Light of Vedas September 2015 Issue

Light of the Vedas

YOGAas

SAMADHID R D A V I D F R A W L E Y

Bi-monthly newsletter published by

American Institute of Vedic Studies

www.vedanet.com

Message

Light of the Vedas September 2015 ISSUE | AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF VEDIC STUDIES | PAGE 2

Namaste Dear Friends and Students!

It has been an amazing year for us and for our work, particularly in the international context.

We wish to announce our upcoming India and related retreats for the next six months, for

those who wish to join us for special programs and personal interaction.

Vamadeva received the important Padma Bhushan award earlier this year from the President

of India, Sri Pranab Mukherjee, one of India's highest national awards for distinguished

service of a high order to the nation. Vamadeva and Shambhavi both spoke at the main

international conference in Delhi to mark International Yoga Day on June 21 and later had a

special meeting with the Prime Minister of India, Sri Narendra Modi, which also featured the

PM honoring Vamadeva's new book, . Since then we have been busy Shiva: The Lord of Yoga

with new programs and courses.

We are happy to oer you an important new article of Dr. Frawley, Yoga as Samadhi, in this

newsletter, which provides extensive new insight on spiritual experiences and altered states of

consciousness.

For our upcoming programs we have a special year end retreat in Hawaii, on the beautiful

garden island of Kauai, in a beautiful South Indian style retreat center near the north shore of

the island, where we will focus on Shiva and Shakti teachings and empowerments. We will

include a visit to the famous Hinduism Today temple and the world's largest crystal Shiva

linga.

2016 we have two important events in India from late February to mid-March 2016, Shiva

Ganga Yoga Shakti retreat, at the Glass House on the Ganga above Rishikesh. We also oer a

Yoga Tandava tour organized by Kapha Collective for those who want to experience of the

sacred places of Varanasi and Rishikesh and spend time in Delhi, India. Note below for more

information immediately below.

Jai Maa Guru!

Hara Mahadeva!

Vedacharya Vamadeva Shastri and Yogini Shambhavi Devi

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Namaste! Aloha!

We look forward to bringing in 2016 with a deeper

understanding of our Yoga Shakti celebrations in

the mystic environs of Kauai, one of the most

beautiful places on Earth.

You will be guided to understand the deeper

teachings of Soma (Divine nectar), Ananda (Divine

Bliss) and Transcendence through Shiva Jnana and

Ananda Shakti in the celestial environs of the

Garden Island of Kauai.

Experience the blissful

b e a u t y o f M o t h e r

Nature in Kauai, tuning

into the mystical secrets

o f t r o p i c a l p l a n t s ,

owers, mountains and

waters, both around and

within you. Learn the

T a n t r i c a n d S o m a

nature of the Goddess as delightful Sundari,

celebrating her auspicious and colorful resonance

through special rituals, mantra and meditation

and the transformative Sri Vidya.

The facilities consist of a beautiful India style

retreat center, not far from the ocean. The last two

days will be yours to explore this great island. Only

a small group of dedicated students is allowed as

the accommodations are limited.

Yoga Tandava Experience February

26 March 5, 2016 (7 Mystical

Nights) Delhi Varanasi

Rishikesh

Immerse and participate in this Sacred sojourn to

experience the deeper self, understanding one's

Karma and the Lila or divine play of our individual

spiritual journey through Delhi, Varanasi and

Rishikesh.

We will begin the tour with Akshardham, the

Swaminarayan temple that epitomizes serenity,

amazing sacred art and the experience of a boat

ride down the Saraswati River. The evening

fountain display is a spectacular show of ancient

lore of international renown.

A visit to Shanidham, the Saturn temple on the

outskirts of Delhi. Saturn represents the power of

our own actions through discipline and

conscientiousness. The discipline reinforced

becomes our karmic

i m p r i n t f o r s e v e r a l

l i f e t i m e s . S a t u r n ' s

initiation ensures we

master our conscious

nature to expand the

powers of truth and

harmony in lifetimes to

come.

Varanasi is Shiva's citadel and is unquestionably

one of the oldest sacred inhabited settlements in

the world and a contender for the oldest in Asia.

Every moment in this ancient city unfolds as a

sacred ritual.

Rishikesh is the sacred pilgrimage site by the

sacred Ganga River experiencing the humdrum in

today's spiritual world.

Our Main India Event at the Famous

Glass House on the Ganga | Shiva

Ganga Yoga Shakti Retreat, India,

March 5-12, 2016

Celebrate the auspicious night of Mahashivaratri,

the great night of Lord Shiva, on the sacred banks

of Ma Ganga above Rishikesh in the pristine quiet


UPCOMING EVENTS

foothills of the Himalayas!

Welcome to our divine celebrations, opening up to

the deeper forces of Shiva as pure Light, and Shakti

as the transformative Lightning force, by the ever

owing grace of Ma Ganga.

The Light of Shiva is the Supreme Universal Light

of pure consciousness and bliss, from which all

other forms of light, life and awareness arise.

Experience the presence of Shiva as the Great Lord

of Yoga, in the Himalayan foothills by the sacred

Ganga River. Participate in an all-night celebration

of Shivaratri with colorful traditional rituals and

yogic empowerments.

Discover how honoring Shiva within our hearts

provides the key to Shakti Sadhana, Yoga Asana,

Pranayama, Mantra, Meditation and Ayurvedic

healing.

Create an amazing 10x10 foot Shiva-Shakti Yantra

with just owers, energizing it with Mother

Nature's ower power.

Our prayer is for you to experience the sweet bliss

and abundance of the ow of divine grace on the

auspicious Mahashivratri puja and celebrations.

Venue: Immerse in daily rituals, Ganga Arati, and

Yoga practices at the Neemrana Glass House

property above Rishikesh in the pristine, mystical

silence of serene surroundings in the Himalayan

foothills.

http://glasshouse-on-the-

ganges.neemranahotels.com

We are blessed with three very

auspicious dates during our Shiva

Ganga celebrations - March 5

(Saturday) Vijaya Ekadashi |

March 7 (Monday) Maha Shivaratri

| March 9 (Wednesday) Surya

Grahan or Solar Eclipse

The solar eclipse is a most powerful time to inspire

and energize your Shakti sadhana. Those only

attending the Shiva Ganga program will need to

arrive at Delhi airport on the night of March 4.

Those attending the Yoga Tandava Program will

be driven from Rishikesh to the Glass House at 1:00

PM.

For any further information please email :

[email protected]


YOGA asSAMADHI

Classical Yoga is all

about enabling us to

access higher states

of awareness, which

is the true goal of

Yoga practice. Yoga

denes such higher

states as samadhi,

meaning a state of

e q u i l i b r i u m ,

a b s o r p t i o n a n d

b a l a n c e a

realization of bliss

o r u n i t y

consciousness.

Samadhi occurs by

silencing of the mind,

in which the mind

comes to function like a

mirror, only reecting

rather than interpreting

r e a l i t y . H o w e v e r ,

e x a c t l y w h a t

constitutes this higher

yogic awareness is not

something easy for us

t o u n d e r s t a n d o r

experience. And it is

something we can easily confuse with other

altered states of mind.

Samadhi is the eighth limb of classical Yoga but

also a term for Yoga as a whole. The Yoga Sutras

denes Yoga as Samadhi and regards all other

aspects of Yoga as preparatory for it. The

denition of Yoga as citta vritti nirodha or the

mastery of the movements of the mind is a

denition of samadhi, as the prime commentator

Vyaasa notes (YS.I.2).

Samadhi is dened as nirodha, which is a very

difcult term to translate and there is no

satisfactory English equivalent. Terms like

control, silencing, balancing, concreting,

dissolving or surrendering have been used, but

none are exact. Nirodha implies a deeper

composure and focus for the mind than these


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terms indicate. Samadhis involve changes in our

mental, pranic (breath) and sensory functioning

and an internalized state of awareness.

The Yoga Sutras describes various types and

degrees of Samadhi, leading to the highest

Samadhi of pure Self-awareness, the Purusha or

pure consciousness beyond the gunas or qualities

of nature, known as Kaivalya, a state of

transcendence.

But all such terminology is provisional. We could

also use such terms for Samadhi as a higher,

deeper, clearer or pure awareness. It is a state

beyond all quantitative judgments, names and

angles of approach, in which we transcend the

mind, its concepts and coordinates. So whatever

we say about it can only be indirect.

Altered States

There are many altered states of mind and

consciousness, including those apart from higher

yogic states. Most evident are altered states

induced by drugs and herbs, such as we have easy

access to today. There are groups that use

botanicals from cannabis to ayahuasca for this

purpose, including some Yoga practitioners.

Some Yogis in India commonly use cannabis as is

well known. Something of yogic states may be

revealed in the process, but much illusion can also

be there, particularly when the student is not

properly prepared. The Yoga Sutras does refer to

drug and herb based samadhis, but lists them

among the lower and non-yogic samadhis (YS

IV.1.).

There are many other ways that we can access

altered states, such as through music, drumming,

chanting, deep breathing practices, heightened

sensation, sensory deprivation, fasting, or various

austerities. Such practices may be part of Yoga if

performed along with the right guidance,

intention and duration, but they can also be

performed outside of a yogic understanding and

may not be entirely wholesome in their effects.

In the realm of occultism there are additional

practices that involve visions, dreams, astral

travel, channeling, and accessing the spirit world

or departed souls, which may have elements of

Yoga but may not. Yoga is open to experiencing

the whole of existence but through developing

our own deeper awareness, not through giving

over our awareness to an outside force or entity.

We should be free to experience the entire

universe but not lose ourselves in the process.

Even religious experiences, in which one can have

communion with the Divine, God or Goddess, are

usually regarded as preliminary to higher

formless yogic states. Higher yogic states involve

a deeper Self-awareness or Atmic consciousness

primarily.

Other people equate Samadhi, bliss or Ananda

with emotional highs, states of ecstasy and

possible dramatic bodily movements or

expressions. We must remember that the Ananda

or bliss born of Samadhi is rooted in peace and in a

calm inner focus, and does not necessarily create

any outer display.

There are certain individuals, often imaginative or

emotional in nature, who can easily have what

they think are spiritual and yogic experiences,

including colorful and emotional visions and

inspirations, possibility involving deities, gurus

or subt le wor lds . Some new or young

practitioners can quickly move into various

experiences they think are samadhis but these

may instead reect lack of emotional control and

instability in their prana. Samadhi implies an

inner stillness, detachment, composure and

continuity.

Yoga does not always regard these altered states

or unusual experiences as important or as

necessarily positive. Yoga denes samadhi

primarily as a deeper level of concentration and

focus and aims at promoting a one pointed and

discriminating state of awareness, in which one

gradually moves beyond all outer experiences to

an inner state of seeing beyond all name, form and

action. Such a yogic focus can provide special

experiences and powers (vibhutis and siddhis)

but along with the maturity not to get taken in by

them.

Different Types of Samadhi

Yoga discusses different states of samadhi though

ultimately samadhi is of one taste or rasa only and

is a development of unity consciousness. The

main distinction is between Nirvikalpa Samadhi

in which all the distortions, imaginations and

interpretations of the mind come to an end, and

Savikalpa Samadhi in which the mind continues

to cast illusions and interpretations.



Another important way to understand Samadhi is

relative to the four states of waking, dream, deep

sleep, and the ever wakeful fourth or Turiya state

that endures behind deep sleep and the other two

states as well. Samadhi is like remaining in a

conscious deep sleep state, rather than our normal

unconscious deep sleep state. This is also the

highest form of Yoga Nidra.

There are states of astral awareness that bring in

subtle and heightened artistic experiences,

including visions of deities and subtle worlds.

These are form-based samadhis, though the form

is subtle. They are extensions of the dream state.

Beyond these are states in which one experiences

energies of eternity and innity through form

based perceptions. This is like the mystic Blake's

experience of innity in a grain of sand and

eternity in an hour. There are entire lokas of this

type. These experiences cross over into the causal

realm.

Beyond these are purely formless states of

a w a r e n e s s i n w h i c h o n e e x p e r i e n c e s

consciousness, light, energy, vibration beyond

any semblance of objects, forms or limitations,

including a direct experience of cosmic law, truth

and the ideal powers behind all manifestation.

These are an extension of the deep sleep state.

One can experience even deeper samadhis in the

waking state and in the physical body, but in this

case the physical world and body are seen as

manifestations of light, energy and thought, not as

real in their own right.

Samadhi rst of all requires surrendering our

sense of physical and form based reality. This

means experiencing the world as light, energy,

prana and consciousness, not as name, shape,

number or structure. It requires an inner seeing

and knowing that has no corresponding external

object, thought, emotion or memory.

The highest spiritual states or samadhis have no

sensory or conceptual content. They do not

involve seeing unusual lights, hearing unusual

sounds, going to other worlds and so on. They

simply involve being fully what one is, which is

everything and nothing. Body, mind and ego as

we know them are put into the background or

forgotten altogether.

Samadhi is like entering into the great unknown,

yet it has its own self-knowing. Samadhi is a state

of unknowing in which we go beyond the mind to

a pure unmodied state of Self-awareness.

The highest Nirvikalpa Samadhi occurs when it is

sustained throughout waking, dream and deep

sleep as ones natural state. This is also called

Sahaja Samadhi or the natural state of Samadhi.

Higher States of Awareness Who is There?

Sometimes people ask me to describe samadhi,

differences in samadhi or what is involved in

higher yogic states. There are simple things like a

deepening awareness, a slowing down and

deepening of the breath, a release from body

consciousness, and a falling away of thought that

one can point to initially. Such states usually begin

with a state of profound stillness of body and

mind, but can continue during our daily activities.

It is like a deep silence at the core of ones being.

But in the highest truth, there is no one who goes

into higher states of consciousness, which does

not happen according to a formula. Rather these

higher states arise when the veils created by the

lower states of consciousness are removed,

surrendered or let go of, or simply fall away as a

result of long term practice. Such higher states

usually occur unexpectedly or like a ow of grace

but have enduring impacts on the state of

awareness.

In higher states of awareness, you are not there.

There is no question of any person having an

experience. There is no other or separate person

apart from you either. There is no audience and no

one to talk to or share the experience with. There is

a unitary Self-awareness like space and light but

with no boundaries and a condition not limited to

a particular body or mind.

One may experience what could be called God or

guru or Nature but as part of the same unitary

Self-awareness. In some states one can experience

separate deities or teachers but these are usually

not the highest.

You must leave your body consciousness at the

door to enter these higher realms of consciousness

and understand yourself as pure spirit and light.

You must leave your mind behind and move into

thought free awareness. Samadhi is a journey in

which the one taking the journey disappears early

along the way.

There are higher yogic experiences that relate to

certain parts of the body, like the top of the head,



the heart or the third eye, but one is not conscious

of these as parts of my body. One may

experience that universal forces are present in

what we call the body, which gradually merges

into all of nature.

In the highest Atmic states there is a knowledge by

identity, pure awareness, or direct seeing for

which names and concepts are peripheral. There

is nothing to know and no one who could know it,

as far as any informational knowledge goes. There

is as it were a self-evident mystery that is full and

overowing and of which the entire universe is

but a reection.

How Should We Pursue Spiritual Experiences?

Actually there is no need to overtly pursue

spiritual experiences, or to try to imagine what

these might be like. What is necessary is to move

into a deeper peace, perception and Self-

awareness as ones natural state. This means

giving up regarding

external experiences

as real or denitive.

Yoga Sadhana and

practice is certainly is

necessary and must

be done daily, but

one should let any

experiences come

and go like clouds in

the sky, and not run

after them. This will

naturally allow the

e x p e r i e n c e s t o

deepen as well.

The prime experience

of samadhi is as the

state of pure being

that is always there, if

w e l e t g o o f o u r

xation on the world

of becoming, action

and change. The bliss

of Samadhi is behind

and beyond all of our

experiences with the

mind, senses and

body as a continuous

presence.

To access the yogic samadhis, we must give up our

attachment to our ordinary samadhis or

emotional highs born of outer enjoyments and

inner imaginations. Samadhi implies stillness,

steadiness, composure and immutability. It is

beyond the ups and downs of emotions and

thoughts. You need not pursue samadhi; you

simply need to let go of all your other pursuits!

Samadhi is the owering of inner peace, which is

an extension of the peace of nature that we all have

a sense of. Yoga helps us develop that seed into a

great banyan tree. May all beings reach the highest

happiness and by the most direct path, which is to

not deviate from who we really are! Let us not

forget the bliss that is one's inmost Self and the

deeper unitary Self-awareness behind the entire

universe!



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Light of Vedas September 2015 Issue