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Line 100: − + − Sadhana may broadly be divided into two important phases, in every important line, namely − # Vairagya (desirelessness) which is the negative side.+ − # Abhyasa (repetitive practice) which is the positive phase.+ − Both the phases are intermingled and complement each other. The negative aspect is only preparatory and creates the proper field for the positive Sadhana. The value of the negative aspect consists in withdrawing the mind from things other than the object of interest, so that the positive aspect of concentrating the entire mind on the topic at hand may be fully serviceable. Vairagya (dispassion, non-attachment etc.,) represents the elimination of attachment to everything finite, while Abhyasa helps bring out infinitude in the vaccuum created by Vairagya. These important phases to restrain the mind are mentioned both in Yogasutras as well as Bhagavadgita.<blockquote>अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते ॥ ६-३५॥ (Bhag. Gita. 6.35)</blockquote>Meaning: Undoubtedly, the mind is difficult to control and is restless, O! Arjuna, it is to be restrained by Abhyasa (practice) and Vairagya (dispassion).<blockquote>अभ्यासवैराग्याभ्यां तन्निरोधः ॥ १.१२॥ (Yoga. Sutr. 1.12)</blockquote>Meaning: Their (vrittis of the mind) control is by Abhyasa (practice) and Vairagya (non-attachment). + + − Great emphasis has been laid upon the negative + − + − + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Line 126:
Line 209: − + − The works of grace of Narayana are manifold. The Visnu-tattvavinirnaya lays down that ‘Visnu grants knowledge to the ignorant, grants liberation to the man of knowledge, and grants ananda to the liberated individual.’ Grace is a continuously operative factor in spiritual life, and does not cease to be required even when the goal is accomplished.+
→Kinds of Sadhana: adding content
--25 (In law) Enforcement of the delivery of anything, or of the payment of debt, infliction of fine.
--25 (In law) Enforcement of the delivery of anything, or of the payment of debt, infliction of fine.
In the context of this article, sadhana is used in a technical sense as the means of achieving Brahmajnana, and here the discussion is about the essential characteristics of a sadhaka (such as nitya-anitya-vastuviveka, vairagya, etc.) to be developed as a means for the attainment of the highest spiritual experience. <blockquote>ब्रह्मज्ञानसाधनन्तु नित्यानित्यवस्तुविवेकेहामुत्र- फलभोगविरागशमदमादिसम्पन्मुमुक्षुत्वम् । इति वेदान्तसारः ॥<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>Thus, though the word Sadhana has a very wide connotation and implies all kinds of means for attainment of all types of aspirations both worldly and spiritual, in this article its connotation is restricted to means for achieving spiritual perfection.
In the context of this article, sadhana is used in a technical sense as the means of achieving Brahmajnana, and here the discussion is about the essential characteristics of a sadhaka (such as nitya-anitya-vastuviveka, vairagya, etc.) to be developed as a means for the attainment of the highest spiritual experience. <blockquote>ब्रह्मज्ञानसाधनन्तु नित्यानित्यवस्तुविवेकेहामुत्र- फलभोगविरागशमदमादिसम्पन्मुमुक्षुत्वम् । इति वेदान्तसारः ॥ brahmajñāna'''sādhanan'''tu nityānityavastuvivekehāmutra- phalabhogavirāgaśamadamādisampanmumukṣutvam । iti vedāntasāraḥ ॥<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>Thus, though the word Sadhana has a very wide connotation and implies all kinds of means for attainment of all types of aspirations both worldly and spiritual, in this article its connotation is restricted to means for achieving spiritual perfection.
== Sadhana related to Sadhaka and the Sadhya ==
== Sadhana related to Sadhaka and the Sadhya ==
It is indispensible for a Sadhaka to have a thorough understanding of the nature of the goal he aspires to achieve. He must know very precisely the full content of his ideal with all its implications so that his efforts may not be wasted or misdirected.
It is indispensible for a Sadhaka to have a thorough understanding of the nature of the goal he aspires to achieve. He must know very precisely the full content of his ideal with all its implications so that his efforts may not be wasted or misdirected.
== Kinds of Sadhana ==
== Sadhana Bhedas and Outcomes ==
=== Sadhana - Positive and Negative Aspects ===
Sadhana may broadly be divided into two important phases according to some ways of, as namely
# '''Vairagya''' (desirelessness) which is the negative side.
# '''Abhyasa''' (repetitive practice) which is the positive phase.
Both the phases are intermingled and complement each other. The negative aspect is only preparatory and creates the proper field for the positive Sadhana. The value of the negative aspect consists in withdrawing the mind from things other than the object of interest, so that the positive aspect of concentrating the entire mind on the topic at hand may be fully serviceable. Vairagya (dispassion, renunciation, non-attachment etc.,) represents the elimination of attachment to everything finite, while Abhyasa helps bring out infinitude in the vaccuum created by Vairagya. it should be noted that Vairagya is not mere absence of desire; it is knowing an object as unworthy of desire that is truly vairagya. These important phases to restrain the mind are mentioned both in Yogasutras as well as Bhagavadgita.<ref name=":5">Brahma, Nalinīkānta. ''Philosophy of Hindu Sādhanā.'' United Kingdom: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner & Company, Limited, 1932. (Page 61-74)</ref><blockquote>अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते ॥ ६-३५॥ (Bhag. Gita. 6.35)</blockquote>Meaning: Undoubtedly, the mind is difficult to control and is restless, O! Arjuna, it is to be restrained by Abhyasa (practice) and Vairagya (dispassion).<blockquote>अभ्यासवैराग्याभ्यां तन्निरोधः ॥ १.१२॥ (Yoga. Sutr. 1.12)</blockquote>Meaning: Their (vrittis of the mind) control is by Abhyasa (practice) and Vairagya (non-attachment).
=== Shrimad Bhagavadgita ===
==== Positive and Negative Aspects in Different Ways of Sadhana ====
The objective of life is to experience the ultimate ontological truth - Self is Brahman - and the way to pursue it is through vairagya (renunciation) captured by the attributes of knowledge (Sadhana by Jnana-marga) presented in the thirteenth adhyaya of Bhagavadgita.
Summarized below is the divisional outlook of Sadhana into positive and negative aspects according to various ways
{| class="wikitable"
!Text/Sadhana Line
!Negative Aspect
!Positive Aspect
|-
| rowspan="3" |Advaita Vedanta
|Nitya-anitya vastu viveka (discrimination of the permanent and the transitory)
|Shravana (hearing the
sacred texts and understanding their meaning or
arthānusandhāna)
|-
|Ihāmutra-phalabhoga-virāga (indifference to pleasure of every kind either in this world or the next)
|manana (reflection and ratiocination or
tattvānusandhāna)
|-
|janma-mrtyu-jvarā-vyādhi-dukhadoshānudarsanam
(constant perception
of and reflection on the sorrows attending birth, death,
disease and old age)
|nididhyasana (constant meditation
on the conclusions established by ratiocination)
|-
|Patanjali Yogasutras
|Pratyahara
(withdrawing from things other than the object of meditation)
|dharana (concentration),
dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (ecstasy)
|-
|Tantra
|Bhuta-shuddhi (or purification of
the gross, the subtle and causal bodies)
|Matrka (pure spiritual creative energy)
|}
==== Chittashuddhi - Chief Outcome ====
Great emphasis has been laid upon the negative aspect of Sadhana, not only by most sects of the Sanatana Dharma, but by other religions of the world. This negative side is described as the stage of purgation which is the essential preliminary to all illumination. The divine discontent, the unwillingness to be satisfied with the merely animal level of existence, is the first stage in the development of spiritual consciousness, and this, when earnest and real, cannot but lead to purgation or '''Chittasuddhi'''.<ref name=":5" />
The purification of the '''chitta''' or mind is the one thing that is indispensable, and whatever differences might exist with regard to other points, all the different forms of Sadhana agree in holding that this is the basis of all true illumination.<ref name=":5" />
Tantra also involves '''purgation or purification of the sinful body''' and the removal of all sins and taints, acquired and inherited. This is what prepares the vacuum that is next filled up by the Matrka or the pure spiritual creative Energy, which is the mother of all feelings and ideas (bhava).
==== Bhakti Marga Differs ====
The Bhakti line of Sadhana does not place much emphasis on this negative phase and regards - vairagya or desirelessness as not much helpful towards spiritual realisation. <blockquote>तस्मान्मद्भक्तियुक्तस्य योगिनो वै मदात्मनः । न ज्ञानं न च वैराग्यं प्रायः श्रेयो भवेदिह ॥ ३१ ॥ (Bhag. Pura. 11.20.31)<ref>Shrimad Bhagavata Purana ([https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AD%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%97%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A3%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D/%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A7%E0%A4%83_%E0%A5%A7%E0%A5%A7/%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%83_%E0%A5%A8%E0%A5%A6 Skanda 11 Adhyaya 20])</ref> </blockquote>Love of what is divine is the one thing that is essential, and indifference towards other things (vairagya) is not to be sought separately. God and all that is God’s are loved, and automatically everything other than God and the Divine ceases to be of any importance.<ref name=":5" />
Trshnatyaga (desirelessness) comes as a consequence of or rather pari passu with Krishnanishta—(love of God). The Bhakti-marga points out that it is wrong psychology to try to drive out things from the mind and to make it a vacuum before filling it up with other things. If we fill up the mind with God, automatically other things disappear. This is the direct method of getting rid of worldly things and objects, and also of realising God.<ref name=":5" />
=== Sadhana - Bahiranga and Antaranga Aspects ===
Another principle of division of Sadhana involves the exoteric and esoteric aspects. A bahiranga or exoteric aspect and the antaranga aspects of Sadhana are closely associated with the positive and negative kinds discussed above.<ref name=":5" />
The Bahiranga Sadhana is only preparatory and is rather remote from the spiritual experience. Antaranga Sadhana is vital for an aspirant, it is very near to and closely intimate with Anubhava or experience. Antaranga sadhana of almost all schools is Dhyana. It is<ref name=":5" />
- nidhidhyasana with the Vedantist.
- dhruva smrti or smarana with Ramanujacharya.
- dhyana and samadhi with Patanjali.
- loving communion with the divine according to Sri Chaitanya.
- mantra-chaitanya according to Tantrika.
=== Sadhana - Margas ===
There is yet another division of Sadhana into different ways based on the important Sanatana Dharma tenets, namely,
# Karma-marga
# Bhakti-marga
# Jnana-marga
The three great forms of Sadhana; Jnana, Yoga and Bhakti are not arbitrary divisions but based on important principles. Sadhana may proceed by emphasizing the subject or by emphasizing the object. The object-factor is emphasized by the Bhakti schools, while the subject by the Jnana and Yoga schools of thought.<ref name=":5" />
==== Karma Marga ====
==== Jnana Marga ====
The objective of life is to experience the ultimate ontological truth - Self is Brahman - and the way to pursue it is through vairagya (renunciation) captured by the attributes of knowledge (Sadhana by Jnana-marga) is presented in the thirteenth adhyaya of Bhagavadgita.
==== Bhakti Marga ====
== Sadhana - A Psychological Process ==
== Sadhana - A Psychological Process ==
=== Dvaita Sampradaya ===
=== Dvaita Sampradaya ===
Dvaita outlines the means, sadhana for realization of the supreme end, moksa. Sadhana is a progressive endeavour and it mobilizes all the resources of personality. Madhva assimilates into his scheme of sadhana the entire heritage of the '''Upanisadic''' thought, the bhakti literature such as the '''Puranas''', the '''Agamas''', and the '''Itihasas''' including the Bhagavad-Gita.
Dvaita outlines the means, sadhana for realization of the supreme end, moksa. Sadhana is a progressive endeavour and it mobilizes all the resources of personality. Madhva assimilates into his scheme of sadhana the entire heritage of the '''Upanisadic''' thought, the bhakti literature such as the '''Puranas''', the '''Agamas''', and the '''Itihasas''' including the '''Bhagavad-Gita'''.
The foremost and the ultimate factor that brings about man’s liberation, attainment of moksa, is the grace, prasada of Narayana according to the Dvaita Sampradaya. ‘Without Narayana’s prasada, moksa is not possible’ says Madhva. There are several levels of grace that confers this boon. ‘The grace that responds to karma is the lowest, that, which is in answer to disciplines such as sravana, is of the middle level, and that which rewards the precious possession of knowledge is the highest’. This prasada is an ever-existent reality. All that is required of human effort is to actuate it towards the granting of moksa. It is ultimately God Himself through His grace, which is indistinguishable from His essence because of the principle of Visesa, that effectuates the summum bonum of man, moved towards that end, by the spiritual endeavour of the aspirant.<ref name=":3" />
The foremost and the ultimate factor that brings about man’s liberation, attainment of moksa, is the grace, prasada of Narayana according to the Dvaita Sampradaya. ‘Without Narayana’s prasada, moksa is not possible’ says Madhva. There are several levels of grace that confers this boon. ‘The grace that responds to karma is the lowest, that, which is in answer to disciplines such as sravana, is of the middle level, and that which rewards the precious possession of knowledge is the highest’. This prasada is an ever-existent reality. All that is required of human effort is to actuate it towards the granting of moksa. It is ultimately God Himself through His grace, which is indistinguishable from His essence because of the principle of Visesa, that effectuates the summum bonum of man, moved towards that end, by the spiritual endeavour of the aspirant.<ref name=":3" />
The Visnu-tattvavinirnaya lays down that ‘Visnu grants knowledge to the ignorant, grants liberation to the man of knowledge, and grants ananda to the liberated individual.’ Grace is a continuously operative factor in spiritual life, and does not cease to be required even when the goal is accomplished.
What brings grace to operational manifestation is bhakti of the aspirant. Dvaita tradition defines bhakti thus: ‘Mahatmya-jnana pursvastu sudrdhah sarvatodhikah; sneho bhaktriti proktahtaya muktih nacanyatha’. The two constituents of bhakti are knowledge of the greatness of God and love towards Him. This love must be steadfast and surpass in its intensity all other love including self-love. It is that height of bhakti that could invoke the necessary grace of Narayana for the purpose of moksa. There are different levels of bhakti, four levels stated in the Gita. Only the highest bhakti is what brings about the prasada for moksa.<ref name=":3" />
What brings grace to operational manifestation is bhakti of the aspirant. Dvaita tradition defines bhakti thus: ‘Mahatmya-jnana pursvastu sudrdhah sarvatodhikah; sneho bhaktriti proktahtaya muktih nacanyatha’. The two constituents of bhakti are knowledge of the greatness of God and love towards Him. This love must be steadfast and surpass in its intensity all other love including self-love. It is that height of bhakti that could invoke the necessary grace of Narayana for the purpose of moksa. There are different levels of bhakti, four levels stated in the Gita. Only the highest bhakti is what brings about the prasada for moksa.<ref name=":3" />