Satsang with Swami Narayanananda -Sadhana: The Conscious Journey Towards Our True Nature

Reflections on the teachings of Swami Sivananda

In his book Bliss Divine, Swami Sivananda offers a particularly clear definition of sadhana, or spiritual practice:

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Sadhana is spiritual movement consciously systematized.

This short definition contains a great deal. It tells us not only what sadhana is, but also what its purpose should be.

From the perspective of Yoga and Vedanta, spiritual movement is movement towards the experience of our true Self, towards the knowledge of our essential nature. Any thought, action or practice that brings us closer to that knowledge can be considered spiritual movement.

The word consciously is particularly important here. Life itself can become sadhana, because everything we experience has the potential to teach us something and bring us closer to an understanding of our true nature. However, consciously systematizing this spiritual movement means taking an active role in directing our lives towards self-knowledge. It means making deliberate choices about how we use our time, what we give our attention to and how we conduct our lives.

Without this conscious direction, our thoughts, attachments and habitual ways of responding to life can easily take us away from peace and clarity.

🌱 Why do we practise sadhana?

From the perspective of Yoga and Vedanta, and in keeping with Swami Sivananda's teaching, every human being is, in some sense, moving towards the knowledge and experience of the Self. Life's experiences, including difficulties and suffering, can contribute to this movement.

We have probably all experienced situations in which something painful or challenging has brought about a deeper understanding of ourselves. Such experiences can become opportunities for spiritual growth, provided we learn from them rather than becoming more entangled in our reactions.

How long will it take us to recognise our true nature? How much suffering will we experience along the way?

The yogi makes a conscious decision: I would like this knowledge to come more quickly, and I would like to reduce unnecessary suffering along the way. This is one of the fundamental purposes of sadhana.

There is a particularly significant teaching in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras:

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Future suffering is to be avoided.

How do we avoid future suffering? Patanjali explains that its underlying cause is our failure to distinguish between the Seer and that which is seen. We identify ourselves with our thoughts, emotions and circumstances, becoming caught in attachment and aversion. At the root of this mistaken identification is ignorance of our true nature.

Through sadhana, we gradually remove this ignorance and develop a clearer understanding of our true nature. In this way, we address the underlying causes of suffering rather than simply trying to make ourselves feel better.

Sadhana is therefore not simply a collection of spiritual activities. It is a deliberate process of transformation.

🦁 Releasing ourselves from the illusion of limitation

Swami Sivananda describes the purpose of sadhana as follows:

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The object of sadhana is to release life from the limitations with which it is bound.

This is an important idea in Vedanta. We often experience ourselves as limited. We may believe that we are not capable, that we are somehow inadequate, or that our happiness and security depend entirely on circumstances outside ourselves.

Yet Vedanta teaches that these limitations do not belong to our true nature. They arise from ignorance of who we really are.

There is a beautiful illustration in Vedanta that helps us understand this: the story of a lion who grows up among sheep. Having been raised in this environment, the lion believed that he was a sheep. He behaved like a sheep, ate like a sheep and made the sounds of a sheep.

Some time later, when he had grown to full size, another lion took him to a pool of water and showed him their reflections side by side. Seeing his own reflection alongside that of the other lion, he suddenly realises that he too is a lion, not a sheep.

Of course, the lion had never actually been a sheep. His essential nature had not changed. Only his understanding of himself had been mistaken.

This illustrates the purpose of sadhana. We are not trying to become something other than what we are. We are removing the mistaken ideas and beliefs that prevent us from recognising our true nature.

⏳ A lifelong process

Swami Sivananda reminds us that sadhana is a lifelong process. It cannot be completed by attending a course, practising for a few weeks or having a particular spiritual experience.

He describes every day, every hour and every minute as an onward march.

We can sometimes approach spiritual practice with unrealistic expectations, imagining that a course or a particular technique will bring about substantial results in a short time. Swami Sivananda reminds us that spiritual growth requires patience.

He describes life as a great voyage in which obstacles are innumerable. Some are internal: our habitual thoughts, reactions, attachments and doubts. Others arise through our relationships, responsibilities and the circumstances of everyday life.

He offers this reassurance:

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So long as you hold God as thy guide, there is nothing to worry about. You are sure to reach the other shore.

When Swami Sivananda speaks of God as our guide, we can understand this in different ways. For the devotee, it may mean placing one's trust in and surrendering to the divine. From the perspective of Vedanta, we can also understand it as recognising the divine presence within us, as the very foundation of our own being. The wisdom we seek is not ultimately separate from our true nature.

Our difficulty is that we do not always know how to access this inner resource. Sadhana helps us recognise the thoughts, habits and patterns of behaviour that contribute to our suffering. As we become aware of these patterns, we can gradually change them. In this way, the mind becomes clearer and steadier, and we become less caught up in the things that prevent us from recognising the Atman, the Self within.

We may not know exactly what will happen along the way or when we will reach our destination. We can still have confidence in the process.

🔥 Commitment and perseverance

Swami Sivananda makes an important distinction between those who have a casual curiosity about spiritual practice and those who have a genuine aspiration for self-knowledge and liberation.

A little curiosity may bring someone to a yoga class or encourage them to explore meditation. However, when the expected results do not appear quickly, they may lose interest and abandon the practice.

Sadhana requires something more substantial: commitment, determination and consistency.

He acknowledges that the spiritual path may initially appear difficult, even thorny and slippery. One reason is that spiritual practice often asks us to relinquish familiar attachments and habits.

As he explains:

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Renunciation of objects gives pain at the outset.

Think about something we have decided to give up: perhaps a particular habit, an attachment or a way of behaving that we recognise is not beneficial. Even when we understand that letting go is the right thing to do, the initial experience can be uncomfortable.

This is where determination and tapas become important.

Tapas can be understood as the capacity to maintain our commitment even when it requires effort, discipline and self-restraint. We do not abandon our intention simply because it becomes difficult.

Swami Sivananda explains that with perseverance, what initially seems difficult gradually becomes easier, and we begin to experience a new kind of joy. This joy does not depend on anything we obtain from outside ourselves. It comes from moving closer to our true nature. Vedanta teaches that bliss (Ananda) is not something we acquire; it is intrinsic to our essential nature. Through sadhana, we gradually remove the attachments and disturbances that obscure it.

Swami Sivananda describes an opening of the heart and a broader outlook on life. We begin to experience an inner source of guidance and strength. Doubts gradually become clearer, and answers can arise from within.

Through our own experience, we begin to recognise the value of the practice. Faith based on experience naturally arises.

🌿 Take care of the details

Swami Sivananda offers some particularly practical advice:

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Take care of the details in sadhana. The major factor will take care of itself.

This is very much in keeping with the teaching of karma yoga.

Our responsibility is to do what needs to be done. We establish our practice, make the effort, maintain our discipline and carry out our daily responsibilities with awareness. We do not need to become preoccupied with the results.

Sometimes we become so concerned about what we are going to achieve through our practice that we lose sight of the practice itself. We wonder whether our meditation is improving, whether we are making sufficient progress or whether we are going to have some particular experience.

Swami Sivananda's advice is simple: take care of the details.

Sit down to meditate. Practise asanas and pranayama. Chant. Study. Cultivate self-discipline. Bring awareness to your thoughts and actions throughout the day.

Do what you can, consistently and sincerely, and allow the results to unfold in their own time.

This does not mean that we should have an indifferent attitude towards our actions. We should perform them with care, intelligence and responsibility. What we relinquish is attachment to a particular outcome and the expectation that our happiness depends upon achieving it.

There is no shortcut. As Swami Sivananda reminds us, we cannot climb Mount Everest in one jump. We have to climb many hills along the way.

Through consistent effort, we develop greater mastery over the mind and become less distracted by the changing circumstances of life.

🧘 How do we measure spiritual progress?

One of the most important statements in this section of Swami Sivananda's teaching concerns how we recognise genuine spiritual progress.

He writes:

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Real spiritual progress is really and accurately measured by the peacefulness, serenity and calmness that you manifest in the waking state.

We can sometimes associate spiritual progress with special experiences, unusual states of consciousness or an accumulation of spiritual knowledge. Swami Sivananda directs our attention towards something much more practical: the quality of our everyday life.

Are we becoming more peaceful? Are we less easily disturbed by circumstances? Are we developing greater calmness and a more balanced state of mind? Do the things that previously upset us have less power over us?

It is relatively easy to feel peaceful when everything is going well, when we are in a beautiful environment or surrounded by people we like. The real test comes when circumstances are difficult, when someone disagrees with us or when things do not happen as we would wish.

If our practice is genuinely helping us, this should gradually become evident in the way we respond to these situations.

Spiritual progress is not only measured by what happens when we close our eyes to meditate, but also by what happens when we open our eyes and return to everyday life.

🌱 Every effort contributes

Swami Sivananda offers reassuring advice about mistakes and failures. He tells us not to become discouraged by failures or spend too much time brooding over past mistakes. Instead, we should learn from them and make a conscious effort not to repeat them.

Regret can become another obstacle to progress. The past cannot be changed. What matters is what we do now.

Swami Sivananda reminds us that every effort we make in sadhana contributes to our spiritual development. Every temptation resisted, every wrong thought relinquished and every bitter word withheld is part of this process.

He writes:

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No sadhana ever goes in vain.

Even when we do not immediately see the results of our efforts, they are not wasted.

Our practice should be regular, continuous and sincere. We need to remain vigilant because our old habits and tendencies are always ready to reassert themselves.

🌊 Begin now

Swami Sivananda gives a very simple illustration.

Imagine going to the ocean with the intention of swimming, but deciding that you will only enter the water when the waves have stopped.

Of course, you may never swim.

In the same way, we cannot wait for the perfect circumstances before beginning our spiritual practice. There will always be responsibilities, distractions, difficulties and reasons to postpone what we know we should be doing.

His advice is to begin now.

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Act now. Live now. Know now. Realise now. Be happy now.

Life is short, and every day is an opportunity. We should not assume that there will always be more time available to begin the things that are important.

He concludes with another reminder of the inner strength available to us:

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You have infinite strength within you. There is a vast reservoir of power within you. Therefore, do not lose heart. Obstacles are stepping stones to success.

🕉️ The purpose of our practice

The teachings of Swami Sivananda bring us back to a very clear understanding of sadhana.

Sadhana calls for commitment, self-discipline, perseverance and continuity. It asks us to take responsibility for our own development without becoming preoccupied with the results.

Ultimately, sadhana is not about becoming someone else. It is about removing the obstacles that prevent us from recognising who we already are. Every day offers us an opportunity to move a little closer to that recognition, through the way we practise, the way we think and the way we live.