SADHANA – THE PATH OF YOGA
Welcome to this stage of your journey through this life.
Yoga is often seen as primarily a physical form of gentle exercise, whose aim is to develop
health and fitness.. One of the first realisations of the yoga student is that this is far from the
truth. Yoga is life enhancing, life changing and eventually life transforming. Along the way the student (sadhaka - male,
sadhika – female), experiences life in all its forms through the physical body and its senses. Our physical senses of hearing, smell, taste, sight, touch and awareness of position
are the starting point of one aspect of that journey. The mind is another, operating
on the conscious and the subconscious levels it is initially tied to the experiences of the physical body, giving rise to
the concept of Me and the ego. It is through the mind
however that knowledge of the Self can be experienced on a spiritual level. With
the development of the inner eye the sadhaka can realise the I of the Self and understand the mantram – I am That.
Yoga approaches life on all levels. It is as
important to be aware of the moral and practical aspects of the way we live, as it is to strive to live a `spiritual` life. Sometimes it is necessary to undergo hardship and personal denial, forms of asceticism,
called tapas, to focus and further our progress. Essential at all stages along the way is study(svadhyaya); of our physical and mental actions, their implications and limitations, and the opportunities which present themselves for our learning and development, and the wider spiritual learning
we can absorb through reading, satsang (meeting with persons for spiritual upliftment,
)and self study through meditation.
In tradition the sadhaka will be drawn to a guru, a spiritual teacher
who can help him/her. Through our life we may have more than one guru, of differing
values and significance. Our mother is said to be our first guru, and then our
father and any other persons who begin to develop and encourage our spiritual development. For
the fortunate there may appear somewhere along life`s way, the sadguru
(the true guru), who is himself spiritually enlightened, and who
will remain your guru for life.
In the meantime it is incumbent on us all to strive to find that spiritual path which will
be appropriate for us as individuals, through our own practice and study.
Feel free to contact me to discuss this subject further (Details on Home page).
