Samadhi: Absorption in the Present Dying

Samadhi in yoga philosophy is absorption or non-dual consciousness—the merging of self and object, subject and beloved. Mirabai's spiritual goal was samadhi with the divine, a state where separation dissolved. In anticipatory grief, samadhi offers an unexpected gift: moments where the distinction between 'me grieving' and 'the dying person' softens. In these moments, we are not separate from the loss; we are part of it. Time may slow. The future's dread may release. There is only breath, presence, the other's hand in ours. These are not permanent states but glimpses—yet they are profound. Mirabai teaches that we need not sustain such absorption, only to recognize and honor it when it arrives. In anticipatory grief, samadhi moments become anchors of grace. They show us that presence itself can be liberation, that we do not have to solve or prevent loss—only meet it with our whole being.