To srini about Sadhana Panchakam

[Guest guest]

srini wrote:

 

The Sadhana Panchakam was composed by Sri Sankaracharya in AD 700.

These five verses contain 40 instructions for a spiritual seeker.

Swamiji said that there is plenty of material in just these five

verses to keep us going for a while...

Dear srini ~ I'm still attempting to wrap my mind around thinking about the

qualities of a good father. : ) I googled this as you suggested, and read

one translation, and then down at the very bottom of the google page, Shree

Maa and Swamiji were mentioned, associated with The Sadhana Panchakam, so,

naturally, I went there, right away. Sometimes I wonder how we would come across

some of these parts of the Devi Mandir site if we didn't discover them by

"accident."

 

As part of the 2001 newsletter, which Sidd used to do, was Swamiji's

translation of the Sadhana Panchakam. When I have an opportunity to read one

translation of something, and then read a translation by Swamiji', I realize how

lucky we are that Swamiji spends so much of His precious time doing this work.

Swamiji's translation immediately "spoke to me." (And actually, srini's quote

is from Swamiji's translation.)

 

So, for those who would like to read the entire translation, here is the

link:

_http://www.shreemaa.org/article03.htm_

(http://www.shreemaa.org/article03.htm) And just remember that you have to go practically to the bottom of the

page.

 

So, I'll stick with the first verse as you did. Perhaps that's a good way to

discuss and learn from this precious gem of wisdom...one verse at a time.

 

"Always study words of wisdom." Yes, I believe that we must follow Swamiji's

example and make time for this everyday. Right now I am reading "Swami

Purana," and though this is not a scripture, the stories are wonderful (so much in

Swamiji's "voice." that I can almost here him reading them, with unbounded

enthusiasm here, with subtlety there, as a father would import an important

truth to a child). And they quite colorfully impart their lessons. One thing I

would like to ask (srini?), since the Vedas were mentioned in one of the

other translations, aside from the Bhagavad Gita (and please excuse my ignorance

for not knowing if this is a Veda), are there any Vedic scriptures Swamiji

has translated, or are any of the puja books derived from the Vedas, and, if

so, which ones?

 

I am glad that Swamiji always adds, "according to your capacity...," for

each of us has a different capacity, depending on a different set of

circumstances. And yet, as we move along, one thing we are doing is expanding our

capacity. I am beginning to realize that, to some degree, capacity is like a

muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it becomes, and, if you don't over do the

exercising, the more it will work for you. (And after writing this, this

morning, I had to go back to bed ... totally exhausted, wracked with pain

:::sigh::: So I'm not sure how well the muscle analogy works for me.)

 

"Wiping the dross of sin from your mind..." is a little bit difficult for

me. Having been Catholic, where I became so obsessive about this issue that it

paralyzed me; the mere word, "sin," starts bringing bats out of my belfry.

But I had a good example this morning. I had felt hurt last night when my

husband, after promising he would leave his computer gaming and come to bed

between 9 and 9:30, showed up at 10:00, made light of his promise and then went

back to the game. When I tried to talk with him this morning about my hurt, it

started a "fight." Then I thought, "I can't win," and felt worse than before.

So in this sense, my "sin"s of need, selfishness and judgement were what

really hurt me. I remember when, on one of the earlier versions of the Shree Maa

website, there was a phrase that kept scrolling across, underneath Her

picture. It was something like: Ask nothing from anyone; seek only God. I'm not

sure if tha't the whole quote, but I think of it often, so if anyone knows it,

and I am missing a bit, please send me the words because they really helped

me, comforted me, and gave me guidance.

 

But I can see right away an opportunity, not only to wipe the "dross of sin"

from my mind, for what is blaming others if not "sin," or at least

ignorance, and certainly a waste of time. (And once again, I see Swamiji looking at me

intently and saying, "Nothing is worth sacrificing your peace of mind.")

:::sigh::: So I could probably spend years just working on this one. Also, if I

searched my "own soul for true knowledge," a companion in the same phrase of

the Sadhana Panchakam to "wiping the dross of sin," I suspect that, even if

my hubby played computer games every single minute that he is home (which he

doesn't), I would, rather than feeling hurt and finding fault, be doing

something more productive. The search itself would be its own reward, I suspect,

and whatever I find would be far more satisfying that worrying about what

someone else is doing with his time.

 

Thank you srini for bringing something to make us think ... this is very

practical, usable information, regardless how ancient, and I thank Swamiji and

Shree Maa with all my heart for demonstrating the truth of this. Jai Maa , Jai

Swamiji ~ Linda