46th Sutra of the Yoga Darshana, Samadhipada, is a wonderful sutra which talks about Sabeeja Samadhi, Sabeeja Samadhi. The sutra is
ता एव सबीजः॑ समा॒धिः ॥ १.४६॥
Tā eva sabījaḥ samādhiḥ
Very simple, Tā eva sabījaḥ samādhiḥ. Ta is those. Eva also. Ta Eva Sabeeja, with seed. Beeja is seed. Sabeeja, with seed. Samadhi is Samadhi. So, Ta Eva Sabeeja Samadhi, those are also Sabeeja Samadhi. This "those" refers to the previous Samapattis which were described from 42 to 44.
All those Samapattis and the process of transformations, and this particular sutra says that Ta Eva Sabeeja Samadhi. And because the word Ta Eva is used, many of the translations, concepts, because of this particular sutra, have interpreted the earlier four also as the Samadhis, means Savitarka Samadhi, Nirvitarka Samadhi, Savichara Samadhi, Nirvichara Samadhi, like that. But we have seen, while trying to understand those sutras, that Patanjali has used Samapatti, and we have seen the difference between Samapatti and Samadhi.
But here, when the word Ta Eva is used, Sabeeja Samadhi, it means that all those four give rise to one single Samadhi, that is Sabeeja Samadhi, means Savitarka Samapatti, Nirvitarka Samapatti, Savichara Samapatti, Nirvichara Samapatti. Let us remember, they are the process of transformations, and all these four Samapatis, process of transformations, give rise, they lead into Sabeeja Samadhi. This is the right way of understanding, maintaining that Samapati and Samadhi are distinctly separated. One is the process, and one is the end result. So, those are also Sabeeja Samadhi, Ta Eva Sabeeja Samadhi. And because both words used, Sabeeja and Samadhi, they are singular, not plural.
If all the earlier four are considered as Samadhis, the word would have been plural, but it is singular. That means all the four Samapattis are not Samadhis individually, but they give rise to one single Samadhi, which Patanjali named it as the Sabeejah. So, Sabeeja Samadhi is the culmination of the previous four, or the culmination of each one is Sabeeja Samadhi.
And this may stay days together, weeks together, months together, or just for a few hours. That is the meaning of "may stay", means the Chitta will be in that particular state. So, these four Samapatti identifications, which we have seen in the earlier sutras, based on their object of the meditation, means when it is a physical object, the Samapatti is Savitarka or Nirvitarka. When your object is subtle, Sukshma, it is Savichara or Nirvichara. This is a distinction. If the object is physical or gross, the Samapatti can be Savitarka or Nirvitarka. But if the object is subtle, Sukshma, it is Savichara and Nirvichara. That is how the four Samapattis have been described, and we try to understand in that lines.
So, this particular sutra, this 46th one, the description is the word called as the Sabeejaha. There is a bija, there is a seed. It is not a complete absence of the bija. Bija is a seed, maybe a thought, a single thought, or a very single object.
Thus, in Sabeeja Samadhi, the Chitta experiences happiness, joy, because the Chitta enters into that phase, as we have seen in the earlier sutras. And this is also one of the reasons many people say that Sananda Samadhi. It is not like that. We may say that the Chitta, or the mind, experiences the subject of meditation, and the experience is of Ananda, happiness, bliss. Thus, the Ananda, which is the experience in these Samapattis and culminating into the Sabeeja Samadhi, is the measuring rod to keep us in the right direction. That means, when the practice of Samapatti is going on, and after the practice of the Samapatti, we can simply say that practice of meditation, there must be a joy, there should be a sense of happiness, and no dukkha. And if there is a heaviness, bhara, dullness, as we have seen in the earlier sutras, that means the process of meditation, maybe even the system of meditation, is not in the right direction or may not be even on the right path. Because Sananda it is, it should be along with the experience of Ananda. That is how this particular sutra has a very important dimension of introducing the word Sabeeja Samadhi - Tā eva sabījaḥ samādhiḥ. All those are Sabeeja Samadhi, the four Samapattis, each one individually leading into a state which is termed as Sabeejah and as just we saw, that it is Sabeeja because of the object, and if the object is external or gross, it is Savitarka or Nirvitarka, and if the object is Sukshma, it is Savichara or Nirvichara.
With this understanding and suggestion for the meditation in the path of yoga, let us go to the next important sutra.
Oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ. ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः|| To Be Continued.. ---------------------------------------- These are transcription of session delivered by Vice-President of Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra, Sri M. Hanumantha Rao Ji. Audio Link - https://youtu.be/JoN_afnxVbM?si=odAfCj3OfDDHxB-XRead n Get Articles, Magazines, Books @ http://prakashan.vivekanandakendra.org
मुक्तसंग्ङोऽनहंवादी धृत्युत्साहसमन्वित:।
सिद्धयसिद्धयोर्निर्विकार: कर्ता सात्त्विक उच्यते ॥१८.२६॥
Freed from attachment, non-egoistic, endowed with courage and enthusiasm and unperturbed by success or failure, the worker is known as a pure (Sattvika) one. Four outstanding and essential qualities of a worker. - Bhagwad Gita : XVIII-26
