Sadhana

[R Gitananda]

namaste

Daily before taking anything but water I chant my favorite chapter of the Sanskrit Bhagavad Gita.

Several years ago I was browsing a bookstore and came across a little book which charmed me so much
that I decided that I just had to devote myself to the practice described in each chapter. It was Lord Shiva's
glorification of the Bhagavad Gita - The Gita Mahatmya of Padma Purana by Krishna-Dvaipayana-Vyasa.
The book I read was in English, translated from the Hindi by Sandhya dasi. It consists of eighteen
chapters, each one declaring the glory of the corresponding adhyayah of the Bhagavad Gita.

Each chapter tells the story of someone who has transcended the material world by devoting
himself to the daily sadhana of chanting from the corresponding chapter of Bhagavad Gita.

Lord Visnu said, "I Myself have manifested in the Form of Bhagavad Gita.
Please understand that the first five chapters are My five heads, the next
ten chapters are My ten arms, and the Sixteenth Chapter is My stomach.
The last two chapters are My lotus-feet. In this way you should
understand the transcendental Deity of the Bhagavad Gita."

Hari Aum

[squidgirl]

Namaste,

I think your reply is quite good! I will have to see if I can find this english version of the book. Thank you!

SHayna

[shian]

in the morning after wake up, i take bath
and before breakfast,
i will doing offerings puja to Devatas
and chant Lord Ganesh and Bhagavati Sarasvati Devi
and another chants

in the dusk, after bath
i do offerings to Devatas and ghosts and any lower spirits
and chant Lord Shiva
and another chants

[Necromancer]

Namaste.

I am not very regular with my Sadhana anymore.

I mean, the birds can have waking up at 4am and if I did, I would need a strong coffee infusion (I get up at 8-9am)

Most of my Sadhana now, just consists of the simple act of mindfulness, or trying to be 'Shiva-aware' whenever I can be.

I'll sit for an hour a day (at no specific time) and chant Mahamrityunjaya Mantra or just meditate on Shiva.

I'll sit for another half an hour a day and do candle Trataka and Nadi Sodhana (usually before bedtime to relax me into Yoganidra).

I listen to about an hour of Bhajan/Kirtan every day, singing along while I work...

I don't do much puja anymore, but I will often pass by my tiny shrine and just spend 10 minutes lighting a stick of incense or a diya and mentally acknowledging my connection with God.

A few times a month, I do charity work and I try to help others as much as I can during my daily life.

These are just 'little things', but they are often the best things.

I am done with all of the hard tapas. I am 'relaxing into God'...although now, I am finding it difficult to outlet my feelings, so I need to do more sadhana...so the devotion 'feeds itself'.

Aum Namah Shivaya

[surrenderindailylife]

Namaste C.Smith

Hari Om!

Up at brahmamuhurta - 4am daily. A most spiritual time. Earlier if work interferes. Start with some light yog asanas followed by pranayama and then jap, both with mala and written prayers, meditation and puja. Then to religious study of scripture and other uplifting works. This always seems to fill up the 2 hour period here if not more.

Continue to read throughout the day as am able.

Evening routine consists of aarti and yog nidra, perhaps this will take about an hour. Evening prayers are last before bed at around 10PM.

This routine is adjusted timewise with my work schedule that varies which means that it sometimes starts at 2AM, sometimes at the proper time, etc.

I find balancing timetable driven sadhana (for e.g. 'starting at 4 AM') difficult to practice as my work / family life tends to be unpredictable at times. I am very much interested in instilling discipline in my sadhana. Can you please share some insights as to how you have been able to balance your life demands (for example : work/ family responsibilities force one to sleep late, thus you one cannot wake up early) and innate urge to have a discipline in your sadhana.

Aum Namah Shivay

[c.smith]

Hari Om!

Quite simply by grace of Guruji! This may seem overly simplistic but is so very true.

Before taking diksha however it was a different story in some regards. Had never been a "morning person" so to speak. Balancing life was and still can be difficult at times as my work schedule varies widely. My resolve was to make it up at 4AM if only for a short period before returning to bed. One must be realistic. What is important is the effort and devotion to myself and to god. Slowly the time may increase for you though it may not. I do not know your particular circumstances. But if I could offer one thing, it would be simply to get up for a least a moment, offer a prayer in your sacred space, and go from there, even if it means returning to other activities, sleep or what have you. 4AM in my opinion in that worthwhile and will benefit you spiritually that immensely.

Om

[Aanandinii]

Namaskar,

This is a great thread, good advice here, thank you all. I agree with Jodha that it can be helpful for newcomers to to read the early-on practice of other newcomers. Here's my small offering:

My own practice started off small and grows and evolves as I learn. At least once a day, after washing and before eating, always in the morning and when possible in the evening.

I started with simple offerings, aarti, panshakshara, and a few minutes of meditation. I've added Mahamrityunjay mantra 108x in morning, (right now it's before dawn, but that's due to daylight savings time here), mantras to Lord Ganapati or Lord Shiva throughout the day, especially in situations where I need calm, strength and patience, water fasting on Mondays, with the exception of Prasad, Abhishekam and Bhajan in my Monday puja, both morning and evening. I have also been slowly adding to my 'puja kit', for lack of a better phrase, reading scripture translation and general knowledge writings on my commute, mostly listening to devotional music, bhajans, duns, and mantras in an attempt to learn them, (kind of like others have posted earlier, it also keeps my mind on God as I work and travel), and am attempting to learn Hindi and to a lesser degree (for now) sanskrit.

I would like to broaden my meditation, but this is a challenge as I have no real space dedicated to it. At the moment my prayer space is in the living room. But I am working on this, as we have a small unused room, so I am in the process of turning it into a prayer and meditation room. I don't think it's ever been cleaned since we moved in, so I've been scrubbing it clean and singing along to bhajans and mantras. Later this morning I'm going to try and clumsily execute a Puja to Vighnaharta to bless my endeavor, before starting to set things up,

Honsetly, I probably should have done it sooner. I think he had quite a few good laughs from me today. Peeling glue off of your fingers for hours isn't as much fun as it was when we were kids.

What is most important for me in all this growth is to keep learning and reading, and to trust my instincts. Every Puja I ask for guidance and I have to trust it will come. It almost always does. Start small with what feels right and only add more as you learn what to do through observation, and learning, and as you're ready to take it onboard. As others have said, it's what's in your heart that matters. And to that last, I always thought the point of practice was to get better at meditation self discipline, self control and internal peace. But it does something else I didn't even consider, at least it has for me. It has also deepened and cemented my bhakti, and made me more secure in it and thus myself. If all the other reasons aren't good enough...

Pranam-s

edit to add: I've added learning written Sanskrit to my morning and afternoon sadhana. I was learning vocabulary previously, and more Hindi and Sanskrit. But I want to learn to read on my own, and there's no time like the present.

[Adityahridayam]

Sādhana means spiritual practice, where one has to use his or her antaḥkaraṇa (inner faculty), comprising of mind, intellect, consciousness and ego (according to Trika philosophy consciousness in not included, as it is only the Consciousness that is sought in realization). Sādhana has different meanings such as bringing about, carrying out, accomplishment, fulfilment, completion, perfection, establishment of a truth, proof, argument, demonstration, etc. Therefore sādhana is the means to realize the Self within by working through antaḥkaraṇa and not through rituals. External rituals are not called sādhana. They are known as pūjā, a method of adoration using extraneous materials such as flowers, etc.

Sādhana is a process, by which mind is cleansed. The fundamental principles of sādhana are two; faith in one’s Guru and faith in the Self. Perfection in sādhana depends on various factors such as food, way of life, company we keep and above all our Guru. Vivekacūḍāmaṇī says, “A human birth, the longing for liberation and the company of illuminated teachers (Guru) is extremely difficult to get except through Divine Grace.” Chāndogya Upaniṣad (VII.xxvi.2) says, “If one eats pure food, one’s mind becomes pure. If the mind is pure, his thoughts and memory become pure and this man is freed from bondages.”

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