The Saint who always motivates people to know the real ‘I’ and live from that standpoint. He also said about the states of Yogic practice. Although there were no distinctive degree for enlightenment and is purly a personal state, Sri Ramana stated that he always stay in a lucid state of Sahaja Samadhi, the natural standpoint of the dreamer.
There were of course, three other states, Manolaya, Savikalpa Samadhi and Nirvikalpa Samadhi. According to Sri Ramana, Manolaya is nothing but intentionally achieving the state of nothingness and no time with no self-identity and returning to the world from bringing out the desired reality. Some, however, through ardent austerities, try to meditate on this state, abstaining from life. While Savikalpa Samadhi deals with achieving the similar process but the experience holds their image and identify and may struggle to get to the state of nothingness while Nirvikalpa Samadhi is attained by those who leave their identity behind yet are aware of their own consciousness, however, they are maintained for a short while.
But the
Sahaja Samadhi is a state that one takes a backseat, as the observer, and lives as if he/she’s living in a dream, not abstaining from life, but living it in an observer’s stand point, always. And Sri Ramana says that Manolaya is a natural state that is actually achieved by everyone during sleep. While he himself is staying in the state of Sahaja Samadhi, therefore, he’s observing the reality from the standpoint of God-I am.
-Viswanath Venkat Dasari
