Sadhana and Guru

[Guest guest]

The world of sadhanas is very complex. The harder you try to solve the puzzle,

the deeper you sink in the mystery. Try finding answer to one question and a

thousand more will arise instantly; and yes, the original question remains

unanswered. Try further and the web will multiply exponentially.

 

No wonder spirituality has become a billion dollar business. Those who ride your

miseries and play with your problems while calling themselves your 'Guru' are

becoming richer every moment and enjoying your hard earned money at the fullest.

The advent of the world wide web has worsened the situation like never before.

Self-styled Gurus pop-up every now and then with their trendy websites featuring

eye-jacking stories of miracle. They would, probably, beat the best salesman of

this world in luring you with their 'divine' solutions for your problems. Then,

there are people like me who, being a victim of their own 'out-of-control' urge

for fame, read some books, visit some websites, steal some stuff here and there;

and start spreading their 'knowledge' to 'help' you out. The end result -

DISASTER.

 

 

 

Now, we'll try to understand sadhana. In the beginning, we would get rid of some

wide spread mis-conceptions about sadhana.

 

1. Sadhana is not magic or a magic wand: If you expect to get the unexpected

through sadhana, if you are willing to witness something very miraculous, if you

are looking for quick-fix solutions to your problems; sadhana is not for you.

Let's understand it better. Suppose, you are looking for a job, you have the

required qualification, experience, skills etc. and you wish to increase your

chances of getting the job with sadhana; then yes, within a few months, you'll

be able to strengthen your luck. Yes, you read it right. Months, not weeks, not

days, not anything less. On the other hand, if you are thinking that a little

sadhana will make sure that you get whatever job you wanted, no matter whether

you are qualified for it or not; you are making a fool of yourself. This just

won't happen. If you read somewhere that " In 11 days or so (chanting around an

hour a day), you'll succeed in 'this' sadhana and will have everything at your

disposal " ; trust me, it was not meant for a newbie.

 

2. Sadhanas are not driven by emotions: One of the common (often wrong) phrases,

you can find on the web about sadhanas, is " Have true love for the deity, open

up your heart and you'll succeed in no time. " Well, let me ask, how can we 'open

up' our hearts? Isn't that the job of a surgeon? Even in emotional terms, it is

not something easy to do. Most emotions are controlled by 'Anahat Chakra',

located right behind your heart and fourth of the seven chankras of the

Kundalini. Awakening the first chakra is a tough task even for a seasoned

Sadhak, requiring months of rigorous sadhana; let alone the idea of awakening

the fourth chakra by a newbie. Furthermore, 'true love for a deity' is a very,

very high thing; something easier said than done. Please, don't compare it with

the love you may have for your girlfriend/boyfriend. Emotions do play a vital

role in sadhanas; but, they are not everything.

 

3. Sadhana won't make you rich overnight: Many believe that through sadhana, one

can become the richest person alive in just about no time. Yes, there are

sadhanas that can make you rich beyond reason; but, to reach that level of

success, you'll have to perform sadhana seriously for months, if not years. Even

if you have the blessings of the most powerful Guru, nothing would change

overnight and nothing would happen without work. In this money madness, you may

end up loosing the little you have to a pseudo guru.

 

4. Sadhana is not a mechanical process: Nowadays, a sort of mad rush for mantras

is going on. Message boards and mailboxes of a few (including me) are being

stuffed with mails saying " I have this problem. Give me a mantra for it. " , " I

want to chant this mantra. Please, elaborate on the procedure. " , " How can I

perform this sadhana. Please, explain with as much details as possible. " , " I am

starter and I am in a hurry. Give me a mantra to succeed everywhere. But, keep

in mind that I can not chant for more than 5-10 minutes. " and this can go on

forever. People think that they'll grab a mantra somewhere, chant it for a while

and 'Voila' - they'll be in Lady Luck's arms. Slow down, folks; I am sorry to

wake you up; but, these things don't work this way.

 

Moreover, the sounds and rhythms contain the strength of a mantra, not the words

and characters. The web, books, scriptures etc. can't give you those sounds and

rhythms; only and only an able Guru can.

 

5. Not every sadhana is suitable for you: And only an able Guru can tell you

what's good for you and what's not. Therefore, unless you are performing sadhana

with a mantra given to you by your Guru, you are dwelling in the fools'

paradise, playing with a ticking timebomb.

 

6. Sadhana is a science. Neither bhakti nor superstition: There are those who

haven't yet dared to perform a sadhana; they ask whether a sadhana really works

and can it be proven through the laws of science; though, they never perform one

themselves and never consider the fact that the laws of an inferior science,

i.e. physics or mathematics etc., can't be used to prove the much superior

science of sadhanas. And, there are those who are lucky enough to be able to

perform a sadhana; yet aren't sure about the level of their success because all

of their efforts were directed towards begging God for mercy, money, job, food

etc. without realizing their actual potential.

 

Understanding Sadhana

 

Still with me? Okay, here we go. The word 'Sadhana' means 'training'. In this

context, it means training the mind. Our mind is a super power generator. It has

everything required to create, control and destroy the entire universe. But,

unfortunately, even Albert Einstein never used more than 5% of his mind's total

potential. Then, most of the little part of our potential, that we can access,

is lost in useless thoughts; thoughts of greed, lust, fear, ego and so on.

Whatever remains, after dealing with all negativities from bad karma, can only

get us worries and miseries; certainly, not the divinity that we deserve. The

only difference between humans and gods is the available amount of mind's power.

 

There are many ways of increasing the available amount of mind's power. Mantra

Sadhana is one of them. The idea is to get rid of all futile thoughts and

converge all energies on a single point, a single will that you wish to

accomplish. Only this way, your sadhana can be successful. This is why many

believe that God is within us. How many of you remember, " Om Purnamadah

Purnamidam Purnat Purnamudachyate. Purnasya Purnamadaya Purnamevaavashishyate. " ?

 

The sole goal of a Sadhak (the one who performs sadhana) is to train the mind

and the body to access as much of the mind's power as possible; to lead the life

to completeness. In the end, sadhana is essentially a battle between (imperfect)

you and your (perfect) self. As a Sadhak, who is lucky enough to be a disciple

of the best Guru of all times, I feel, the roadmap to success in sadhana should

be:

 

i: Get rid of as much negativities as possible. Give up, if you haven't already,

all bad habits including, but not limited to, smoking, drinking alcohol, drugs

(This is for junkies, not for those who have a medical condition), eating

non-veg food, gambling, sexual relations with anyone other than your spouse and

being too much inclined towards sex.

 

ii: Give up laziness; be active. Rise early and go to bed early. Give up

impatience; be consistent. Eat healthy; stay fit. Only an active and healthy

body can have a powerful mind. Exercise regularly; it facilitates an even flow

of energy throughout the body and helps you perform a longer sadhanas by

breaking physical barriers. Every Sadhak must have some sort of physical

training routine to prevent sore bodyparts from being obstacles in sadhana. It

could be anything; weight training, yog, aerobics, running, swimming, dancing,

anything.

 

iii: Conserve your energies. Stop worrying; your worries would only make the

situation worse. Take charge of your thoughts. Stop emotional outbursts; limit

your anger, laughter, sorrow etc. Get rid of greed, lust, fear and ego. Make

self-evaluation and self-correction your daily routine.

 

iv: Our mind is like a huge pitcher which is full of water, but, has a lot of

holes with thoughts flowing in every direction. Sealing all holes but one is a

very, very difficult task. Chanting the Gayatri Mantra for an hour before or at

sunrise everyday would be a great help. The Gayatri Mantra may not show results

unless you chant it regularly for a few months.

 

v: Chant the Chetana Mantra for, at least, an hour every day. It increases your

energy levels by many folds and prepares you for success in all sadhanas.

 

vi: Chant the Guru Mantra, at least, 1100 times every morning. It creates an

active connection between you and your Guru; protects you from all sorts of

trouble; and leads you to success in every aspect of life. If you don't have a

Guru yet, it makes sure that you get to your Guru as soon as possible.

 

I know, for many of you, the above mentioned things are impractical and

impossible; but, they are not. If I can, why can't you? You certainly can and I

am sure, you will.

 

 

 

I believe, many of you have very well understood 'Sadhana'. If you are amongst

those, read on; you may soon be on your way to success in your own sadhana. If

you are not, you are wasting your time reading this.

 

Who is a Guru?

 

To explain this better, I searched the word 'Guru' at Dictionary.Com and found

the following meanings:

 

A teacher and guide in spiritual and philosophical matters.

A trusted counselor and adviser; a mentor.

A recognized leader in a field like the guru of high finance.

An expert.

In terms of Sadhana and Mantra, a Guru is the one who has reached the highest

level in a sadhana that you wish to learn; who knows everything about that

sadhana including the secrets of success and the causes of failure; who can

guide your towards the path leading to the highest level.

 

Why do I need a Guru? I can pick a mantra from a book or a website, chant it and

succeed on my own?

 

Oh, really? Then, why did you go to school? Why everyone goes to school from

their early childhood? Anyone can buy books and everyone buys books anyway? If

you are serious about Sadhanas, you need a Guru for the same reason you needed

to go to school. Moreover, there are many aspects of Sadhanas that only an able

Guru can teach you. There are plenty of Sadhanas, if not all, in which even a

slight mistake can result in your death.

 

How do I find a Guru?

 

You can't. A Sadhana is not a quick-fix solution to puny little problems of

daily life. If you are not looking for a Guru who would get everything for you

in no time while you'll sit back and enjoy a comfortable life for free, then an

able Guru would find you. Furthermore, meeting a Guru is a natural process and

you should never let anything; any person, any advertisement, any need, any

desire, any temptation; influence it. If you are worthy, you would, certainly,

be found by your Guru.

 

I feel, my Guru is selling mantras for his/her own food / worldly comforts.

 

Then, you should immediately leave such a Guru. The basis of Guru - Disciple

relationship is trust. Either you must trust your Guru or you must leave your

Guru - simple! Let me ask you something. Didn't you pay your teacher when you

were in school? Don't you pay your doctor for treating you? Doesn't your

employer / client pay you? If the answer to any of these questions is 'YES' then

why do you expect the Guru to be an exception? 'Guru Dakshina' (fee paid to the

Guru for his/her teachings) is an age old tradition. 'FREE' is not the criteria

that separates the real Gurus from the rest.

 

Have you ever thought, why is the Guru considered higher than the God? Not

because the Guru can get you to the God and not because you can get plenty of

'out of this world' powers through the Guru; but, because of the love you can

get from your Guru. Your parents love you; your brothers, sisters, friends,

husbands, wives and children love you; but none of them can second the Guru in

loving you. Whenever you are hurt, your Guru feels the pain more than you. Your

Guru can even give his/her life to save yours. And what you do in return? You

leave everything to your Guru and call it 'complete surrender' (which, surely,

is a bad idea). You say, I want this, I want that and I want everything right

now. Since what you want is different from what you really need, you may not

always get what you want. And when this happens, you straightly declare your

Guru a fraud which increases your bad karma and drastically decreases your

chances of success. Let me tell you a story. A few days ago, in

another group, a person posted something like this: " I request all members to

send their age, sex, location, name and anubhuti (divine experience) so that I

can develop faith " . " What a pity " , I thought. Here, on the web, we all are just

IDs, not even names. We don't know each other, we probably will never know each

other, in most cases, we can't see or hear each other, we can't touch each other

while our Guru is a live person standing in front of us whom we can see, touch

and hear. Yet, a person needs testimonies from unknown IDs to have faith in

his/her Guru.

 

Have faith in yourself. Learn to trust your Guru. Let your conscience be your

judge. Only then, you can be successful in any Sadhana. Only then, you can be

successful in your life. Only then, you can be complete and break out of the

Life-Death Cycle.

 

May Gurudev bless you with health and happiness.

 

Ashish...

 

 

 

 

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