साधना किसे कहते हैं ?
ईश्वरप्राप्ति या आनंदप्राप्ति या आध्यात्मिक प्रगति हेतु प्रतिदिन जो भी हम तन, मन, धन, बुद्धि या कौशल्यसे प्रयास करते हैं, उसे साधना कहते हैं | साधनाके अनेक मार्ग हैं, जैसे कर्मयोग, ज्ञानयोग, ध्यानयोग, भक्तियोग, राजयोग, शक्तिपातयोग, कुंडलिनियोग, भावयोग, क्रियायोग, गुरुकृपायोग इत्यादि | यह हिन्दू धर्मकी विशेषता है और धर्मके मूलभूत सिद्धान्त भी, जो स्पष्ट रूपसे कहते हैं कि प्रत्येक व्यक्तिका साधना मार्ग भिन्न होता है | स्वामी विवेकानन्दने कहा है, ‘जतो मत, ततो पथ”, अर्थात जितने व्यक्ति, उतनी ही प्रकृतियाँ और उतनी ही साधनाकी पद्धतियाँ | प्रत्येक व्यक्ति अपने आपमें एक भिन्न अस्तित्व होता है | अतः उसके कर्म करनेकी गति, उसके विचार करनेकी प्रक्रिया, उसके पूर्व संचित, प्रारब्ध, आनुपातिक पंचतत्त्व और पंचमहाभूत, सब भिन्न होते हैं इसलिए साधनाके मार्ग भी भिन्न होते हैं |
कलियुगमें शीघ्र आध्यात्मिक प्रगति हेतु गुरुकृपायोगका विहंगम मार्ग सर्वोत्तम है | इस मार्गके अनुसार शीघ्र प्रगति क्यों होती है ? क्योंकि इस योगमार्गमें अनेक योग मार्गोंकी साधना समाहित होती है | जैसे गुरुकृपायोगसे साधना करनेवाले खरे अर्थमें कर्मयोगी होते हैं | वे गुरुको कर्त्तापन अर्पण कर, निष्काम भावसे अखंड कर्ममें रत रहते हैं | यहाँ तक कि संत पदपर आसीन होनेपर भी उनके कर्म करनेकी अखंडता बनी रहती है | उसी प्रकारसे इस योगमार्गसे साधना करनेवाले हठयोगी भी होते हैं क्योंकि गुरुका कार्य है मन, बुद्धि और अहम् का लय करना | अतः वे सब कुछ शिष्यके मनके विरुद्ध बताते हैं और शिष्य उसका पालन भी करता है | मनके विरुद्ध जाना ही खरा हठयोग है | इस मार्गके साधकका ध्यान ‘जिस प्रकार अर्जुनका ध्यान चिड़ियाकी आँखपर केन्द्रित था’, उसी प्रकार शिष्यका भी ध्यान गुरुचरणोंपर टिका रहता है और ‘ध्यान ‘मूलं गुरोर मूर्ति’, की साधनामें रत शिष्यकी ध्यानयोगकी साधना सहज ही हो जाती है | इस मार्गमें श्रीगुरुसे अखंड ज्ञानकी गंगा प्रवाहित होती है और शिष्य उसमें डुबकियाँ ले, साधना रत रहता है | अतः ज्ञानयोगकी साधना भी इस मार्गमें समाहित है; परन्तु सद्गुरु को ढूँढनेकी आवश्यकता नहीं है | सद्गुरु कोई देह नहीं हैं, वे एक सर्वज्ञानी, सर्वव्यापी तत्त्व हैं | जब तक आपके जीवनमें देहधारी सद्गुरु नहीं हैं, तब तक आप जिस आराध्य-देवका जप कर रहे हैं, वही आपके निर्गुण गुरु हैं | जैसे ही आपके मनमें सगुण गुरुको पानेकी इच्छा और उस हेतु प्रयत्न और भक्ति बढ़ जायेगी, सद्गुरु आपके जीवनमें स्वतः ही चले आयेंगे | ध्यानमें रखें, गुरु मिलना सरल है तथापि शिष्य मिलना कठिन होता है | अतः सद्गुरु भी योग्य शिष्यकी खोजमें रहते हैं | आपके जीवनमें सद्गुरुका प्रवेश हो, इस हेतु आप निम्न प्रयत्न कर सकते हैं:
(१) अधिकसे अधिक योग्य नामजप करें |
(२) यदि घरमें पितृ-दोष हो, तो उसके निवारण हेतु प्रयास करें |
(३) धर्मकार्यर्में यथाशक्ति, तन-मन-धनसे सहयोग करें |
(४) अपने अहम् एवं स्वभाव-दोषके प्रति सतर्क रह कर उसे दूर करने हेतु प्रयत्न करें |
(५) धर्म-प्रसार करें, यह संतोंको प्रसन्न करनेका या उन्हें अपनी ओर आकृष्ट करनेका सर्वोत्तम मार्ग है |
(६) अपने व्यवहारिक समयमेंसे थोड़ा समय निकाल्रकर निष्काम भावसे नियमित व्यष्टि एवं समष्टि साधना हेतु प्रयत्न करें | आपके जीवनमें उच्च कोटिके संतका पदार्पण स्वतः ही हो जाएगा |
GOPAL KRISHNA
Artist: Anil Ram Sharma
* Story : The glory of God’s Name *
Sage Vyās is the author of a Hindu Holy text, Mahābhārat. The following incident happened after He completed writing the Mahabhaat.
Sage Nārad and Sage Vyās were devotees of Shrī Nārāyaṇa and always sang the praises of Shri Narayana. Once, Sage Narad visited Sage Vyas and found him looking very sad. Sage Vyas welcomed Sage Narad. Sage Narad smiled at Sage Vyas and said, ''You must be very happy after completing the great Mahabharat. This Holy text will be very useful for every human being.”
Sage Vyas sat silently, without uttering a single word. Sage Narad spoke again, “Are you worried about something?”
Sage Vyas replied, “Yes. O, great Sage, you are the only person who can clarify my doubt.” He continued, “I thought that writing this Holy text would give me happiness, but instead I am not still happy. Why I am not feeling happy?”
Sage Narad said, “You have written the Holy text Mahabharat well, and I am sure people will be able to understand it easily, but you have forgotten something while writing the Holy text, that is why you are still not happy.“ He added further, “While writing it, you were only thinking about the various characters in it, you forgot about God, that is chanting His Name. When doing any activity, if one chants God’s Name, then one feels happy during and after completing that activity. Repeat His name once and tell me how you feel.''
Sage Vyas immediately followed the given guidance. He repeated Shri Narayana’s name once with intense faith and his unhappiness was gone. He felt happy and satisfied. From that day onwards, He started chanting Shri Narayana’s name continuously.
Moral: The above story shows that even writing a great Holy text like the Mahabharat, which is read by millions of people till today, cannot bring us the kind of happiness and peace that one can get by simply repeating (chanting) God’s Name. To experience this happiness, we, too, can follow Sage Vyas's example in immediately practicing whatever we have learned. Thus, we can start chanting right away and do so daily.
Importance of coming out of our comfort zone in spiritual practice
Being in one’s comfort zone means doing things we’re comfortable with in our day-to-day life. One tends to feel unhappy or upset if asked to do something one is not comfortable with. Everyone has their own unique comfort zone, suited to their particular situation, e.g. someone might feel the need to watch 1-2 hrs of TV a day, someone might be comfortable only speaking to people they know and not to strangers, etc.
However, in Spirituality in order to avoid stagnation on the spiritual path, we need to come outside of our comfort zone. There is a saying that “If we always do what we always did, we will always get what we always got.” One basic tenet of spirituality is that we need to increase our spiritual practice qualitatively and quantitatively at regular intervals, so that we can get more learnings, deeper spiritual experiences, more sustained spiritual practice, etc. Only when we increase our efforts continually can we actually progress spiritually.
How can we step outside of our comfort zone?
- By continuously making efforts to go beyond the status quo The moment we feel satisfied with where we are and what efforts we make, it is the beginning of our decline
- We can think of a goal in spiritual practice, and constantly think of it, how to achieve it
- List a few incremental changes that would help us achieve our goal
- Acknowledge and accept our defects posing obstacles in our spiritual growth
- Increase prayers and surrender
It is better to try and fail than to not try at all. Each mistake or failure brings a lot of learning, and if we are attentive to that learning and apply ourselves in order to change, then we can grow.
Do you have difficulty coming out of your comfort zone? How does this affect your spiritual practice?
To learn more about how to increase our spiritual practice gradually and come out of our comfort zone visit: http://www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org/articles/id/spiritualresearch/happiness/spirituality/conceptsinspirituality_c
#Spiritual #Spirituality #SpiritualPractice #ComfortZone#SpiritualJourney #PersonalityDevelopment
The spiritually evolved are known to require less food, less sleep and begin to emit an aura of radiance. What is the spiritual science behind this?
* Please share *
To understand this, one first needs to know about the three basic subtle components which make up the Universe. They are sattva (spiritual purity), raja (action), and tama (ignorance). These components are subtle in nature and everything in the Universe is composed of a combination of these three subtle components. This even includes the 5 Cosmic Elements.
These five Cosmic Elements are the Absolute Earth (Pruthvītattva), Absolute Water (Āpatattva), Absolute Fire (Tējtattva), Absolute Air (Vāyutattva) and Absolute Ether (Ākāshtattva) principles.
Sattva is the most subtle and intangible component. The Cosmic elements range from gross to subtle in the following manner; Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether being the most subtle and most sattvik. Earth is composed mostly of the tama component however. The subtle basic Tama component limits existence, whereas the subtle basic Sattva component makes it expansive. This explains why the Absolute Earth Principle is the most inferior among the five Cosmic Elements. It also explains why the Absolute Ether Principle is the most subtle and sattvik and thus the most powerful.
Humans are composed predominantly of the Absolute Earth and Absolute Water Principle which are the more gross elements. As an individual starts evolving spiritually however he or she starts functioning at progressively more subtle levels, like the Absolute Fire Principle, Absolute Air Principle, etc. Hence with spiritual practice, one begins to go from gross to subtle and subtle requires less gross needs such as food, physical rest and then auras which are subtle in nature begin to emit from the spiritually evolved.
For more interesting facts on spiritual science please visit:
http://www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org/articles/id/spiritualresearch/spiritualscience/sattva_raja_tama
#Spirituality #CosmicElements #Universe #Knowledge #Enlightenment#SelfAwareness #Consciousness #Truth
Can we meet our loved ones and ancestors in the afterlife?
There are 13 subtle and intangible regions we can go to after death. In the current era, approximately only 5% of us make it to the positive regions of Heaven (Swarga), Maharlok and above.
Some principles that govern which of our departed ancestors we can meet in the afterlife:
1. Same region:
Subtle-bodies of relatives in the same region can meet each other easily. For example, two subtle-bodies of relatives in the Nether region (Bhuvarlok) can meet each other.
2. Subtle to subtler regions:
It is not possible for a person in a subtle (intangible) plane to meet a person in an even more subtle-plane of existence. After the Earth region (Bhūlok), the Nether region is the most gross (tangible). A subtle-body in one of the planes in the Nether region cannot go to meet a subtle-body in Heaven or the 1st Region of Hell (Pātāl).
3. Subtle-regions to more gross regions:
A subtle-body from a more subtle-plane of existence can go to a grosser (less subtle) plane of existence. For example, a subtle-body in the 3rd Region of Hell can go to meet a person in the 1st Region of Hell on a temporary basis. Such visits usually last for as long as they are required and are also dependent on the spiritual strength of the visiting subtle-body.
4. Subtle higher regions:
Subtle-bodies in the higher positive subtle-regions of Maharlok are so spiritually advanced that they are devoid of desires including the desire to meet family members. The main purpose of their existence is to grow spiritually.
5. Subtle-bodies in Heaven experience immense happiness and are generally caught up in the subtle-pleasures that Heaven has to offer. As a result, the desire to meet previous relatives just does not encroach upon their consciousness.
6. Visiting Region of the Dead or Earth: Subtle-bodies in any subtle-region can visit the subtle-bodies in the Region of the Dead or Earth region.
7. A ghost of higher spiritual strength in the lower regions of Hell can temporarily enter higher positive regions such as Heaven to upset the peace.
Did you know that there can also be risks involved with meeting our loved ones or deparated ancestors in the afterlife?
To learn what these risks are please visit the full article at:
http://www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org/articles/id/spiritualresearch/spiritualscience/afterdeath/meetingancestors
#Ancestor #Ancestors #Afterlife #Death #Family #Ghost#SubtleRegions #Netherworld #Spiritual #Spirituality
What are the stages of spiritual growth?
1. Intellectual/Verbal Knowledge
Generally our spiritual practice begins with someone giving us information on what to do or we read a book telling us what to do. For example, based on the information provided in this website you may get an intellectual understanding on how to proceed with your spiritual practice.
2. Belief
After we have read or been told about the various concepts of Spirituality, we begin to develop a certain belief based on what we have understood. This in turn gives us a sense of purpose on what needs to be done.
3. Spiritual Practice
After we intellectually understand the reasons as to why we should do spiritual practice, the next step is to put into practice the knowledge that we have gained.
4. Spiritual Experience
Spiritual practice gives spiritual experiences that lead to an increase in faith. Increase in faith leads to more spiritual practice.
5. Faith
Spiritual experiences help strengthen our faith. Faith gives us courage of conviction that we are on the right path. As a result, we invest more time in spiritual practice and get higher level of spiritual experiences which in turn lead to more faith.
6. Spiritual Emotion
As our faith becomes very strong, we then begin to experience spiritual emotion, which is having an intense awareness of the presence of God in everything around us in each and every aspect of our day-to-day activities.
7. Devotion
When our spiritual emotion becomes pervasive, we come to a stage of devotion. This devotion ends our feeling of being separate from God.
8. Self-realisation
This is the ultimate in spiritual growth where we finally merge into God. At first, since God is viewed as separate from ourself, we are in a state of duality (dvait). Later, once the goal of Self-realisation is reached, we go beyond spiritual emotion as we attain a state of non-duality (advait).
* Are you progressing through the stages in spiritual growth? *
For more information on the stages of spiritual growth visit: http://www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org/articles/id/aboutspiritualresearch/spiritualpractice/lifecycleofspiritualpractice
#Spiritual #Spirituality #SpiritualProgress #SpiritualGrowth #Growth#Progress #Seeker #God #Devotion #Faith #Belief #Knowledge
