''Nirbīja'' (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
; or
Pāli
Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a classical Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Therav ...
: ''nibbija'' or ''nibija''). Translated as without seed.
Transliterations
Synonymic Sanskrit transliterations in contemporary use are ''nirbija'', ''nirvija'' or ''nirviija''.
Etymology
The Sanskrit prefix ''nir-'' (from ''nih'' निः +
sandhi
Sandhi ( ; , ) is any of a wide variety of sound changes that occur at morpheme or word boundaries. Examples include fusion of sounds across word boundaries and the alteration of one sound depending on nearby sounds or the grammatical function o ...
-r-) means "without".
Antonym
Sabīja, (Pali: ''sabbija'', ''sabija'') ''savija'' or ''saviija'' means "with seed".
Mantra
The term "
Bīja" carries the specific meaning of a syllable that is used as a
mantra
A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...
or otherwise as the object of
meditation
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...
. Bīja can also mean any object of meditation.
Contemplation
The term Nirbīja Samādhi refers to a specific type of
Samādhi (Buddhism) or
Samādhi
Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh
''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...
. In Patañjali's
Yoga Sutras
The ''Yoga Sutras of Patañjali'' (IAST: Patañjali yoga-sūtra) is a compilation "from a variety of sources" of Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyasa, Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sut ...
it is said, "But these three inner limbs,
saṃyama, are only external means compared to the samādhi 'without seed' "
ook 3, 7th and 8th Sutra
Nirvikalpa Samādhi is related but not similar.
Meditation without seed
Dhyana (Hinduism) or
dhyāna, meditation, as a "seedless meditation".
The
samādhi
Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh
''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...
without seed is a concept used to indicate a spontaneously arrived at state of meditation or dhyāna, considered by Patañjali to be the ultimate goal of
(rāja) yoga. In
Patañjali's Yoga Sutras it is used to differentiate a spontaneously arrived at state of meditation or
dhyāna. Meditation without seed is considered a likely, though unforeseeable, outcome of regularly and properly conducted meditation with object or seed (bīja).
Pantanjali seems to indicate that mastery of this state is the supreme end of Yoga. The mundane and observable effect may be the body's reaction to freedom from habitual mentation, amongst other health benefits.
The effect may be the body's reaction to freedom from habitual mentation. Yogic thinkers consider both attachment to, and avoidance of this state a very real danger to further advancement; although at the same time, it is the first and absolutely necessary step toward
nirvāṇa. This condition may be arrived at as well without any kind of yogic training. As such it can be viewed as deriving from a temporary release from habitual thought patterns.
The term "Bīja" carries the meaning of a seed which can be any object of meditation.
Links to yoga texts online
Yoga Sutras
Yoga Sutras in English
upenn.edu
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Yoga concepts