Samadhi - The Forgotten Eden: Revealing the Ancient Yogic Art of Samadhi (Serenade of Bliss)

This book expounds how to interstate the higher limbs of the 8 fold path of Ashtanga Yoga. These limbs are hard to master but Santata makes the concepts easier to comprehend. This is one of his better books.

I felt the consciousness expansion as I read it, this is the book with healing power.

Since yesterday was July 4th, it seems an appropriate time to post this review. :-) How grateful I am for the wisdom shared in Samadhi - The Forgotten Eden. There appear to be infinite potentials within this wondrous book, leading one to stand at the door between worlds and then step through into a chosen passageway. What follows is a brief summary of my experience with the book so far. Since this is about opening to a greater reality I find that experience related to the material is the only thing that I can really share at this point, and therefore refrain from any philosophical/esoteric interpretation since that would pull me right back out.I pondered for a time on that which should be the object of my focus, having many ideas appear in the mind. Then, however, the object made itself known to me and I have been in a spiral of change since then – while simultaneously being very grateful for the advice to remain grounded and in my body!Now, after a couple of weeks of adjusting to that change in consciousness, I have again been inspired to proceed with the instruction contained within the book. My object of focus is leading me to seek to maintain an open awareness that allows for the coming through of Spirit at all times, not just in meditation. This, I know, is something that I must practice to increase the time that I can hold the focus, so that as I achieve Samadhi it allows the greater Presence that I Am to be embodied and expressed as a sort of moving/living meditation (at least that’s how I currently understand it). Already it is becoming easier as I sense and feel a beautiful field of higher energies extend toward the human part of my awareness while my humanity reaches up to meet this wondrous field. I feel embraced in a Love that I’ve been searching for all of my life.In the book it is mentioned that “you must keep on practicing until you merge with the object. Basically, it’s just about maintaining awareness during Dhyana, rather than reverting into a pleasurable dull state that goes nowhere”. In the past I was able to achieve that pleasurable dull state and became bored because I knew that couldn’t be all there was, something was missing. Now SantataGamana has given me the missing pieces to the puzzle – for which I’m eternally grateful.For those of you drawn to this journey – may the object of your desire bring you to ever greater vistas of beauty, harmony, and love.

I must admit that in all of the spiritual literature that I've read over the past 3+ decades, I'm not used to reading books written by spiritual masters who actually understood what they did to achieve enlightenment. I'm not used to them delineating steps and specific processes along the way in useful embodied terms that I could understand.For example, with all due respect to Ramana Maharshi, there were probably more steps that he (or his enlightened students) did to achieve enlightenment than just asking, "Who Am I?" What is the "I?" Is there a kinesthetic sense of it in the body-mind. What about awareness and finding the "I Am." Some folks spend their entire lives meditating without actually understanding what the I Am is, or feels like, in our body-mind. And it wasn't until authors like Michael Langford or SantataGamana told us that the I Am is our everyday awareness looking out of our own eyes right now, not some special awareness that we had to get to, that we could begin to make real headway in our spiritual practices.So, what I would call the "New Direct Path Teachings" are written by folks who have achieved the final goal, and who are then able to come back and explain steps and procedures in an embodied way (as opposed to just being a concept or abstraction). They are able to trace what for them might be an "unconscious competence" and make it conscious and explicit. This, in my opinion, is the type of Teacher the author is.In the current book, he breaks down what Samadhi is, and explains specific techniques to allow us merge with the essence of anything so that we can understand and absorb its deeper nature and energy. I've read so many books by Teachers who talk about what insights and divine wisdom emerged from their yogic absorptions, but none to my knowledge explained how to actually DO it. Until now. The writing is clear and easy to follow. The Samadhi practices will be a perfect accompaniment to your usual sadhana. The metaphors and personal stories in the book were also of great interest to me because they allowed deeper insights into what SantataGamana experienced in his own life during his journey to freedom. Godspeed

I have written reviews for his other books. The teachings offered here are life-changing. I have read all of his books. I have practiced Zen for many years and also Vipassana meditation with more extended meditation retreats than I can remember. These books make a difference.

I must’ve read countless books on spirituality and most of them just come across like introducing something…This book actually gets right down to the direct practices required to experience samadhi.

These books are very direct and to the point. Bought 4 so far but will finish the collection.

This like all of the author's other books is an excellent aid of advanced meditators. IMO you need a good background in meditation to pick-up on all of the subtle things contained in this book. It is not for beginners. I highly recommend this book if you have the eyes to see and the ears to hear.

Gives a very clear understanding of samadhi without any esoteric jargons and unnecessary waverings. Concise yet thorough. It has whetted my appetite and i am going to explore this more.

Excellent book, thank you.

This author has, in this series of 6 books, simplified the whole process of spiritual practice with techniques and insights as all you ever need to know. Of course, it is down to the participants to practice with diligence for it to have any effect, but with passion, it's all achievable. These insights on Samadhi throw a whole new light on the subject and bring it closer and obtainable, especially Mahasamadhi which has long been clouded in mystery. I have read whole books on Mahasamadhi and been left none the wiser and even slightly discouraged, but in 4 short pages I finally understand, which brings a whole new meaning to I AM, and I realise that it's not only for Gurus that have had amazing lives, as this book makes it possible for anyone willing to apply themselves.

Very beautiful and insightful book!!! a must read for everyone. it explaines everything in a simple and profound way as always.Thank you very much for sharing and spreading this knowledge

I have been seeking for the truth myself, trying different techniques, reading al lot, and had come to very similar conclusions as to the author (intellectually mostly, I have not experienced that much within, but I did feel inside me that there is a lot more). Feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the information available, genuine and not genuine, it was a relief to find this book and other books from this same author. Lots of questions I had were nicely answered even when I did not imagine they will be answered in this book.