Mind and the object of meditation

I accidently typed the wrong web address for my blog and instead stumbled upon the Meditation Experiences blog which only has one entry. Its right down my ally. Following are some of the points from this blog. http://meditationexperiences.blogspot.com/

Patanjali system describes the transformations of mind that unfold over the course of what for most of us is years of sadhana (spiritual practice), and it does so by focusing on the relationship between the mind and the object of meditation.

The first level of samadhi, savitarka, is simply a deepening of dhyana.

Samadhi starts when the relationship between mind and object deepens to the point at which the mind's awareness of its concentration diminishes, and awareness of the object dominates the mind.

Patanjali defines two broad categories of samadhi:

Samprajnata samadhi, or samadhi with higher knowledge, which occurs through the absorption of the mind into an object; This stage is divided into two

Nirvichara samadhi the mind's awareness of, and involvement with, the world of objects (both gross and subtle) and their tanmatric origins is cut off. The ahankara, the sense of individuality or "l-am," stops creating its world; it turns inward, and the happiness which flows from the experience of non-identification is felt.

Sasmita Samadhi in which the individual ego merges into the cosmic ego, and the person now worships God in everything. The feeling of this samadhi is one of deep and pure peace, free from thoughts and any awareness of individuality.

Asamprajnata samadhi, "beyond higher knowledge," a very high stage in which there is no object of concentration; rather, the yogi's consciousness is merged into absolute consciousness, Purusha Because only asamprajnata samadhi destroys the seeds of all samskaras remaining in the chitta (the mind field) and thus gives ultimate freedom, or kaivalya, it is the only state that brings about an alternation of consciousness which is completely permanent.

Finally goal is kaivalya: complete, final, and eternal union with the real, eternal Purusha.