Samadhi
Samadhi (some-ah-dhi) is an ancient Sanskrit term that has come to have many meanings in the various Indian religious traditions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. In general, samadhi refers to a state of pure, unbounded awareness in which the mind becomes perfectly silent, and consciousness is open to itself without the mediation of thoughts or feelings. In meditation, this is the blissful stillness where there is no thought, image, mantra, or sensation—just awareness. This is the silent witness nature of consciousness where it is both the knower and the known.
In the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, the most enlightened beings are those who live in a constant state of samadhi, in the blissful awareness that everyone’s essential nature is pure consciousness or spirit – infinite, unbounded, and eternal.
The practice of meditation is one of the most effective ways to experience samadhi, even if only for a second or two at a time. As you meditate, the mind becomes more and more still, until finally all thoughts cease and the person enters the field of pure consciousness. Of course, as soon as you notice you’re in samadhi, you’ve actually just left it, because the totally absorbed mind doesn’t comment on what’s happening – it simply merges into the infinite consciousness.
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