Samadhi?

To support the work on the After Abyss articles on this Blog (and in a forthcoming book), I will share descriptions of the nondual insights.

The nondual here translates to awareness far beyond or above the Abyss after the so-called identity collapse:  the anatta (or anatma, non-self) insight and the cessation experience (nirodha samapatti).

But to get there, let us first examine the authentic Thelema teachings on samadhi in the video below.

I say authentic because when we stray too far to the left-hand side (ego-tripping, as it were), we start to make up things on our own.

There is nothing wrong with that, for sure. In Truth, however, there is no need to invent new things, for Reallity above the Abyss is already perfect.

On a more personal note, great work summing up the original ideas on Samadhi, brother IAO131!

From beyond the Abyss (V.)

May all adepts attain the City of Pyramids

No amount of effort will do. It is like hitting hard the surface of a placid lake and dealing with the water that is splashing around, hoping to calm the lake.

In the words of Master Therion:

"...The Masters of Truth are the only happy men, though they constantly observe what men stupidly call Sorrow.". (Liber 73).

Permanent transformation of perception can only happen from within.

As Krishnamurti said:

From beyond the Abyss (V.)

May ALL adepts attain the City of Pyramids

"..What's been felt
What's been known
Never shined through in what's been shown
Never be
Never see
Won't see what might have been
What's been felt
What's been known
Never shined through in what's shown
Always free
Never me
So "I" dub thee all-forgiving..."

From beyond the Abyss (lV.)

May ALL adepts attain the City of Pyramids

How to get there, one might wonder.

One way:


"The only correct and adequate mode of the Attainment of Understanding is to shut off and to inhibit the rational mind altogether, thus leaving a Tabula rasa upon which the entirely alien faculty -- de novo and sui generis -- can write its first word.

But then (it will surely be said) what is more unintelligent than this supposed Intelligence? than this formless, even delirious Ecstasy which sweeps away all shapes of thought? No sane man would deny this premiss: but the explanation is that this Ecstasy is (so to say) the throe of Birth of the new faculty. It is surely natural for an observer to be startled, for the moment, by the discovery of a new Universe. Ananda must be mastered manfully, not indulged as a vice in the manner of the Mystic! Samadhi must be clarified by Sila, by the stern virtue of constraint: and then appears the paradox that the new Law of the Mind has "come not to destroy but to fulfil" the old. 
The Understanding takes full cognizance of all that vast material which the Reason was unable to build into any coherent structure. The contradictions have disappeared by absorption; they have been accepted as essential factors in the nature of Truth, which without them were a mere congeries of Facts.

It will be clear from all these considerations that there need be no surprise at this primordial paradox: that Scepticism, absolute in every dimension, is the sole possible basis of true Attainment. All attempts to shirk the issue by appeals to "faith," by mystic transcendental sophistries, or any other spiritual varieties of the Three-Card-Trick, are devoted to the most abject destruction.

One cannot "find the Lady" by any other way than that of the Knight-Errant, of the Great Fool -- the Way of the Eagle in the Air -- whose Sacred Number is the Sacred Zero. Yea also, Naught being All, and All being Pan, the only due address to Godhead is in the dual form

[GRK WRDS (all-devourer, all-begetter)] PAMPHAGE PAGGENETOR.

For all must be destroyed that All may be begotten."

- The Little Essays, Understanding by A. Crowley

From beyond the Abyss (lll.)

May ALL adepts attain the City of Pyramids

Thus I have heard:

0.
There is no me; there is no you; there are no forms, skandhas(1) are empty. And yet, nothing else exists apart from me and you; skandhas are imputed upon the ever-(non)-existing Thusness(2), and they appear (not) like clouds from the empty sky.

Trillions of forms are imputed from within upon the Thusness and are non-dual with It. (3)

And one who has attained the Mind-of-no-effort(4), has completed the non-journey, and is joyfully abiding in the Union of No-more-learning(4).

1.
He is utterly indifferent(5) to positive, negative, and neutral states within and without, for he has seen the ultimate truth.

The infinite power seemingly drives him on, and on, and yet, he does nothing, for events are non-arising, non-abiding, ever non-existent, and self-liberated.

He is fully aware of the twelve deceptions(6) that bind those without the Right view.

Having seen through the sphere of neither-perception nor-non-perception (7), nothing binds him, for he is not. And since he is not, object and subject are (not), and everything is as it always has been, is, and forever will be (not), he is free.

He doesn't care at all about anything. And yet, the Love and Compassion is the Word at one with the Light.

2.
Just by being, he is constantly creating the manifested Universe. (8)

What is seen is he in myriad forms, and through these forms, he can be known. (8)

When he looks within, the Universe collapses; when he looks without, he is (in) Love.

And through being (in) Love, he is omnipresent, directing herself and her children.

3.
She can be known only through her powerful presence, for she is darkness in its uttermost transparent sense.

In this no man's land, only the seen can be seen, only the heard can be heard, and there is no one there to say, 'We are one, we are none'. (9)

And yet, her nature is all-embracing, receiving and giving.

She has united with innumerable adepts in the most intimate of ways, for she is the Mother of all the wise ones, the Sacred whore, the Everlasting yoni, the Queen of demons and men and women alike.

There is none else besides Her.

_______________________________________

1. Skandhas: aggregates that generate everything in the field of the mind in the broadest sense.

2. Thusness: words lose their meaning here, but he seems to refer to the so-called dharmadhatu, the primordial nothing that is everything. In Liber B vel magi, this is referred to as "...the grade of Ipsissimus the Mystery of Selflessness, also called the Mystery of Pan." (Liber B, 15.)

3. It Seems he is talking about the Heart sutra (forms are empty, emptiness is form, etc.).

4. These two phrases denote final spiritual attainment, the level of Ipsissimus.

5. Nothing touches the madman.

6. He is sharing the doctrine of "dependent origination", twelve links that "produce" duality and suffering/enjoyment on all levels.

7. He has attained the trance nirodha samapatti.

8. "By His Wisdom made He the Worlds; the Word that is God is none other than He." - Liber B, 2

9. No mental identification of being something or someone remains.

 

Heru-Ra-Ha

In the Book of Thoth, Crowley introduces us to Heru-Ra-Ha when he comments on the Aeon Tarot card. He wrote:

"Around the top of the card is the body of Nuit, the star-goddess, who is the category of unlimited possibility; her mate is Hadit, the ubiquitous point-of-view, the only philosophically tenable conception of Reality. He is represented by a globe of fire, representing eternal energy; winged, to show his power of Going.

As a result of the marriage of these two, the child Horus is born. He is, however, known under his special name, Heru-Ra-Ha. A double god; his extraverted form is Ra-hoor-khuit; and his passive or introverted form Hoor-pa-kraat. He is also solar in character, and is therefore shown coming forth in golden light."

** ** ** 

In the new Aeon, the one we are in right now (according to Thelema's vision), individuality is essential, as well as personal freedom, assuming responsibility, not hiding behind gods but acting with understanding, wisdom, and light strength.

These are not some guidelines for new Aeon parenting....although I imagine a truly loving parent would undoubtedly want his child to grow along these lines.

In my view, what follows is a direct, albeit veiled in heavy symbolism, description of the stage of consciousness at the end of the Path.
Comments are not needed, for every one of us is alive enough to attain Heruraha.


In Liber 418, in the first Aeither, LIL, 
we can read about Heru-Ra-Ha:

"It is a little child covered with lilies and roses. He is supported by countless myriads of Archangels. The Archangels are all the same colorless brilliance, and every one of them is blind. Below the Archangels again are many, many other legions, and so on far below, so far that the eye cannot pierce. And on his forehead, and on his heart, and in his hand, is the secret sigil of the Beast.

And of all this, the glory is so great that all the spiritual senses fail, and their reflections in the body fail.

[...]

This child danceth not, but it is because he is the soul of the two dances, - the right hand and the left hand, and in him, they are one dance, the dance without motion."

[...]

I am light, and I am the night, and I am that which is beyond them.

I am speech, and I am silence, and I am that which is beyond them.

I am life, and I am death, and I am that which is beyond them.

I am war, and I am peace, and I am that which is beyond them.

I am weakness, and I am strength, and I am that which is beyond them.

Yet by none of these can man reach up to me. Yet by each of them must man reach up to me."

Nuit and Her feast for the Adepts

“As the dancer whirls, she chants in a strange, slow voice, quickening as she goes: Lo! I gather up every spirit that is pure, and weave him into my vesture of flame. I lick up the lives of men, and their souls sparkle from mine eyes. I am the mighty sorceress, the lust of the spirit. And by my dancing I gather for my mother Nuit the heads of all them that are baptized in the waters of life. I am the lust of the spirit that eateth up the soul of man. I have prepared a feast for the adepts, and they that partake thereof shall see God.”
~ Aleister Crowley, 15th Aethyr of The Vision and the Voice

The After Abyss blogs

Checking the stats of visits on this Blog, I see that the post on the subject of Crossing the Abyss - Liber Cheth commentary and posts that deal with the whole After Abyss affairs are quite well received.

To make the searching and reading easier, here are all the blogs on the topic of Abyss and then some:

• Crossing the Abyss (Liber Cheth commentary) >>

• After Abyss >>

• After Abyss II.: Changeless reality >>

• After Abyss III.: Total identity collapse >>

• The Oath of the Abyss >>

• There is none else besides Him >>

• City of pyramids >>

• Magister Templi >>

• Simplicity >>

• Liber B vel Magi reading >>

• Fresh aliveness every day >> 

• From beyond the Abyss >>,  II. >>,   III. >>,   IV.>>

• Liber B vel Magi commentary - soon!

• Gone, gone, gone beyond: anatta >>

• From Beyond: cessation trance: nirodha-samāpatti >>

City of pyramids

Not a physical or mental place, it is outside of space and time, far above the most subtle and sublime barking of well-trained dogs of reason, light years away from personal projections of emotional needs and yet immanent and so very close.

Separated from direct perception (samadhi) only by misplaced attention, intention, and skewed perception.

Never ever attainable (or better yet: realized as already realized) by Knowledge and way beyond the science of futile canine exploration.

Free from mental, emotional, energy, and physical forms - completely transpersonal.

Complete openness and giving, giving, giving.

Pure Understanding of everything as it always was, is, and will be.

Unlimited gentle and compassionate support from Her, who is non-dual with all the Pyramids.

Once realized forever remaining inseparable part of.

Sharing the power, presence, and wisdom with all the Pyramids herein.

After Abyss (I.)

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law

There are important realizations to be integrated into life after the so called crossing of the Abyss (as per Qabalah). And in the present blog I'd like to elaborate upon this rather important subject.

Formless Divinity is what I would call the truly transpersonal stage of awareness. I say stage, not a state. If we look at modern transpersonal psychology, the transpersonal stages are three: the Subtle (Briah), the Causal (Aziluth) and the Nondual (above Aziluth). Anyone can have an insight into any state at any level of her/his current development. States (fleeting insights) are free, stages (permanent attainments) are earned, Ken Wilber says. I agree fully.

And after crossing the Abyss (see this blog >>), the identifications with various God-forms (including Ishta Deva or HGA) are "left behind", so to speak, only to realize permanent identification and spontaneous nature of Being Her (Binah) and, in due time, Him (Chokmah).

There are various levels (not types) of mystical experiences, called samadhi. Samadhi is a Sanskrit word meaning One (sama) with the Absolute (adi).

I experienced first samadhi back in 1993 and I have been entering laya and sabikalpa samadhi states (see below) at will since around 2007. It is like bliss on demand, nothing ever touches you, for you are one with the One, a mere witness, completely free...and alone.

Anyway, some of the levels of samadhi I would like to describe are:

• Laya samadhi
  It can be had during walking, dancing, making love, running. It is an entry point, as it were, for the truly spiritual or transpersonal stages of consciousness.
  Effort is needed for attainment of this level of samadhi.

• Sabikalpa samadhi
  It is a direct experience of the Absolute at the Subtle or Causal levels (Briah or Aziluth). It is an experience limited by time. I like to refer to this level of samadhi as Saguna samadhi (samadhi with form. Form in this context translates to transpersonal forms of God/Goddesses, of course). At this level, the so called Bhava (rapture) samadhi may be experienced as well.
  
  Effort is still needed for attainment of this level of samadhi, even if only a little shift in attention is employed.
  
  As I shared above, I used to enter Sabikalpa samadhi for years, at will, anytime, anywhere.
  
  "In sabikalpa samadhi the devotee has spiritually progressed to a state of inward divine union, but cannot maintain his cosmic consciousness except in the immobile trance-state. By continuous meditation, he reaches the superior state of nirbikalpa samadhi, where he moves freely in the world and performs his outward duties without any loss of God-realization.”
  - Paramhansa Yogananda

• Kevala Nirbikalpa Samadhi 

This is a direct experience of the Causal level (Aziluth), and is on the other side of the Abyss. It is the so called Nirguna samadhi, a formless Oneness with the Absolute. 

In this experience, all movement in awareness ceases, and all that is left is only the Absolute Self. And it is or was one of the most important experiences of my life. 

Such an experience eradicates the apparent and illusory separateness of the Soul and Godhead, Creator and Creation, Nirvana and Samsara, Unmanifested and Manifested, Yogamaya and Mahamaya, Khabs and Khu - Absolute and "relative" merge into One, forever.

Grace is needed for attainment of this level of samadhi, and after the attainment has occurred, no effort in needed anymore, ever. This is attainment of Binah, or complete and permanent identification with and surrender to, the One Goddess or God (moving on to Chokmah) and beyond them both.

It is efortless and silent awareness, present even now.

Sahaja Nirbikalpa Samadhi
This is the final stage, the ultimate experience that equals to Great Liberation, moksha, the end of the Great Work, and is in fact the attainment of Kether as per Qabalah.

Sri Ramana Maharshi;

“In yoga the term samādhi refers to some kind of trance and there are various kinds of samādhi. But the samādhi I speak of is different. It is sahaja samādhi. From here you have samadhana [steadiness] and you remain calm and composed even while you are active. You realize that you are moved by the deeper real Self within. You have no worries, no anxieties, no cares, for you come to realize that there is nothing belonging to you. You know that everything is done by something with which you are in conscious union.”

Anatta and Sunyata insights
After attainment of the "I am" presence, the Causal self, the Absolute Self, or the Kether as per Qabalah, there are still possible realizations to be had.

We must leave the Vedanta teachings behind, however, and embark upon the Buddhist teachings on anatta and sunyata. These experiences are way beyond even the Causal self or the Kether as per Qabalah. And they are liberating as hell.

I will write more about anatta and sunyata, total identity collapse and about nirodha-samapatti as well, in the next blog in the After Abyss series.

Love is the law, love under will.

See the next blog post: After Abyss II.: Changless Reality >>

See the next blog post in the After Abyss series: After Abyss (III.): total identity collapse >>