Sant Dnyaneshwar’s Sanjeevan Samadhi

24th November is being commemorated as the anniversary of Sanjeevan Samadhi taken up by Sant Dnyaneshwar at the tender age of 21.
Samadhi is the state of being established in pure consciousness. A wave rises in the ocean, falls back and becomes one with the ocean. When it rises again, it now does so with the understanding that it’s not a wave, but the ocean itself!

Similarly, when wisdom dawns, the belief that one is a separate entity dissolves and one merges back into consciousness – the real Source of all. This is the experience of Self-realization; the state of Samadhi.

Sanjeevan Samadhi involves remaining absorbed in Samadhi till the end of the mortal body. The body withdraws from worldly activity and remains immersed in Self-meditation.

Sant Dnyaneshwar remained in a state of inner Samadhi during his life while he was engaged in activity. He undertook the Sanjeevan Samadhi to inspire people to contemplate the profound truth of Death. He blissfully chose such an end for his mortal body so that his death would become a lesson of the supreme life beyond death.

People live with the fear of death and it is painful for them to even think about death. Hence, when people saw him embracing the death of his own body in equanimity, they were forced to think differently about death.

It is difficult to believe in something unless we see something concrete happening. The Sanjeevan Samadhi was such an event. It posed many questions:

– Can we achieve such a detachment from our body that we rise beyond both life and death?
– Is it possible to achieve this state at such a young age?
– What is the wisdom that enables one to achieve such a state of consciousness?

The Sanjeevan Samadhi of Sant Dnyaneshwar provides answers to these profound questions.