New Year's Resolutions/Saadhnaa 1

[Guest guest]

Blessed Self, aspirants<br><br>I spent New Year's

Eve at the Sivananda Ashram in Quebec, Canada. Each

year, this group talks about the need for daily

sadhana. To that end, everyone gets a "Resolve Form" to

consider. These resolves are:<br><br>1. I will perform

asana and pranayama for ___ minutes daily.<br>2. I will

take milk and fruits in lieu of night meals once a

week/fortnight/month.<br>3. I will observe fasing on Ekadasi days or once a

month.<br>4. I will give up ______(one of my cherished objects

of enjoyment) once every _____days/months or for

____days/months.<br>5. I will not indulge in any of the following more

than once every ____days/months or for ____ months:

(a) smoking (b)cards © cinemas (d) novels.<br>6. I

will observe Mouna (complete silence) for

____minutes/hours daily and ____<br>minutes/hours on Sundays and

Holidays and utilize the time in concentration,

meditation, Japa, introspection.<br>7. I will observe

Brahmacharya (celibacy) for ___weeks/months at a time.<br>8. I

will not utter angry, harsh or vulgar words towards

any one during this year.<br>9. I will speak truth at

all costs during the year.<br>10. I will not

entertain hatred or evil thoughts towards anyone.<br>11. I

will give away _____% of my income in charity.<br>12.

I will perform selfless service (Nishkamaya Karma

Yoga) for ____hours daily/weekly.<br>13. I will do

____malas of of Japa daily. (i.e. repeat your mantra

___x108 times).<br>14. I will write my Ishta Mantra/ Guru

Mantra in a notebook daily for ____minutes/pages.<br>15.

I will study _____ slokas of the Gita daily with

meaning.<br>16. I will maintain a daily Spiritual Diary and send

a copy to my Gurujio for getting further

lessons.<br>17. I will get up a ___ a.m. daily and spend

___minutes/hours in Japa, concentration, meditation, prayers,

etc.<br>18. I will conduct Sankirtan with family members and

friends daily for ____minutes/hours at night.<br><br>Any

resolves can deleted, added or changed to suit the

individual temperment,convenience or stage of spiritual

development. Don't attempt to make radical changes to your

nature or mode of living. Make small changes but stick

to them. If you fail in any of the resolves through

lack of self-control, unknowingly or by force of

circumstances, you should perform some Malas of Japa or give up

one meal to remind yourself of the resolve and to

impress upon the mind the importance of these

resolves.<br><br>Number 16 mentions the need for a Spiritual Diary. This

is detailed in the next post.<br><br>Om namah

Sivaya<br><br>Omprem