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