Mahaasamaadhi

On the 4th of July 1902, Swami Vivekananda went to his room, entered deep meditation for hours and then, lay down and left his body. The official cause of death was the rupture of a cranial blood vessel.

It was reported that he had spent the day calmly teaching his disciples and conversing with them. Nobody could tell that something remarkable was about to happen. While his health had not been very good, there were no indications of any perilous condition. It had been a day just like any other day. You can see more about Swami's last day in this You Tube Short Video.

Vivekananda was not the only one believed to have entered mahasamadhi. Here is a short list of other spiritual leaders believed to have done the same in recent times.

• Lahiri Mahasaya (1828–1895)
• Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950)
• Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950)
• Paramahansa Yogananda (1893–1952)
• Swami Nityananda of Ganeshpuri (1897–1961)
• Swami Sivananda Saraswati (1887–1963)
• Anandamayi Ma (1896–1982)
• Swami Rama (1925–1996)

Vivekananda is believed to have foreseen his early death. It was reported that he had once remarked about not living beyond the age of 40. Which leads me to wonder, when an enlightened soul willingly enters the state of mahasamadhi, does he will his spirit into leaving the body or is he simply aware of when it will happen and peacefully awaits it?

Sadhguru Jaggi is reported to be wearing an amulet on his ankle, intended to keep his spirit anchored to his body. He had, long ago, attained the state where his spirit could easily float away. But his work is not done yet, so he stays on.

It seems to me that both situations are possible. The enlightened soul who has travelled into the timeless realm would likely be aware of everything lined up to roll out in this linear timestream. Knowing the moment of his exit would be trivial. But more than that, a soul that has floated out of the body and travelled freely surely knows how to break the cord and make a permanent exit. At that stage of their life, they would no longer be held down by earthly attachments. So the decision to exit would be determined by other factors which only they would know.