--- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Just as fodder for discussion, if anyone's on that > wavelength, it seems to me that the Vedic/Hindu > approach to these different types of samadhi > interprets them as "stages" because they're stuck > in a hierarchical mindset. Because they bring a > hierarchical set of assumptions to the table, they > see these different types of samadhi experience as > existing within a linear structure of experiences > that has a "top" and a "bottom," a structure in > which the experiences at the "top" are "better" > than those further "down," which are perceived to > be "less better." > > This is not the only way to view samadhi exper- > iences. I've heard talks from several different > teachers who share my more relational view of > the structure of creation, and they don't see it > that way at all. For them there is NO "highest > state of consciousness." Such a concept simply > doesn't exist for them. There is only the state > of consciousness that is going on at the time. > If that is "stage one samadhi," cool; if it is > "stage ten samadhi," that's cool, too. If it's > normal, vanilla waking state, that's OK, too. > > They assume (and I do, too, because it jibes > with my personal experiences) that there IS no > linear sequence of evolution from "lowest" to > "highest."
I think there is a distinction to be made here, between making some sort of value judgment about one state of consciousness vs. another, and recognizing the valid attributes of each state of consciousness, and that enjoyment grows with the attainment of each successive state. In other words, to say one has stabilized a particular state of consciousness, and is therefore better than someone who hasn't, is obviously nonsense, as you said. On the other hand, to say that one state of consciousness results in a greater degree of happiness and success in life than its previous state is a valid distinction. So it is important to recognize a hierarchy of states of consciousness, so that our own evolution continues smoothly, while at the same time being comfortable within our own dharma (and everyone else's), whatever that may be. In this way, both the hierchical and relational models exist together, without conflict.
