SADHANA: A Stream of Discipline Carrying You to The Ocean of the Self

SADHANA:
A Stream of Discipline Carrying You to
The Ocean of the Self
by Swami Jyotirmayananda

SADHANA — the striving process of spiritual movement — is like a stream that must flow on to the ocean of perfection, or siddhi. Al­though sadhana is ordinarily trans­lated as spiritual discipline, from a broad point of view, one’s whole life is a perpetual sadhana. Every soul is striving to be better, to come ever closer to God, who is the essence of the soul. The urge to overcome limi­tations and imperfections is the guiding force in every person. And directing that urge in the right way is called sadhana.

Life becomes glorious if you live your life with the spirit of sadhana. But if you do not, then you are like a river that dries up and stops flowing in the desert. When you immerse yourself in the spirit of sadhana you are like a rushing river; your life sparkles with energy. When sadhana is the cornerstone of your life you live to discover your inner strength, to explore the spiritual dimensions of your personality, to ascend the heights of wisdom, and to enjoy the infinite Bliss that abides within the heart. In all ways, life becomes truly glorious.

All people must adopt this spirit of sadhana in their daily lives as much as possible. Spiritual aspi­rants, in particular, however, must be fully aware that their purpose in life is to discover the innate potenti­ality of communing with God and to unfold that potentiality.

Many persons, however, do not have a clear idea about what success in sadhana means. Many people er­roneously consider spirituality to be something separate from practical life. Thus, when they start practicing so-called spirituality they ex­pect a lot of miracles and psychic phenomena. And in many circles, most of the talk is centered on extra­sensory experiences. Practitioners are fond of describing the lights that they “see” during meditation, or the unique experiences that occur dur­ing their practice. They become par­ticularly excited when they think that they have acquired some psychic power. Perhaps an idea has come to them during meditation, as if by intuition, and later on it comes to pass. They feel that this is unmis­takable proof that they are advanc­ing on the spiritual path. There is, however, great error in this kind of thinking.

Spiritual advancement has many expressions of success, but the least of these is having a psychic experience. Success in sadhana is not measured by miraculous visions or other psychic phenomena that one might enjoy during meditation; it is how you handle yourself in daily life that measures your success. When you notice that you can con­front adverse situations with a bal­anced mind, when you develop a resilience in your personality that allows your mind to come back to normal faster whenever it is jarred, then you know you are advancing on the path of sadhana.

BUT IF YOU tended to hold a grudge for a long time as a child, and you continue to do so as an adult, then your spiritual move­ment is dull. If, on the other hand, you do not hold grudges against people, but instead develop increas­ing faith in God and become more alert towards what your goal is, then your spiritual movement be­comes keen.

The world should not distract you from your goal, but rather should help you reach it. But to see the world as helpful, rather than as a hindrance, you must change your angle of vision. If you do not have that changed angle of vision, then the world goes on creating raga and dwesha — attachment and hatred. When things are congenial you think, “How wonderful! May these circumstances last forever.” During such times, your mind is filled with impressions of attachment, a state that is called raga. And when nega­tive situations arise in life, the mind builds up hatred and dislike. You brood over what caused the unpleas­antness or who deprived you of your happiness. Then your mind turns to revenge: “How can I get back at that person who made me unhappy?” In both ways — through raga and dwesha — you are missing the point.

If you develop raga you are like a traveler who, on the way back to his distant homeland, passes through a beautiful land of lush gardens and green fields — one inhabited by friendly, hospitable people. He is so entranced by the scenery and the warmth of the people that he de­cides not to return to his own coun­try. When you feel this form of at­tachment to objects in your own life, then you are delaying your process of returning “home” and getting en­tangled in the world of illusion.

And then imagine the situation in reverse. Suppose, as a traveler, instead of discovering good-natured people, you discover rude, gross- minded ones. As a result, you build up feelings of hatred for them, and spend all your time and energy chas­ing them around to get revenge — forgetting about reaching your des­tination. This also is a deviation from your goal.

You see then that attachment and hatred are both deviations. One’s mind must be sensitive to its spiritual need and not chase the mirage of likes and dislikes. When you reflect deeply you realize that pleasant conditions in life do not come about as a result of your ego; they have come to you through the law of karma, which is presided over by the Divine Will, according to the Divine Plan.

SO, IT IS NOT for you to secure objects. Even if you dedicated your whole life to securing pleasant situations you could not do so, be­cause it is God alone who secures them. Turn to God, therefore, in­stead of objects. When happiness comes, let that happiness help you to turn to God. When unpleasant situations develop, they, too, should allow your mind to turn to God by making you realize that it is not the people around you who have caused your discomfort, but you, through the karmic process, who have drawn those situations to yourself. God in His infinite mercy and kindness has created those seemingly negative situations in your life for a purpose.

You should, therefore, not de­velop a sense of contradiction to­wards the world. Do not be misled by the notion that the world has to be a better place so that you can enjoy yourself more. Rather, understand that no matter which way the world is, it has been designed in the best possible way for your spiritual evolution.

Once your target is Self-reali­zation you welcome every situ­ation —intellectually, that is. Ex­ternally, your personality will naturally react to different situa­tions. If you encounter pleasant situations you will feel joyous. If, for example, you are given a vel­vety-soft bed under a beautiful shade tree, with a wonderful, sparkling stream nearby, of course you are going to feel happy. But suppose that a storm suddenly comes up and you are driven away, with sand beating down upon your face. Naturally you will cry, jump and maybe even curse a little!

In life, then, both pleasant and painful situations will come to you, and you will react to them. If you did not do so, you would be a stone. However, while reacting to them you must be deeply aware that in both situations you are being led to Self-realization. Your goal is not to build attachment or hatred, but to realize your essen­tial nature as the Self, beyond all the apparent duality and multiplic­ity of the world.

To understand this better, imag­ine that you are making a pilgrimage in the Himalayas and, although you are yet far away, you can look into the distance and see the radiant mountain top that is your ultimate destination. As you travel along the pilgrimage route, you may encoun­ter many ups and downs. Some situ­ations along the journey may be dangerous and unpleasant; some may be delightful. Yet, seeing that radiant mountain top always in your view keeps you moving right along despite everything. Similarly, on the pilgrimage of this life, you must keep the lofty goal of Self-realization always in view, and that vision will make you successful.

The most important manifesta­tion of success in sadhana is your ability to transcend the world. This practice of transcending the world should continue day-by-day. Look into your mind each evening and ask yourself, “Am I breaking the fetters that enchain my personality? Am I lessening my dependence on ob­jects? Am I able to rest peacefully, with a mind free of all problems of the world and enjoy inner content­ment? Am I simplifying myself?” In positive answers to these questions lies your success.

Naturally, if you pursue this process you will develop the quali­ties that the Gita talks of: fearless­ness, cheerfulness, a sense of inner expansion, increasing faith in God, and a profound faith in your future. You will become supremely optimis­tic — but not sentimentally so. The spiritual process is one of supreme optimism, meaning that nothing can go wrong, that you will be victo­rious, that the Spirit must triumph, and that you are that Spirit.

The secret to spiritual success is harmonized movement. Spiritual sadhana should not be sporadic. You should not start practicing meditation for a great many hours, then abandon it and fi­nally resume your practice a few months later. Instead, you must convert your daily life into a flow­ing stream of sadhana, with the disciplines you practice blended in a harmonious way every day. Plan your day to include a little meditation and prayer, some Yoga exercises, or any other kind of exercises, and study of scrip­tures in satsanga. Attend to the various things that your person­ality needs in a balanced way, and move on in this manner day-by-day, even though circum­stances may jar you a little from time to time.

Adaptability is crucial for an aspirant’s success in sadhana. A sincere aspirant must be flexible and tenacious; he must bear in­sult and injury peacefully and persevere in trying circum­stances. If you are fostering these qualities, then you have imbibed the spirit of sadhana.

With the goal of Self-realiza­tion before you, your life flows on in spite of variations and adversity. An inward sense of adventure and achievement grows more and more. You do not have to wait until Self- realization comes to know that you have attained it; rather, day-by-day you discover more of the strength, peace, and inner joy that was wait­ing — within you — to be revealed. That is what we mean by success in sadhana — and the ultimate, su­preme success lies in the attain­ment of Liberation.

“International Yoga Guide” Vol. 34, NO. 7, March 1997

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