CHAPTER NINE
Post-Trip Sadhanas
Introductory Quote from Gurudeva§
Sincere devotees who prepare first and then travel here on pilgrimage are very special to us. It is important that potential pilgrims write or call us and ask for sādhanas to prepare themselves before they depart. While at Kauai Aadheenam, they receive instructions on what to do while under Iraivan’s moksha vibrations, and what sādhanas to perform after returning home to solidify personal achievements and strengthen the home shrine for the coming year. All this and more has to be imparted in a very short time to seekers who visit us.”§
Create/Update Your Family Plan
Practice§
With the insights and inspiration gained during your pilgrimage freshly in mind, it is an excellent time to update—or if you don’t have one create—your family plan. If convenient, you could do so on the flight home. Otherwise, within the first week of returning home is good before the insights and inspiration wane.§
Quote from Gurudeva§
“Śiva’s devotees approach each enterprise with deliberate thoughtfulness, and act only after careful consideration. They succeed in every undertaking by having a clear purpose, a wise plan, persistence and push.”§
Supplementary Reading Personal and Family Planning§
The benefits of planning are not limited to the business or financial side of life. Personal life can also benefit, for a plan keeps us focused and motivated toward specific goals in life’s various departments. Though the connection may not be immediately apparent, having an up-to-date personal plan is quite helpful for our spiritual advancement, as it helps us maintain a balanced approach to living.§
To help you create a business plan, there are scores of resources available. You can find web listings of specialized software for business plans. Search engines give you hundreds to choose from. But if you google “Personal Plan Software” or “Family Plan Software,” how many do you find? Zero. A search for books to buy on the subject? Again: countless titles on business planning but none on personal planning.§
It is clear we have to create our own approach in this area. We can, however, draw a few important points from business plan resources. They all start by listing the objectives, then outlining the strategy to accomplish them, including financial considerations.§
A business develops goals for its various departments, such as production, sales, marketing and finance. For our personal plan, it is useful to divide life into its major departments. My guru designated a five-fold division that encompasses all aspects of life—spiritual, social, cultural, economic and educational—to which we have added a sixth: physiological.§
Our first step is to list our goals or objectives in each of the six areas. Ask six questions and write down the answers to each. What are the family’s (or individual’s): 1) spiritual goals? 2) social goals? 3) cultural goals? 4) economic goals? 5) educational goals? 6) physical and health goals?§
As you begin this process, the question will sooner or later arise of how many years ahead to plan: one, two, three, six, ten? Gurudeva recommended a six-year time frame as ideal, then each year adding one more year to the plan to keep it always six years into the future. However, if six years seems a bit daunting at first, a good minimum period to start with is three years. Here are some sample goals in each area. §
Additional Resources§
Bodhinatha’s Publisher’s Desk: “Planning: the Key to Success”§
Add a Sadhana to Your Daily Routine
Sadhana Practice§
From among the many sadhanas performed on the pilgrimage, add one or more that had special significance to you to your daily sadhana routine. In this way you are keeping a part of the pilgrimage as a permanent addition to your spiritual life. §