Observation of Stupor Samadhi

There is such a thing as stupor samadhi. It is known as jada samadhi. It is absorption in a dumb state of mind, where there is scattered consciousness without insight, where the self finds itself to be submerged in a dulling-of-consciousness energy.

A study of this mento-emotional influence may be helpful to some yogis for an understanding of how the focal awareness shifts from stupor to an awakened state and from an awakened state to stupor.

For some years now, I got a method of studying this state from Shivananda. This was when, some years prior, he showed how to do this upon arising early in the morning before sunrise.

Ideally this is done by first getting into bed before 9pm. Then rising at about 3am. As soon as one rises, one should sit up in bed. If sitting up is too difficult because of the sluggishness of the body, one should turn over or slump over in some way but remain awake in the stupor. One should do whatever needs to be done to stay awake because the tendency will be to resume the sleeping state.

The body may feel as a heavy object which cannot be lifted, cannot be made mobile. It may have several aches and pains in every joint, in the neck, in the feet, in the abdomen, in the arms, even in the head.

The observing self should note this so that it can be described later in the day in writing. It may take at least fifteen minutes but it could take half hour to bring the body out of that stupor.

The yogi should check to know if the subtle body is also in a stupor. If it is he should investigate what kind of astral activities he performed while the physical system slept. Eventually he will find that the physical system is awake and has interest in rising on its feet but there will be a small lingering influence from the stupid state which will be present to encourage the yogi to increase the percentage of dulling energy to negate the desire to be awake.

This is one way of analyzing the lowest influence of psychic nature which is the tamaguna mood-state.