Sadhana vs. Yoga?-the true spirit underlying sadhana !

[Guest guest]

Good morning, devi_bhakta!

 

may i please comment on this sadhana versus yoga? although the title

reads sadhana versus yoga -

 

in my humble opinion it should read Sadhana Yoga , the simple reason

being the goal of all sadhana (be it mantra sadhana, tantra sadhana,

yantra sadhana, or shakti sadhana ) is Yoga - union with the

divine...

 

so, in this sense - the word sadhana has at least several

connotations.....

 

one it is a 'practice' mostly spiritual but not limited to

spirituality alone...

 

basically, anything that is practiced with zeal and enthusiasm can be

loosely called 'sadhana' -

 

in this sense, everything is 'sadhana' or practice - dancing, poetry,

painting, even surfing .... for without practice, how can one achieve

perfection?

 

so to a nurse, taking care of the sick and diseased is a sadhana; to

a lawyer serving his his client is a sadhana ; to a yoga teacher

teaching yoga is a sadhana...

 

in his sense, sadhana is always linked with 'accomplishment' - so we

view 'sadhana' as an 'instrument' (or practice) that helps us to

accomplish something -

 

That is why many sadhaks equate sadhana with 'siddhis' (attainment

of occult powers) but this is taking a very 'narrow' view for the

goal of any sadhana shold not be the mere attainment of siddhis

(magical powers) but should be one of attaining 'higher

consciousness' or seeking 'union with the divine or yoga...

 

this siddhis may be a by-product of sadhana but never the ultimate

destination... the ultimate destination is only seeking the 'one

wiithout the second'...

 

so as our beloved ompremji states again and again " we must be firmly

grounded in our sadhana" for that is the means (sadhan or instrument)

to gain perfection (spiritual) be it mantra sadhna, yantra sadhana,

tantra sadhana and yoga and dhyana sadhana!

 

So in this sense all " the ritual gestures, offerings, and reading of

scriptures , perfoming tapas or austerities, counting the beads,

taking god's name 1008 times, practicing all the yoga asanas " etc

become just an external act, with no content and no meaning- if it

does not a create a certain attitude or bhava in the spiritual

aspirant... the desire to 'unite' with the divine through the total

surrender of mind, body, speech and spirit...

 

so all sadhana should be based on this understanding - sadhana is

only a means not an end by itself - the end being perfection or

completion - spiritual perfection or completing the process of

merging with the divine (yoga) ...

 

Here, i would like to quote from swami krishnaananda.....

 

"spirit of Sadhana in the Inner Path is more important than the

outward form with which most people usually busy themselves. One

spends the whole day in counting beads, and thinks that his Sadhana

is over with that. Another attends the temple, rings the bell and

does some exercises, reads a few books, so that the hours of the day

are all filled up, which is all enough to make him think that he is

busy with his Sadhana. Now, all this is the outward form which

Sadhana may take, and a very necessary form, and it is quite all

right as far as it goes. It loses its meaning only when it is

deprived of the spirit and the purpose with which it is expected to

be done. It is to be remembered that Sadhana is not any kind of

bodily action that is outwardly demonstrated in the world, but a

state of mind, a condition of thinking, a consciousness in which one

lives. Suppose one counts ten thousand beads on a particular day,

with a heart filled with rancour and an emotion in a state of a

ebullition caused by frustration, prejudice or jealousy, the beads

are not going to do one any good. All actions are symbols of an

inward mood of mind, and when the mood is absent, the action by

itself has no significance. The majority of Sadhanas are lost in the

wilderness of erratic thoughts and confused ideologies. This is the

precise reason why, very often, there is no success in Sadhana,

despite years of routines that are being followed, perhaps with great

enthusiasm but bereft of the spirit needed. "

 

so, it is the 'spirit' underlying ' the pursuit of 'sadhana' that

gives it its true meaning .

 

 

AS ADI SHANKARA SAYS BEFORE ATTAINING spiritual perfection on "'READ

ALL THE SCRIPTURES YOU WANT TO ATTAIN THAT UNDERSTANDING " BUT AFTER

ATTAINING THAT UNDERSTANDING, ONE DOES NOT NEED SCRIPTURES..." for

the knower of brahman is brahman himself! or the knower of devi is

devi herself!

 

that is why all great yogis , sages and saints follow a path of

rigorous and vigorous spiriutual discipline in the beginnig stages of

their sadhana but once they have attained that 'perfection' they do

not need all the external paths for they are well situated in their

internal paths !

 

please forgive me if there are any errors in presentation!

 

hari om!