Word: samadhi
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...academies and tarot prophets. The flyways from East to West are dense with flocks of migratory swamis who come bearing wisdom and go lugging gold. A bazaar of the bizarre if ever there was one, and its most exotic merchandise, the pearl beyond price, is something known as brahmacaryam, samadhi, marafat or, in plain English, the mystical experience...
Bharati also jostles some halos in his discussion of mystical procedures. The swamis like to pretend they can snap into samadhi whenever they want, but Bharati says it just is not so. "No determined set of actions, no planning for mysticism, guarantees its occurrence." But surely yoga and meditation help? Brusquely, the author crumples yet another cherished Occidental illusion. In the finest Indian monasteries, postulants are taught that there is "no causal relationship" between spiritual exercises and the mystical culmination. At least half of all mystical experiences come un-summoned. Then why bother to do the exercises? Bharati...