Fleeting Samadhi

Sage Dattatreya

I shall now tell you what further conversation took place between Janaka and Ashtavakra.

Ashtavakra asked: King! Please tell me in greater detail what you call fleeting samadhi in the wakeful state, so that I may follow it up in order to achieve enduring samadhi. 

KING JANAKA said:

Listen, O Brahmnin! The following are instances of that state: When a man remains unaware of 'in and out' for a short interval and is not overpowered by the ignorance of sleep; when embraced by one's beloved in all purity; when a thing is gained which was intensely longed for but given up in despair; when a lonely traveller moving with the utmost confidence is suddenly confronted with the utmost danger; when one hears of the sudden death of one's only son, who was in the best of health, in the prime of life, and at the apex of his glory.

There are also intervals of samadhi, namely the interim period between waking, dream and sleep states; at the time of sighting a distant object, the mind holding the body at one end projects itself into space until it holds the object at the other end, just as a caterpillar prolongs itself at the time of leaving one hold to catch another hold. Carefully watch the state of mind in the interval.