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Aptavani-2
Pipal tree covers it with hundreds of thousands of layers, so do the veils of karma cover the Self and that is why the light of the Self cannot be seen. One can't see the real even with the five senses. Knowledge through the senses can never be real. Gnanis always remain in the state of permanent bliss beyond the senses. Except for the Gnani Purush, no one else can awaken your Atma; your real Self.
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Handle samadhi
Questioner: Dada, I can remain in samadhi (unperturbed state) for four hours.
Dadashri: That is fine, but does it leave you after a
while?
Questioner: It will definitely go away!
Dadashri: So, would you call it a temporary or a permanent samadhi?
Questioner: It is temporary.
Dadashri: All samadhis that are happening in the world are temporary; they are of the non-self. Samadhi should be continuous and there should be no conflicts in it. Everyone has temporary samadhi. What is your understanding of samadhi?
Questioner: It is possible for one to keep the mind at one location, for a certain amount of time.
Dadashri : But what do you gain out of it? Controlling the breath gives you some benefit, but does it give you peace? You do not feel cold as long as you sit next to a fire, but as soon as you move away, you feel cold again. The fire should be constant so that you are never cold. Real samadhi is completely different. Similarly, if you are hot and you use a hand held fan, you will feel cooler but your hand will hurt, what good is such 'handle' samadhi i.e. samadhi which require you to perform
334
Aptavani-2
certain rituals? If samadhi can be achieved by pinching the nostrils, then even a small child should be able to achieve the same by doing so. Try and pinch a small child's nose and see what he does? He will instantly get upset and bite you! This proves that it causes suffering, so what good is such a Samadhi laden with physical suffering? Samadhi should be a natural and spontaneous state (sahaj). Natural samadhi is Samadhi; it is one which is experienced in sleep, while standing, sitting, eating, drinking, etc. At the moment 'we' are in a state of samadhi even as 'we' speak and yet 'our' nostrils are not closed, are they? 'We' are constantly in samadhi and 'we' never lose it even when someone insults us. Achieving samadhi by pinching the nostrils is hathayoga (practicing with ego). How can one have samadhi through persistence of ego related action (hatha)? If someone were to remove his guru's picture, he would become very restless within. Samadhi should be constant and without any unrest. That which does not change, that which does not leave is samadhi. That which results in turmoil is called upadhi (external difficulty). It is like the discomfort one feels when he goes out into the sun after sitting in a shade. Samadhi that prevails despite adhi, vyadhi and upadhi (mental suffering, physical suffering and problems of external circumstances, respectively) is true samadhi. Samadhi should be permanent.
True samadhi
Questioner: I did not know that samadhi could be permanent and continuous.
Dadashri : People experience samadhi when their eyes are closed and that too not everyone. Whereas here, we experience samadhi even with eyes open. Here one is in Samadhi (oneness with the Self) even as he eats, drinks, sings, sees everything. Even an ox can have samadhi when he is blindfolded! That is artificial samadhi. Whereas here for you; you can see God even with your eyes open. You see God while
