After defining Yoga as the cessation of the modifications of the mind (citta-vṛtti-nirodha) and presenting persistent practice (abhyāsa) and vairāgya as the fundamental means to that end, Patañjali introduces one of the central themes of the entire work: samādhi.
In Sūtras I.17 and I.18, two fundamental modes of meditative absorption are described: samprajñāta samādhi and asamprajñāta samādhi.
The distinction between the two is of enormous importance because it clarifies the nature of the path of Yoga. The objective does not consist in producing special emotional states, religious ecstasies or extraordinary mystical experiences. What is at stake is the progressive refinement of mental activity, making it possible to discriminate clearly between that which belongs to the mind and that which belongs to pure consciousness.
Through this process, the practitioner gradually approaches that which constitutes the true objective of Yoga: the rigorous discrimination between Puruṣa, consciousness, and Prakṛti, nature.
I.17 — Samprajñāta Samādhi
The Text and the Translation
vitarka-vicāra-ānanda-asmitā-rūpānugamāt samprajñātaḥ
- vitarka – discursive reasoning
- vicāra – subtle contemplation
- ānanda – serene satisfaction, pleasurable tranquillity
- asmitā – sense of self, consciousness of individuality
- rūpānugamāt – accompanied by these forms
- samprajñātaḥ – samādhi with knowledge
Translation
“Samādhi with knowledge (Samprajñāta) is accompanied by reasoning, subtle contemplation, serene satisfaction, and consciousness of individuality.”
The term samprajñāta designates a state of absorption in which an object of knowledge remains clearly present to consciousness.
The mind is stable, unified and deeply concentrated, but it continues to operate through a cognitive support. There is knowledge of the object, although that object becomes progressively more subtle.
For this reason, this samādhi still belongs to the domain of Prakṛti. Mental activity has become extraordinarily refined, but it has not yet ceased completely.
The four terms presented by Patañjali should not be understood as rigid and compulsory stages of a chronological sequence. The classical commentators interpret them primarily as different modes of absorption associated with progressively subtler degrees of the object of concentration.
Vitarka — Absorption upon Coarse Objects
The first level is associated with the objects most easily apprehended by the mind.
Attention may be concentrated upon the breath, a mantra, an image, a form, a bodily structure or any other clearly defined object.
The mind continues to operate through relatively evident cognitive processes. There is still a relationship between the name, the meaning and the knowledge of the object.
However, the habitual dispersion of thoughts decreases dramatically. Attention ceases to oscillate continuously between multiple stimuli and approaches the state of one-pointedness of mind (ekāgratā).
Vicāra — Absorption upon Subtle Objects
In vicāra, attention leaves the coarse objects and is directed towards subtler realities.
According to the perspective of Sāṃkhya-Yoga, meditative investigation may now focus upon the internal principles of cognition, the subtle elements (tanmātras) or the very constitutive structures of the mind.
The practitioner begins to observe that which normally remains concealed by habitual mental activity.
This phase is of particular relevance because it reveals a central aspect of the philosophy of Yoga: even the most refined processes of intelligence still belong to Prakṛti.
Subtlety does not transform the mind into consciousness.
Ānanda — The Serenity Produced by the Predominance of Sattva
The third mode of absorption is designated as ānanda.
This term is frequently misinterpreted. It does not refer to emotional happiness, psychological enthusiasm or spiritual ecstasy.
According to the classical commentators, it refers to the serenity that arises when the mind becomes predominantly sāttvic.
As the following diminish:
- the agitation of rajas;
- the inertia of tamas;
the mind becomes more transparent, stable and luminous.
From this condition arises a feeling of profound tranquillity.
However, this serenity continues to be a mental phenomenon. Although extremely refined, it remains within the domain of Prakṛti.
Asmitā — The Subtlest Cognitive Individuality
The fourth level is asmitā.
Here too, some precision is necessary.
Asmitā does not correspond to the ordinary psychological ego nor to the personal identifications that we normally associate with the idea of the “I”.
At this stage, absorption is supported by the very purified cognitive faculty (buddhi-sattva). Only the subtlest form of cognitive individuality remains.
Objective mental activity has practically disappeared. Nevertheless, there still remains a cognitive principle that serves as the support for absorption.
The proximity of Puruṣa becomes extremely evident, yet there still exists a reflection of consciousness in the mind.
However subtle that reflection may be, a distinction still exists between the one who observes and that which is observed.
For this reason, this state also remains within the limits of Prakṛti.
The Value of Samprajñāta Samādhi
As the mind becomes subtler, no fusion occurs between consciousness and nature.
The process leads precisely to the opposite.
The practitioner begins to distinguish with increasing clarity:
- that which is observed (dṛśya);
- the one who observes (draṣṭṛ).
Samādhi does not have the purpose of producing extraordinary states of consciousness.
Its function is to make discrimination (viveka) possible.
The more refined the mind becomes, the more evident it becomes that all observable objects—even the subtlest ones—belong to the domain of Prakṛti. This discrimination develops what Patañjali first established in Yoga Sūtra I.2, where Yoga is defined as the cessation of the modifications of the mind.
I.18 — Asamprajñāta Samādhi
The Text and the Translation
virāma-pratyayābhyāsa-pūrvaḥ saṃskāra-śeṣo ’nyaḥ
- virāma – cessation
- pratyaya – mental impression
- abhyāsa – practice
- pūrvaḥ – preceded by
- saṃskāra – latent impression
- śeṣaḥ – remainder
- anyaḥ – other
Translation
“The other samādhi (Asamprajñāta), preceded by the practice of the cessation of mental contents, remains only as the latent trace of impressions (the saṃskāras).”
By using the expression anyaḥ—“the other”—Patañjali indicates a fundamental difference in relation to the previous state.
We are no longer dealing with an absorption based upon an object of knowledge.
The Cessation of Manifest Mental Activity
In samprajñāta samādhi there is always some cognitive support.
In asamprajñāta samādhi, that support disappears.
The mind ceases to produce manifest cognitive contents.
This is not sleep, unconsciousness or mental blankness.
Classical Yoga does not describe a state of absence of consciousness, but rather the suspension of observable mental activity.
Mental modifications cease to manifest themselves.
Virāma-pratyaya
Patañjali states that this state is preceded by virāma-pratyaya-abhyāsa, the continued practice of cessation.
The mind gradually ceases to sustain:
- images;
- concepts;
- associations;
- mental constructions.
The constant habit of producing mental objects begins to weaken.
This aspect is particularly important.
Yoga does not seek to replace certain thoughts with others considered to be better. The objective is to understand and interrupt the very mechanism responsible for the continuous production of the vṛttis.
The Role of the Saṃskāras
Despite the cessation of manifest mental contents, something remains.
The sūtra explicitly states that the saṃskāras remain. Their relationship with memory is explored in Yoga Sūtra I.11 — Memory as a Modification of the Mind (Smṛti-vṛtti), where latent impressions are explained as the basis for the continuity of mental experience.
The saṃskāras are latent impressions accumulated throughout experience. They constitute potential tendencies that remain within the structure of the mind even when mental activity has been suspended.
For this reason, this state does not yet represent final liberation.
As long as saṃskāras remain, the possibility of the reappearance of the vṛttis also remains.
Asamprajñāta and Nirbīja Samādhi
It is common to find the assertion that asamprajñāta samādhi and nirbīja samādhi are exactly the same thing.
The classical commentators present a more careful view.
Asamprajñāta samādhi constitutes the basis from which nirbīja samādhi becomes possible.
However, the mere cessation of the vṛttis does not yet imply the complete destruction of the saṃskāras.
As long as latent seeds (bīja) remain, the possibility of a future manifestation of mental activity also remains.
True nirbīja samādhi corresponds to the complete disappearance of this psychic causality.
The Practical Importance of These Two Sūtras
Sūtras I.17 and I.18 describe the progressive refinement of the mind to its most extreme limits.
First, mental activity becomes progressively subtler through samprajñāta samādhi.
Then, in asamprajñāta samādhi, manifest mental operations cease, leaving only the latent traces that sustain the potential continuity of the mind.
This process should not be understood as a search for extraordinary experiences.
It is a rigorous method of observation and discrimination.
Through it, the practitioner learns to recognise that everything which can be observed—sensations, thoughts, emotions, concepts, meditative states, and even the subtlest forms of intelligence—always belongs to the domain of Prakṛti.
After establishing the nature of Yoga in Yoga Sūtra I.2, explaining the five modifications of the mind (vṛttis), examining memory in Yoga Sūtra I.11, presenting abhyāsa, vairāgya and para-vairāgya, Patañjali now leads the practitioner towards an understanding of the states of samādhi through which the distinction between Puruṣa and Prakṛti becomes progressively clearer. The refinement of the mind is not the final goal of Yoga, but the means by which this discrimination becomes fully evident.
The Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali — Season 1
- The Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali – Season 1: Introduction
- Yoga Sūtra I.1 — The Opening of the Teaching
- Yoga Sūtra I.2 — The Classical Definition of Yoga
- Yoga Sūtra I.3 — When Consciousness Ceases to Be Confused with the Mind
- Yoga Sūtra I.4 — When the Mind Does Not Settle
- Yoga Sūtra I.5 — The Modifications of the Mind (Vṛttis)
- Yoga Sūtra I.6 — The Five Modifications of the Mind (Vṛttis)
- Yoga Sūtra I.7 — The Three Means of Valid Knowledge (Pratyakṣa, Anumāna and Āgama)
- Yoga Sūtra I.8 — Viparyaya: Incorrect Knowledge
- Yoga Sūtra I.9 — Vikalpa: Imagination Without a Real Object
- Yoga Sūtra I.10 — Sleep as a Modification of the Mind (Nidrā-vṛtti)
- Yoga Sūtra I.11 — Memory as a Modification of the Mind (Smṛti-vṛtti)
- Yoga Sūtra I.12–I.14 — Abhyāsa and Vairāgya: The Structure of Inner Discipline
- Yoga Sūtra I.15 — Vairāgya: Detachment as the Path to Inner Freedom
- Yoga Sūtra I.16 — Para-vairāgya: The Detachment That Arises from Knowledge of Puruṣa
- Yoga Sūtra I.17–I.18 — Samprajñāta and Asamprajñāta Samādhi: The Progressive Refinement of the Mind and the Limits of Mental Knowledge
Glossary of Sanskrit Terms
abhyāsa
practice; sustained practice
ahaṃkāra
sense of individuality; the principle of “I”
ānanda
serenity; serene contentment; peaceful delight
anyaḥ
other
asamprajñāta
without knowledge; without an object of knowledge
asmitā
sense of self; awareness of individuality
bīja
seed; latent cause
buddhi
intellect; discriminative faculty
buddhi-sattva
intellect purified by the predominance of sattva
citta
mind; cognitive instrument
citta-vṛtti-nirodha
cessation of the fluctuations of the mind
draṣṭṛ
observer
dṛśya
observed; object of observation
ekāgratā
one-pointedness of the mind; one-pointed concentration
guṇa
constituent quality of nature
kaivalya
liberation; isolation of consciousness
manas
sensory mind; faculty that coordinates sensory perceptions
nirbīja
seedless
prakṛti
nature; primordial principle of manifestation
pratyaya
mental content; mental impression; cognition
puruṣa
consciousness; conscious principle
rajas
activity; dynamism
rūpānugamāt
accompanied by these forms
saṃskāra
latent impression; latent tendency
samādhi
meditative absorption
samprajñāta
with knowledge; with an object of knowledge
sattva
clarity; balance; luminosity
tamas
inertia; obscuration
tanmātra
subtle element
vairāgya
detachment
vicāra
subtle contemplation
virāma
cessation
virāma-pratyaya
mental content of cessation; cognition of cessation
vitarka
discursive reasoning; reflection on gross objects
viveka
discernment; discrimination
vṛtti
fluctuation of the mind
What is samādhi according to the Yoga Sūtra?
Samādhi is a state in which the mind’s usual distraction and scattering of thoughts come to an end. It is not a trance, a religious ecstasy, or a loss of consciousness. Rather, it is the result of the progressive refinement of mental activity through practice and detachment.
In Sūtras I.17 and I.18, Patañjali distinguishes two principal forms of samādhi. In samprajñāta samādhi, the mind remains concentrated on an object. In asamprajñāta samādhi, manifest mental contents cease to arise. Both are part of the yogic path and prepare the practitioner for discernment between the mind (citta) and consciousness (Puruṣa).
What is the difference between samprajñāta and asamprajñāta samādhi?
The essential difference lies in the presence or absence of an object of knowledge.
In samprajñāta samādhi, the mind remains perfectly steady, yet it continues to know an object. That object may become increasingly subtle, but it is still present.
In asamprajñāta samādhi, that cognitive support disappears. Mental modifications no longer manifest themselves, and there is no longer any cognitive content upon which the mind rests. However, the saṃskāras—latent impressions that preserve the potential for future mental activity—still remain. For this reason, this state does not yet correspond to final liberation.
Is samādhi a state of happiness or ecstasy?
Not necessarily.
Samādhi is often associated with extraordinary experiences or intense feelings of happiness. However, the Yoga Sūtra presents a different perspective.
During certain forms of samprajñāta samādhi, a profound serenity (ānanda) may arise, but this should not be confused with emotional excitement or spiritual ecstasy. It is the natural tranquillity that appears when the mind becomes predominantly balanced and transparent.
The purpose of samādhi is not to produce pleasant experiences, but to allow the mind to become sufficiently clear to distinguish what belongs to mental activity from what is consciousness itself.
Why does Patañjali say that even the highest meditative states belong to Prakṛti?
Because everything that can be observed belongs to nature (Prakṛti).
Even when the mind has become extraordinarily refined, it remains an instrument of knowledge and therefore belongs to the domain of nature. This applies equally to ordinary thoughts and to the subtlest meditative experiences.
According to Yoga and Sāṃkhya, consciousness (Puruṣa) is never an object of knowledge. It is that which knows. Thus, the more subtle the mind becomes, the more evident the distinction between the observer and what is observed becomes.
What do vitarka, vicāra, ānanda and asmitā mean?
These four terms describe different forms of samprajñāta samādhi, each associated with progressively subtler objects of concentration.
Vitarka refers to concentration on more tangible objects, such as the breath, a mantra or an image.
Vicāra corresponds to contemplation of subtler objects, including the inner aspects of the mind.
Ānanda refers to the serenity that arises when the mind becomes predominantly balanced through the quality of sattva. It does not mean emotional happiness.
Asmitā refers to the subtlest form of cognitive individuality, in which only the activity of the purified intellect (buddhi) remains, without this yet constituting the realisation of Puruṣa.
What is the asmitā referred to in this sūtra? Is it the ego?
No.
In this context, asmitā does not correspond to the psychological ego or to the personal identifications of everyday life.
It refers to the subtlest form of cognitive individuality that remains when almost all mental activity has disappeared. The mind has become extraordinarily purified, yet there still remains a cognitive principle that supports the meditative absorption.
However subtle this state may be, it still belongs to Prakṛti. There is still something that can be known and, therefore, the definitive distinction between the mind and Puruṣa has not yet been realised.
How is asamprajñāta samādhi attained?
Patañjali states that this state is the result of the sustained practice of cessation (virāma-pratyaya-abhyāsa).
This means that the mind gradually ceases to sustain thoughts, images, concepts and mental associations. The aim is not to replace certain thoughts with others considered better, but gradually to interrupt the very mechanism that continually produces the vṛttis.
This transformation does not occur suddenly. It is the result of persistent practice, accompanied by detachment, through which manifest mental activity becomes progressively quieter.
If there are no thoughts in asamprajñāta samādhi, why is there still no liberation?
Because the saṃskāras remain.
Saṃskāras are latent impressions accumulated through experience, which remain within the mind even when no manifest mental contents are present.
As long as these latent tendencies persist, the possibility remains for new vṛttis to arise. Mental activity can therefore manifest itself again.
For this reason, Patañjali clearly distinguishes this state from final liberation. The silencing of the mind is an essential step, but it does not yet represent the complete end of psychological causality.
Is asamprajñāta samādhi the same as nirbīja samādhi?
Not necessarily.
This identification is frequently made, but the classical commentators draw an important distinction.
Asamprajñāta samādhi is characterised by the absence of manifest mental contents, although the saṃskāras still remain. Nirbīja samādhi (“seedless samādhi”), on the other hand, corresponds to the disappearance of the very latent causes that could give rise to mental activity once again.
Thus, asamprajñāta samādhi provides the foundation from which nirbīja samādhi becomes possible, but it should not automatically be regarded as identical with it.
What is the true purpose of these two sūtras?
The purpose of these sūtras is not to teach how to attain extraordinary meditative experiences, but to explain the progressive refinement of the mind to its utmost limits.
As practice deepens concentration, it becomes possible to recognise that every object of knowledge—from ordinary thoughts to the subtlest forms of intelligence and meditation—always belongs to Prakṛti.
This understanding prepares the practitioner for discernment (viveka) between that which observes and that which is observed. It is this distinction, rather than the accumulation of extraordinary experiences, that gradually leads to the true goal of Yoga: liberation (kaivalya).