The last of the six wealths that we need to possess in order to complete the third of the four qualifications to be a fit student to know the essential nature of our being is called Samadhana. Incidentally, this is also the goal of yoga. Samadhana or Samadhi Sthiti is a state where the mind is completely absorbed in its own nature. To achieve this state, there is an eight-fold path of yoga—Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. Among them, Yama and Niyama expand themselves as five each into 10. They are Ahimsa—non-injury to others and one’s own self through actions, words or thoughts; Satya—right communication; Asteya—not stealing others’ property, goods, services, name, fame or anything; Brahmacharya—control of the five sense organs of perception and five sense organs of action; and Aparigraha—not coveting mentally or materially hoarding wealth and resources more than what we really need.
The five Niyamas or personal habits are: Shaucha—cleanliness within and without; Santosha—contentment with what we have materially; Tapas—austerity; Swadhyaya—study of the self; and Ishwara Pranidhana—surrender to the divine. The other parts of Ashtanga Yoga like Asana and Pranayama are indeed famous. Asana helps to control the five sense organs of action such as hands, legs, mouth, excretory and reproductive senses. Pranayama regulates the flow of the five vital airs that give energy, help in excretion, digestion, circulation; and allowing the rising motion in the body as thoughts.
Then Pratyahara is something similar to Uparati or withdrawal of the mind back from the sense objects of sound, form, smell, taste and feeling to one’s own self—the observer. Then there is one-pointed focus of mind on an uplifting name or form called Dharana, which means recollecting and being with that single thought for a long period of time. Finally it gets absorbed in that reality called Samadhi. This is the Samadhana state of the mind, which is not the end of our pursuit to the goal of Moksha but the final effort before attainment of that liberated state of mind.
Through this practice the mind stops wandering. Samadhana is the art of choosing one sound, one goal, one thought and one path of the liberation. The light of the Sun cannot burn directly. The rays of the mind cannot by itself penetrate directly into the reality. However, if the sunlight is focused through a crystal, it will generate so much heat that it can start a fire. In the same way with concentrated effort, all distractive thoughts join together in one single conflagration called the mind which leads to the final beatitude of liberation.
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