Spiritual Message for the Day – Spiritual Sadhana by Sri Swami Chidananda

Baba Times Digest© | 16 December 2014 18.44 EST | New York Edition

Spiritual Sadhana

Divine Life Society Publication: Sadhana and The Divine Life Society by Sri Swami  Chidananda

Radiant Immortal Atman! Beloved and blessed children of the Divine, Jijnasus and mumukshus! A jijnasu is one who is in quest of knowledge, jnana. A mumukshu is one who is desirous of liberation or moksha. It is with a quest, a desire for knowledge, a seeking for knowledge—knowledge of the purpose of life, how to live it effectively, what is dharma, what is adhyatma (spirituality)—that you have come here. Through sravana (listening), through satsanga, you wish to imbibe knowledge that may help you to live your life in a more effective manner. Therefore you are a Jijnasu.

You want this knowledge because you have been told and you have believed that such knowledge may help you to attain liberation from pain, sorrow, suffering, fear, anxiety—all the unpleasant, negative experiences a person is subjected to in this earth plane. During this life span, one is subjected to sorrow as well as joy, pain as well as pleasure, misery as well as happiness. And whereas the latter is desirable—joy, pleasure, happiness—everyone wants it, strives for it, no one wants the former, namely sorrow, pain, misery. So the human quest is for liberation from these undesirable, painful experiences, which make one suffer. Simultaneously, the human quest is also for the attainment of all the positive, pleasurable experiences, sukha, ananda, santi, tripti, santosha, comfort, convenience, joy, happiness, pleasure. And due to the belief that knowledge gained here may help you in fulfilling this central quest—liberation from all that is painful and undesirable you have come here for instruction, guidance, inspiration, study and reflection that will be helpful to you. Therefore, you are mumukshus. You are sadhakas actively engaged in spiritual sadhana and you want to know how to improve your sadhana, better your concentration, overcome vikshepa (tossing) of the mind.

Sadhana is directing all your activities towards the ultimate experience of the great Reality, sad-darshana. The ultimate objective of sadhana is sad-darshana for which we always pray asato ma sad gamaya. We know that here we have to live amidst passing unrealities, and that passing unrealities are the only thing that we know. Since birth we have lived only amidst passing unrealities, this changing phenomenal appearance. That is our only knowledge, our only experience. But we have been told that there is something higher than this, something that does not pass, which is nitya, permanent. Because it is nitya, it is satya. Therefore, we want darsan of the sat. The ancient prayer, therefore, is: Lead us from unrealities to the great Eternal Reality, the Cosmic Reality.

It is very difficult to believe that what we perceive, what we live right in the middle of, what we experience day after day is not the reality; whereas, that which you have never perceived, about which you have no knowledge, that which you have never experienced is the reality.

Therefore, faith, sraddha, is required in the apta vakya (words of a trustworthy person), in the sruti vakya (words of the Vedas), in the guru vakya (words of the Guru). The srutis proclaim that which is beneficial to you, conducive to your highest welfare. They proclaim it without any motivation, without any purpose except to benefit you. Therefore, believe in the apta vakya, believe in the sruti vakya, believe in the guru vakya. If you wish to listen to the exposition of Vedantic truths, one of the virtues you must equip yourself with is sraddha, faith, belief.

Go through the Essence of Yoga devoutly. With faith and devotion, sincerely make an attempt to earnestly study the wisdom teachings of Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji. Sadhana was the keynote and central theme of all of worshipful Gurudev’s teachings and writings. Sadhana was the thing that he wanted you to actively live in your daily life; he wanted you to give it a central place.

Ponder well and see whether you have acquired all the qualifications of a sadhaka, whether day by day you are improving these qualifications and becoming a true mumukshu, a true jijnasu, becoming one established in yama and niyama, one established in viveka, in vairagya, in the shat-sampada, in mumukshutva, becoming one well established in all these important aspects of the preparatory sadhanas. Constantly keep analysing your life. Be so much absorbed in it that you have no time for miscellaneous thinking and activities. This is because you are earnest, you are sincere, you are focused upon your most important vocation, your spiritual sadhana.

It is such an attitude of earnestness, sincerity, seriousness, that pay dividends. Ultimately it will take you to supreme blessedness, crown your life with the glorious attainment of peace, bliss, fearlessness and freedom. That is the purpose, that is the objective of sadhana. Therefore, be a sincere, practical sadhaka. Improve day by day. Move towards perfection.

May Gurudev’s choicest blessing be with you in this great adventure! May the divine grace of God grant you steady, unhampered progress and grant you fulfilment, all success, in your sadhana!

Excerpts from: Spiritual Sadhana  - Sadhana and The Divine Life Society by Sri Swami  Chidananda

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