Nirvikalpa
Encyclopedia
Nirvikalpa is a Sanskrit
adjective with the general sense of "not admitting an alternative", formed by applying the contra-existential prepositional prefix
("away, without, not") to the term ("alternative, variant thought or conception").
, when used as a technical term in Raja Yoga
, the phrase samādhi
refers to a particular type of samādhi that Heinrich Zimmer
distinguishes from other states as follows:
Nirvikalpaka yoga is a technical term in the philosophical system of Kashmir Shaivism
, in which there is a complete identification of the "I" and Shiva
, in which the very concepts of name and form disappear and Shiva alone is experienced as the real Self
. In that system, this experience occurs when there is complete cessation of all thought-constructs.
In Buddhist philosophy, the technical term is translated by Edward Conze
as "undifferentiated cognition". Conze notes that only the actual experience of can prove the reports given of it in scriptures. He describes the term as used in Buddhist context as follows:
A different sense in Buddhist usage occurs in the Sanskrit expression (Pali
: ) that means "makes free from uncertainty (or false discrimination) = distinguishes, considers carefully.
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
adjective with the general sense of "not admitting an alternative", formed by applying the contra-existential prepositional prefix
Upasarga
Upasarga is a term used in Sanskrit grammar for a special class of twenty prepositional particles prefixed to verbs or to action nouns. In Vedic, these prepositions are separable from verbs; in classical Sanskrit the prefixing is obligatory....
("away, without, not") to the term ("alternative, variant thought or conception").
Usage
In HinduismHinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, when used as a technical term in Raja Yoga
Raja Yoga
Rāja Yoga is concerned principally with the cultivation of the mind using meditation to further one's acquaintance with reality and finally achieve liberation.Raja yoga was first described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and is part of the Samkhya tradition.In the context of Hindu...
, the phrase samādhi
Samadhi
Samadhi in Hinduism, Buddhism,Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools is a higher level of concentrated meditation, or dhyāna. In the yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali....
refers to a particular type of samādhi that Heinrich Zimmer
Heinrich Zimmer
Heinrich Robert Zimmer was an Indologist and historian of South Asian art, most known for his works, Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization and Philosophies of India. He was the most important German scholar in Indian Philology after Max Müller...
distinguishes from other states as follows:
, on the other hand, absorption without self-consciousness, is a mergence of the mental activity () in the Self, to such a degree, or in such a way, that the distinction () of knower, act of knowing, and object known becomes dissolved — as waves vanish in water, and as foam vanishes into the sea. The difference to the other samadhis is that there is no return from this samadhi into lower states of consciousness. Therefore this is the only true final Enlightenment.
Nirvikalpaka yoga is a technical term in the philosophical system of Kashmir Shaivism
Kashmir Shaivism
Among the various Hindu philosophies, Kashmir Shaivism is a school of Śaivism consisting of Trika and its philosophical articulation Pratyabhijña...
, in which there is a complete identification of the "I" and Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
, in which the very concepts of name and form disappear and Shiva alone is experienced as the real Self
Real self
The Real self theory in politics and philosophy proposes that people often have a private "real will" , that is different from their public "expressed will".-References:...
. In that system, this experience occurs when there is complete cessation of all thought-constructs.
In Buddhist philosophy, the technical term is translated by Edward Conze
Edward Conze
Eberhart Julius Dietrich Conze was an Anglo-German scholar probably best known for his pioneering translations of Buddhist texts.-Life and work:...
as "undifferentiated cognition". Conze notes that only the actual experience of can prove the reports given of it in scriptures. He describes the term as used in Buddhist context as follows:
The "undiscriminate cognition" knows first the unreality of all objects, then realizes that without them also the knowledge itself falls to the ground, and finally directly intuits the supreme reality. Great efforts are made to maintain the paradoxical nature of this gnosisGnosisGnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge . In the context of the English language gnosis generally refers to the word's meaning within the spheres of Christian mysticism, Mystery religions and Gnosticism where it signifies 'spiritual knowledge' in the sense of mystical enlightenment.-Related...
. Though without concepts, judgements and discrimination, it is nevertheless not just mere thoughtlessness. It is neither a cognition nor a non-cognition; its basis is neither thought nor non-thought.... There is here no duality of subject and object. The cognition is not different from that which is cognized, but completely identical with it.
A different sense in Buddhist usage occurs in the Sanskrit expression (Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
: ) that means "makes free from uncertainty (or false discrimination) = distinguishes, considers carefully.
See also
- SamadhiSamadhiSamadhi in Hinduism, Buddhism,Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools is a higher level of concentrated meditation, or dhyāna. In the yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali....
- Religious ecstasyReligious ecstasyReligious ecstasy is an altered state of consciousness characterized by greatly reduced external awareness and expanded interior mental and spiritual awareness which is frequently accompanied by visions and emotional/intuitive euphoria...
- NondualismNondualismNondualism is a term used to denote affinity, or unity, rather than duality or separateness or multiplicity. In reference to the universe it may be used to denote the idea that things appear distinct while not being separate. The term "nondual" can refer to a belief, condition, theory, practice,...
- SavikalpaSavikalpaSavikalpa-samādhi is one of the highest forms of minor state of samadhi. In Savikalpa samadhi, the human consciousness is dissolved and lost for a short period of time...
- TuriyaTuriyaIn Hindu philosophy, turiya is the experience of pure consciousness. It is the background that underlies and transcends the three common states of consciousness: the state of waking consciousness , the state of dreaming , and dreamless sleep .-Advaita concept:The first two states are not true...
External links
- Comans, Michael. "The Question of the Importance of Samadhi in Modern and Classical Advaita Vedanta- Notes: 19", realization.org, 1993
- The Method of Early Advaita Vedanta p.141-4 on Nirvikalpa Samadhi