Guest guest Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 Dear Brothers and Sisters, Loving SAI RAMs. We have been trying to understand as to what is meant by Sadhana as specifically requested by a member and in the context of Swamy`s statement about the six steps in Sadhana. Explanations on 5 of the terms viz., sama, dama, uparati, titiksha and sraddha specified by Swamy were attempted in the previous two postings. We may now try to understand as to what is meant by samadhana. Samadhana means tranquility. Bhagavan Sankaracharya defines Samadhana as that condition when the mind is constantly engaged in the total contemplation of the Supreme Reality (Sarvada sthapanam buddheh suddhe Brahmani sarvatha tat samadhanam iti uktam). It is not gained by any amount of intellectual oscillations (Na tu chittasya lalanam). It is a state of poise and tranquility that the mind gains when it is trained sufficiently to revel continously in the concept of a perfect ideal which is both universal and omnipotent. Samadhana is not a state of the mind ,where on account of cowardice, the individul sits quietly, not daring to face life and its challenges, but, at the same time,goes on lamenting secretly against the scheme of destiny that he has to face in life. Accepting silently the tossings of the mind, in consummate cowardice, is not samadhana. Samadhana is the state of mental equilibrium which comes to one when intellectually one has unshakeable foundations and mentally when one soars to highest pinnacles of great visions. When a spiritual seeker raises himself into greater ambits of spiritual vision, his mind can no longer entertain any agitations at the ordinary levels of likes and dislikes. Such a poise gained as a result of constant contemplation on the Supreme and the Divine is termed as samadhana. Samadhana calls for total absorption of the mind and intellect in the Supreme. To cite a parallel, in the Mahabharata, the mighty warrior Arjuna, while demonstarting his skill in archery in the prescence of Acharya Drona beholds only the neck of the dummy bird placed on a tree. and did not see the other parts of the bird nor the leaves and braches of the tree on which it was placed. Even so, when one`s mind and intellect constantly perceive the Supreme alone as their sole objective, that is Samadhana. By Samadhana we also mean single-pointedess of the mind by attaining which the mind is absorbed in a chosen flow of thoughts related to and leading upto a given object. Vedanta cals this as Sajatiya Vrittipravaha---- continuous thoughts of the same species. A true seeker is expected to keep his mind totally absorbed in study, reflection and contemplation of the teachings of the scriptures. For purification of the mind and senses, the Bhagavad Gita advocates concentrating the mind and controlling the functions of the mind and senses (Ekakgram manah kritva yata chitta indriyakriyah) and practising meditation. A seeker (sadhak) is expected to practise samadhana not only for the eradication of evil propensities and imperfections like attraction, repulsion, distractions etc., but also with the sole object of attaining the spiritual goal. With the above explanations, we come to the end of the six qualifications known by the name Shadka Sampattih( six wealths). It is now time to pick up once again the thread from where we left about the path for self-realization (Atma anubhooti ot Atma Sakshatkar). G.Balasubramanian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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