What is sabikalpa samadhi?

Answer 1

Sabikalpa Samadhi is a state of Meditation or super-consciousness which is experienced in a very deep state of trance.

In Sabikalpa Samadhi the yogi experiences a state of conscious death. His or her body is totally paralysed and unable to move and the heart has stopped beating or is virtually imperceptable yet rigor mortis will not set in because always there is a band of heat around the forehead which keeps the blood in a state of semi-suspension.

Although the body is greatly limited in that it is virtually immobile and 'dead to the world', the consciousness inside is experiencing greater life than ever before!!! Tremendous expansion of consciousness is taking place. A consciousness unlimited to a gross physical body. Greater perceptions and deep mystic states are enjoyed by the yogi whose body is in deep Samadhic trance. It is in Sabikalpa Samadhi that the yogi has his first experiences of God-communion. Later as he or she progresses these experiences become more intense and totally change the whole way of life of the yogi and those around him.

As the yogi advances he discovers how to remain in blissful God-communion without bodily fixation and in his ordinary waking state. Such a one is a true Master of yoga and helps innumerable souls to reach God.

Answer 2

Savikalpa Samadhi is a state of deep meditation where the practitioner experiences oneness with the object of meditation while still maintaining their individual identity. It is characterized by a profound sense of unity and absorption in the object.