Samadhi as Dharmic Unification

Patanjali describes samadhi as the unified, undisturbed state of mind—the pinnacle of yogic practice. Abhidharma psychology provides the microscopic lens to understand how this occurs: through the precise orchestration of dharmas (fundamental phenomena) that compose each moment of consciousness. In samadhi, the typically scattered aggregates of form, sensation, perception, and mental formations align around a single object. Abhidharma identifies exactly which dharmas must be present (concentration, stability, mental joy) and which must be absent (distraction, restlessness, doubt). Rather than treating samadhi mystically, this integration reveals it as a sophisticated reorganization of consciousness governed by natural psychological law. Understanding samadhi through dharmic analysis shows practitioners that meditative mastery is neither magical nor arbitrary, but a learnable science of consciousness that Patanjali's methodology and Abhidharma's taxonomy together illuminate.