Abstract: In this talk we explore the concept of sandhi or the intrinsic state of the mind that appears in the intervals of silence in between cognitions. In the vedic parlance this state is said to be equivalent to kshanika samadhi or fleeting samadhi in which enlightenment or the ultimate yogic goal is achievable. Unlike formal methods of attaining samadhi as per the yoga shastra, these fleeting samadhis are possible even amidst daily life, making the study far more ubiquitous than esoteric yogic experiences. We explore the concept of bliss or aananda that is commonly experienced from objects, and contrast it with the non-object bliss that is experienced in sandhi, and thereby characterize this state as a step away from the ultimate bliss of enlightenment where one realizes one’s own true nature. The role of memory in cognition via verses from the Chandogya upanishad, will also be presented. Here we study the cause of memory and its effects during cognition, and show that pure cognition in sandhi can be understood as memory-free or context-free cognition where the mind exists in its ground state. Correlations between memory encoding and deeper states of meditation via results from EEG based experiments will be presented. We finally explore a practical framework for a stage wise meditation to achieve intervals of samadhi via scientific thought.
About the speaker: Ashutosh Simha is a consultant in flight controls at Kadet Defence Systems and serves as adjunct faculty at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru. He holds a PhD from the Indian Institute of Science in Robotics and Control Theory, and has held postdoctoral research positions at TU Delft (Netherlands) and the Institute of Cybernetics (Estonia). He is also an active karyakarta of Vedanta Bharati where he is pursuing studies in Vedanta