Vannakkam: Sadhana is generally thought of as a daily religious practice, done alone, between you and God. It's usually done in a home shrine, or specified spot, and done regularly, ideally 365 days a year, but we make exceptions for traveling, illness, or other special circumstances. Often it is 'made up' though in such circumstances, by committing double the time the next day. etc.
For many, this is the core of their essential practice. It takes it a step beyond reading books, or going to temple on occasion. It can involve pujas, japa, scriptural reading, meditation, and more, but always a focus on personalised religion.
It varies in length, from 10 minutes or so, to maybe 2 or 3 hours, and is often done early in the morning, but not always.
I think sometimes newcomers to the faith don't realise that most older Hindus have sadhana well set as a daily practice, although with varying circumstances in life, the nature of the sadhana may vary over time.
For newcomers, it might be useful for some of us old-timers to briefly describe our daily sadhanas, so there might be a range of ideas for practise put forth.
Currently, my daily sadhana consists of about 45 minutes ... a simple puja, some scriptural reading from my lineage's teaching, 4 or 5 rounds of japa with my mantra, then a brief meditation. I probably do it about 19 days of 20 or so, and is by no means my only practice.
Aum Namasivaya
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