Mysterious Samadhi (An Old and Rare Book)

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

This book, Mysterious Samadhi, is a remarkable work by a very remarkable man. The author has attempted to provide a conceptual synthesis and to construct a meaningful message on the field of Scientific Humanism by embracing profound mysteries of concentration and training propagated in Eastern philosophies stretching over thousands of years. Evolutionary thought on human consciousness has been a great unifying force in the explanation of behaviour extending from the control of simple stereo- typed responses of the common people to the complex highly intelligent and intricate mental processes displayed by the mystical experiences of great personalities. During the past few decades most of the speculative hypotheses on human perceptual sensitivity, states of consciousness, self-awareness and mind-brain interaction deduced for millenia by meditative and yogic disciplines have been the subject of intriguing challenge in the cross-disciplinary Neuro- sciences. While meditation's effects and effectiveness in the treatment program of various psychophysiological disorders have presumably established the utmost importance of integrating self- regulation strategies with scientific vigor, only popularized extrapolations from philosophic interpretations of the final stage of meditation, that is Samadhi, have so far been made.

Dr. Surath Chakravarti has written many books on Yoga. He has explained before the evolutionary processes involved in hierarchy levels of transforming the self-conscious individual into a cosmic-conscious Divine being in his book Samdhi and Beyond. This book on Mysterious Samadhi is certainly the most important of his published works. In one direction it reveals the scientific interpretation of the mystic aspects of Samsdhi as a phenomenon of man's consciousness by embodying proper objects of scientific study; while adopting an evolutionary point of view from the earlier developments or later elaborations in different Indian Phiiosophies, he explicitly identified the underlying phenomena and properties with many degrees of subtlety and pervasiveness of Samadhi. The more sensitive the discipline, the more these under- lying principles may be recognized. He has defined the inherent possibilities of different stages of Samadhi through the refining and steadying of attention and concentration with its accompanying shifts in the levels of perception in order to gain insight into the fundamental workings of the mind and body by which the meditator becomes ready to proceed to the stages of insight. His point of view traditionally focusses to a genuine experimental under- standing of the access to Samadhi.

It was through the sheer grace of Providence that in very early boyhood, I had the fortune to come into contact with some reputable Yogis. Even before I had attained my youth, I had taken initiation in Yoga. Thereupon I had the opportunity of coming under the instruction and guidance of many Yogis of various schools of thought. During that time I both withnessed many powers of Yogis and myself had some occult experiences. This aroused my interest to find out the validity and nature of these experiences but at that time I was not able to systematize and rationalize what I experienced and what I saw.

Even after completing my college career and thereafter a post- graduate course of study, I couldn't find a way to systematize and rationalize those experiences. That is why throughout the years whenever I could, I continually toured here and there all over India and thereafter abroad to the Continent and the States and Japan but such wanderings did not improve matters much, By no means, however, was that period barren. I had the good fortune to have personal discussions with Pope Paulus VI and His Holiness The Dalai Lama. I also came in close contact with many reputed scholars and men of God such as M. M. Gopinath Kabiraj, Swami Nirvananda Saraswati, Swami Ashok ananda of Kashmir, Jagat Guru Sankaracharya of the South, and Yogi Kalipada Guha Roy to name a few. It was intellectual and spiritual giants like these who have inspired and guided me throughout.

In fact, it is due to the inspiration and encouragement that has come to me over the years from such savants that I gradually found the clue as to how to systematize my own experiences, evaluate and categorize them, Time and again hints came to my ears that I should research Samadhi if I wanted a satisfactory basis for my inquiries.

Samadhi in both theory and practice is a subject which de- serves careful attention at this time when man is looking frantically for value. Historians are searching out records for tracing past civilizations and governments. Anthropologists are digging to un- cover the beginnings of man's life on this planet and to discover how life gradually developed into the human being of this age. Scientists are trying to divide the mysterious universe in their search for the essence of life and the laws which govern its expression.

1, too, want to explore the already known as well as the un- known. In this pursuit I have found that Samadhi is the best possible system for enlightenment.

A look into the various Hindu schools of thought reveals the the part Samadhi played in ancient times in discovering values. Taking a clue from the past, we can look to see if Samadhi has any part at all to play in these modern times. Is Samadhi as a superconscious stage and state of mind useful or even achievable by modern man? If Samadhi is properly understood and practiced, can man solve the knotty problems he is facing today in every corner of his life ?

The first point to be noticed is that the concept and practice of Samadhi differ in each school but of course these differences are marginal. While there are a few significant aspects among these minor differences, we should be careful to note that there are certain underlying characteristics which are always found in a valid Samadhi. (See Appendix for definitions of Samadhi as found in various Indian Scriptures and in the Bible.)

All agree that Samadhi as conceived by the ancient schools is a one-pointedness of mind. It may point to a particular goal or it may be an end in itself.