Philosophy · reviewed by a teacher
Samadhi, the eighth limb
Samadhi is the eighth and last of the eight limbs in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras: a state of complete absorption in which the mind rests on its object so fully that the sense of a separate observer falls away. In Buddhist teaching the same word names right concentration, the last factor of the Noble Eightfold Path.
Teacher's note from Joahnna Lee
“I will not promise anyone samadhi.”
The word
Samadhi is usually explained as sam, together or completely, with a and dha, to place or to hold. It suggests attention brought together and set firmly in one place. English translations include absorption, concentration, contemplation and, more loosely, enlightenment.
It is the far end of the path, and it is fine to leave it there. A beginner’s practice works on the near end: steady posture, a slower breath, and a few minutes of stillness at the close, which is what beginner yoga lessons are built around.
Samadhi in the Yoga Sutras
The Yoga Sutras open with it. Their first chapter is called the chapter on samadhi, and it describes the stilling of the mind that the whole text is about. In the second chapter samadhi becomes the last of the eight limbs of yoga, after ethics, posture, breath, the turning in of the senses, concentration and meditation.
The third chapter defines it briefly. When meditation reaches the point where only the object shines out, as if empty of the meditator’s own form, that is samadhi. Concentration, meditation and samadhi practised together on one object are given a single name, samyama.
The Sutras describe several kinds. In samadhi with support, the mind still rests on an object or a seed of thought. In samadhi without support, or without seed, even that falls away. Commentators have argued over the details for centuries, and the full structure of the text is set out on the page about the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.
Powers, and a warning
The third chapter also lists extraordinary abilities said to arise from samyama. They are part of the text, and it is honest to say so. It is just as honest to say that the Sutras warn these can become obstacles, distractions from the aim of a quiet, free mind. This page makes no claims about them.
Samadhi in Buddhism
The word is shared with Buddhism. In the Noble Eightfold Path, right concentration, samma samadhi, is the eighth factor, and the Pali texts describe a series of meditative absorptions, the jhanas, as its development. Many Buddhist teachers stress that concentration is a support for insight rather than the goal in itself.
How it shows up in a modern practice
Samadhi rarely comes up in a studio class, and when it does it is usually named rather than taught. The limbs before it are what a class can offer: the meditative path of raja yoga and most modern meditation instruction begin with posture, breath and attention to one object.
People sometimes use the word for moments of deep focus, when a task absorbs you so fully that time disappears. That is a loose use, but it points in the right direction: attention that is no longer split.
What a beginner can take from it
No teacher can promise samadhi. What a class or a home practice can offer is the conditions the Sutras describe for the early stages: a body comfortable enough to be still, a breath that has slowed, and a few minutes of resting attention at the end.
If you want to start there, how to meditate sets out a simple seated practice.
Questions
What is the difference between dhyana and samadhi?
Dhyana, meditation, is an unbroken flow of attention toward an object, with a sense of someone attending. In samadhi that sense of a separate meditator drops away and only the object remains. The Sutras treat them as stages of one deepening process.
What is mahasamadhi?
Mahasamadhi, great samadhi, is a term used in some Indian traditions for the death of a respected yogi or teacher, understood as a final, conscious leaving of the body. The resting places of such teachers are also often called samadhis.
Do you need to reach samadhi to practise yoga?
No. Samadhi is the far end of the path the Sutras describe, and most people practise for a lifetime without claiming it. The earlier limbs, ethics, posture, breath and attention, are useful in their own right.