Stages of Samadhi
Question
Hello hope all is well. I would like to ask if these 4 stages described as the same 4 samadhi states of yoga?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teresa_of_%C3%81vila#Mysticism
Answer
1. There is ultimately only one truth, which is God, of which the self is no different from. Therefore, there is only one 'Samadhi' (union with the Supreme). In that state, there is no mind, no body, no senses, no Ego and no world, for all these are one and the same, being illusions on the self. There is only pure consciousness, the ultimate truth, limitless, infinite, eternal, indescribable, full of unimaginable bliss and beyond change, there.
2. The stages that the Jiva (individual) passes through (as experienced by the Ego), in reaching this final stage are termed as the different stages of Samadhi, for the sake of convenience and understanding, in different cultures, by different names. Nothing more.
There is however only one truth, and therefore one Samadhi alone. Being in the self, as the self, in one's true state is that Samadhi.
ॐ तत् सत्
(That Supreme being is the absolute truth)