Samadhi (Enlightenment, Union)

Samādhi means "union," "integration," or "placing together" in Sanskrit. It is the eighth and final limb of Patañjali's Aṣṭāṅga Yoga — the ultimate destination of the yogic path, where the practitioner, the act of meditation, and the object of meditation dissolve into a single, undivided awareness. The boundary between self and universe ceases to be perceived.

Samādhi represents the culmination of all yogic practice — the moment when the long journey inward arrives at its source. It is not a state that is achieved through effort alone, but one that arises when all conditions have been prepared and all resistance has fallen away. In this state, the ego dissolves, and what remains is pure, unmediated consciousness. Classical texts describe distinct gradations of Samādhi — from Savikalpa (with seed, with form) to Nirvikalpa (without seed, formless) — each representing a deeper dissolution of individuality into the infinite. It is considered synonymous with Mokṣa (liberation) and is often described as the direct experience of one's true nature.

Samādhi is held as the horizon toward which all practice moves — āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, and dhyāna are all preparations for this arrival. Instructors do not teach Samādhi as a technique, but as a possibility — something that practice makes available. It is spoken of with reverence: the place where the doing ends and being begins.