On Wed, 3/9/16, Sunil Bhattacharjya via Advaita-l <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
 wrote:
 
  Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] Topic for Discussion: What is
 Nirvikalpaka Samaadhi?
  To: "adviata-l" <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>,
 "kuntimaddi sadananda" <kuntimaddisada at yahoo.com>
  Date: Wednesday, March 9, 2016, 7:18 PM
  
  Dear Sadaji,
  
  To my understanding the "Chitta" is "Mind", "Ego" and
  "Intellec"t together along with the "Impressions or
 Memory".
  and some puranas have called the Chitta itself as the
 Jeeva.
  The aim of "Cittavritti-nirodha" in yoga is to control the
  fluctuations in the Chitta and that finally comes to the
  thought-control in the mind. When the mind is still and
  there are no thought appearing in the mind, that  helps
  the Chittaa to disconnect from the Prakrti.or Maya and one
  becomes "Jivanmukta". Eventually with the leaving of the
  five Koshas, the "Videhamukti" is achieved and there is
  one-ness with Brahman. 
  
  Regards,
  Sunil K. Bhattacharjya
  
  
  --------------------------------------------
  On Wed, 3/9/16, kuntimaddi sadananda via Advaita-l <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
  wrote:
  
   Subject: [Advaita-l] Topic for Discussion: What is
  Nirvikalpaka Samaadhi?
   To: "adviata-l" <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
   Date: Wednesday, March 9, 2016, 7:57 AM
   
   PraNAms to all
   
   I posed this question in both lists. There were few
 who
   discussed on this topic. I thank all of them who
   participated in the discussion. I am presenting below
 my
   understanding for whatever it is worth.
   
  
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   
   I am providing below my understanding. Some of these
  aspects
   are discussed exhaustively by Shree Vidyaranya swami
 in
   Panchadashi – which we are doing now. We are doing
 now
  the
   10th Chapter. Just of info- The talks on the
 Chapters
   covered so far are available on Yu-tube under
 Acharya
   Sadaji.
   
   Is Self-realization involves objectless-awareness as
 some
   subscribe.
   
   The objectless awareness is nothing but pure sat
 chit
   ananda. It is always there - with the objects at the
 very
   substantive and without the objects as Brahman. It
 is
   paaramaarthika satyam. na vaaak gacchati na manaH -
 no
   speech can go there nor the mind - says the
 scripture.
  yato
   vaacho nivartante apraapya manasaa saha. For pure
 Brahman
  -
   there is no need of self-realization too, as it is
 one
   without a second. Jnaanam and ajnaanam etc., are all
 at
   vyaavhaarika level only. Hence self-realization
 cannot be
   object-less awareness, and one cannot reach there and
 one
   need not reach there too, since it is ever present
 and
   infinite.  
   
   Self-realization is by the mind only - Mind has to
  recognize
   or re-cognize that the existence that supports the
 mind or
   the consciousness that enlivens the mind is due to
 the
  pure
   self that I am; since I say I am existent-conscious
 entity
   – I am, in fact, a self-existent and
 self-conscious
   entity. 
   
    Thoughts or vRittis that arise my mind are also
  objects of
   my awareness. As every thought (either due to
 external
   perceptions or internal perceptions) arises in the
 mind -
  as
   - this is a pot-, or - this is chair, 
 simultaneously
   or spontaneously subject thought - I am - as knower
 arises
   in the mind- Bhagavan Ramana calls this as aham
 vRitti
   centered on the knower, in contrast to idam vRitti
  centered
   in objective-thought. 
   
   Aham vRitit is not objective thought but the -
 knower
   thought, as -I know this is a pot - I know this is a
  chair,
   etc. Thus we have object-thought of idam vRitti as
 in,
  this
   is a pot or this is a chair, etc.; and along with
 this,
   spontaneously a knower thought - I am the knower that
 this
   is a pot, etc ., arises. This aham vRitti is not
 objective
   thought, but subject-or knower vRitti, which also
 owns the
   knowledge as in - I am the knower of this thought. 
   Shifting the mind from the object thought to the
 subject
   vRitti is object-less awareness. It is not
 elimination of
   the thoughts but shifting the mind to the knowing
  principle
   because of which every objective thought is known. I
 am
   neither known or unknown but the very knowing
 principle of
   both known and unknown says kena up. To recognize
 and
  claim
   I am that - without the objective thoughts or more
  correctly
   in spite of objective thoughts - requires a very
   discriminative mind or mind with viveka.  While
   remaining within the upaadhi recognizing I am is the
 pure
   existence-consciousness that enlivens the upAdhi- it
 is
   called upahita chaitanya. To be able to shift my
 mind
   without getting lost in the objective thoughts that
 floods
   the mind, meditation on the single thought – as in
 japa-
   would help or even the meditation on the thought –
 aham
   brahmaasmi – once one has understood the truth –
  brahma
   sayam, jagan mithyaa and aham brahma eva na aparaH
 though
   Vedanta shravana and manana. 
   
   A similar analogy is looking at the moon (which is
  actually
   the presiding deity of the mind) and the moonlight
 and
  claim
   that I am actually seeing the sunlight that is
 illumining
   the moon. I cannot really see the sunlight directly.
 I
  need
   the moon to RECOGNIZE the presence of sunlight. What
 I see
   is only moon-light. I have to use viveka to shift my
   attention from the moon light to that because of moon
 has
   the light.  There is sunlight outside the moon too
 but
   I cannot recognize that since there is no object to
  reflect
   that light. Hence I need the reflecting object and
 from
  the
   reflection recognize cognitively the original light.
   Similarly I cannot see the objectless awareness but I
 have
   to recognize I am in the every objective awareness -
 Hence
   Kenopanishad says- pratibhoda viditam matam - It is
  revealed
   in every thought or experience as the knower or
  experiencer,
   which has to be conscious-existent entity since
  non-existent
   or unconscious entity cannot have any experience. 
   
   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. 
   
   Patanjali yoga talks about the chitta vRitti nirodha
 –
  or
   shutting of all the thoughts – essentially a
 thoughtless
   mind or empty mind. As Swami Dayanandaji puts it –
 an
   ignorant thought full mind has now become ignorant
   thoughtless mind. The ignorance remains. When the
 mind
   awakens with thoughts you are back to square one and
   Patanjali yoga advocates dvaita only and not
 advaita.
  Hence
   no knowledge of advaita occurs in that thoughtless
 mind. 
   
   Nirvikalpaka samaadhi:
   
   Nirvikalpaka samaadhi is described for the one who
 has
   studied Vedanta under a sampradaaya teacher and the
 mind
  has
   grasped truth – aham brahmaasmi. Hence it is not a
   substitute for the knowledge since muula avidya or
  ignorance
   of the self can only by knowledge of the self –
 via
   Vedanta pramaana. Even after gaining the knowledge,
 if
  such
   a mind is not able to abide in that knowledge of
 aham
   brahmaasmi due to remnant raaga-dweshaas, one can
 meditate
   on the knowledge – aham brahmaasmi as the single
 thought
   without any other thoughts in the mind. That is
  nirvikalpaka
   samAdhI with the knowledge of aham brahamsmi single
  thought.
   Thus one slowly eliminates the remnant raaga dweshas
 and
   such a person even if he comes out of that
 meditation, the
   knowledge remains with him – now even with the
 thoughts
   – since he has understood that He is pure sat chit
  ananda
   and presence or absence of thoughts do not affect
 him
  since
   they are mithyaa. 
   
   Hence what is needed is a) clear understanding of
 the
  truth
   – brahma satyam, jagan mithyaa and aham brahmaasmi
 –
   that involves a) paroksha jnaanam of the jagat and
 Iswara
   and b) aparoksha jnanam via mahaavaakya vichaara.
 –
  There
   are no short cuts here. Nidhidhyaasana is required
 for
   madhyama adhikaari who is not able to abide in the
  knowledge
   – aham brahmaasmi. For him, constant enquiry is the
 best
   approach, so that the mind does not get entangled
 with the
   day to day life in vyavahaara, which he cannot but
 do, as
   long as BMI is there. If he cannot enquire or do
 vichaara
   – then one can do meditation on aham brahmaasmi
 with the
   background knowledge via mahaavaakyaas.  
   
   If absence of thoughts is required for
 self-realization,
   then we are giving more reality to the thoughts or as
 much
   reality to the thoughts as the self. Ontologically
 Self or
   Brahman is of higher order of reality and thoughts
 cannot
   replace Brahman or the self for me to remove the
 thoughts
  to
   recognize the self. What is required is detachment of
 the
   mind from the thoughts (as they involve ahankaara
 and
   mamakaara due to raaga and dweshas – I-ness and
 my-ness
   due to likes and dislikes) so that mind can shift
 its
   attention to aham vRitti from idam vRitti.  
   
   Some can even experience a thought-less state or
   nirvikalpaka samAdhI. However without Vedanta
 knowledge
  such
   an experience is neither needed nor necessary. What
 is
   required is clear understand of the truth – Brahma
  satyam,
   jagan mithyaa, aham brahmaasmi – knowledge –
 though
   Vedanta mahaavaakya vichaara, via shravana and
 manana.
   Meditation or even nirvikalpaka samAdhI is not a
 pramaana
  or
   means of knowledge – one can have experience but
 such an
   experience is not needed for self-knowledge.
 Meditation or
   continuous enquiry is required for the mind to abide
 in
  the
   knowledge gained via shravana and manana – that is
   listening to the sampradaaya teacher on Vedanta for
   prolonged length of time until the knowledge is
 crytal
  clear
   and doubt-free. Even after gaining the knowledge, one
 is
   unable abide in the knowledge for them
 nidhidhyaasana
   including nirvikalpaka samadhi is recommended. The
 later
   ones are not alternatives to Vedanta shravana and
 manana. 
   
   Hope this helps. 
   
   I want to thank all those who presented their view.
   
   Hari Om!
   Sada
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