Yoga Sutra Types of Samadhi

What kind of samadhi are we getting to? We are all familiar with the eight-fold path as introduced by Parañjali in his yoga sutras. Yoga sutra 2.29 states: yama niyama āsana prāṇāyāma pratyāhāra dhāraṇā dhyāna samādhayo’ stāv aṅgāni. The limbs of Yoga are Yama (restraint), Niyama (observance), Asana (posture), Pranayama (regulation of the breathing), Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), Dharana (fixed concentration), Dhyana (meditation), Samadhi (perfect concentration). In chapter one Patañjali elaborates on the four types of samādhi that exist. These can either be samprajñata or asamprajñata, with or without conscious thought. In sutra 3.3 we find out that the final limb of the eightfold path kind of samadhi is of the samprajñata type, more specifically the Nirvitarka samādhi as defined in chapter one (Bryant, E.F., 2009, p 307).

Want to read more?

Subscribe to yogapradipika.com to keep reading this exclusive post.

Subscribe Now