The Swami and His Samadhi

Swami Sivananda Sarasvati was a guru who lived near the famed city of Jaipur around the 1600s. He was widely known in Jaipur as he was acknowledged to be enlightened and was well known for his simplicity in teaching religion. Swami Sivananda Sarasvati was an ardent devotee of Lord Sri Krishna. Even during his quiet moments he could be heard whispering, "Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare ; Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare.”

Swami Sivananda Sarasvati kept a strict daily schedule of meeting his congregation. He would usually give a sermon first and then lead his congreagation in devotional singing in praise of Lord Sri Krishna. After that each devotee would come up to him and he would whisper in their ears, “Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare ; Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare” and then apply tilak on their forehead. He would also answer any personal questions the devotee might have then. 

After giving time to his devotees for nine days Swami Sivananda Sarasvati will take a two day break. During his break he meets no devotees. Most of the devotees think that Swami Sivananda is resting on these days. However Swami’s closest devotees know that on these days the Swami intensifies his spiritual disciplines and enters samadhi.

On one such day, when Swami was on his break, a messenger from the Maharaja of Jaipur came to the Swami’s ashram to seek an appointment for the Maharaja to meet with Swami. The messenger was met by two of Swami’s assistants who help with the running of the ashram. The assistants explained to the messenger that Swami will be happy to meet with the Maharaja, however he was not be available on that day and the next day.

The messenger enquired, “Is Swamiji not here, or is he not well?” An assistant replied, “Swamiji is here and he is well, respected sir, but he is resting today and tomorrow. So he will not be able to see the Maharaja on these days. The Swami keeps to a strict schedule, please let me explain to you the schedule.” Then the assistant explained the details of the Swami’s schedule and gave him the dates when the Swami could meet with the Maharaja and days when he wasn't available. 

The messenger then replied, “The Maharaja is not going to be happy when he hears this. He will expect that Swamiji will make an exception to have an audience with the Maharaja at any time. He may be a great Swamiji, but he is still living under the protection and rulership of the Maharaja.”

Both the assistants looked at each other. They were in a delicate situation, but they did not want to disturb their Swami, so they discussed an appropriate response for the Maharaja. Then one of the assistants told the messenger, “Respected sir we understand your reasoning. However please go and tell the Maharaja that on these two days Swamiji is actually not resting but he is in samadhi, so he cannot be disturbed.”

When the messenger brought the message back to the Maharaja, he understood immediately what it meant. During the days of his gurukulam, the Maharaja had studied many scriptures. There were scriptures on state administration, business conduct, royal etiquette, warfare; but chief among them were the scriptures on ethics and spiritual life. The Maharaja was an avid practitioner of yoga. He had studied that the ultimate goal of yoga is samadhi. He was looking for a guru who could guide him to achieve samadhi. Naturally he was excited when he heard that Swami Sivananda has that ability. The Maharaja thought if he became a disciple of Swami Sivananda he can learn to achieve samadhi. However he had a doubt. How could he be sure that Swami Sivananda had really accomplished the heights of yoga that his devotees claimed? 

The Maharaja thought that the only way he could be sure is if he witnessed the Swami attaining samadhi. So the Maharaja ordered the messengers to go back to the Swami’s ashram with a message he wrote himself. He wrote, “Respected Swamiji, I heard that you can attain samadhi. I want to see that.”

Swami Sivanandaji, having come out of his two day retreat, read the note from the Maharaja and replied in another message, “Respected Maharaja, I will be most pleased to fulfill your request. Please come on the tenth moon of the shukla paksha this month. I will be entering samadhi on that day.”

The Maharaja was very excited about having the opportunity to see a yogi enter into the mystical state of samadhi. So excited that he set out for the Swami’s ashram much earlier than he needed to; so that no unforseen delays during his travel might make him miss his appointment with the Swami. He arrived at Swami’s ashram two days before their actual appointment. 

The Maharaja used the extra time to have spiritual discussions with the Swami. The discussions revealed that the Maharaja was well learned in the mystical Scriptures, such as the Patanjali Yoga Sutras, Yoga Vashishta, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and so forth. The Maharaja observed of Swami, that all during the quiet moments of their discussions and while he was in deep thought the Swami whispered to himself the hallowed mantra, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare; Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare.

During their discussions the Maharaja told Swami Sivananda Sarasvati, “Swamiji, for years now I have been trying to attain the state of samadhi, but in all these years I do not feel that I have progressed any. I have read many of our Scriptures, but there is so much instructions in them that I do not know where to start. The enlightened gurus explain that the state of samadhi is very blissful and is more enjoyable than any of the pleasures that is available in this world. Is this true Swamiji?”

Swami replied, “Yes Maharaja, it is indeed true that pleasures of the world pale in comparison to the bliss of samadhi. Maharaja may I suggest that you find a jnana guru and follow his instructions. I am sure with your persistence and your desire to know God you will attain samadhi in time.”

The Maharaja then told the Swami, “Respected Swamiji, I am hoping to be your disciple if you accept me. But first I want to see you enter into samadhi, then I will make the final decision.” To this the Swamiji just laughed and told the Maharaja to be patient and in time he will have the opportunity to witness him entering the state of samadhi.

The appointed day that the Maharaja had been eagerly anticipating had finally come. There were no devotees in the ashram and the ashram’s gates were closed. Even the Maharaja’s entourage set up their camps outside the ashram. In the ashram were Swami Sivananda Sarasvati, his two assistants and the Maharaja. The assistants ushered the Maharaja into Swami’s simple room. The Maharaja saw Swami Sivananda pacing up and down the room chanting his favourite mantra softly to himself. The Maharaja took a seat at a special pedestal made for him, eagerly anticipating the Swami reaching the state of samadhi. However, after sometime of seeing the Swami walking up and down the room the Maharaja was growing impatient. According to the Scriptures that the Maharaja had studied, the method of attaining samadhi involved disciplined meditation while sitting in a poised meditative posture. The Swami was certainly not doing that. 

The Maharaja thought to himself, “Maybe the Swami doesn’t realize that I am here. After all he did not acknowledge me when I came in.” So the Maharaja decided to make himself noticed and asked the Swami a question, “Respected Swamiji, when are you going to enter samadhi?” Swami looked at the Maharaja, smiled and said, “soon, very soon.” The Maharaja was happy with the Swami’s answer and eagerly waited. Meanwhile the Swami continued pacing up and down his room chanting, “Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare; Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare.” He was now chanting the holy mantra louder. The Maharaja thought, “well it looks like the Swami is doing bhajans for now. He should start meditating when he feels the time is right.”

An hour later Swami was doing the same thing. The Maharaja got bored waiting that his mind began to wander about the affairs of his Kingdom and other things. Then the Maharaja thought, “Is this man ever going to attain samadhi today? An hour ago he told me very soon, but he is still doing his bhajans. Maybe he is not who people say he is. Perhaps he is a bogus swamiji?”

No sooner than the Maharaja had finished his thought, there was a sudden change in the the mood of the room. The Swamiji had stopped pacing up and down the room. The Maharaja thought, “Aah, finally now he is going to meditate.” However instead of that, the Swami was beaming with a serene smile and instead of sitting down to meditate, he began to dance fervently while singing, “Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare; Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare.”

The Maharaja was mesmerised by the Swami’s dancing and singing. His awareness had gained extraordinary concentration on the swami that all his previous distractions of thoughts and feelings were cleared away from his mind. Then the Maharaja began to feel a warm feeling of peace welling up from within him. The Maharaja was satisfied just sitting there witnessing the Swamiji singing and dancing with such devotion to God. It did not concern the Maharaja that the Swami had not begun meditating yet. He was so engrossed in enjoying the unusual peace he was feeling within himself.

After almost an hour of dancing and singing the Swami finally stopped. The Swami did not feel nor look tired. Instead he felt inspired and happy. Then Swamiji walked toward a table in his room where a jug of water had been prepared earlier and started drinking cups of water to quench his thirst. While Swami Sivananda was drinking water the mesmerised Maharaja came to his normal senses. Gradually he began wondering again when the Swami would begin to meditate. He was thinking, perhaps after lunch, as noon was nearing. 

Maharaja got up from his seat and walked towards the Swami and asked him, “Swamiji, when will you start meditating and enter samadhi?” The Swami had a surprised look on his face and responded, “What do you mean start? I just came out of samadhi. Did you not see?”

The Maharaja pondered deeply a while and asked the Swami, “you mean when you were dancing and singing you were in samadhi?” The Swami replied, “Yes Maharaja.” The Maharaja was confused and asked Swami Sivananda, “but Swamiji, I thought that you have to be sitting in meditation to enter samadhi?”

Swami replied, “Yes Maharaja, I was meditating. I was meditating while I was walking. When I attained samadhi, I started to dance because I could not contain the bliss I was feeling. You did say you wanted to see me attain samadhi. Had I sat and meditated you will have not known when it was that I attained samadhi.”

The Maharaja dwelled a while on the Swami’s explanation and realized the depth and the practicality of his wisdom. The Maharaja thought, “if I could feel such peacefulness just by witnessing the state of samadhi, how much more amazing will it be if I actually attained samadhi? God has graced me with a true guru. I must learn from him.” Then the Maharaja immediately laid himself prostrate Swami’s feet and responded, “I have much to learn Swamiji, please except me as your disciple and teach me how to attain samadhi.” Swami Sivananda got the Maharaja back on his feet and humbly accepted the Maharaja as a disciple in the study and practice of samadhi.

We will start by comparing this story with Pusalar's Story and The Divine Play. Pusalar’s Story was about worshipping God within oneself. The Divine Play story was about God appearing to rescue His devotee and about God’s All-Encompassing Universal presence. Both these stories were about devotees experiencing God as individuals apart from God. The Swami and His Samadhi story is also about a facet of human experience of God, however there is a subtle difference about the experience of God in this story from the other two stories. The difference is that, in this story the the experience of God involves the devotee's awareness merging into God’s consciousness. In this kind of divine experience the distinction between the devotee’s consciousness and God’s melts away into complete spiritual union. This is samadhi, and in samadhi, the devotee is not apart from God and enjoying the presence of God, instead he is absorbed in God’s Consciousness.

Looking at this story from the perspective of children, it may not seem as exciting as the previous two stories. It is less gripping and more technical. However I chose this story because it introduces the word and the concept of samadhi which is a crucial spiritual goal in life for Hindus. Samadhi is God Realization.

I cannot over emphasize the importance of understanding the state of samadhi as a teacher of Hinduism. The attainment of samadhi is a core purpose of Hinduism, for it leads to the ultimate goal of life that is moksha. If I could boil the vast knowledge bank within the teachings of Hinduism into its essence and come up with a couple of words to contain this essence, the words would be samadhi and prema. 

The understanding of samadhi also sets Hinduism apart from most other religions. In Hinduism we acknowledge that God is within every soul. The purpose of the soul having many births on Earth, is for it to grow in spiritual maturity until it realizes its innate oneness with God through the attainment of samadhi. Thus no soul is judged after one life to either enter heaven or hell eternally. Rather all souls will eventually achieve God Realization and freedom from incarnations on earth to live in the Heavens eternally. Thus there is no concept of a lost soul in Hinduism.

When it comes to teaching children about samadhi, it is obviously challenging. It is easy enough to teach them that God is within their heart and that they can pray to God within their heart or in the temple. Teaching them the idea of achieving undifferentiated union with God, is another story. It is quite technical, it is a challenge for most adults to understand, let alone children. However my guru thought me that it was crucial to pass on the goal of samadhi to children as it will be of great benefit to them later in their life. So how to teach them about samadhi? You can use the following method as outlined.

First, tell the The Swami and His Samadhi story. Then ask them what they understood about samadhi from the story. Most children I found remain silent to this question. If I get any answer at all it is usually that samadhi is praying to God, or samadhi is seeing God. Whatever answer the children give, if it is appropriate, like praying to God or seeing God, praise them for their answer.

Then you can ask them why the Swami who was chanting his mantra and walking up and down the room suddenly started to dance and sing. Let the children answer and accept whatever answer the children come up with, except if the answer is that, God came into the Swami, so he started dancing. You have to be sure that the children don’t get the wrong idea that samadhi means getting possessed by God or getting into a state of trance. 

After they give their response, give them this answer: ‘The Swami was dancing because he was enjoying samadhi. Samadhi happens when our mind and God’s mind join and become one. When samadhi happens we will feel very happy and peaceful.’ 

To reinforce the understanding of samadhi in children, you can do the following show and tell. Have enough plastercine of the same colour to form two spheres. One sphere should be significantly bigger than the other. The smaller sphere is the human mind or human awareness, the bigger sphere is God’s mind or divine consciousness. Show them that when we reach the state of samadhi, the smaller sphere will merge completely with the bigger one. Tell them when this happens we will feel very peaceful and happy. After sometime we will come out of the state of samadhi, then pinch out some plastercine from the bigger sphere of divine consciousness and reform the human awareness sphere and you are back to two separate plastercine sphere. 

Emphasize to the children that one day they too will achieve samadhi. Apart from bringing divine peace and joy into their life, learning to achieve samadhi improves the ability of concentration of the mind to perfection. A key factor for success in any endeavour in life is a concentrated mind.

Another important lesson to be learned from this story is the significance of the guru and sishya relationship in Hinduism. In the story the Maharaja despite being well read in the religion, still realized that he needed the direction and wisdom of a guru to help him in his quest of samadhi. If you were to look at the multitude of Hindu Scriptures available, simply to decide on what to read and what method to  follow is a challenge. Thus Hinduism recommends its followers look for a spiritual master, a guru, who can assess the spiritual maturity of his or her devotees and give them the necessary direction. Not all methods work for everyone; the guru will have the foresight to teach the right practices according to each individual disciples needs. 

In the realm of Hindu gurus too there are many to choose from and finding your guru can be a challenging task in itself. The Scriptures however offer that, when a devotee is ready his or her guru will appear. That is how it was for me though I know of many others who have found their gurus through searching. One can also pray to God for a guru. If you hear of a guru in your town giving a talk try your best to attend it. If you like what he or she says and you feel a spiritual affinity to the person, you may well have found your guru.