Caturthopadeśaḥ (Samādhi) · Verse 3

राज-योगः समाधिश्च उन्मनी च मनोन्मनी | अमरत्वं लयस्तत्त्वं शून्याशून्यं परं पदम्

rāja-yogaḥ samādhiś ca unmanī ca manonmanī | amaratvaṃ layas tattvaṃ śūnyāśūnyaṃ paraṃ padam

Rāja yoga, samādhi, unmanī, manonmanī, immortality, laya, tattva, void-not-void, supreme state…

This verse and the next list the many names for the same state of realization:

  • Rāja yoga — Royal yoga, culmination of all practices
  • Samādhi — Absorption, unification of the mind
  • Unmanī — Beyond the mind, trans-mental
  • Manonmanī — Mind without mind
  • Amaratva — Immortality
  • Laya — Dissolution, merging
  • Tattva — Reality, essential truth
  • Śūnyāśūnya — Void-not-void, neither empty nor full
  • Paraṃ padam — The supreme state

Each term illuminates a different aspect:

  • Unmanī emphasizes transcending the ordinary mind
  • Laya emphasizes the dissolution of dualities
  • Śūnyāśūnya describes a reality that is neither existence nor non-existence

The multiplicity of names suggests that the final state transcends any single description. Different traditions and temperaments emphasize different aspects of the ineffable.