How To Reach A State Of Samadhi

Excerpts from Gurudev’s discourse on the Patanjali Yoga Sutras

By doing something you cannot experience or achieve this awareness. You cannot bring up the intelligence, the alertness in you by effort. It can only be achieved without effort, by relaxation! Only by relaxing, reposing in the self, by practice of resting, conscious relaxation and conscious rest can you achieve this state of samadhi.

Unconscious rest is sleep which we are forced upon by nature. In sleep you are not really resting. It is possible only in deep meditation, because you are consciously resting. Otherwise, rest is swallowing you up. Here, you allow the rest to happen. Sleep is putting you to rest and meditation is resting on your own. This is abhyasa, practice of deep rest consciously.

So, people have to practice in order to be equanimous and bring up more awareness in them. For some people this comes through old samskaras or impressions. It just happens! It can happen right from birth or sometimes at a particular period in life. For some people, after 30-40 years, suddenly one day they open up to some spiritual experience. They have more awareness. Unfortunately, most people get misguided.