S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 4 - 1 S p r i n g 2 0 1 8 1 7 Gejza M. Timčák 1 Introduction The question of liberation, “mukti”, and its implications is a very important subject for everyone, who is a sādhaka and does everything that is in his power to reach samādhi and mukti, even though these concepts and their context are shrouded in secrecy. This is because there seems to be no way to communicate about these phenomena in ways that involve the usual working of the mind. Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras deals mainly with the states of chitta, the “working space of mind“. He states that yoga is “chitta vrtti nirodhah“ (Patanjali 1986, I:2, 93) that means that when the mind does not project any information into the chitta, then samādhi happens. This is why Vyasa, perhaps the most renowned commentator of the Yoga Sutras declares that “Yoga is samādhi”. The state of samādhi is described in the next verse: “Then the seer rests in his own true nature” (Patanjali 1986, I:3, 114). Still, there are questions regarding the “protocol” of this process, namely how can samādhi reached practically and whether samādhi or “melting into Being” annihilate any further manifested existence or shifts the manifested existence into a higher level within the seven levels of the Indian tradition. These and related questions are investigated below. 2 The Process to be Understood Śrī Śankarācārya in his Drg Drshya Viveka declares: “The form is perceived, and the eye is the perceiver. It (the eye) is perceived and the mind is its perceiver. The mind with its modifications (vrtti) is perceived and the Witness (the Self) is verily the perceiver. But it (the Witness) is not perceived (by any other).” (Shankaracharya 1976, 1). The “true nature” is usually interpreted as the absolute Being. Some schools declare that samādhi, even nirvikalpa-samādhi is only a step towards sahaja-samādhi. Sahaja-samādhi means that the jñāni is in a state of permanent samādhi, but simultaneously is aware also of the “outer world” as his karma may need to keep his body but is not affected by the happening in the world created by Maya. The Svarupa Spanda of the Spanda Karikas (Unknown 2005, I:17, 86) declares: “The fully enlightened has always and incessantly, the undeviating knowledge of the Self (Sat) in all the three states; the other one (the partially enlightened), has it only in the beginning and the end of each state.” About the author Doc. Ing. Gejza M. Timčák, PhD. (1942) is a yoga tutor and author of a number of yoga related books like Joga 1–4 in Slovak (6 editions), Joga 1–2 in Hungarian (2 editions), Yoga 1 in German (1 edition), Personal Development Strategies in Yoga, translation of the Gheranda Samhita, Goraksha Shatakam, Aparoksha Anubhuti, Sarva Upanishad, Satkarma Sangrahah or Shat Chakra Nirupanam. On conferences and courses he had countless presentations on diverse yoga subjects. He co-authored books (e.g. teaching materials for Slovak Yoga Association’s yoga teacher courses), films (e.g. Disregarded Possibilities), and videos (e.g. Hitting the Bull’s Eye) on yoga. He is a co-developer of the Savita Yoga style, president of the Slovak Yoga Association, and chairman of the Association for the Advancement of Yoga. His activities relate also to the European Union of Yoga. He teaches yoga in various European and Asian countries. His email contact is timcak.gejza@atk.sk.
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