Level 3: Advanced Yogic States – Samādhi, Sākṣī Bhāva & Nirvikalpa
From Meditation to Mergence.
Image: The meditative yogi dissolving into pure cosmic awareness — beyond thoughts, time, and form
🕉️ Introduction: Beyond Technique, Into Being
This stage is no longer about doing meditation, but about abiding as meditation.
The seeker who consistently practices Dhyāna and intermediate techniques is now naturally led to higher states:
- Samādhi – Absorption into the Self or Divine
- Sākṣī Bhāva – Witness consciousness beyond identification
- Nirvikalpa Samādhi – Ultimate absorption without form, thought, or distinction
These are not temporary states, but transcendental thresholds leading to Kaivalya (liberation).
🔱 1. Samādhi (समाधिः) – Complete Absorption
Sanskrit Sutra (Yoga Sutra 3.3):
“तदेवार्थमात्रनिर्भासं स्वरूपशून्यमिव समाधिः॥”
“When only the object of meditation shines forth and the mind is devoid of its own form, that is Samādhi.”
✨ Types of Samādhi in Yoga Philosophy
| Type | Sanskrit | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Savikalpa Samādhi | सविकल्प | Absorption with mental distinctions (with form, mantra, etc.) |
| Nirvikalpa Samādhi | निर्विकल्प | Absorption without any distinctions, beyond thought and duality |
| Samprajñāta Samādhi | संप्रज्ञात | With conscious awareness, object-based |
| Asamprajñāta Samādhi | असंप्रज्ञात | Beyond object, unconscious of ego and individuality |
| Bhava Samādhi | भाव | Intense devotional absorption (common in Bhakti Yoga) |
| Sahaja Samādhi | सहज | Natural, effortless abiding in Self even while active in the world |
🪔 What Happens in Samādhi?
- Time, ego, and effort dissolve
- Only pure consciousness (chaitanya) remains
- Mind becomes like a still mirror – reflecting only the Self
- The distinction between meditator, meditation, and object disappears
“Yogī yunjīta satatam ātmānaṁ rahasi sthitaḥ…”
“The yogi should meditate constantly on the Self in solitude.” — Bhagavad Gita 6.10
👁️ 2. Sākṣī Bhāva (साक्षी भाव) – The Witness State
Meaning: “The State of Being the Eternal Witness”
Sākṣī = Witness, Bhāva = Attitude or State of Being
🧘 What Is Witness Consciousness?
Sākṣī Bhāva is the steady awareness that:
- “I am not the body.”
- “I am not the mind or emotions.”
- “I am the observer, unaffected, timeless Self.”
The practitioner watches:
✅ Thoughts as thoughts
✅ Emotions as waves
✅ Body sensations as transient
“द्रष्टा दृशिमात्रः शुद्धोऽपि प्रत्ययानुपश्यः।”
“The seer is pure consciousness, yet perceives through the mind.” — Yoga Sutra 2.20
🧠 How to Practice?
- Sit and observe your mental, emotional, and physical experiences without reacting.
- Do not label, judge, or follow — just be aware.
- Shift from identity with thought to awareness of thought.
With regularity, this practice makes life itself a living meditation.
“I am not the doer. I am the eternal witness.” — Jnana Yoga core
🕊️ 3. Nirvikalpa Samādhi (निर्विकल्प समाधिः) – Beyond All Duality
This is the final frontier — the absolute non-dual absorption where:
- There is no “I”, no mantra, no mind, no effort.
- It is pure being, without subject-object experience.
- It cannot be described — only realized.
📜 Scriptural Descriptions
“Yatra nānyat paśyati nānyacchṛṇoti nānyadvijānāti sa bhūmā”
“Where one does not see, hear, or know anything else — That is the Infinite (Bhūmā).”
— Chandogya Upanishad 7.24.1
“Yatra nābhijānāti, tad-samādhiḥ”
“Where one knows nothing else — that is Samādhi.” — Yoga Sutra 4.29
🔥 Difference Between Savikalpa and Nirvikalpa
| Feature | Savikalpa | Nirvikalpa |
|---|---|---|
| Has object? | Yes (e.g., mantra, form, light) | No object |
| Awareness of self? | Yes, subtle ego may remain | No sense of individuality |
| Entry via effort? | Yes | Effortless dissolving |
| Memory of experience? | Usually yes | Rarely – it’s beyond mind |
| Duration | Temporary | May become Sahaja (natural) |
🪶 Personal Experience (Tradition Says):
- Feels like melting into boundless space
- Infinite peace, no time, no thought
- Post-samādhi: the world appears new, but one is unattached
🌞 Pathways to These States
| Path | Practice |
|---|---|
| Rāja Yoga | Patanjali’s Ashtanga (leading to Samādhi) |
| Jnana Yoga | Self-inquiry: “Who am I?” → Sākṣī Bhāva → Nirvikalpa |
| Bhakti Yoga | Total surrender through devotion → Bhava Samādhi |
| Mantra Yoga | Japa → Ajapa → Dhyāna → Samādhi |
| Kundalini Yoga | Chakra awakening → Sahasrāra union |
🧘♀️ Advanced Daily Practice Recommendation
| Practice | Duration | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Silent sitting with witness awareness | 20 min | Sākṣī Bhāva cultivation |
| Mantra or breath meditation | 10–15 min | Deepening stillness |
| Open-eyed awareness (mindful walking, working) | All-day | Sahaja state development |
| Retreat (1 day/month) | Extended | Touching Nirvikalpa or Bhava Samādhi through silence |
🕉️ Final Words: The Journey Ends Where It Began — In You
“Chinmātram paramārthasatyaṁ…”
“Pure consciousness alone is the ultimate reality.” — Advaita Vedanta
When all techniques drop, all efforts fall away, and only silence remains, that is Samādhi.
When you no longer identify with thought, role, or mind — and simply exist as awareness, that is Sākṣī Bhāva.
And when even that witness is dissolved into pure Being, that is Nirvikalpa Samādhi — the true liberation (Moksha).