nirbija

Nirbija, from the Sanskrit nirbīja meaning “seedless” or “without seed,” is a term used in Indian philosophy to denote states or realities that are devoid of latent impressions or seeds (vasanas) carried from past actions. The concept appears in yoga, Vedanta, and related traditions, where seedless states are associated with a higher level of realization or consciousness.

In the Yoga tradition, nirbija samadhi refers to a seedless, or seed-destroyed, state of deep absorption. It is described as a profound form of meditation in which the mind’s fluctuations cease and the practitioner experiences pure awareness. This seedless condition is typically linked to the progression toward kaivalya, or ultimate liberation, in which the purusha (pure consciousness) stands isolated from prakriti (nature). Some formulations treat nirbija samadhi as the penultimate stage before full liberation, while others view it as a sustained attainment that eliminates vasanas, enabling lasting freedom from karmic seeds.

In Vedanta and other non-dual traditions, nirbija can be used metaphorically to describe Brahman or consciousness as seedless and without marks, forms, or habits. In this usage, nirbija conveys the idea of ultimate reality beyond all perturbations, predicates, or accumulated impressions.

Overall, nirbija characterizes a “seedless” quality in both experiential states and metaphysical descriptions, signaling a level of realization where latent impressions are dissolved or absent, and consciousness is experienced in its pure, unconditioned form.