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These three kinds of dhyana illustrate the tendency in Hatha texts to treat dharana
and dhyana as the harnessing of attention on increasingly subtle forms until the
yogin becomes absorbed in the formless nature of the Self, a state often referred
to as laya ('to merge'). In the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (4.65-105) the primary means
of accomplishing this is through the practice of nada-anusandhana, or the 'contemplation
of the inner sound'. The 'inner sound' or nada (or para sabda) is the first manifestation
of the creative power of the Great Mother Sakti (from sak = 'to be able') who represents
the dynamic principle of the cosmos, which when individualised as kundalini becomes
audible to an attuned awareness as it ascends susumna-nadi.
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The yogi, sitting in the Muktasana posture
and assuming the sambhavi-mudra, should listen with concentrated mind to the sound
within, heard in the right ear. (4.67)
Close the ears, both the eyes, the nose and the mouth;
then a clear and distinct sound is heard in the pure susumna passage. (4.68)
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This process is described as having four stages (avasthas) during which particular
'inner sounds' are perceived, these becoming increasingly subtle as kundalini pierces
the granthis and enlivens the cakras as it ascends susumna-nadi. The first stage
(arambha avastha) is initiated by the piercing of brahma-granthi in anahata cakra
which is accompanied by 'various sweet tinkling sounds' as if made by ornaments,
along with 'the unstruck sound' or anahata dhvani (4.70). The second stage (ghata-avastha)
comes with the piercing of Visnu-granthi in visudhi-cakra, and is attended by 'a
medley of rumbling sounds like the sound of a kettledrum' (4.73). In the third stage
(paricaya-avastha) a 'sound like that that of a mardala [a kind of drum] is heard
in the akasa [literally 'not visible' and meaning space or ether] between the eyebrows'
(4.74), along with inner sounds resembling 'the conch, the bell and the horn' (4.85).
It is at this stage that Rudra-granthi in ajna cakra is pierced, which removes the
final obstacle to kundalini ascending to the seat of Isvara' which marks the fourth
or nispatti ('completion') avastha.
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Having broken the knot of Rudra the prana
reaches the seat of Isvara. Then in nispatti there is heard a sound as of the flute
which assumes the resonance of a veena [a plucked stringed instrument]. (4.76) |
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With each successive stage of nada anusandhana, then, awareness becomes increasingly
absorbed in more subtle aspects of the 'inner sound' until it is 'held [steadfast]
by nada', becoming 'totally immobile, like a bird that has lost its wings' (4.92).
Beyond this stage, and so beyond the reach of nada, lies Sakti's eternal consort,
the transcendent and quiescent Siva (from the verb root si = 'to lie') who represents
the 'soundless' (nihsabda) state of the Absolute (Parama Siva or Parama Brahman).
Samadhi
The final limb of all Hatha systems is samadhi (from the verb root dha = 'to hold'
+ sam = 'together'), a term that is usually left untranslated but is sometimes described
as a state of complete meditative absorption. In the same way that dharana deepens
into dhyana as awareness becomes steady, dhyana matures into samadhi without additional
practices when awareness becomes unwavering: 'That same [dhyana], when it comes
to shine forth as the object alone, apparently empty of its own nature as knowledge,
is called samadhi' (Yoga-Sutra: II.3). When this occurs a kind of intuitive knowledge
or prajna arises as the usual distinctions between the knower, the known and the
process of knowing are transcended to varying degrees, making way for the direct
'shining forth' of the essential nature of whatever forms the locus of concentration.
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika (4.3-4) furnishes a list of terms that are said to be synonymous
with samadhi, the number of which providing an indication of the difficulty of producing
a definitive characterisation of this this state:
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Unmani that which transcends the mind (manas);
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Manonmani fixedness of mind that brings joy;
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Amaratva immortality (literally 'non-death-ness');
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Laya absorption, dissolution;
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Tattva 'that-ness', truth, realness;
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Sunyasunya void yet not void, voidless void;
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Paramapada supreme state;
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Amanaska beyond (cognitive) mind;
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Advaita non-duality;
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Niralamba without support (i.e. self-sufficient);
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Niranjana without stain, pure;
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Jivanmukti living liberation, emancipated state while in the body;
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Sahaja ownmost or natural state; and
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Turiya fourth state, i.e. the state beyond wakefulness (jagrat), dream-sleep (svapna)
and deep sleep (nidra).
Patanjali distinguishes between two basic types of samadhi: samprajnata and asamprajnata.
Samprajnata is samadhi 'with support' in the sense that awareness is 'supported'
by some object that acts as a locus of concentration. Asamprajnata is samadhi 'without
support', meaning that there is no awareness of form in any sense, including oneself,
as all modifications of citta have been restrained. Even though this distinction
is not explicity mentioned in Hatha texts, commentators such as Brahmananda hold
that it is nonetheless taken into account, referring to the following two verses
from the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, for instance, as describing the states of samprajnata
and asamprajnata samadhi respectively.
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When the prana is without any
movement [in kumbhaka] and the mind is absorbed in the Self, that state of harmony
is called samadhi. (4.6)
That state of equilibrium which is the union of jiva-atman
[the individual self] and Parama-atman [the supreme Self or the Absolute], in which
there is the annihilation of all desire-ideation, that is called samadhi. (4.7)
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The basic difference here is that in asamprajnata-samadhi the distinction between
knower, known and knowing is completely though temporarily dissolved, whereas in
samprajnata-samadhi self identity is only partially transcended.
The degree of transcendence of self identity in samprajnata-samadhi is described
in terms of four stages or samapattis (coalescences of citta with the form) in Classical-Yoga,
with each successive stage representing an increasingly subtle state of awareness
as the mind (citta) becomes predominantly sattvic (pure and harmonious). The three
kinds of dhyana from the Gheranda-Samhita and the four stages or avasthas of nada-anusandhana
discussed in the previous section can be likened to the samapattis. In each case
there is a progression from stage to stage of more refined 'supports' for the steadying
of awareness, whether that be a movement from gross to subtle objects or though
increasingly subtle aspects of the 'inner sound' or nada. Keeping in mind that the
use of particular terms in Hatha texts is rarely as concise and clear as it is in
the Yoga-Sutra, the relevant point here is that while the practices themselves may
be treated as kinds of dharana or dhyana, it is the maturing of the practice and
the steadiness of awareness that results from it that moves one through the higher
limbs of yoga and the four stages of samprajnata samadhi.
Both samprajnata and asamprajnata samadhi are referred to as sabija or 'with seed',
as even though the 'seeds' (or samakaras) of disturbances of the mind are temporarily
suppressed, their potential for creating disturbances in the future has not been
eliminated. This is why it is said that the dissolution of self identity in asamaprajnata
samadhi is only temporary. Continuing in this state makes it less likely that disturbances
will arise in the future, however the final step beyond this stage of samadhi to
liberation or Self realisation, where the mind is permanently transcended, does
not come with practice or the exercise of will, but by the grace of the Divine (anugraha).
The major difference between understandings of samadhi and liberation in Classical
and Hatha-Yoga are due to the philosophical principles that underpin their respective
approaches. In Classical Yoga liberation is conceived as the irrevocable separation
of purusa from prakrti. The prajna or intuitive wisdom that arises in the early
stages of samadhi in relation to individual forms broadens into a direct understanding
of prakrti itself. This highest prajna is the discriminative knowledge (viveka khyati)
that distinguishes purusa from prakrti, thereby liberating purusa from its false
identification with even the most subtle aspects of prakrti. For Patanjali, then,
liberation is not something that can happen while one is still living (jivan mukti),
or if it could occur the liberated yogin would remain in a samadhi like state oblivious
to the world.
In contrast, the ultimate goal of Hatha-Yoga is liberation in and through the body
in this life (jivan mukti), which is supported by a conception of the Self as essentially
nondifferent to the fundamental unity that underlies all experience. The ascent
of kundalini to the sahasrara cakra represents the transcendence of all forms of
self-identity, which is portayed in Tantric iconography as the escatic union of
the transcendent and eternal Siva with the immanent and dynamic Sakti. This means
that liberation is not something that separates one from life and the body, but
rather transforms them into a living expression of the Divine.
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