Dear Harsha,
I have come across the Sanskrit term “Sadhana” in many articles on Eastern spirituality. What is the true meaning of “Sadhana” and what is the goal?
A Seeker
View original post 644 more words
View original post 644 more words
consider the diamond:
the tender darkness of a fleshy soul
deep within the heart of the earth,
secure & content in the silence
of its own endless night Continue reading
I live in California, in the US, which is an interesting experience from a spiritual point of view. On the one hand, California is far and away the most progressive region of the United States; early to adopt vegetarian diets, green consciousness, and spiritual curiosity beyond the offerings of organized Western religions. On the other hand, because it was in many ways the pioneer of consciousness in America, there are time when it seems that people have become convinced that they have all the answers, spiritually, whether they’re coming from the New Age perspective, gnostic Christianity, Buddhism, different Vedic traditions, Native American, or the Wiccan path. Continue reading
Giving Love To Get Love, Oh Dear!
In my early years, in life and in spiritual searching, my primary motivation in life was to be loved; there seemed to be such a lack of love, cumulatively, in my own experience, everywhere I turned. (Extreme heartbreak, depression, loss, family trauma and other factors had all contributed to this perception.) Continue reading
As you continue your daily sadhana, something new will begin to emerge, which Yogi Bhajan
calls ardhana, where the experience of sadhana seemed to take on a more etheric dimension,
and you begin to experience a sublimation of the minds outward flow of attention to the
changing polarities of the mind, as though there are periodic jumps in the overall atmospheric
pressure of the energy consciousness in and through the neutral body (4th chakra), physical
body (5th chakra), arc line (6th chakra) , auric body (pineal gland – crown chakra), pranic
body, subtle body, radiant body (energy pulses down through the tenth gate and up through
the crown expanding a golden hue radiance over 9 feet from the body).
The idea of raising Kundalini from the base of the spine to the crown, begins to become an
afterthought, as the overall satvic pressure seemed to open every system, from the Kandal to
the ida and pingala and sushumna, to the gold cord and centers in the brain, to the One Star in
the heart and right major vagus nerve to the Crown – as through there was a continuing influx
or infilling of what one might call a feeling of inward pulling (like gravity) and
expansive/pervasive light from inside and outside, even dissolving the notion of
inside/outside. Subject without a seer. Action without a doer.
All this to say that you shouldn’t feel surprised in your daily practice of Sadhana to begin to
notice similarly a sense of the pure indwelling light of your own infinite being, quietly shining
through the thoughts and images in your mind, as the sense of “I” disengages from attention.
These words will become meaningful: As you begin to find yourself abiding as single
unconditioned pure living light, “the screen upon which moves the kaleidoscopic picture
composed of mobile and immobile objects of the Universe” (from The Cream
of Emancipation verse 144) – the experience of “pradhupati” or crystallization that Yogi
Bhajan talks about – that over time prevails through the waking state (opaque), then the dream
state, as dream sleep becomes less (semi-precious gem), then the unconscious state, as you
awaken to the ever present awake awareness of the Self of Its Creation (gem state), and then
beyond, the Turya state – the purely crystallized consciousness, like a flawless diamond.
Sadhana and daily practice comprises
Tappa and Jappa together producing laya, i.e., expansive radiance that absorbs
identity to thought and impressions
Producing a decoding of the habits and impressions stored and bound throughout the
body field and
Substituting the re-imprinting of sacred sound of the mantra that links the body and
mind to the unexcelled experience of simran/ Naad/ anahat (unstruck sound)
- and
Producing pratyahar – a singular stillness of “simran” from and within
which thoughts and impressions are seen to rise and fall without the least trace or
effort to grasp them or hold them within the mind’s power of attention
- and
Purification of the Buddhi, or the individualised version of the universal Mahat, is necessary for spiritual progress. The Buddhi is an aspect of the Vijnanamayakosha or Awareness Sheath, it is the Inner Mind or Antahkarana. When it is turned inwards it pierces through Maya and leads to Moksha or Liberation. When it is turned outward it only succeeds in enhancing the power of the Lower Mind or Manamayakosha. This part of the mind is turned out to desires and satisfaction of the senses. A Buddhi turned outwards is a distortion of its function. For man can manipulate his mind to enjoy the senses, out of season, so to speak. Unlike the animal,which only operates instinctively within its Dharma.