Reference: DEATH: An Inside Story
“Mahasamadhi is the end of the game. The cycle is over. There is no question of rebirth; it is complete dissolution. You can say this person is truly no more.” ~ Sadhguru
5.1 Samadhi and Death
SAMADHI
Sama means equanimity, and dhi means buddhi, or the intellect. Samadhi is a state of equanimity where the intellect goes beyond its normal function of discrimination. You are simply here, seeing life in its true working. You do not make a distinction. Samadhi is far from being some deathlike situation as generally misunderstood. In the samadhi state, your discriminatory intellect is perfectly in place but, at the same time, you have transcended it.
DISCRIMINATION
The fundamental nature of the intellect is to discriminate. You are able to discriminate between a person and a tree only because your intellect is functioning. Discrimination is an instrument that supports and executes the instinct of survival present in every cell of the body. If you transcend the intellect, you become equanimous. But this does not mean you lose the ability to discriminate. If you lose the discriminatory intellect, you will become insane.
TRANSCENDING DISCRIMINATION
The moment you transcend the intellect, you see the wholeness of reality. A state like this gives you an experience of the oneness of the Existence, the unification of everything that is. Everything is here, in this moment. This in turn loosens one from this physical body. A space between what is you and your body is created. The physical body is intact, but the contact with the physical body has become very minimal.
SAVIKALPA SAMADHI
Savikalpa samadhis are samadhis with attributes or qualities. They are very pleasant, blissful and ecstatic.
NIRVIKALPA SAMADHI
Nirvikalpa samadhis are without attributes or qualities. They are beyond pleasant and unpleasant. Those who go into nirvikalpa samadhi states are always kept in protected states because their contact with the body becomes very minimal. The smallest disturbance, like a sound or a pinprick, can dislodge them from their body. These states are maintained for certain periods to establish a firm distinction between oneself and the body. It is a significant step in one’s spiritual evolution, but still not the ultimate.
SELF-REALIZATION
Samadhis by themselves have no great significance in terms of Self-Realization, or knowing the true nature of the Self. Samadhi is just moving into a higher level of experience and you might get more caught up because it is more beautiful than the current reality. If you have made Self-Realization the top priority in your life, then everything else which does not take you one step closer is meaningless.
5.2 Enlightenment and Death
If you raise the intensity of life energies beyond a certain pitch, you will get Enlightened and leave. If you drop it below a certain level, you will die. This is the natural process. An Enlightened person must constantly create some conscious purpose to hang on to their body. Only a rare few attain a certain level of understanding, and manage to retain this body with their Self-Realization.
5.3 Mukti and Mahasamadhi
MUKTI
In the Indian way of life, mukti or freedom from the cycle of birth and death is the highest goal of life. Reaching God or heaven is not the highest goal of life. Nor is it flying freely in the sky like a bird. The words Moksha and Nirvana are also referring to mukti.
NIRVANA
Nirvana is a more appropriate word because Nirvana means non-existence. What it means is that you are free from the very burden of existence. Your existence is finished. As long as you exist, one way or the other you are bound. Everything that exists is ruled by some law. Nirvana or mukti means you have broken all laws and they can be broken only when you cease to exist. That is the ultimate freedom.
MAHASAMADHI
Mukti is also called as Mahasamadhi. In Mahasamadhi one is able to walk out of one’s body, consciously, without damaging it, and without using any other external means. You also transcend discrimination so that there is no such thing as you and the other. The life within and life without become one.
5.4 A Few Mahasamadhis
Swami Nirmalananda and Sadhguru’s wife Vijji.
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