Samadhi

The attainment of Samadhi is the ultimate step in Ashtanga Yoga.

This is the zenith of all yogic endeavors—the ultimate 'yoga' or connection between the individual and the cosmic intelligence.In Samadhi yogi become one with the True Self and merge into the object of concentration. And true unity of all thought and action takes place.At the moment of samadhi our ego dissolves and we become one with the Divine Entity. The mind can’t distinguish between self and non-self, or between the object contemplated and the process of contemplation. The senses get transcended by complete refinement of the body and mind. The supreme and eternal liberty of a soul is beyond all stages and beyond all limitations of time and space.

The eight "limbs": Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyanaa and Samadhi are the stages of the gradual withdrawal of consciousness from outward world.

Yama and Niyama, which are ethical obligations, Asana, Pranayama, which is breath control, Pratyahara, which is sense withdrawal, Dharana, which is concentration, Dhyana, which is meditation, and Samadhi, which is the experience of unity with God.