Sutra 1.47

निर्विचारवैशारद्येऽध्यात्मप्रसादः॥४७॥

nirvicāra-vaiśāradye-‘dhyātma-prasādaḥ ॥47॥

nirvichaara = the Nirvichara stage; vaishaaradye = on refinement, on attaining utmost purity; .dhyaatma = spiritual; prasaadaH = lucidity, clarity

Taimni

"On attaining the utmost purity of the Nirvichara stage (of samadhi) there is the dawning of the spiritual light."

Even though sabija samadhi begins with the lower mind, true spiritual light dawns on the consciousness only when the last stage of nirvichara samadhi is reached. Samadhi at the lower levels of the mind leads only to siddhis of a lower kind which may result in a selfish outlook and arrogant attitude. People who begin to dwell on such siddhis  may never experience deeper realms of spirituality. However, during the last stages of nirvichara samadhi, buddhi, under the control of atma can shed its radiance on the lower mind and make it purer.

Aranya

"On Gaining Proficiency In Nirvichara, Purity In The Inner Instruments Of Cognition Is Developed."

When "rajas" (activity) and "tamas" (dullness) are removed, "sattva" or enlightening faculty shines in the buddhi – this is called "adhyatma prasada" or purity of the inner instrument. Along with buddhi, all the other sense organs are also sharpened. Whatever is known at this time is the complete truth. Knowledge obtained from inference (anumana) and verbal communication (agama) is knowledge of generalities. In the state of nirvichara samadhi, direct cognition of the ultimate particulars of the object is obtained. This is how sages derived their knowledge which they communicated to others in the form of "sutras".

Discussion

There is some disagreement among the commentators as to the meaning of "adhyatma". Is it limited to purity at the buddhi level only or does the clarity extend all the way up to Purusha? In my understanding, since we are still talking of sabija samadhi, even at the purest level of buddhi, there still remains a seed of the object of contemplation. To get a clear vision of the pure Purusha, we need to go beyond sabija and enter the nirbija or "asamprajnata" samadhi. As a result of "adhyatma prasada" (purity of inner instrument), we are certainly achieving a state of pure intuitive wisdom called "prajna". Once there, it is most likely a matter of time and more ‘abhyasa’ (practice) and ‘vairagya’ (detachment) before one can get into the nirbija samadhi. Vyasa, in his commentary, gives the example of a man who is standing at the top of a hill and seeing other people at the ground level. The implication is that once a person has attained ‘adhyatma prasada’, he has already gone past the ‘kleshas’ or afflictions and can look at others with compassion. He can then become aware of the suffering of others out of compassion while still maintaining a state of detachment.

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