Lightly edited transcript Filler words and caption errors removed by machine; the meaning is unchanged.
Delson explains samadhi as an umbrella word that can mean an altered state or a state of collectedness, and says its levels overlap with the jhanas. He describes how he came to it through the Yoga Sutras and breathing and mantra practices related to Kriya Yoga. He says these states bring a long-sustaining bliss and joy that comes from within rather than from external factors, and that stronger mindfulness then reveals how mind builds its perceptions.
Key points
- Samadhi is an umbrella term whose meaning depends on context: it can mean an altered state or a state of collectedness.
- Delson links the levels of samadhi he describes to what the Buddhist tradition calls the jhanas.
- He describes the bliss and joy in these states as mind-made, arising from within rather than depending on external factors.
- He says these states can be long-sustaining and bring very strong mindfulness and awareness.
- With that strong awareness, he says, one can begin to see the building blocks of how mind produces its perception, and later an expanded awareness beyond the ordinary self-world.
Themes
Transcript
Samadhi and the Yoga Sutras
I studied the Yoga Sutras and started practicing breathing practices and mantra practices, which are related to or within Kriya Yoga, that take you to these states called Samadhi. So Samadhi is the umbrella word, and depending upon the context, Samadhi can mean an altered state or a state of collectedness. And these different levels overlap with what we call the jhanas in the Buddhist tradition. And in these different states, you experience levels of super consciousness, let's say, in the sense that there are greater degrees of bliss and joy that are independent of, or not dependent upon, external factors. They are mind-made, or generated from within. It is a long-sustaining state of bliss and joy, which eventually gets into states of very, very strong mindfulness and very, very strong awareness, where you can start to see a lot of the building blocks of how mind produces its levels of perception. And later on, you have experiences of an expanded awareness that goes beyond just this.