The Eight Limbs of Yoga: Part 9/9: Samadhi Explained | The Final Goal of Yoga & Union with the Divine

We close our nine-part series on The Eight Limbs of Yoga with a grounded look at Samadhi — the ultimate limb of yoga, representing union, ego dissolution, and the quiet clarity that follows.

In this episode, we explore what Samadhi truly means through Yoga Sutra 3.3, compare interpretations across spiritual traditions, and discuss how brief glimpses of unity can evolve into a steady, integrated way of being.

In this episode:
• The meaning of Samadhi through Sutra 3.3
• Understanding Savikalpa, Nirvikalpa, and Sahaja Samadhi
• Parallels with psychedelic and flow-state experiences
• Christian mysticism and Unio Mystica — the shared experience of divine union
• How union dissolves ego and deepens compassion
• Shavasana as a doorway to glimpses of Samadhi
• Practical ways to integrate unity awareness into daily life
• Season wrap-up and where to find new content

As this season closes, I’ll be sharing more practices, guided meditations, and reflections on my YouTube channel, including shorts and longer practice videos.

You can also connect with me on Instagram @dailypracticewithbenita for inspiration, community, and updates on upcoming in-person classes.

If this podcast has brought you insight or peace, please leave a review, share it with friends or family, and help others find their way to these teachings.

Keywords: Samadhi meaning, yoga philosophy, ego dissolution, union in yoga, Yoga Sutras explained, Patanjali, eight limbs of yoga, meditation, yoga and mysticism

Chapters

• 0:00 Series Finale & Today’s Focus
• 0:56 Support, Reviews, And What’s Next
• 1:27 Pivot To YouTube And Future Plans
• 2:18 Defining Samadhi Through The Sutras
• 3:19 Ego Dissolution And Altered States
• 5:13 Christian Mysticism Parallels
• 6:44 Types Of Samadhi Explained
• 9:01 Everyday Glimpses And Flow States
• 11:02 Why Samadhi Matters
• 12:32 Practice, Shavasana, And Integration
• 14:00 The Journey Of The Self
• 14:40 Gratitude, Break, And Where To Find Us

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:06

Hello everybody and welcome back to the daily practice with me, Benita. So today's episode is the final part of a nine-part series about the eight limbs of yoga as described by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. So as this is a series, feel free to go back and listen to the eight previous episodes to get a full picture of all the eight limbs of yoga. If you don't feel like doing that, but you're interested in today's topic, which is samadhi or union, um, then kind of the ultimate goal of yoga, then feel free to just listen to this as a standalone episode, also. And yeah, uh, just a little bit of housekeeping: how you can support this podcast is of course subscribing on whatever platform you're listening on, leaving a comment if it's on YouTube. Please do also consider leaving a review and of course share this podcast with anybody who might find it of benefit. Having said that, um, today's episode marks the kind of last of this season. I am going to focus more and more on my YouTube and providing uh shorts and even a little bit longer practice videos on there. So this will be yoga practice, um, getting more and more into Pilates, also just short tips on how to practice yoga, how to develop a daily practice of meditation, yoga, breath work, pranayama, all of that. And yeah, so that's been calling me for a moment now, but I wanted to just finish up this series, and I will most definitely in the future probably come back to this. I like a little bit more long form content uh and get more into depth and all that. And probably I will in the future when I get back to the podcast, have more or start having guests on uh to to talk about these different topics, so it'll be more of a dialogue, and yeah, so that was just a little bit of uh so-called house be housekeeping, but let's start about samadhi. Like I mentioned in the short intros, samadhi means something like union, liberation, or you know, divine connection and some kind of I guess enlightenment type situation. Um, what is actually said in the Yoga Sutras? In Patanjali's Yoga Sutra three, three is a stad evartha, matra, nirbath, sam Svarupa, Sunyam Iva, Samadhi. Translation. A translation. Remember when we talk about ancient or a little bit older Sanskrit or other texts, spiritual texts, there are often a lot of different possible translations, so, or interpretations. So this is one. When only the object shines forth as if devoid of self, that is samadhi. So this could be interpreted as samadhi is a somewhat of a complete absorption, where the distinction between the observer and the observed dissolves. You could describe this as some kind of ego death or dissolving the ego to the greater self, to all life. And of course, yeah, we're gonna get into the practice of this and and the experience, but just as a note that this is achievable in in multiple different ways. Yoga, uh, this yogic practices is just one way of experiencing samadhi, and I think a lot of people might have been able to access this same consciousness, state of consciousness, and uh awareness through certain molecules. I'm talking about psychedelics and for me for sure, uh substances such as LSD and also uh to some extent in a different way, ketamine uh have produced these kind of states of complete dissolution, um, or dissolving rather off the ego structure, and there's like uh just oneness or suchness or an experience of the experience itself without any abstraction of the ego. Okay, um, so this can be once again contrasted with Christianity, and specifically in Christian mysticism, there's talk about union with God, you unio mystica or unio divina, I guess you could also say. And um, for instance, Christian personages, like Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, describe these states of ecstatic union. And perhaps we could contrast it, however, this uh Christian idea or concept of union with God is as a union with a personal God. Like we say that human was cre uh human as humans are the image of God, so it was in Christianity we conceive of the divine or God as a person, whereas in yoga it's a union with purusha or so-called pure consciousness. But there is definitely this overlap or similarity that both traditions describe this kind of state as a peace, bliss beyond words, that it's an ineffable, undescribable suchness and union that is is is hard to put into words, right? Okay, well, let's get back to the yogic tradition and let's talk a little bit about the different types of samadhi. So there is savikalpa samadhi, which which is called with seed, and this is the kind of state of union of oneness where some thoughts or mind objects might still be present, but it kind of transcended those. And then there is nirvikalpa samadhi in contrast, which is without seed, and it's this so-called pure awareness with no thoughts at all. And one could say that savikalpa samadhi is then potentially easier to attain, and I I can for sure know that even um, yeah, so to say, just through meditation practice, I've achieved a state where there is yeah, definitely no me, there's no time, and there's just an awareness of the now. And but I guess I guess for a glimpse, I have for sure had that experience of Nirvikalpa Samadhi where there's no thoughts, but then for me often, or when it when it has kind of like emerged through meditation practice, it is has been for me difficult to stay in that pure awareness because then I become aware of the awareness and and then start thinking about what is this situation, and then you become aware of the thoughts, and then shortly after, if you don't allow those thoughts to just be a part of it and now start thinking them, then the experience kind of transmutes back into regular thinking consciousness. And then finally, we have a thing called sahaya samadhi, which is a natural abiding state which can be integrated into daily life. It is a certain kind of mindfulness and kind of this constant awareness of the unity of all things and all life, and just seeing oneself as a as a part of the flow of life, and that is distinct from like a peak experience, let's say, through meditation and or certain uh entheogens or psychedelics, however you want to think about them. So, Sahya Samadhi, state of integration. You're you're going about your daily life, but with this conscious awareness that everything is actually one. Uh when or where might you have experienced these states uh just in your regular daily life where you're kind of reaching some kind of trans state through music, prayer, love, making love is of course uh a kind of uh gateway to samadhi, also. Uh, but it's yeah, it's that where there's like you are one with the music, you're one with the moment, you're one with whatever is going on, uh, and there's no thought of or of the self or self-consciousness. Yeah, like I said, uh could also be in this kind of flow state in for instance, surfing, other uh ways of or sports or or art and and such. But these often are not the full experience of samadhi, but it is something approximating that state of complete stillness and oneness with all. Why is samadhi important? Well, this is really the telos or goal of yoga, it is the what is conceived of in Buddhism, nirvana or liberation, freedom, and union with the all. And just having these experiences throughout our existence through practice and so on will help us live with more compassion, clarity, and also non-attachment because we realize that we are only a part of something much, much bigger. So uh I guess this final episode of this series was a little bit uh of an express episode, and there is of course so much more to dive into with Samadhi, but I think I'm gonna leave it at this, just because there is also this idea of the ineffability or the fact that you can't really describe, of course, there could be uh kind of discussion of the different kinds of samadhi, but I think that allowing those understandings to emerge for each and every individual who's practicing is also really beautiful. So, yeah, samadhi is perhaps kind of the culmination of the yogic path and the final of the eight limbs of yoga. But like I said, it is achievable, it is achievable through daily practice or regular practice, and it is uh really integral part of yoga. So I'm really happy that I've had the opportunity to share some of these teachings beyond just the posture practice that we might often get kind of stuck in. But I would also invite you to consider the possibility of experiencing a samadhi in our posture practice andor our shavasana, our final relaxation at the end of our posture practice, then for sure there is uh opening of the body, the energy body, the chakras through our posture practice, and then relaxing into shavasana will often offer a beautiful opportunity to get an idea, get a glimpse of what samadhi truly is. Yes, so I'll just repeat this one quote that I've also repeated uh in another episode of this series, which is yoga is the journey of the self through the self to the self. So this is a really pertinent quote considering the topic somebody is like realizing that the doer and the the the what is being done and where and when are all really the same thing, and they are intimately connected and intertwined, and that's what it is. So, thank you so much for tuning in once again through all the eight limbs of yoga of Patanjali. I really invite you to keep practicing all the limbs and becoming more and more familiar of the vast system that is yoga, that it is it is really beautiful to enter the practice perhaps through the physical body and finding the benefits of the posture practice on the physical body, on our health, on our energy levels, our vitality, everything like that. But I invite everybody to remember that there's so much more to the practice of yoga and taking all the eight limbs into your life and into your practice will for sure make life more enjoyable, interesting, rewarding, and meaningful. So, uh, I like I mentioned will be focusing more and more on my YouTube content. So this episode marks the last of this so-called season, and I hope to connect with you also on Twitter, and although I've I've been kind of taking up a little pause from that too, but I did also start a new Instagram called Daily Practice with Benita, so you can find me there too, and there I will be posting more information about the YouTube, the podcast, as well as my classes, uh in-person classes here over here in Mexico. And I would love for you to come join me in person on the mat. And yes, I guess that's about it. So please do feel free to still share and like and review this podcast and share it also with family members and friends. Uh, even though I'm taking a small break, there is plenty of content to listen back to, and it is so so-called evergreen teachings, and none of it is lost. Uh, kind of even if you listen back to it from a month, two or several years from now, it'll probably be relevant, if not more so. So, thanks so much for joining again, and I will catch you on all the other platforms. And as always, remember, a good practice is the one you do.