Nirvikalpa Samadhi and Self-Knowledge by Dr. Harsh K. Luthar
"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.”- Dr. Harsh K. Luthar
>
> 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.
>
> Adi Shakti's Descent
>
"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
www.luthar.com/nirvikalpa-samadhi-and-self-knowledge
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