Samadhi: Going Beyond the Intellect | Sadhguru

If you cross the state of samadhi, he's an avadhoot, he's lost all sense of body. We don't allow such things anymore. If you want to experience other dimensions of samadhi, it has to be done in a protected atmosphere. Samadhi means to make your intellect totally equanimous. This equanimity can be taken to a point where you cannot make out the distinction between a man and a woman. The distinction between what is divine and human will disappear. Everything is just explosion of one big possibility. Sometimes we've brought you close to that. The Shaolin practiced a certain type of Zen. Incredible things they could do with their sword. When somebody stupid challenged them, they ran away. If you want to experience other dimensions of samadhi, that is the commitment you need to take. You practice samadhi like this. I was probably twenty. I decided to take twenty-two days of experience without even a matchstick or a light. Tigers are very close. Panthers, wild buffalo. The biggest experience in me is the insects. Once in thirteen years or seventeen years, some insect comes out. In yoga, we pay an enormous attention to these cycles. In some way, they're conscious of it. To the second, they know the time. What is samadhi and how can I experience it? You need to understand what samadhi is. Sama means equanimous. Dhi means the buddhi or the intellect. Your intellect has become equanimous. That means you took the sword and put it in the scabbard. It's not here cutting things. You just put it here and you're looking at the world around you just like that, without the filter of your intellect, which divides everything. So, when people get into such a state, there are different possibilities. There are many, many, many possibilities. But we make it into eight categories for the sake of understanding. There are some, there are four with attributes. There are four without attributes. Mind you, these are not four types, four categories. In each category, there could be many, many, many, to bring it down to the lowest level of samadhi. Now your child and your child's friend came home. You're being constantly aware, this is my child, this is somebody else's child. This is the way intellect functions. At a certain moment, this other child did something very sweet or very cute. You forgot who is who and you hugged both of them without thinking who is which. You are in a minor state of samadhi. I'm trying to give that kind of an example so that you understand. Even sitting here, you can be in samadhi. Now you're sitting here not as someone who follows Jewish religion or Christianity or Hindu way of life or anything. Simply you're sitting here listening to everything just for the merit of what it is. Now you're in a certain state of samadhi. Not making a judgment, this is good, this is bad. Simply listening, you're in a certain state of samadhi because a certain equanimity has come. This equanimity can be taken to a point where you cannot make out the distinction between red and green. You shouldn't be driving at that time. You cannot make out the distinction between a man and a woman. You cannot make out the distinction between anything and anything. Everything is same. Now this can be taken to another point where you cannot see anything. Everything is just explosion of one big possibility. Then being who you are, you may immediately say Eureka and come up with E is equal to MC squared. No, no, no. Then you lost it. Because being beyond the discriminatory nature of the intellect, that is just being a pure intelligence, not an intellect, unfortunately, most people understand the intellect as intelligence. Now, intellect is just a smart ass. You understand? Just gets you around in the world. But intellect is incapable of perceiving anything because intellect is always sitting on judgment upon everything. It cannot perceive. It can understand. Understanding is a crime against creation. Yes. Your understanding is a crime against creation because your understanding is all by division, isn't it? Oh, this is good. This is bad. This is okay. This is not okay. This is man. This is woman. This is this. This is that. This is all your understanding is. All your understanding is by division, isn't it? Because that is the nature of the intellect. See, because we have invested so much in intellect, if I give you a rose flower and I say, try to understand this flower, it is very natural for the intellect to take it off petal by petal and see what is inside and in that inside, open it up further, put it under a microscope, cut it further and further and further and try to understand it. Yes. You will know the structure of the flower. You will know so many things. You can put it in, dip it in this, dip it in that and find out the chemistry of the flower. But you will not know what the flower is. If you do not understand the analogy that I'm giving you, suppose I am interested to understand you, shall we start the dissection? Now you know. No, no, no, Sadhguru, this is not the way. Human intellect will be the source of all disaster on this planet. Not water, not ice, not hellfire. Human intellect. In India, there's a saying in the Upanishads, they say, what is this? That means when excessive intellect is used, a great disaster is coming. So when people's intellect becomes overactive, that means a great disaster is coming. Please look at the world right now. A disaster is coming towards us, not because somebody dropped a bomb on us, not because hellfire is falling upon this planet, not because of anything. It's human intellect which is causing the disasters, isn't it? And the more and more active it becomes, more and more disastrous it becomes because it has the understanding of the intellect itself is a disaster. The understanding that you arrive at through your intellect itself is a disaster. But as I said, it's a smart ass. It makes you feel better than somebody. If you can say a few intellectual things that others cannot understand, suddenly you stand above, superior, isn't it? Do you see how desperately people are trying to mouth something intellectual all the time when you meet people? Aren't they? Everybody is trying to say something intellectual and smart because it gives them a certain dominance and superiority in a given situation. So, if you can keep that aside, that is samadhi. If you keep it aside in a minimal way, you're at least able to do… deal with two people even-handedly. If you keep it aside totally, the distinction between what is divine and human will disappear because even that distinction has come only because of your intellect. The distinction between what is the creator and what is the creation will go away. The distinction between that which is unmanifest and that which is manifest will go away. Everything will become one explosion. Sometimes we've brought you close to that. But you cannot stay there because not enough work has been done upon the body which has a strong survival instinct. When survival instinct is on, suppose you're sensing some danger, is this the time you can keep your sword inside? Have you seen all the western movies? They're always sleeping with their gun cocked, ready here at the hand. If you keep it under the pillow, you may not be able to pick it right here. The moment you wake up, you must be able to shoot. Yes, because survival is in question, isn't it? So when survival is in question, you sleep like this with your hand on the gun and when somebody comes who is of some kind of threat to you, boom, you blast him. Between you and him, you are the smarter one, isn't it? You are the better one. Yes, that is the nature of survival. It is one over the other. That is not the nature of the existence. Nature of the existence is not one over the other, one inside the other. Yes, the nature of the existence is one inside the other. If a tiger eats you up, he is not over you, you are inside him. The nature of the existence is inclusiveness. It's an inclusive existence. The intellect is always seeking exclusivity. Just look at everything. People are encouraging you to be exclusive. A culture like this, western cultures, have heavily invested in individualism, isn't it? I'm like this only. This is my way. This exclusiveness will render people utterly lonely and over a period of time, they will become sick. You will not see so many mental, psychological ailments in the East, not because they're mentally more stable. Simply the cultural structure is such that it's naturally inclusiveness. Whether you like it or not, they'll include you. You ask the Indian families, whether you like it or not, they're included. You understand? Your uncle, your aunt and aunt's sister and mother and your father-in-law and mother-in-law and this one and that one, it's not your choice. Anyway, you're included. It's quite an irritating thing. But it gives you mental health. They'll never let you feel alone. Really, they'll never let you feel alone. On the surface, it looks like a problem. Deep down, this was created like this because people understood that essentially, existence is inclusive. In whatever way possible, if you do not bring inclusiveness, then you will feel lonely and after some time broken. So because we break this up badly, socially, culturally, we break it up. Now we are trying to preach everybody, you must love your neighbor, love your neighbor. They're trying but if Jesus had said, love somebody who is in the other side of the planet, they would have loved them. Moving easy. Your neighbor, she is not good, isn't it? Love somebody who is far away. See, the smarter people came after him. He's not a smart ass, please see this. He is telling you the most difficult thing to do. Love thy neighbor. Neighbor does not mean somebody who lives next door. Whoever is… whatever is right next to you right now, one who is next to you right now is your neighbor. This moment, whoever is next to you, if you learn to love him, you will become loving by your own nature, isn't it? Yes? Because this moment, this person is there. Another moment, another person is there. Next moment, an insect is there. Next moment, somebody is there. If you just learn to love anything that is next to you right now, your nature will become loving. Loving means what? On the level of the emotion, a certain level of inclusiveness, isn't it? The smart asses came later. They said, we love God. This is easy. Believe me. Love your neighbor is not easy. It needs transformation, isn't it? Something about you has to change to love your neighbor. To love God, you don't have to change anything. You can bullshit yourself completely. You can bullshit the whole world and still love God. It's very easy. So anyway, Samadhi means to make your intellect totally equanimous. Does it mean to say kill your intellect? No. You have not given up the sword, but you put it in its sheet and kept it there. Unless it's really necessary, you will not pull it out. There are stories in the Zen and among the Shaolins, because the Shaolin practiced a certain type of Zen. The word Zen started in India as Dhyan. Dhyan means the English word, which doesn't really say anything. Actually, meditation in one way, to put it simply. Dhyan, you heard of Dhyanalinga. So Dhyan went to China and became Chan. Chan went to forestation countries and became Zen. So in these traditions, great swordsmen who accomplished themselves to such a level of skill that incredible things they could do with their sword. Such people, when somebody stupid challenges them, they refused. But when they insisted, they ran away. There are stories like this. In one flick of his sword, he can take his head off. But he will run away. Because right now, his life is not in threat, so he will not pull the sword out. He has made that commitment. Unless my life is truly in threat or somebody's life is in threat, I will not pull my sword out. That is the commitment you need to take. Unless I need to survive at a certain moment, I will not pull my intellect out. I'll simply look at everything the way it is. Only for survival purposes, I will take my intellect out. And don't spend twenty-four hours in survival. It's no good. Even there, insects are meditating. Have you seen? They've been busy whole night. Now you go and see. They're not sleeping. You see their eyes are open. Do not underestimate the insect. Because, you know, in Nashville, in these areas, in Tennessee, once in thirteen years or seventeen years, some insect comes out and it is so cruel that thirteen years ago when they came, the traffic was not so much and everything. I was driving from Nashville to here. I saw millions of them plastered to the road, because they didn't realize there's so much traffic between McManville and Nashville. They just came out like they came out thirteen years ago and suddenly smashed by cars. If they have to sit for thirteen years, you know, this is a yogic time. Twelve-and-a-half years or twelve-and-a-quarter years is the cycle of the sun. The sun, the solar cycles happen in twelve-and-a-quarter to twelve-and-a-half years. It's very directly… directly related to our lives. In yoga, we pay an enormous attention to these cycles. If they have to come out every thirteen years, in some way they're conscious of it. Isn't it? And today, modern entomologists are saying, if all the insects on the planet disappear, all life on this planet will end in about twenty-five years' time, including human beings and everything, because insects are playing such a significant role in keeping the planet going. If all the worms die, the whole life on this planet will end within five to eight years' time. You thought a worm means a worthless little thing, isn't it? If you die… When I say you, I mean if all the human beings die tomorrow morning, planet will flourish. Yes or no? And, you know, like, I was probably twenty, twenty-one years of age, twenty years of age, I think. I decided to trek from a place called… There is a place called Gopal Swami Betta, from there to another place called Nagarhole. This is… whole thing is a wildlife sanctuary. This is elephant and tiger country, everything is there – panther, bison and the wild buffalo and the works. This is the richest part of wildlife in India. So I decided to trek. Three, four friends were supposed to come, but this… this is a repeated experience for me. All friends will plan, everybody said this, that, they'll buy new shoes, new clothes and do everything. And one day, two days before, something will come up for them, always. Either they're just chickening out or their parents are throttling them down, something happens and they won't turn up anyway. So I'm a lone trekker. So I started off. I didn't want to load myself too much, so I packed all kinds of food and… in my bag and started off and I ate it up. I'm walking like twenty, twenty-five kilometers in a day and climbing lots of trees and doing this, wherever I find water, I swim and wild country, every hill I want to climb up and see. In… I got so hungry, in four days I ate up all the food I thought that will last me for the journey. After that, I lived off the forest and generally I walked in the night and daytime I looked around or slept on the trees and stuff like that. Elephants I saw any number of times, herds of them very close up. Tigers were very close, I did not visually sight them on that trip but I'm… the night I'm sitting on a tree, I can see they're swimming, they're growling, they're playing but because of the mist, I'm not able to see them. I clearly know in the morning when I see the pug marks in the works, their play is in, you know, the proof of their play is very much there but I did not get to directly see. Of twenty-two days of experience, this is something everybody should experience at some time, just to stay out without even a matchstick or a light, no torch. My matchsticks got all drenched out in the rain and nothing, just a light and you. It's something else, you know, just your whole perception of the planet and the world will change. Twenty-two days being out there, if anybody would naturally imagine seeing the elephants close up, wild elephants and seeing tigers, seeing panthers and bears, must be big experience. No, it is not so. Actually, after twenty-two days when I come out, the biggest experience in me is the insects. Oh my god, in the night, in the forest, really it's such an experience and just at the right time, tuk, they'll stop, one set. The moment they stop, another set will start. Really, every day like clockwork, they just know the time to the second. Have you noticed this? To the second they know the time. They stop at this time today means exactly same time every day and the other set starts off. When you come out of the forest, it is something people who not been there will never understand. You will think elephant must have been the big experience, tiger must be the big experience. No, insects are the biggest experience because it's… their presence in the forest is so big. Bigger than any other creature. So if you look at it intellectually, then naturally the elephant must be the biggest experience because it's the biggest animal. This kind of perception, because that is big, that must be the biggest thing, which is a natural deduction the intellect will make, is going to be human disaster. That's what is happening right now. Big is best, isn't it? We thought initially big car is best car. Then we thought big house is best house. Then we are thinking big body is best body. We are paying the price. I'm saying it is happening on all levels because this is how the intellect will work. If this much is good, this much must be better. Just after the French Revolution, this happened. You know they invented a machine, an efficient machine to take off people's heads. You heard of this one? Guillotin. So on a particular day, just about anybody whose head should be removed was removed. Some days when they didn't have any work, they just found somebody and removed. Really. On a certain day, a lawyer, a priest and an engineer were to be executed. So first they put the lawyer, they pulled, nothing happened. Then the lawyer immediately got up and said, see you pulled, nothing happened. If you pull again, I'm going to sue you. I'm going to do this. I'm going to do that. Then they said, okay, let him go. They put the priest and pulled, nothing happened. They thought it may be divine intervention and they let him go. They put the engineer and they were about to pull. He looked up like this and said, hey, I know what's wrong with this one. Human intellect is working like this. So Samadhi is what's needed right now. That is you put your sword into the sheet. If you want to experience other dimensions of Samadhi, it has to be done in a protected atmosphere because when you're in a state of Samadhi, you have no defense mechanism. We can't leave you out in Chicago. You know, Chicago. Chicago, you know. It's not anymore maybe, but still, you can't rub off the label, the crime capital of United States. Still not gone totally. Largely removed maybe, but still more crime than anywhere else, isn't it? Still, it seems they have the highest murder rate in the world. I mean in the country, not in the world. So you can't walk around in a Samadhi state in Chicago city. If you have to be in such levels of Samadhi, you must be in protected atmospheres. When we put such people, we put them in very protected atmosphere. Everything is taken care of for them, everything. Because they have become like, in a way, they have become like an infant. Not in the level of their consciousness, in the level of their defense. Actually, it's a wrong analogy, because an infant has tremendous survival instincts. It is just that physically he is weak. Otherwise, he has tremendous survival. You don't give him what he has to get. He can't physically attack you, so he vocally attacks you. There have been instances where somebody took their infant and threw them out of the window. You know, it's happened again and again. Because the guy will vocally attack you so continuously when they want to get something. Those of you who raise children, you know, you have to treat him like a king and make him happy and happy and happy. One thing if he does not get, he doesn't have a gun or something, he'll just shoot this. It doesn't matter who you are, he will torture you. He has to be satisfied. So he has enormous defense mechanism. Infant is a wrong thing, but in terms of physical thing, he may become like an infant. If you cross the state of samadhi and get established there for a period of time, then we say such a person is in a state of… he's an avadhut. Avadhut means he really becomes like an infant. Even you have to take him to the loop, otherwise he won't know. If it gets full, it'll just go right here. He won't know because he has lost all sense of body and it is a certain state that people may go into for certain periods of time. Usually we don't allow such things anymore. It's nice for you to use it as a step for growth. These things happen because people are doing very intense sadhana without support. Suppose he hit the peak, he hit a samadhi state, if there is somebody who knows what to do, they will do the right things to support your samadhi, but they will not make you… See, it's like this, you put your sword inside, but when you need it, you're not able to pull it out. That leads to helpless states. We still… That state is also still celebrated because internally, in terms of his consciousness, he's in a high place. So we still value him, but he is a guy who's got his sword stuck. You keep it consciously, not using it is one thing. Your sword is stuck is another thing. So these are things which must be done carefully, but you practice samadhi like this. Whatever normally discriminates in your mind, let us say for you, gender is a issue, or color is a issue, or religion is a issue, practice at the most basic level. Try to look at the man and the woman the same way. Try to look at the black and the white the same way. Try to look at a Jew and a Christian the same way. I'm just saying, for example, whatever is a point of discrimination in your mind, try to see both of them the same way. Not telling yourself, both are the same, both are same. No, both are different. A man and a woman are different, but you look at them the same way. Please understand the distinction. Oh, both are same, both are same. This is stupid. You're psyching yourself to believe something which is not true. A man is different, a woman is different, but you look at them the same way. You don't try to tell yourself, man and woman are same. You're creating an unreal thing in your mind. This is about seeing reality the way it is, but you're not getting… The moment you discriminate, you become a process of reaction to that discrimination. You can't help it. The moment you discriminate, this is good, this is bad, a natural reaction to the good and the bad will happen. You cannot stop that. So you have to stop it there. You cannot stop it here. Once you discriminate, reacting to that appropriately is a natural consequence. So simply looking at it the same way.