Samadhi is the highest state of consciousness that can be achieved through meditation. It consists of a yoga practitioner achieving spiritual enlightenment where the self, the mind and the object of meditation merge into one. For those who attained the state of Samadhi, there is no longer any individuality. Awareness and self-awareness exist all the time, but not in the previous duality of “that's mine” and “that's yours”.
The body is still alive, but from now on the inner self remains with the Supreme Being. This means the end of all problems and pain, the end of suffering, rebirth and death. At the deep sleep level of consciousness, we experience a state of temporary unconsciousness. At this level, the mind is free from all worldly thoughts and sufferings.
But when we wake up everything becomes the same as before. Thoughts and worries return to their previous state. It cannot be determined externally if someone is in the state of Samadhi. It is the state, what must be achieved and experienced personally.
To an observer, it seems that the person sitting in Samadhi is meditating or unconscious. As in sleep, physical sensations such as heat, cold, hunger, thirst, etc. The state of Samadhi, however, is in no way harmful to the body. The soul is always connected to the body and witnesses everything that happens.
Therefore, at any time one can return to “normal consciousness” in the same way that one wakes up instantly from a dream if touched or disturbed. Even in Samadhi we cannot achieve cosmic consciousness, the final level can only be reached after death. That means that we will lose our mortal consciousness and become one with the entire Universe, with every atom, and this is not possible on a physical level. As soon as the Supreme Consciousness begins to expand into Cosmic Consciousness, earthly existence comes to an end.
The body is “removed” like an old garment, either due to illness or peaceful death. As long as you are in the body, whatever release you achieve, the body is a limitation. When someone leaves their body with full consciousness, we call this Samadhi because they have disposed of the body. Samadhi and liberation occur in the Sahasrara chakra, the “tenth door”.
It opens when we follow one of the paths of Yoga with perseverance. TM was founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and refers to a specific practice designed to calm the mind and induce a state of calm and peace. It involves the use of the mantra and is best taught by a certified TM practitioner. However, the yogis who first developed meditation in ancient India more than 7000 years ago (to get a little perspective on this, Buddha lived about 2500 years ago) were very clear that this is the ultimate purpose of spiritual meditation.
