Letters from Sri Ramanasramam

Ch.163 – 03 December 1947

This morning a devotee approached Bhagavan and asked, “Swami, it is said that some people remain in thought free awareness (nirvikalpa samadhi) for quite a long time. Do they take food and other things during this period?” “How can that be?” asked Bhagavan. “When you are asleep, do you ever take food?”

“No. But then, during nirvikalpa samadhi, will the mind be there or not?” asked the questioner.

“Why should it not be there? That which is there in sleep, is there then also. Just see. Now, from noon 12 o’clock to 2 p.m. we shut the doors of the hall and sleep inside. That is also samadhi. A fine type of samadhi indeed! Who knows whether the mind is there or not?” said Bhagavan.

The devotee asked once again, “What about those who are in complete awareness (sahaja samadhi)?”

Bhagavan replied saying, “It is just because of such questions that Vasiṣṭha narrated the story of the ‘Sage and the Hunter’ to Rama to illustrate the fourth or turiya state. In a forest, once a great Muni sat in the lotus posture (padmasana) with his eyes open, but in deep trance. A hunter hit a deer with an arrow, but the deer escaped and ran in front of the Muni into the bush nearby and hid itself. The hunter came in hot pursuit of the deer and not seeing it asked the Muni where it had gone. ‘I do not know, my friend,’ said the Muni. The hunter said, ‘Sir, it ran right in front of you and you had your eyes wide open. How could you have not seen it?’ Finding that he would not leave him in peace unless a proper reply was given, the Muni said, ‘My dear man, we are submerged in the Self; we are always in the Fourth State. We do not have the waking or dream or deep sleep states. Everything is alike to us. These three states are the signs of the ego and we have no ego. Egoism is itself the mind and it is that which is responsible for all the deeds done in this world. That ego (ahankara) left us long ago. Hence it does not matter whether we keep our eyes closed

or open; we are not conscious of what is happening around us. That being so, how can I tell you about your deer?” The hunter thought that it was all sheer nonsense and went his way.

“It may well be asked, ‘If there is no ‘I’ (aham), how did he speak?’ When properly understood, that which occurred as ‘I’ before, becomes our own Nature (swarupa) afterwards. That is called destruction of mind (mano nasa). That thought- free awareness or other signs of awareness are cases of merging (laya) and not of destruction (nasa). So long as there is merging and emerging, it is merely a state of spiritual practice (sadhana),” said Bhagavan.

Taking up the thread of the conversation, another devotee said, “Samadhi is said to be of several kinds such as Savikalpa (absorbed in the thought) and Nirvikalpa (thought- free). Can you tell us about them?” Thereupon, Bhagavan explained thus:

“Yes. Sankara described the six kinds of Samadhi in his Vivekachudamani and his Drigdrisyaviveka. The six are divided into two main categories namely, Savikalpa and Nirvikalpa. The former is divided into two, namely ‘Drisyanuviddha’ and ‘Sabdanuviddha’ and these two are again subdivided as under:

(1) antar drisyanuviddha savikalpa samadhi:

Meditating upon one’s own Self as a witness of desires and other visible attributes of the mind.

(2) antar sabdanuviddha savikalpa samadhi

To know that the Self is Asanga (contact-free), Swaprakasa (self-luminous), sat-cit-ananda and Advaita (non-dual).

(3) antar nirvikalpa samadhi:

With the exalted feeling of the Self gained as a result of enjoying the ecstasy of the above two states and discarding both of them and remaining motionless like an unflickering light in a windless place.

(4) bahya drisyanuviddha savikalpa samadhi:

As in the case of the Self that is in the heart, to be able to discard with indifference the outer things in the world which have their names and forms and which are visible, and to meditate on the underlying Reality.

(5) bahya sabdanuviddha savikalpa samadhi:

To know and be aware at all times that the Thing which manifests itself as sat-cit-ananda is the universal Brahman.

(6) bahya nirvikalpa samadhi:

With the experience of the above two, to overcome all desires and to remain calm and motionless like the waveless ocean.

“By constantly practising these six kinds of Samadhi, at all times and without a break, one can attain a state of thought-free awareness. Unless one attains that state, the ego will not be completely destroyed. Persons whose ego is destroyed are so detached that even if they appear to see they do not really see; though they appear to eat they do not really eat; though they appear to hear they do not really hear; and though they appear to sleep they do not really sleep. Whatever they do is not really ‘doing’.”