To: K-list
Recieved: 1999/12/06 05:37
Subject: Re: [K-list] Another poll. Samadhi
From: Mhortling
On 1999/12/06 05:37, Mhortling posted thus to the K-list:
>>(identification with an object, accompanied by higher thought forms) and
>> nirvikalpa (identification with the transcendental Self only, devoid of
any
>> content of consciousness).
>What is meant by "object" in this context?<
Hello again,
here's my angle on the issue of samadhi and higher states of consciousness:
In my life there have been altered states of being that in many ways more or
less agree with the traditional descriptions of samadhi. They seem to be the
result of kundalini acting within the nervous system, however the first (and
also some subsequent ones) were also fuelled by cannabis, so in that sense
these might be a little bit distorted.
The state always seems to involve an activation of the sahasrara/top-part of
the brain area. One of the main characteristic of this altered state is the
sensation of expansion and space (it's already becoming difficult to put this
into words, but I'll try anyway). If one closes the eyes in a normal frame of
mind, one senses a velvety darkness of which the limits seem to be the limits
of the physical body. If the mind is calm, the only other focus of awareness
is random sensory input - right now I'm trying this out, I hear the computer
whirring softly and there are faint traffic sounds coming in from below . If
the mind is up and running, one usually gets caught up in deliberations like
what to buy friends for christmas or why quantum mechanics are contrary to
Newtonian physics and so on . In that state it's impossible to expand, in
yogic terms one would say that one is completely immersed in the delusion or
"maya" of the mind.
Anyway, for our purposes, the mind is still, the eyes are closed and we hear
the computer whirr. Otherwise we just sense the still and velvety darkness.
The next sensation is a feeling of identity or "I"-ness permeating the
stillness - "I" am perceiving the stillness, the computer whirring away etc.
Then the stillness and the darkness begin to expand within and this seems to
be the result of kundalini acting on the brain, while normal neural pathways
are deactivated. At this stage it's important not to be distracted by the
mind kicking in or telephones ringing or whatever, because that brings the
awareness right back into the physical realm. Inner concentration seems to be
the key and this is also probably what activates the kundalini in the first
place.
Now there is still the sense of "I" as before but it's beginning to expand
beyond the previously sensed limits of the body. Or better, the body and its
boundaries seem to have become permeable and fluid. Imagine being in a dark
room on the top floor of a house. You know about the walls and the reality of
yourself standing in the room is firmly in place. Then the curtains are
pulled back, you look out through the window into the infinite night sky. At
first you're still in the room looking out, but then you start to become
gaseous and drift out into the sky, expanding into space. This expansion can
be accompanied by an ecstatic sense of immortality, freedom and power.
On the occasions the experience was aided by the use of cannabis, the
sensation of expansion really only took place within, I completely shut out
the external world, otherwise this expansion has also included external
reality. I remember one time I was standing on a hill looking out over a
beautiful, lush summer landscape. Kundalini stirred and there was the
familiar tickle in the brain, when I started to merge into the landscape...
(I have also had the distict impression that I had to stop the experience at
a certain point, there was a feeling of a point of no return with the
integrity of the physical body being at stake. I then forcibly had to bring
my consciousness back to the body, walk around, touch physical objects etc.
This also seemed to correspond with a descending motion of the kundalini, she
came back down from the sahasrara and went into the lower chakras again.
And again, just a side note: I don't particularily recommend the use of
psychoactives to induce mystical experiences, I believe that if one "wants"
to have the experience it probably won't happen, side effects can be
difficult to deal with etc. - and most importantly, it's even more difficult
not to be entangled in delusion than in a normal state)
The times the expansion has been due only to the action of kundalini, the
experience has a more tangible and less psychedelically hazy quality (yeah,
that's obvious isn't it ?), but it's not been as intense (which furthers my
belief that some substances and cannabis in particular in my case, act, as
accelerators for kundalini, reducing the flow of energy in the usual channels
and increasing it in the Brahma-nadi or neural pathway leading to the top of
the brain.)
Anyway, a major point is that, as the inner "I" expands, there is the
realisation that this "I" is consciousness and that everything tangible that
has a name and form is just a content or shape within this consciousness.
There is also the certitude that these shapes are all subject to change, they
appear within consciousness, are maintained over a certain period of time and
are then broken down and disappear - this is the eternal dance of the Shakti
! It makes absolutely no difference whether we're talking about a thought
which appears quickly in the consciousness just to disappear and be replaced
by another one or a human body going through the cycle of birth, growth, old
age and death or the life span of an object which is manufactured, used and
eventually breaks down and is discarded- the process is always the same.
It's also in this sense that one can understand the disruption of the usual
subject-object relationship, which is, basically a perceptual delusion.
Normally we always identify with the body and the personality and see
everything else as exterior to ourselves.The "reality-process" then goes
something like "I (Michael or whoever) am lifting this cup of coffee here to
my lips - there's subject, Michael, object, cup of coffee, and the act of
taking the cup linking the two. From the higher perspective however this
changes completely: here reality presents itself like this: I am
consciousness and within consciousness there's a particular shape some choose
to call "Michael" and another shape convention has given the label "cup of
coffee" and then the process called "drinking" . All this is just
simultaneously happening within consciousness or "myself" (which isn't at all
limited to "Michael").
I'm sure this might sound confusing and it's true, it's so difficult to find
the right words, but in essence the experience and the realisation seem to be
quite uncomplicated. Savikalpa samadhi then, is the experience in which this
process of sensing objects or shapes within consciousness is still active,
while one retains the sense of "I" being the consciousness itself. In
nirvikalpa samadhi, the mind is so still and withdrawn into itself that there
is nothing but the sense of consciousness (didn't Jesus say something like:
"Be still and know that I AM ?), without any object, thought or feeling, just
the sense of vast "I"-ness in which, potentially everything takes place.
The accomplished kundalini-adept probably has complete control over these
states and can enter them at will, linking with the cosmic intelligence in
order to do his/her job here on earth. For us regular k-people there still
seem to be all the usual karmic hassles and other issues to deal with. It
never ceases to amaze me, how it's possible to have these experiences and
insights and then still go back to being the normal more or less foolish and
restricted social self. Maybe one really has to be like the yogis who spend
so many hours in the samadhi state, that the usual patterns of mind/body just
get steamrollered away ?
Best regards
Michael
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