तस्यापि निरोधे सर्वनिरोधान्निर्बीजः समाधिः ॥५१॥ 1.51 Tasyāpi nirodhe sarva-nirodhān-nirbījaḥ samādhiḥ.
“When …every impression is totally wiped out…there is nirbija [seedless] samādhi.” ~ Satchidananda
Artwork thoughts: This sutra is the last one in the Pada One, Samadhi chapter. The previous sutras identify how Samadhi can be attained through external “seeded” stimuli (such as concentrating on a blessed object). This sutra, however, is the only one to present a Samadhi that can be attained without an impetus. In my endeavor to illustrate this type of Samadhi, I stumbled upon a Wall Street Journal article about the nature of why babies smile (turns out, it’s not gas). It occurred to me then that the seedless Samadhi could likely only be attained by wizened sage or a newly born babe….