Sadhana Quotes

One has to do sadhana for the total manifestation of the Divine in oneself. ~ Sri Aurobindo

Sadhana You can experiment: arrange the best possible meal for yourself, get angry with something, curse the whole world, and then eat it. You will see that day how food behaves within you. At the next meal, approach your food with the reverence that the life-making material deserves and eat it. You will now see how it will behave within you. (Of course, if you're sensible, you'll ignore the first and only do the second!) Most people can bring down the quantum of food they are eating to a third and be much more energetic and not lose weight. It is just a question of how much receptivity you have created within yourself. Accordingly your body receives. If you can do the same amount of work, maintain all the bodily processes, with thirty percent of the food that you eat, that definitely means you are running a much more efficient machine. ~ Sadhguru

According to Shaivism, anupaya may also be reached by entering into the infinite blissfulness of the Self through the powerful experiences of sensual pleasures. This practice is designed to help the practitioner reach the highest levels by accelerating their progress through the sakta and sambhava upayas. These carefully guarded doctrines of Tantric sadhana are the basis for certain practices, like the use of the five makaras (hrdaya) mentioned earlier. The experience of a powerful sensual pleasure quickly removes a person's dullness or indifference. It awakens in them the hidden nature and source of blissfulness and starts its inner vibration. Abhinavagupta says that only those people who are awakened to their own inner vitality can truly be said to have a heart (hrdaya). They are known as sahrdaya (connoisseurs). Those uninfluenced by this type of experiences are said to be heartless. In his words:

"It is explained thus - The heart of a person, shedding of its attitude of indifference while listening to the sweet sounds of a song or while feeling the delightful touch of something like sandalpaste, immediately starts a wonderful vibratory movement. (This) is called ananda-sakti and because of its presence the person concerned is considered to have a heart (in their body) (Tantraloka, III.209-10).

People who do not become one (with such blissful experiences), and who do not feel their physical body being merged into it, are said to be heartless because t ~ Balajinnatha Pandita

Sadhana Start by paying attention to everything you think of as yourself just before you fall asleep: your thoughts, your emotions, your hair, your skin, your clothes, your makeup. Know that none of this is you. There is no need to make any conclusion about what "you" are or what "truth" is. Truth is not a conclusion. If you keep the false conclusions at bay, truth will dawn. It is like your experience of the night: the sun has not gone; it is just that the planet is looking the other way. You're thinking, reading, talking about the self, because you're too busy looking the other way! You haven't paid enough attention to know what the self really is. What is needed is not a conclusion, but a turnaround. If you manage to enter sleep with this awareness, it will be significant. Since there is no external interference in sleep, this will grow into a powerful experience. Over time, you will enter a dimension beyond all accumulations. ~ Sadhguru

Getting up for sadhana in the morning is a totally selfish act - for personal strength, for personal intuition, for personal sharpness, for personal discipline, and overall for absolute personal prosperity. ~ Harbhajan Singh Yogi

If these key points are not understood, some people will neglect clear visualization and the holding of vajra pride, and concentrate solely on the repetition of mantra. Some will hold that the deities and pure realms exist in their own right, and so even though they engage in sadhana practice they will not awaken to buddhahood. Thus, you must understand these key points! ~ Dudjom Lingpa

Concentration is not thinking of one thing. On the contrary, it is excluding all thoughts, since all thoughts obstruct the sense of one's true being. All efforts are to be directed simply to removing the veil of ignorance. Concentrating the mind solely on the Self will lead to happiness or bliss. Drawing in the thoughts, restraining them and preventing them from straying outwards is called detachment (vairagya). Fixing them in the Self is spiritual practice (sadhana). Concentrating on the heart is the same as concentrating on the Self. Heart is another name for Self. ~ Ramana Maharshi

Who built this tree of universe that has not stopped changing from the very minute (atomic) times undergoing many beautiful and wonderful changes; Who must eat fruits bearing from this tree? Why is that all are not eating these fruits equally without differences? What is the reason? Could someone like us plant another tree like that? Why not? The eternal that does not dry up but continues to give required fruits to the souls. This creator, is he in front of us or not? If not how does this work? Without doubt we all realize that work does not happen without a reason. Therefore, one who is giving us this variety of unlimited fruits without end in this tree of universe must be immensely powerful, with unlimited knowledge, unfathomable, have infinite empathy and having many other amazing qualities. His existence is documented in all vedas and puranas. Although he exists, the reason we are not able to witness, we have to admit is our deficiency in body, faculty and mind. Our ancestors called and praised him as "Paramatma and Sarveshvara." We have to resolve that we will practice sadhana to be able to see Paramatma and offer to Sarveshvara with great devotion our spiritual practices, without desire for any benefits. This is called Ishwarapranidhana. ~ Tirumalai Krishnamacharya

Sadhana means the practice to closest to the GOD (Baba) and a Shivir means an environment in which the sadhakas get the opportunity and guidance to do sadhana in a perfect manner ... i think. ~ Shailendra Kumar Lal

Love everyone, including yourself. This is real sadhana. ~ Baba Hari Dass

Most people are terribly afraid of their own sexuality, and one has to respect another person's sadhana, another person's path. ~ Frederick Lenz

Sadhana It is important not to keep eating through the day. If you are below thirty years of age, three meals every day will fit well into your life. If you are over thirty years of age, it is best to reduce it to two meals per day. Our body and brain work at their best only when the stomach is empty. So be conscious of eating in such a way that within two and a half hours, your food moves out of the stomach, and within twelve to eighteen hours completely out of the system. With this simple awareness you will experience much more energy, agility, and alertness. These are the ingredients of a successful life, irrespective of what you choose to do with it. ~ Sadhguru

The Arousal of Intuition
(The Water Exercise)
Make a puddle of water on a smooth, non-absorbant surface. Look into the puddle for a while. Then, begin to play with it, without any particular commitment or objective. Make designs that mean absolutely nothing.
Do this exercise for a week, allowing at least ten minutes each time. Don't look for practical results from this
exercise; it is simply calling up your intuition, little by little. When this intuition begins to manifest itself at other times of the day, always trust in it. ~ Paulo Coelho

Sadhana is a search for what to give up. Empty yourself completely. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Sadhana You may have noticed this about yourself: when you are feeling pleasant, you want to expand; when you are fearful, you want to contract. Try this. Sit for a few minutes in front of a plant or tree. Remind yourself that you are inhaling what the tree is exhaling, and exhaling what the tree is inhaling. Even if you are not yet experientially aware of it, establish a psychological connection with the plant. You could repeat this several times a day. After a few days, you will start connecting with everything around you differently. You won't limit yourself to a tree. Using this simple process, we at the Isha Yoga Center have unleashed an environmental initiative in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, under which twenty-one million trees have been planted since 2004. We spent several years planting trees in people's minds, which is the most difficult terrain! Now transplanting those onto land happens that much more effortlessly. ~ Sadhguru

At first you think that your sadhana Is a limited part of your life. In time you realize that Everything you do is part of your sadhana. ~ Ram Dass

The Listening Exercise
Relax. Close your eyes. Try for several minutes to concentrate on all of the sounds you hear in your surroundings, as if you were hearing an orchestra playing its instruments. Little by little, try to separate each sound from
the others. Concentrate on each one, as if it were the only instrument playing. Try to eliminate the other sounds from your awareness.
When you do this exercise every day, you will begin to hear voices. First, you will think that they are imaginary. Later, you will discover that they are
voices of people from your past, present, and future, all of them participating with you in the remembrance of time.
This exercise should be performed only when you already know the voice of your messenger.
Do this exercise for ten minutes at a time. ~ Paulo Coelho

If you dissolve your personality, your presence becomes very powerful - this is the essence of spiritual sadhana. ~ Jaggi Vasudev

Sadhana The simplest thing that you can do to change the health and fundamental structure of your body is to treat the five elements with devotion and respect. Just try this. Every time you are consciously in touch with any of the elements (which you are every moment of your life), just make a conscious attempt to refer to it in terms of whatever you consider to be the ultimate or the loftiest ideal in your life, whether it is Shiva, Rama, Krishna, God, Allah (or even Marx!). You are a psychological being right now, and your mind is full of hierarchy. This process will settle the hierarchy. After some time, the word can fall away. But you instantly see the change as the number of truly conscious moments in your life increases. The air that you breathe, the food that you eat, the water that you drink, the land that you walk upon, and the very space that holds you - every one of them offers you a divine possibility. ~ Sadhguru

What do you want to do sadhana for? The aim should not be the satisfaction of egoism: "I want to be a great yogi; I shall have so much power and with that power I shall establish myself in the world." All such thoughts must be thrown far away. ~ Sri Aurobindo

Hard work and humility are essential for spiritual sadhana. ~ B.K.S. Iyengar

Ignoring the mind is a beautiful sadhana. This is what many of the sages did. They ignored the mind out of existence. It loses its influence and its potency when it is ignored. ~ Mooji

Time is a healer. Time is God. ~ Sadhana Devi Chauhan

Titles or awards are not the mark of your success. They are the beginning of a life-long sadhana. ~ Shreya Ghoshal

While doing sadhana you must quieten your mind and keep awake the Purusha consciousness behind all your activities. ~ Sri Aurobindo

The only necessity in this sadhana is to open yourself to the Divine Force; if one is open the necessary understanding or knowledge will come of itself through spiritual experience.

Sri Aurobindo
Letters on Himself and the Ashram, p.448 ~ Sri Aurobindo

Sadhana is the real currency that you can use anywhere ~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Who is the witness of all this?
Who is looking behind your eyes?
Who is the witness of the coming & going of thoughts?
Who is the witness of the coming & going of sensations?
Who is the witness of every experience or phenomenon you perceive?

Just stay there, with that witness,
that background where everything appears & disappears. ~ SantataGamana

So whenever your relationship is not working, whenever it brings out the "madness" in you and in your partner, be glad. What was unconscious is being brought up to the light. It is an opportunity for salvation. Every moment, hold the knowing of that moment, particularly of your inner state. If there is anger, know that there is anger. If there is jealousy, defensiveness, the urge to argue, the need to be right, an inner child demanding love and attention, or emotional pain of any kind - whatever it is, know the reality of that moment and hold the knowing. The relationship then becomes your sadhana, your spiritual practice. If you observe unconscious behavior in your partner, hold it in the loving embrace of your knowing so that you won't react. Unconsciousness ~ Eckhart Tolle

The RAM Breathing Exercise

Expel all of the air from your lungs, emptying them as much as you can. Then, inhale slowly as you raise your arms as high as possible. As you inhale, concentrate on allowing love, peace, and harmony with the universe to enter into your body. Hold the air you have taken in and keep your arms raised for as long as you can, enjoying the
harmony between your inner sensations and the outer world. When you reach your limit, exhale all of the air rapidly, as you say the word, 'RAM.'
Repeat this process for five minutes each time you do the exercise. ~ Paulo Coelho

Sadhana is towards creating a sense of inner fulfillment, where there is no need to lean on anyone anymore. ~ Jaggi Vasudev

Until you get a guidance from above you cannot be sure; but to get this guidance it requires time and sadhana. ~ Sri Aurobindo

Just remember that learning is also a form of Maya. It is very valuable, no doubt, but you can still become attached to it, just as you can to any form of Maya.
The force of Maya is so strong during Kali Yuga that it is easy to get caught up in learning and forget to do anything with what you learn. This is where niyama comes in. As long as you make everything you do a sadhana, as long as you direct all your energy to achieving your goal, you will only want to learn those things which will help you progress, and you will use them to help improve your sadhana. If you want to practice Tantra sadhanas, you have to start with an unshakable. niyama. ~ Robert E. Svoboda

Morality is the foundation of sadhana. Morality is the base, intuition is the way and Life Divine is the goal ~ Shrii Shrii Anandamurti

Staying in the Beingness.
Without judgement.
This is where the real progress happens. ~ SantataGamana

God's name and God are the same. The chanting, singing, japa, and meditation of God's all-powerful and purifying names are at the heart of all methods of sadhana. God's name is everything. Repeat it always and be blessed. Then we can be sure we are progressing in our search for the Divine Mother who dwells in the very core of our being. ~ Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati