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Difference Between Half & Full Sadhana

Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:46:42 To: am-global@earthlink.net Subject: Difference Between Half & Full Sadhana From: Jiivendra Baba PS Intro: This song describes the feeling of one higher stage of devotional realization. "Prabhu, toma'y kii kahibo a'ro..." P.S. 447 Purport: Baba, oh Prabhu, I love You so much. How can I express the deep love of my heart to You. Words alone fail to describe the feeling. With my vocal chords I cannot express the grace which You have showered on me. Baba, You have permanently drenched me in Your ahetuki krpa'. Since I have gotten You in my life, my life has become meaningful. I do not have any other type of longing in my mind except You. Baba, by Your grace, my mind is running always towards You & You alone. Baba, You have made my life blissful, in all the ways. It is just as if my whole existence is full of nectar. O' my dearmost, the cimmerian darkness has vanished from my life; those black days have gone far, far away. There is no longer any trace of them. This has all happened since the divine effulgence descended in my life by Your grace. Baba, according to Your tune, melody, and rhythm, I am dancing. My days and nights and my entire life has become just like one bouquet of songs. Not even a wee-bit of dilemma or confusion is existing in my life. By Your infinite grace my mind is perfectly straight. This is all because of Your boundless karuna'. Baba, my whole existence-- my body, mind, and prana-- is vibrating with the spiritual waves which You have generated by Your sweet touch. Baba, I have gotten You by Your grace. You have graced me immensely. Baba, I fully surrender myself at Your lotus feet...
== DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HALF & FULL SADHANA ==
Namaskar, In our AM approach, sadhana is looked upon as the cream of all our practices. It is the greatest endeavour of our human existence. And of course per Baba's divine teaching we all practice our meditation lessons twice daily, at minimum. This is His Supreme Command as well as the nectar of our spiritual life. In our daily lives it cannot be denied however that we have innumerable duties to attend to and countless tasks to perform. Sometimes it can seem as though our worldly responsibilities are endless-- or nearly so. Fortunately, while engaging in these occupations we can keep the mind vibrated in His thought by doing half-sadhana. That is another one of our jewels of meditation. So even though we may not be able to close our eyes and sit for meditation each and every minute of each and every day, through the practice of half-sadhana we can keep that sweet spiritual flow in tact, by His grace.
IMPORTANCE OF SADHANA
Of course all acknowledge the great value of sadhana. However still there is a certain trend in AM where some think about doing sadhana without ever really sitting down to do meditation. That is they read about sadhana or talk with others about spirituality etc, but they never seem to get the time to really sit down and immerse the mind in long, silent sadhana sessions. For them it remains just a dream only. This happens to some in our Marga. Here below Baba gives the teaching that just reading and talking about spiritual discourses will not bring one closer to the Goal, to Him. To gain success in spiritual life one must commit themselves to the practice of sadhana.
"Na'yama'tma' balahiinema labhyah..."
Baba says, "The A'tma'n cannot be attained by the immoralist or the materialist.And the one who listens to learned discourses or reads the scriptures in the hope of realizing the A'tma'n with the help of keen intellect will surely be disappointed." "How can one know the A'tma'? The answer is, by performing spiritual practice (sa'dhana') with devotion and sincerity. For human beings spiritual practice in individual life is mandatory. Without sa'dhana' one cannot expect to make any progress. If one learns the secrets of spiritual practice from a learned preceptor and practices regularly one will realize intuitively the existence of the Supreme Cognitive Faculty." (TK-3) So, according to Baba, dedicated & sustained efforts in the discipline of meditation are needed in order to advance along the spiritual path. Without sadhana progress is impossible. And here again in the following passage Baba emphasizes the need to deeply engage in sadhana if one hopes to get Him. Baba says, "To realize Him one must direct all one's sentiments and propensities - in fact the entire psychic flow with its integral outlook - towards one's inner existence. Only on this path of supreme synthesis can human beings attain the Supreme Entity and transcend the bondages of pain and pleasure, old age, death, etc." (APH-5) Thus in so many ways we can see that sadhana is the key aspect for spiritual growth and development. And without doing deep sadhana, one will never really feel His sweet grace. That is Baba's teaching.
OUR APPROACH IN FULL SADHANA
And sure enough, sadhana is the main ingredient of our spiritual lives. Plus it has to be recognised that in our AM sadhana we follow a very systematic approach. In our twice daily meditation, we close the eyes, fold back the tongue, and shut down the external senses through the practice of pratyhara-- by performing the three shuddhis as we embark on our meditation. And ultimately we bring the mind to one particular point, cultivate that great devotional feeling of loving Him, and ensconce the mind in the repetition of our mantra. When doing first lesson then the mind is immersed in the ista cakra and when doing dhyana the mind is absorbed in Guru cakra. This every practitioner of sahaja yoga understands. And in a nutshell this is how we approach our regular sadhana practice.
SOME OF THE BASICS OF HALF-SADHANA
Of course, from morning till night we have so many other worldly plans and programs to attend to. In that case the practice of half-sadhana is invaluable. Because this can be done anytime throughout the day since in half-sadhana the eyes remain open. Exactly when is it that we can do half-sadhana? While walking, cooking, driving, washing clothes, doing errands, commuting, cleaning, and innumerable times throughout the day. So half-meditation is quite a handy approach. And while here we will go through the various aspects of half-meditation, the chief difference between full sadhana and half-sadhana is that in half-meditation we do not keep the mind fixed on a particular cakra. Reason being that in half-meditation we are involved in various worldly works so the eyes must remain open, not closed, in which case keeping the mind introverted at a particular point is not really possible.
HOW HALF-SADHANA CAN BE DONE
As you probably already know, when doing half-sadhana using our ista mantra then we skip over the shuddhis that we normally do in first lesson and go right into the phase of cultivating that devotional longing for Baba. And then with the eyes open we repeat our ista mantra, not necessarily concentrating on any particular cakra. Just however one feels comfortable one should engage in their mantra japa and generate that sweet link with Him-- all the while keeping one's eyes open and attending to their worldly duties. Our approach to doing half-dhyana is similar. Here again we bypass the shuddhis and delve right into the devotional flow, cultivating that yearning and longing for Him. And then we start repeating our dhyana mantra again and again, feeling His divine presence all around us. Since the eyes are open and we are not focused on any particular cakra, then we can think that He is watching all our movements. Or we can think that we are just moving through the day with Him right by our side. The main point being that He is along with us and we are repeating our dhyana mantra-- tangibly feeling His sweet presence.
ONE OTHER DIFFERENCE
One other aspect of half-sadhana that is different from full sadhana is that in half-sadhana the mantra need not be coordinated with the breath. Rather one can just go on repeating the mantra at any pace they like-- fast or slow, irregardless of one's breathing pattern. In this practice, both fast and slow mantra repetition have their distinct benefits. On this point everyone can experiment.
KINDLING THE PRACTICE
So this is our basic approach in half-sadhana. Since we are all sadhakas then most if not all of these points are not new to any of us. Even then perhaps this reminder will help enable us to do this devotional practice more and more throughout the day. For it is the practice that makes it real & blissful. Just knowing about intellectually but not doing it leaves the mind dry & barren. Thus as we engage in our practice of half-meditation then all are encouraged to write in with any new points which they discover-- or just describe the feeling that comes when doing half-meditation. Reflect on what way it changes the day. One other thing that sadhakas often find is that by doing half-sadhana regularly throughout the day then when they sit down for their full meditation then their mind quickly immerses in that flow-- making the shuddhis almost effortless and the practice of mantra japa blissful. So that is another wonderful benefit of half-meditation-- it complements our twice daily full sadhana practice.
ONLY THE BRAVE DO SADHANA
Whether we are talking about half-meditation or full meditation, one thing is certainly proven: That meditation is only for the brave. This is Baba's divine guideline.
"Na'yama'tma' balahiinena labhyo..."
Baba says, "Those who are weak, i.e., who have neither spiritual nor mental force, do not achieve intuitional knowledge. The timid and cowardly remain remote from Brahmabha'va or cosmic ideation." (SS-2, p.46) So it is only the courageous who immerse their minds in the practice of sadhana and get that divine bliss; while those who are meek or wishy-washy types just gossip about doing sadhana. By practicing half-sadhana and by adhering to His supreme command of twice daily meditation, we actively immerse ourselves in His thought and proceed towards that Cosmic Nucleus thereby getting His divine touch, by His grace.
BABA'S BLESSING
In bestowing upon us the practice of dharma sadhana, Baba has truly showered His greatest blessing on us all. May we realise Him fully. Baba says, "When the mind transcends the barriers of intellect the realization dawns in human beings that they cannot reach the abode of the Supreme Entity through material science or philosophy, but through intuition alone. Supreme blessedness lies in the unfoldment of intuition. Those who are graced with intuition, even though they may be totally illiterate, can reach the Supreme rank, thereby establishing themselves in a state of perennial blessedness. The greatest pandits, however, become lost in the labyrinth of logic, and even though they try to find a way out, they finally attain nothing." (AMIWL-9, p.640) Namaskar, Jiivendra
Note 1: SADHANA NOT TALL TALKS
Here below Baba is guiding us that He can only be attained through the practice of sadhana-- not by high-sounding talks etc. Baba says, "You cannot get that Supreme Entity by tall talk. Na medhaya´ - Not by your intellect. Na bahuna´ shrutena - Nor by reading or going through so many books or lectures...Do your sa'dhana', do your sa'dha'na', do your sa'dhana'...Get it by doing sa'dhana'." (AV-23, p.23-4)
Note 2: SYSTEMATIC SADHANA MAKES ONE UNDEFEATABLE
Baba has blessed us with a perfect system of meditation and by doing all the lessons on a regular basis then we are sure to attain success-- never to be defeated. Baba says, "You have learnt a well-ordered system of meditation and other spiritual practices based on dharma. If any individuals or groups, however powerful they may be, try to suppress you or even succeed in suppressing you, they are bound to be destroyed. History has witnessed many such a downfall in the past. No one has ever been victorious or will ever be victorious by opposing dharma. March ahead with your own strength, march with firm steps and your head held high. Always remember that when dharma is with you, whoever will oppose you will be razed to the ground - their destruction is a must." (AV-4)
********************************** Brave Persons
Baba says, "Do not remain worried about your individual problems at all. Be prepared to carry your own burden and be prepared also to carry the burdens of others. Then alone are you brave. Be dagdhabiija. Everyone has their own individual problems. Do not try to pass them on to others. On the contrary, bear the burdens of others. No one is your enemy. Be ready to bear the burdens of others." (AV-30, p.4)
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