तदेवार्थमात्रनिर्भासं स्वरूपशून्यमिव समाधिः॥३॥
tat = that (the practice of meditation from the previous sutra); eva = the same, that very; artha = object; maatra = alone; nirbhaasaM = shining forth; svarUpa = own nature; shUnyam = devoid of; iva = as if; samaadhiH = meditative absorption;
Sw. Satchidananda
"Samadhi is the same meditation when there is the shining of the object alone, as if devoid of form."
Bryant
"Samadhi is when that same meditation shines forth as the object alone and the mind is devoid of its own reflective nature."
Taimni
"The same (contemplation) when there is consciousness only of the object of meditation and not of itself (the mind) is Samadhi."
Discussion
As you may recall, in chapter 1, Patanjali mentioned two categories of samadhi – saṁprajñāta wherein one maintains awareness of the object of meditation, and asaṁprajñāta when no such awareness remains. The saṁprajñāta itself has six stages of samadhi – savitarka, nirvitarka etc. The asaṁprajñāta is also called nirbīja (seedless) samadhi (sutra 1.51).
The present sutra presents a general definition of samadhi which is quite similar to the definition given in sutra 1.43 for the nirvitarka samadhi. Essentially, one attains the state of samadhi when the practice of dhyana (meditation) goes deeper and one begins to lose identification with the I-sense. That means at that point, the sense that “I am meditating on a specific object of meditation” (svarūpa-śūnyeva) is also dissolved and all that remains in the mind (chitta) is the very essence of the object of meditation (arthamātra). In essence, the meditator, the process of meditation and the object being meditated upon become one. This is the highest stage of saṁprajñāta samadhi.
Leave a Reply