Sadhana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For Sadhana the actress see: Sadhana (actress)

Sadhana (Sanskrit sādhanam) is a term for "a means of accomplishing something"^[1] or more specifically "spiritual practice".^[2] It includes a variety of disciplines from Hindu and Buddhist traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives. The word is also used in the same connection within Sikhism.

The historian N. Bhattacharyya provides a working definition of the benefits of sadhana as follows:

"... religious sādhanā, which both prevents an excess of worldliness and moulds the mind and disposition (bhāva) into a form which develops the knowledge of dispassion and non-attachment. Sādhanā is a means whereby bondage become liberation."^[3]

[edit] The paths

The term sadhana means spiritual exertion towards an intended goal. A person undertaking such a practice is known as a sadhu or a sadhaka . The goal of sadhana is to attain some level of spiritual realization, which can be either enlightenment, pure love of God (prema), liberation (moksha) from the cycle of birth and death (Samsara), or a particular goal such as the blessings of a deity as in the Bhakti traditions.

Sadhana can involve meditation, chanting of mantra (sometimes with the help of a japa mala), puja to a deity, and in rare cases mortification of the flesh or unorthodox practices such as performing one's particular sadhana on a cremation ground.

Anthony de Mello, a Jesuit, wrote a book of Christian meditations with the title Sadhana: A way to God.

Traditionally in some Hindu and Buddhist traditions in order to embark on a specific path of sadhana, firstly a guru may be required to give the necessary instructions. This approach is typified by some Tantric traditions, in which initiation by a guru is sometimes identified as a specific stage of sadhana.^[4] On the other hand, individual renunciates may develop their own spiritual practice without participating in organized groups.^[5]

[edit] Notes

^ V. S. Apte. A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary. p. 979.
^ Flood, Gavin. An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1996. pp. 92, 156, 160, 167. ISBN 0-521-43878-0.
^ Bhattacharyya, N. N. History of the Tantric Religion. Second Revised Edition. (Manohar: New Delhi, 1999) p. 174. ISBN 81-7304-025-7
^ Bhattacharyya, op. cit., p. 317.
^ Flood, Gavin. An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1996. p. 92. ISBN 0-521-43878-0.