Nirvikalpa Samadhi and Self-Knowledge by Dr. Harsh K. Luthar

[Guest guest]

>

> Note: On September 18, 1998 Lalita was asked if Shri Mataji wore

> shoes and the reply was She did. Her father told her to be sure but

> the reply was still affirmative. He knew that she had made a mistake

> and probably had not observed Her Feet properly.

>

> The next day at 9.10 a.m. Lalita, just after meditation, told her

> father that Shri Mataji did not have any shoes. This time she

> confirmed that the Great Adi Shakti was barefooted in her Sahasrara.

> (Lalita was never even asked to find out). Her brother Arwinder, who

> had also finished meditating, casually added, " Shri Mataji has no

> shoes. " Their father, solely for the sake of positive proof, asked

> her why was she sure this time and the reply was, " When I meditate

> with Her I can see She has no shoes. " In other words Lalita had just

> found out this fact after going into Nirvikalpa Samadhi a few

> minutes earlier. Her father asked, " You looked at Her Feet? " Lalita

> replied that she did.

>

> http://adishakti.org/adi_shaktis_descend/devi_the_great_goddess.htm

>

 

" The supreme divinity, Lalita, is one's own blissful Self. "

 

Bhavana Upanishad 1.27

 

 

Nirvikalpa Samadhi and Self-Knowledge (Self-Realization)

By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar

 

Sometimes people say that Nirvikalpa Samadhi is a state where there

is no knower and known. That is really a half-truth. To capture the

essence of Nirvikalpa Samadhi, it is better to say that in Nirvikalpa

the KNOWER and the KNOWN are IDENTICAL. It is only pure consciousness

that by which its very nature is self-revealing and self-knowing.

 

Nirvikalpa in Sanskrit means " without thought or doubt or mental

modification " . It is the absence of mental modification and presence

of fullness of consciousness in Nirvikalpa Samadhi which allows for

the clear recognition of the Self.

 

Self is both the Knower and the Known, the Seer and the Seen, without

any duality. Self, being one without a second, is always self-

knowing. There is no " other " for it to know. That is why we refer to

the Self as Nirvikalpa. The reference to Nirvikalpa implies the

nondual nature of the Self.

 

While deep sleep is a state of complete unconsciousness, Nirvikalpa

Samadhi is the state of Full and Complete Consciousness. Deep sleep

and Nirvikalpa Samadhi are the two sides of the same coin. In a very

real and true sense Nirvikalpa Samadhi is the state of " deep awake " .

One is fully asleep to the world of perceptions and fully awake in

the Self, which is Sat-Chit-Ananda.

 

Nirvikalpa Samadhi cannot be understood without direct experience.

But it is not impossible to understand it. If it was a state that is

beyond understanding, Sages such as Shankracharya and Ramana

Maharishi would not be able to speak of it. Such is not the case.

People who speak about Nirvakalpa Samadhi without actually

experiencing it can only speculate about its nature. Because such

people are confused about Nirvikalpa Samadhi, their statements create

confusion for others.

 

The mind can continue to exist and function after Nirvikalpa Samadhi.

Through the existing mental apparatus, the Sage can teach and

experience via the mind and the body. The Sage may weep or laugh or

eat or sleep or dream. All those things are due to mental

modifications and unrelated to the Self-nature.

 

After Self-Realization, the mind is seen as existing but not separate

from the Self. The Self Knows Itself even though the mind still

exists. The mind exists as a condition that rises from the Self and

then is absorbed back into it. It is due to the presence of the Mind,

(until the departure from the body), that Knowledge of the Self can

be passed on by the Realized beings to others who seek such knowledge.

 

Namaste and love to all

 

Dr. Harsh K. Luthar

[Guest guest]

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uthar.htm