Samadhi (Superconsciousness) - Nature of the mind & consciousness

It is unfathomable for the average mind to comprehend the state of Samadhi or Superconsciousness - how can a human mind, which is oblivious to the nature of consciousness even begin to grasp the idea of consciousness.

In our journal, you will find a blog written about the nature of consciousness - if you haven't read it, please go and read it first!

The mind & consciousness are not different entities, they are different states of the same substance, just like different states of matter (solid, liquid, gas etc.).

Let us take an example: Think of a lake, high up in the Himalayan mountains. In summers, the waters aren't frozen, they flow freely. But as the winters approach, the waters begin to freeze and form blobs of ice.

Mind & consciousness are very similar to the Himalayan lakes. Just like in the summer, when the waters aren't frozen - similarly, a child flows freely as the the individual consciousness isn't frozen yet. The child hasn't developed a mind yet.

As the child grows up, the parents, the society interferes. It teaches and installs all sorts of desires. There is nothing wrong with desires as such - but it is desire which acts like the chilly winds of winter - it freezes the flowing waters of the lake.

The mind is nothing but frozen water - it revolves around your deepest desires. Desires are the seed of the mind, all your thoughts are centered around your desires, whether it is the desire for money, for power or for enlightenment.

Sure, there are many ways of dissolving desires and the various spiritual paths of Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) exists for this very reason. Some say, ignore desires or act like they are not there. While others will say that it is a stupid suggestion, and the only way to transcend those desires, is to go through them. But debating which way is better is not the point of today's topic.

Suppose, you find a path that suits you best - and you are able to dissolve the chilling winds of your desires, what happens then?

Well, at the very least, the waters become unfrozen, and the lake of your consciousness is free to flow as it once did when you were a child!

But this is where Sanatana Dharma, and all the philosophies that came out of the Sanatana tradition, like Hinduism or Buddhism outshine all other spiritual traditions of the world - it teaches you how to reach the third state!

The third state is where the free flowing waters of the lake of your consciousness meats intense heat, and evaporates to become steam!

Whatever sadhana (spiritual practice) you are doing right now, is designed to generate some form of internal heat (tejas). When this heat reaches a certain level of intensity, and it meets free flowing water, the water becomes steam - and you experience the state of Superconsciousness.

Simply put, Superconsciousness is the cessation of the mind or rather, the evaporation of it.

One of the many reasons why the Guru-Shishya tradition exists since ancient times, because the wrong amount of heat can completely erase your existence - which is obviously not good when you are not at all ready for it. There are many people in the world who are alive in vegetative states, who are fully enlightened, yet they cannot speak or move. So, even if you chose to practice alone, instead of relying on a Guru - try to take things slow instead of jumping into practices because you feel bored.

Until next time,

-Ananda