From Meditation To Enlightenment

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEDITATION, SAMADHI, SATORI AND ENLIGHTENMENT?


All the four are different stages of the same event. In other words there are four steps for climbing to the temple of Spiritualism.


First Step: Witnessing

Meditation is the first step. Meditation may be termed as witnessing consciousness, a thoughtless awareness, choice less awareness; this is the beginning point. Generally we are caught up in the objects of the world. In innumerable objects fluctuating mind keeps on jumping from one to another. Leaving these numerous objects aside, hereby we form a triangle of - scene, seer and the witness of both.
Just forget about the various ends of this world. Just three important points to remember - first in the scene, second is the one seeing the scene and third point of triangle on the top is of the witness who is aware of both the scene and seer. Beyond the scene and the seer the one who is aware of the watcher is known as Sakshi. In short, meditation is witnessing. And this is the first step of ladder of spiritualism.


Second Step: Samadhi

Second is Samadhi. Here the trinity also disappears. Only one remains. Initially this will happen momentary, for a short span of time. For just few minutes or seconds the trinity of scene, seer and the witness will dissolve and only one will remain and it is named as Samadhi. But then you will return back. Patanjali calls this as Savikalp Samadhi - a samadhi with options. We will enter into Samadhi and then we will return back from it. Just for a short while only there will be the union with the ultimate. But this state will not remain for long. After short union you will return back to the normal state of living. Then there will be come back from one to three and from three to thousands of points of the world.
Here I would like to remind you - Just try to remember the symbol that Osho had made for Rajneesh foundation in 1974 in Pune. The symbol was a point at the center of the triangle. The triangle was surrounded by a structure of nine ends and a
circle surrounding those nine points. That circle indicated the outer circumference of life, the symbol of the vast existence. The innermost point stands for the empty space within. The journey starts with nothingness, then the nothingness into trinity. As if main stem gets divided into three branches and from those three branches develop nine sub-branches. Three multiply to form up nine. And those branches grow up from 9 to 27, 27 to 81 and so on. And this leads to birth of thousands of leaves, which stand for the world. For a worldly person the journey starts from nothingness within to the multiples of the world.
Returning to the Source

The journey of spiritualism is of contraction, returning to the source, Pratyahar, that is returning to the originating point. Folding up all the extensions that one had created in the world. From the vast spread of innumerable come back to nine, then from nine to three and ultimately jump to one. To call it one is also actually not correct and those who have known call it as non-dual, Adwait. In that state, two do not exist, you may call it one or zero. These are different ways of saying the same thing. It means, in samadhi we have to dive in that feeling of oneness where the dualities do not exist. It is a state on non-duality. Nor you, neither I, the entire world is lost and when there is no you then how could there be I? The 'I' exists only in the context of the other. For example: outside your home you have a boundary wall of the exteriors and that boundary is the same of your neighbor. Any boundary is with the existence of other only. If there is no other, then what is the need of the boundary. For an instance- if suppose World War III happens and on this Earth only you survive. So will there be any boundary of your home. There shall be no boundary of your home as there is nobody else; only you remain. Now there shall be no
use of any boundary. Now, you will not apply any fence. There is no need of it. Fence is due to the other. Thus, till there are you, the existence of 'I' is. When the other disappears, the world is forgotten; at that time your existence as the ego is no more. Such dissolution is known as Samadhi.


Step three: Satori

Then the third state is of Satori. When Samadhi goes deeper, there starts an upward flow of energy with a huge force as if a whirlpool of energy is formed; the union of Samadhi and energy at its peak is termed as Satori. It is almost like a glimpse of enlightenment.
You can understand it in this way - like we are going towards the peak of a mountain through ghats. Due to the roundness of the road we have started seeing the peak from a distance. Moving on the road, a certain point will come where from the topmost point of the peak is visible. Then again moving further may be that point is not visible ... Hence, Satori is the glimpse of that peak of Enlightenment.


Step four: Enlightenment

When the event of Satori takes place it means you are close to the destination of Enlightenment. But that too disappears, and then too the journey still remains. The route is route, you need to move on in some more circular rounds, but at the end one will reach the goal of enlightenment. Reaching to that peak is Sambodhi, enlightenment or in the language of Patanjali it is Nirvikalp Samadhi. Now that state of disappearance of duality is not momentary but permanent. Now there is no returning back; that peak has become the abode - this is called Enlightenment.
Just for sake of understanding - Witnessing, Samadhi, Satori and Enlightenment are all different but in actuality they are four stages of the same journey. The first stage is that of witnessing, second - the beginning of Samadhi or Savikalp Samadhi, third is Satori and the fourth is Enlightenment or Nirvikalp Samadhi. They are all different steps of the same ladder; just the need is of going on the same road. If you want to divide and see, you may call it with four different words and if you see it with a wide view then it is one and the same thing. It is beginning, middle and end of the same event.
I would like to emphasize - each and every person can dive in oneself; starting from witnessing, traveling through Samadhi and Satori and reaching the peak of Enlightenment. And at the peak one knows the - Satchitanand - Truth, Consciousness and Bliss form of oneself.