Mahasamadhi

[BeyondForm]

Hey everyone, 

I've been meditating and experimenting with psychedelics for a few years now, and have experienced many states of pure being and varying levels of what I would describe as 'ego death'. Having also studied a lot of spirituality, one concept I've always been fascinated by is that of Mahasamadhi.

"Mahāsamādhi (the great and final samādhi) is the act of consciously and intentionally leaving one's body. A realized yogi (male) or yogini (female) who has attained the state of nirvikalpa samādhi, will, at an appropriate time, consciously exit from their body." 

There isn't a whole lot of information on this, however I have been able to find some descriptions and accounts from the yogi Sadhguru, and also found/read a cool little book called 'Graceful Exits: How Great Beings Die', that describes the final moments/deaths (or mahasamadhi's) of over 100 masters. I have no doubt that the possibility exists.

The reason I am posting is that, like many of you, I am interested in learning about the entire scope of spirituality/reality (hence finding this topic of interest in the first place), but what started out as a light interest in reading about something that was really of no consequence to me, has actually now turned into a bit of a concern (and somewhat irrational fear) as my experience of the non-physical becomes deeper and more profound. 

I understand that mahasamadhi is really only a possibility for highly advanced beings, which is why initially it was never a concern as I was always able to box myself outside of this classification, but now that reality beyond the body is now, well.. so real, in fact more 'real', whenever I enter meditation and go deeper in the non-physical realm, the moment my sensation of being body begins to really slip away, this possibility of mahasamadhi becomes the forefront concern of my mind. It's also hard to dismiss as just an irrational fear or the ego saying 'turn back' (which yes, it is), because the lines around the possibility of experience are hard to draw and are not so clear anymore - there's not too many possibilities I would dismiss these days. The only real basis I have for believing that it won't happen is just sheer fact that thousands upon thousands of people (practically everyone that will read this post as well) have delved into these same experiences/realities and this hasn't happened to them haha, but it's hard to just rely on this simple idea when I'm actually experiencing the mighty mouth of the divine matrix about to consume the entire world and hence my body too. 

Now don't get me wrong, say I was much older towards the end of my life, the possibility would be much easier to accept in my mind and it would be much easier to just get on with it (and something I might even hope for one day), but for now I want my life on earth, and there's still a lot I desire to do. The paradox is that I also have an incredible thirst to keep exploring, learning and experiencing the spiritual (and obviously the two are not opposed!)  - but it feels as though the only option I have is to accept that "I might not come back to my body" every time I want to go really deep and dismiss this warning sign that shows itself in my mind (after all, I don't really have any way of reassuring myself that it won't happen). - And maybe it is just a lesson on attachment & expectation, and something that must be accepted! 

If it's even possible, I was hoping someone might be able to shed more understanding on the topic and perhaps give me some peace of mind. I know it's a hard one because at the end of the day I'm really just seeking assurances about a minute possibility. 

 - This is also a great example of knowing too much. Had I never read too much theory I would be ignorant of this possibility and probably enjoying the formless imagination in peace. 

(as a funny side note, I've read also that Sadhguru has his practitioners that are advanced in sadhana wear copper rings around a certain finger, which supposedly prevents the one in a million possibility of this happening. I have no doubt that the man is enlightened, and though I have no basis for believing things like this that he says, i also have no basis for dismissing them either. Perhaps i should become one of these conspiratorial spiritual dudes that can tell people their beliefs about the power of rings and crystals..   ...or maybe not )

Edited September 22, 2017 by BeyondForm
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[BeyondForm]

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[starsofclay]

Isn't this what happened to Paramahansa Yogananda? 
I don't know much about this subject, but I don't think you have anything to worry about. Even if you were to slip out of your body, it would probably be no more than an OBE. I think you have to willfully do what you are talking about for it to happen. And the prerequisite would be defeating ego first, so that it doesn't put up a fight. 

[Nahm]

@BeyondForm if you fear it, then you will not, so nothing to worry about. 

[BuddhaPixel]

Even the Buddha himself performed his mahasamadhi by physically ingesting poisoned food, I don't think this is much of a real concern.

[cetus]

On ‎9‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 0:32 AM, BeyondForm said:

I understand that mahasamadhi is really only a possibility for highly advanced beings

@BeyondForm I'm not so sure about that. How many times have you heard a story about an old married couple that been together for 60 years or so. Than one day the wife gets sick and eventually passes away from her illness. A short time later, for no apparent reason, the husband passes too. When my Mom passed away I know she was well ready for death. She lived a relatively healthy life. But as she got older, the aches and pains that the body experienced got a bit overwhelming. Life became more of a chore and nuisance for her than anything else. It wares a person down after a while and you start thinking, is this really worth it to stay here? You could almost see it in her eyes. She was consciously welcoming death and when she passed away it was with no resistance at all. So that being said, I think what keeps us here is mostly the resistance to death and the will to live. Even when you surrender and experience ego death there still remains a final thread that keeps one connected to the body and life force. Make the conscious choice to let go of that final thread and your outta here in the blink of an eye. This is where I believe advanced yogis are. Holding that thin thread ever so lightly between two fingers.   Sadhguru tells a great story about a sage that made food an obsession as a last thread only because there was nothing else to hold to.

[BeyondForm]

@Nahm - you're right, and whilst that is true, i guess the paradox is that if you go deep into meditation without carrying fear of it.. then the possibility exists right? haha.. a bit of a ridiculous proposition, i know, but an interesting thought nevertheless. I guess you wouldn't say to 'consciously carry the fear of it' to prevent it happening, maybe you could say more along the lines of keeping attached to bodily desires..? it makes me wonder if one was about to cross that line if they'd be aware they were about to do so, and whether or not there would be some sort of choice in the matter?

Edited October 6, 2017 by BeyondForm
user tag didn't work..

[BeyondForm]

@cetus56 That is true, I have actually heard a few stories like that.. I'm not sure if you're familiar but that kind of reminds me of the Johnny Cash story, from memory it was a similar situation where he'd been with his wife for a lifetime and they both passed together within a short space of time. Obviously the desire to live had truly fallen away, much like the case with your Mom it seems (thanks for sharing some insight with that story as well). 
 

On 05/10/2017 at 10:25 PM, cetus56 said:

So that being said, I think what keeps us here is mostly the resistance to death and the will to live. Even when you surrender and experience ego death there still remains a final thread that keeps one connected to the body and life force. Make the conscious choice to let go of that final thread and your outta here in the blink of an eye. This is where I believe advanced yogis are. Holding that thin thread ever so lightly between two fingers.   Sadhguru tells a great story about a sage that made food an obsession as a last thread only because there was nothing else to hold to.

- I think that is a great and concise explanation of what is going on here.. I remember seeing the video where Sadhguru tells that story, it may have also been in this one (video below) where he tells a story of how he helped an elderly man perform his mahasamdhi in front of a small crowd including police officers, who had come after hearing this man 'was going to commit suicide' haha, thought that was quite funny. I've heard him talk about this 'final conscious exiting whilst alive' many times.. not just in relation to others but to himself and his advanced practitioners as well (pretty sure there was another story as well where he was scrambling to find some food to keep him in desire/the body, otherwise he says he would've slipped out). 
 

 

I know it's definitely in this one wear he talks about the use of the copper ring I mentioned in my initial post... -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSthgmU3xtE

 

 

 

 

[Nahm]

@cetus56 you just blew my mind. This was the case with my grand parents. I never thought about it that way. Thank you for the beautification.

 

@BeyondForm In the experience of One, staying alive or dying is not a thing. It does not matter at all. There are no distinctions. You will see the truth, and that will be why it doesn’t matter.

[Nahm]

@Nahm Fear is nothing to love, and love is nothing to fear. ?

[BeyondForm]

9 minutes ago, Nahm said:

In the experience of One, staying alive or dying is not a thing. It does not matter at all. There are no distinctions. You will see the truth, and that will be why it doesn’t matter.

I know this to be true, and have experienced it deeply and profoundly (I say experience because Oneness that deep doesn't abide to that degree all the time). I know the death of this body will not be the end, however I guess speaking theoretically 'there's still a lot I wish to do with this incarnation' haha. 

[Nahm]

@BeyondForm do it. You got this. 

Edited October 6, 2017 by Nahm

[BeyondForm]

**Side note / post**   -  very intriguing story on the matter...

https://www.ramdass.org/death-lsd-maharaji/

" Death, LSD & Maharaji

Posted March 1, 2015

I had brought a picture with me of a boy who had died in America under strange circumstances. In 1968 he had come to see me in New Hampshire and had become one of my first students of yoga. He would come and visit each week and he immediately absorbed everything I shared with him of what I had learned in India. I had eventually wanted to send him to Hari Dass, but he had preferred to go to live in a cave in Arizona to continue his sadhana. I had taught him all I could, but he wrote me letters and checked in every few months during the winter of 1968-69.

I didn’t hear from him for a while and later learned he had died in a cave. His mother had shared with me his final diary entries, which were most unusual. I suspected that the final diary entry had been entry had been written while he was under the influence of LSD. The story was that he had been found dead with blood coming out of his nose and that there was blood on the wall. Perhaps he had been doing pranayam (yogic breathing practice) and had burst a blood vessel. The entries were as follow:

“Ramana Maharshi and my guru are both navigating my maha samadhi…no worry…I am in infinite bliss…and will guide you from within…right Ram Dass and tell him the good news that I have no longer to undergo sadhana…and there…Love, love…I know what is happening, also the guru is with me inside…know that I left the body completely identified with Jesus…Jesu esta conmigo. Yo estoy en su corazon…con guru.”

I had promised his mother that when I was next with Maharajji I would ask him about his son. At the appropriate time I fetched what had been his high-school graduation picture and handed it to Maharajji. He peered at it closely and said, “He’s not in his body.”

“That’s right, Maharajji.”

“He died from taking medicine.”

“Aha, I thought so.” (This implied to me that he had not indeed entered true samadhi but had probably done pranayam while on LSD.)

But then Maharajji, apparently understanding my doubts, said, “No, it is alright. He will not take rebirth. He finished his work. Now he is one with Christ. He loved you very much. He cried about you.” Maharajji was silent for some time and then he added, “You should tell his mother she should not worry, he is with Christ. He is watching over her. He finished his work.” (Maharajji had quoted exactly the words of the diary [never having seen it], and he had showed me that under certain circumstances LSD could be the vehicle for returning to God.) Then Maharajji sat silently with eyes closed. The moment was one of great power.

~Ram Dass "

[Nahm]

@BeyondForm That. Is. Moving. Great share! “The guru is with me inside”, yes. 

[BeyondForm]

Just an interesting update on this one.. 

For some time (and to be honest, even still now to some extent..), the fear of this whole mahasamadhi scenario was holding me back from going deeper spiritually. As stated in the initial post, every time I would sit to be still & surrender, whether soberly or on a psychedelic, I just couldn't come to terms with the idea that total surrender to existence could potentially kill me. I was really, really put off by this.

Ultimately I had to confront what I discovered was the ego’s ultimate fear... extinction, death and loss of all form. The whole situation ultimately became like a zen riddle for me.. I had to confront the question.. 'do I still want ultimate bliss and liberation if paradoxically it means I have to risk leaving my entire life & body behind?'. The issue for me is that I have experienced such profound spiritual states that nothing else in the world could ever satisfy me or scratch the surface in comparison, yet here I was.. confronted with the paradox that the one thing I wanted and craved so badly could also be the end of me, figure that? After much contemplation, I finally came to the stage where I managed to ‘say yes to death’ in an unreserved way, I really had no choice and I just couldn't fight it anymore. I'd really put a lot of psychological pressure on myself over this one, because I take my contemplation and understanding of life very seriously, and if there's a stone left unturned I can't help but try and turn the fucking thing over and claw at the dirt until I get to the bottom of what's under there  (not by choice, it's just how I am.. these things will spin in my mind until i reach some conclusion or understanding).  

Anyway, in this moment after saying yes to death, like really saying yes.. and then passing through immense fear and terror, I then slipped into the most profound state I have ever touched upon. I had absolutely no body, no mind, and was just floating in the sea of infinity, and at the same time i was the sea, it felt like I had really in a sense died because everything I knew as my self, my body and my life on earth was gone, and it was beyond beautiful. Obviously I came back to life after this experience, but in that moment I had to let go beyond any guarantee that I would – maybe this is then what is required for true enlightenment? Continuous, ever-present, unequivocal and unreserved letting go of every and all form. 

It is clear to me that there is no death, in regards to the source of experience itself, the soul. But still, in regards to this matter of mahasamadhi.. I guess the 'belief' I hold in it as a possibility still somewhat haunts me. I know the real self doesn't die, but I'm plagued by the concern that I'll accidentally leave this body forever, against my will.. and even after this experience the idea of it still brings up strong resistances for me. I keep trying to let go beyond this fear of death, which I am able to at times.. I even remind myself that there is nothing to guarantee I'll be alive in the next hour anyway, and I aim to surrender beyond all this, but still.. what is really missing here for me is just an overall understanding, a conflict in knowledge & experience I guess you'd say.. 

@Leo Gura - care to share some wisdom on this one?

(just to re-iterate, I'm not someone that holds on to and bows down to each and every word of a guru, but I most certainly trust Sadhguru as a legitimately knowledgeable and enlightened being, and this piece of information about mahasamadhi in particular has just been difficult  to dismiss). 

[BeyondForm]

Other than the links I have already provided.. further resources on the matter:

Sadhguru stating that 99% of enlightened beings leave their body at the moment of enlightenment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfxpfEYUv9g&t=55s

Sadhguru on the mahasamadhi of his wife.. and further re-iterating how a copper ring keeps those in intense sadhana bound to their body (preventing mahasamadhi): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eck61Qiu4aM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFlPvKM_qYo

Further elaboration..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06KOG4IonVs&t=1s

Edited February 1, 2018 by BeyondForm

[Monkey-man]

@BeyondForm since u already had ego-death, are you still identified with body/mind?

[Will Bigger]

13 hours ago, BeyondForm said:

Sadhguru stating that 99% of enlightened beings leave their body at the moment of enlightenment:

That deserves context. Sadhgurus definition of enlightenment is much more gradiose than yours haha. Enlightenment is actually never attained, because always there is more development to be had.

[Leo Gura]

@BeyondForm Yes, enlightenment is facing your very real death. It ain't no joke. Good for you for taking the plunge.

As far as Mahasamadhi... I am unsure. Part of me feels those yogi like to exaggerate, and part of me feels that Mahasamadhi is a real thing. I wouldn't be surprised if it was possible.

But why worry about it? It's a very advanced thing. It will not happen to you by accident. The whole point of Mahasamadhi is that you make a deliberate choice to do it.

Just as a fact: you don't see too many people falling dead at meditation retreats or yogic ashrams. If Mahasamdhi happened accidential (oxymoron) then you'd see a lot more corpses carried out of those places.

[Speedscarlet]

@Leo Gura that’s wrong. Mahasamadhi happens accidentally far more than you think. Have you seen this video: 

@BeyondForm hate to scare you my friend. But it’s true.

Edited February 2, 2018 by Speedscarlet