The Importance of Samadhi in Advaita/Shankara

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In his commentaries upon the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad and Chandogya

Upanishad, Shankara argues vehemently against any connection between

samadhi and Self-Realization, though meditation and yoga may have

some propaedeutic value. Also, though the term 'nirvikalpa' appears

in the traditional writings of Shankara, the terminology 'nirvikalpa-

samadhi' does not.

 

Since I am unable to upload the text file here, I am attaching a URL

for an interesting paper by Michael Comans, which explains the role

of samadhi in the Advaita of the author of the Upanishadic

commentaries. The article is not complete in the evidence it adduces

and he could have said more about the Jivanmutiviveka for example,

and we might take issue with his interpretations of Ramakrishna and

Vivekananda, but it is quite scholarly with respect to Shankara.

Comans, by the way, recently left academe to become a sanyasin.

 

 

http://pears2.lib.ohio-state.edu/FULLTEXT/JR-PHIL/comans.htm

 

 

LoveAlways,

 

b