In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, savikalpa samadhi, also called Samprajnata Samadhi and Sabija Samadhi, is meditation with support of an object.
Description
Savikalpa samadhi is associated with deliberation, reflection, bliss, and I-am-ness. Deliberation and reflection form the basis of the various types of savikalpa:
Savitarka, "deliberative": The mind, citta, is concentrated upon a gross object of meditation, an object with a manifest appearance that is perceptible to our senses, such as a flame of a lamp, the tip of the nose, or the image of a deity. Conceptualization still takes place, in the form of perception, the word and the knowledge of the object of meditation. When the deliberation is ended this is called nirvitaka samadhi.
Savichara, "reflective": the citta is concentrated upon a subtle object of meditation, which is not perceptible to the senses, but arrived at through interference, such as the senses, the process of cognition, the mind, the I-am-ness, the chakras, the inner-breath, the nadis, the intellect. The stilling of reflection is called nirvichara samapatti.
Interpretation
According to Paramahansa Yogananda, in this state one lets go of the ego and becomes aware of Spirit beyond creation. The soul is then able to absorb the fire of Spirit-Wisdom that "roasts" or destroys the seeds of body-bound inclinations. The soul as the meditator, its state of meditation, and the Spirit as the object of meditation all become one. The separate wave of the soul meditating in the ocean of Spirit becomes merged with the Spirit. The soul does not lose its identity, but only expands into Spirit. In savikalpa samadhi the mind is conscious only of the Spirit within; it is not conscious of the exterior world. The body is in a trancelike state, but the consciousness is fully perceptive of its blissful experience within. According to Jianxin Li Samprajnata Samadhi may be compared to the Rupajhana of Buddhism. This interpretation may conflict with Gombrich and Wynne, according to whom the first and second jhana represent concentration, whereas the third and fourth jhana combine concentration with mindfulness. According to Eddie Crangle, the first jhana resembles Patanjali's Samprajnata Samadhi, which both share the application of vitarka and vicara. Apollo 14astronautEdgar Mitchell, founder of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, has compared the experience of seeingthe earth from space, also known as the overview effect, to savikalpa samadhi.
