CHAPTER ONE
The Concept of Sadhana
Introductory Quote from Gurudeva§
What makes the San Marga Iraivan Temple, the moksha sphatika Sivalinga, our small and large shrines and publication facilities so special is that they are part of a monastery or aadheenam: the home of a spiritual master, a satguru, and his tirelessly devoted sādhakas, yogīs, swāmīs and āchāryas. Moreover, the Aadheenam is a theological seminary for training monks from all over the world to take holy orders of sannyāsa and join the great team of our Śaiva Siddhānta Yoga Order.§
Sadhana Practice§
Sadhana refers to the regular performance of religious or spiritual disciplines, such as puja, yoga, meditation, japa, fasting and austerity. The effect of consistent sadhana is the building of willpower, faith and confidence in oneself and in God, Gods and guru. Sadhana harnesses and transmutes the instinctive-intellectual nature, allowing progressive spiritual unfoldment into the superconscious realizations and innate abilities of the soul. Sadhana produces personal change through self-effort. Ideally sadhana is performed daily, as in this way it builds a greater inner intensity. §
Sadhana is a core concept in our guru lineage. Gurudeva’s guru, Śiva Yogaswami, coined the phrase sadhana marga to describe the way he urged serious aspirants to follow—a path of intense effort, spiritual discipline and consistent inner transformation, as opposed to theoretical and intellectual learning. §
Quote from Gurudeva §
The Nandinatha Sampradaya is a mystical lineage that places great stress on direct and personal experience of God, on seeing God everywhere and in everyone, on knowing God within oneself. This is achieved through nonintellectual spiritual disciplines called sadhana—a term which in its fullest sense embodies kundalini yoga, profound esoteric practices, intense introspective meditation, and worship—through purificatory effort, mind-transforming austerities, egoless service and, most importantly, through the bountiful grace of the living satguru. Following such a path, called sadhana marga, Nathas have come to know God, in ancient days and modern. §
Sadhana is performing the same discipline over and over and over again. Just as we methodically exercise the physical body to build up its muscles, we perform spiritual disciplines over and over again to strengthen our spiritual, inner bodies. §
Supplementary Reading§
Dancing with Śiva, Śloka 4: How Can We Learn to Dance with Śiva?§
Śloka: Dance is movement, and the most exquisite dance is the most disciplined dance. Hindu spiritual disciplines lead to oneness with God through self-reflection, surrender, personal transformation and the many yogas. Aum.§
Bhāshya: To progress on the path, we study the Vedas, other scriptures and our guru’s teachings and make every effort to apply these philosophical truths to daily experience. We strive to understand the mind in its fourfold nature: chitta, consciousness; manas, instinctive mind; buddhi, intellectual mind; and ahamkara, ego or I-maker. We perform japa, meditation and yoga each day. Such spiritual discipline is known as sadhana. It is the mystical, mental, physical and devotional exercise that enables us to dance with Śiva by bringing inner advancement, changes in perception and improvements in character. Sadhana allows us to live in the refined and cultured soul nature, rather than in the outer, instinctive or intellectual spheres. For consistent progress, sadhana should be performed regularly, without fail, at the same time each day, preferably in the early hours before dawn. The most important sadhanas are the challenges and practices given by one’s guru. The Vedas caution, “The Self cannot be attained by the weak, nor by the careless, nor through aimless disciplines. But if one who knows strives by right means, his soul enters the abode of God.” Aum Namah Sivaya.§
Additional Resources§
Living with Śiva, Chapter 13: Discipline for Self-Transformation§