Raja Yoga and Advaita — Samadhi as the Direct Doorway
Raja Yoga (Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga) culminates in Samadhi — the direct experience of pure consciousness — which is continuous with the Advaita recognition of Atman/Brahman.
Raja Yoga (Patanjali's Ashtanga/eight-limbed yoga) provides the most systematic preparation for Advaita recognition through the progressive refinement of attention and the dissolution of the ordinary subject-object structure of experience in Samadhi. The Eight Limbs: Yama (ethical restraints), Niyama (positive practices), Asana (posture), Pranayama (breath regulation), Pratyahara (withdrawal of senses), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation), Samadhi (absorption). Samadhi has two forms: Savikalpa (with form — the meditator and the meditation object are present, but unified in awareness) and Nirvikalpa (without form — all subject-object distinction dissolves into pure awareness). From the Advaita perspective, Nirvikalpa Samadhi is the direct recognition of Brahman — but the identification that enables full liberation requires the additional Vedantic understanding (Mahavakya contemplation) that this Samadhi experience IS the true Self. Without this understanding, the Samadhi experience remains just that — an extraordinary experience that passes, rather than the permanent recognition of one's nature.
In Samadhi, the meditator, the meditation, and the object of meditation become one. This is the direct experience of Brahman.
Patanjali's Yoga Sutras classify Samadhi into Samprajnata (cognitive, still resting on an object or 'seed') and Asamprajnata or Nirbija (seedless) Samadhi, in which even the subtlest object drops away and only pure awareness remains — the technical map behind the Advaita description of Samadhi as the dissolution of the subject-object boundary.
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali