On the final day of my trip to India we had a small ceremony to close our training and time together. It was simple, beautiful, and turned out to be one of the most important lessons of my life. As we were finishing up and getting ready to return to our homelands, Saji our teacher gave us this sage advice,
"Most importantly remember the 3 S's - Sadhana, Scriptures, and Service".
It's been nearly a year since I received those words but I took them to heart and my spiritual life has continued to change and grow dramatically. I have mentioned this probably a millions times so far, and will probably mention it a million times more (maybe some of you will get the fullness of this message) but until you experience a thing can not truly know it in it's totality. If you want a spiritual life you have to make conscious effort to make it a part of your experiences. I have spent the last year with these parting words ringing through my soul. Because they have made such an important impact on me, I want to share them with you in hopes that someone out there in cyber land also takes them to heart and begins to transform their own spiritual practice and life.
1) First S - Sadhana
The word Sadhana in Sanskrit means, "endeavoring to obtain a particular result". When you decide you want to grow your spiritual life it takes work. It doesn't just happen over night but with time and effort things start to change. For me my Sadhana includes daily prayer/mantras and meditation, my physical yoga practice on the mat, and walking. I would be lying if I said I do all three of these daily, but I aspire to. I do however do at least one of the three daily. The Sadhana has three main aspects- choice, commitment and aspiration.
What you do for your Sadhana is your choice. There is no particular activity that is required to fulfill a Sadhana the idea is just a continual practice that is regular. An example I once read was to light a candle then blow it out every night for 90 days. Your mind will find all sorts of reasons why not to light the candle. That alone is the practice. On a personal note I would suggest an activity that is edifying, meaning choosing something that will improve your moral or spiritual character.
The second aspect of this piece is commitment. Of course you are the only one who is making the commitment to this practice. It is often suggested to do the practice at the same time or in the same place everyday. This is the idea of regularity and commitment. I have done practices where I was committed to doing a certain meditation three times a day at the same time for ninety days. At this period in my life my commitment is to do the practice. It doesn't always work for me to do each of my practices at the same time every day. For me it is more important to do them than to get worked up about the time or place. But once again - do what works for you. That is most important. I would suggest starting small like the candle idea, or 20 minutes of stretching, or 5 minutes of deep breathing- and committing to a time of day and a length of time, say 90 days. It's in the action with intent that you start to get to know yourself a little better. You will get to see how much the mind will fight you over the simple stuff.
The last aspect of Sadhana is aspiration. If Sadhana simply meant repetitive action that means brushing your teeth could be considered a Sadhana. The Sadhana means that you have to put a conscious intention behind your action. It is not something you simply do everyday. You have to aspire to do something that is out of your norm.
2)Second S - Scriptures
Studying of the scriptures is the second major aspect of your spiritual development. Yoga is considered a Spiritual Science. Do certain activities and you will enhance your soul and be in more accordance with your spirit. Ancient Yogis thousands of years ago figured out there are certain things you can do to awaken the spiritual being within. That's why it is not considered a religion because any religion or spiritual aspirant can use this Spiritual Science to grow. Most Yogis do however believe in a monolithic God- meaning there is only one God with many ways of expression and worship. With that said, whatever your spiritual teachings are study those scriptures. Weather it is The Bible, Bagavad Gita, Sutras, Vedas, Torah, Koran, I Ching etc. - study your scriptures. Daily. Even if you don't know where to start. Pick up the Great Book, open to a page, and start there. Eventually you will find yourself searching out all your questions and inquires. The fact is we were given instruction manuals to living, but you have to study them in order to really learn and understand what they are truly teaching.
What I want to mention about studying the scriptures is that you can not read them like you would the news paper. They need to be studied and meditated upon. I would suggest getting commentary and study books to help search the deeper meanings. For example, there are study Bibles out there that have references in that back. So certain words will be underlined and then you can look them up and get even deeper meaning in the original language. Then the Spirit of the word will be revealed unto you. "The letter of the word kills, but the Spirit gives life"- 2Corintians 3:6 Once you have studied a scripture spend some time meditating on it. Understand it from the heart, the Spirit within, instead of the mind and intellect. Revelation is the only way to truly understand.
3)Third S - Service
"If you knew what I knew about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way." - Buddha (563 BC- 483 BC)
Really, this quote by Buddha says it all. Infact, it is said that when Buddha would give a speech to others than his devotees he would always start with the lesson of giving. After that he would continue his teachings on morality, renunciation, the 4 Noble Truths etc. This is because service and giving is a foundation to all of your higher development.
Find ways, big or small to be of service to others. What you will soon realize is that you think you are out there helping others but in reality you are the one who is also gaining greatly from your service. I have mentioned in pervious posts according to psychology every single person on this planet has 6 human needs - Love &connection, versatility, certainty, significance, GROWTH and CONTRIBUTION. The final two are the only needs that are part of our spiritual being. Sadhana, Scriptures, and Service (aka Contribution) are human needs that promote growth of your Spiritual Being. Your Highest Self.
Giving and being of service is not just about giving money, gifts, or time - it's also about your internal personal quality and disposition. Maybe you just bless each person silently. Or maybe just being in your presence picks a person up or inspires them. Your presence should add to every situation, not take away. Sometimes all you give is a smile and that is of great service.
What I have learned, as my honey so eloquently puts it, "You can't out do God giving". You never ever lose giving or being of service. You always gain -always. With that said I must make one distinction. Do not give or be of service if your heart is not in it or if you expect something in return. Then it is neither a gift or of any real service. You are better off working on the first 2 S's, Sadhana and Scripture first. The true gift or act of service can only come from a genuine heart.
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