---
type: Concept
title: "Samādhi"
description: "Total absorption where the meditator, the object, and the act of meditation dissolve into unity — not trance."
tags:
  - sadhana
  - Yoga
  - Patanjali
  - non-translatable
  - liberation
darshana:
  - Pātañjala Yoga
not:
  - term: "Trance"
    why: "A tāmasika state of diminished, distorted awareness; Samādhi is the peak of awareness beyond the subject-object split."
    instead: "Keep Samādhi untranslated; gloss as the eighth limb, subject-object unity."
  - term: "Ecstasy"
    why: "Implies emotional rapture; Samādhi is the collapse of meditator, object, and act into unity."
  - term: "Altered state"
    why: "A vague catch-all; Samādhi is the precise eighth limb of Yoga with defined sub-types."
  - term: "Deep meditation"
    why: "Names intensity of Dhyāna; Samādhi is a distinct stage where subject-object distinction dissolves."
related:
  - /concepts/yoga.md
  - /concepts/dhyana.md
  - /concepts/moksha.md
  - /concepts/atman.md
  - /concepts/brahman.md
timestamp: "2026-06-18"
okf_version: "0.2"
---

# Samādhi

**Not:** Trance, Ecstasy, Altered state, Deep meditation

## What It Actually Means

Samādhi is the eighth and final limb of [Yoga](/concepts/yoga.md) — derived from *sam* (complete/perfect) + *ā* + *dhā* (to hold). In Samādhi, the sādhaka (practitioner), the object of contemplation, and the act of contemplation lose their distinctions — the three collapse into one.

Two broad types: *Samprajñāta samādhi* (with an object of consciousness — subtler forms of awareness where the object is still present) and *Asamprajñāta samādhi* (objectless — ego completely dissolved, pure awareness without content). *Samyama* — the simultaneous application of dhāraṇā + [Dhyāna](/concepts/dhyana.md) + Samādhi on one object — is the basis of yogic powers (*siddhis*).

## Why "Trance" Fails

Trance is "merely a *tāmasika* state with a distorted vision of reality" (RM). Samādhi gives mastery over the forces of nature. "Nobody in a bewildered and confused state of trance can attain knowledge of the entire cosmos." Trance diminishes awareness; Samādhi is the peak of awareness — hyper-alertness beyond the subject-object split.

## Audience Metaphor

In ordinary perception there is always a gap: a seer, a thing seen, and the act of seeing between them. Samādhi is like a perfectly still lake and the sky it reflects becoming one image — no longer two things plus a reflection, just a single seamless expanse. A trance dims the lights to get there; Samādhi turns them all the way up, until the seer, the seen, and the seeing are one blaze of awareness.

## Citations

1. [Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali](/references/yoga-sutras.md) 1.17–18, 3.3
2. [Vivekacūḍāmaṇi](/references/vivekachudamani.md)
3. [Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad](/references/mandukya-upanishad.md)
