Practical Hints on Sadhana - Sri Swami Krishnananda

First of all, there should be a clear conception of the Aim of one’s life.

The Aim should be such that it should not be subject to subsequent change of opinion or transcendence by some other thought, feeling or experience. It means the Aim should be ultimate, and there should be nothing beyond that.

It will be clear that, since the ultimate Aim is single, and set clearly before one’s mind, everything else in the world becomes merely an instrument, an auxiliary or an accessory to the fulfillment of this Aim.

It is possible to make the mistake that only certain things in the world are aids in the realization of one’s Aim of life, and that others are obstacles. But this is not true because everything in the world is interconnected and it is not possible to divide the necessary from the unnecessary, the good from the bad, etc., except in a purely relative sense. The so-called unnecessary items or the useless ones are those whose subtle connection with our central purpose in life is not clear to our minds. This happens when our minds are carried away by sudden emotions or spurts of enthusiasm.

All this would mean that it is not advisable or practicable to ignore any aspect of life totally, as if it is completely irrelevant to the purpose of one’s life. But here begins the difficulty in the practice of Sadhana, because it is not humanly possible to consider every aspect of a situation when one tries to understand it. The solution for this is the training which one has to receive under a competent Guru, who alone can suggest methods of entertaining such a comprehensive vision of things, which is the precondition of a true spiritual life, or a life of higher meditation.

© "The Divine Life" (July 2003) published by The Divine Life Society Shivanandanagar 249 192, Uttaranchal. Reprinted with permission.

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