Satsang 3 : Fundamental mistakes in sadhana

In this article awe are going to look into things that should be avoided during spiritual practice, which means that we are going to understand the “fundamental mistakes committed during sadhana”. We come across several “Do’s and Don’ts” at several places and occasions in our daily lives that help us in the outside world. Similarly, it is also important to know what should be done and what should be avoided during the course of our spiritual practice. There are 4 types of mistakes that are usually committed by an individual while on his spiritual path, namely, doing Sadhana according to one’s own mind, getting caught in sectarian spiritual practice, deciding on one’s guru, and considering oneself a seeker. Because of these mistakes, even after doing Sadhana for years together, one does not progress spiritually. Hence, it is important to avoid these mistakes. Let us look into them in detail.

1. Doing Sadhana according to one’s own mind

It is seen many a times that people tend to start their spiritual practice according to their own mind. Some start visiting holy places, some start reading religious books and scriptures, some start observing fasts and religious vows, or start doing a variety of other things. In short, they try doing Sadhana according to what their mind feels like doing. In everyday life, if one’s mobile or TV gets damaged, one goes to a technician for getting it repaired. If one is unwell, one goes to a doctor. If one needs to go to a court, one consults a lawyer. In short, one goes to an expert in the respective fields and gets their opinion regarding that matter and takes action accordingly. But, when it comes to spiritual practice, we tend to start practicing on our own instead of seeking the guidance of an authority. Even if doing some spiritual practice is better than doing none, it is not useful for our spiritual progress.

It is also seen that many people chant the name of saints even when they have not taken any advice about it from saints. It should be noted that according to Hindu scriptures, there is a provision for chanting God’s name and not that of saints. Have you ever heard of someone chanting the name of a Rishi? No, isn’t it? The present-day saints too have never told anyone to chant their names, they have instead asked seekers to chant God’s name. Even though saints are manifest forms of God, they are bound by the laws of creation, sustenance, and destruction. That is, their manifest energy exhausts some time after they have left their body. In contrast, God is eternal, endless, omnipotent, and omnipresent. Hence, chanting the name of God is more powerful than chanting the name of a saint. Hence, it is inappropriate to start chanting the name of a saint on your own.

In spirituality, to avoid this mistake of doing Sadhana as per your own wish, one has to inculcate the habit of asking for guidance. It is only when one has the curious attitude of “I don’t know anything and I want to learn what is spirituality” that an authority in spirituality can guide him / her. From the moment we start understanding things, we start gaining knowledge about ‘how to do pooja’, ‘how to worship in temple’, ‘how to read scriptures’, etc., and our Sadhana continues on those lines, but since we do the same Sadhana over and over again in our entire lifetime, we remain where we are. This is same as the state of the ox going round and round in an ox-driven oil mill. If a person studying in the 7 th standard learns the same syllabus repeatedly year after year even after understanding everything, will it be of any use to him? Progress happens only if one goes to the next level after completing the previous level. An individual goes from the first standard to the second, from the second to the third, from primary to secondary, then higher secondary, then university, and then becomes a graduate. It is the same in spirituality as well. While doing Sadhana, as one becomes familiar with one level, one should try to understand sadhana of the next level and try to perform them.

2. Sectarianism

The second mistake in Sadhana is getting caught in sectarian spiritual practices. We have already understood the basic principle of spirituality that “Each individual has a unique nature, therefore, there are as many paths of Sadhana as there are individuals”. There are more than 700 crore people living on earth now, which means that there are more than 700 crore paths towards realization of God. But, any follower of a sect knows only about one way of realizing God and he performs spiritual practices only according to that sect. He doesn’t know other ways of doing Sadhana beyond that. In a sect, all followers are collectively taught only one way of doing Sadhana, but it is not possible that this is applicable to each one of them. Each individual has a nature of his own and because of this fact, many of those who follow the spiritual practice of a particular sect do not progress spiritually as expected. They seldom have any spiritual experiences. Because of this, they start entertaining thoughts like “my entire life has gone waste”, “even after worshipping God so much, nothing good has happened to me”, and then eventually lose their faith in God, spiritual practice, and spirituality. If a doctor knows about just one medicine, would we consider him a doctor at all? We won’t consult such a doctor ever! Sectarian spiritual practice is similar.

Another drawback of sectarianism is that followers of a sect start believing that ‘our sect is the superior most one’. Going forward, ego develops in these followers. They start discriminating against other sects saying ‘our sect is superior and others are inferior to us’. Hence, it becomes difficult for those following a particular sect to look at everyone with equanimity. Far from considering the whole world as their home, they find it difficult to develop affinity even towards followers of a different sect. The purpose of spiritual practice is to ‘destroy ego’ and becoming ‘broad-minded’. Sectarianism makes it impossible to achieve this.

Sectarian spiritual practice is definitely better than not doing any Sadhana at all, but if one wants to progress spiritually, then one should avoid getting caught in sectarian spiritual practices.

3. Choosing and deciding on a Guru by oneself

The next mistake in Sadhana is ‘choosing and deciding on a Guru by oneself’. In reality, we should never choose a Guru for ourselves, instead it is the Guru who should accept us as his disciple or Shishya. Due to the limitations of our spiritual level, we cannot come to know if an individual is actually a Guru or a saint or not. Doctors and lawyers carry certificates of their qualifications, but since spirituality is a subject that is beyond the realm of words, what is the certification that one can rely on? In present times, 98% of those who appear to be saints are fraudulent. Because of this, one should try to become a Shishya first instead of deciding on a Guru by oneself.

To become a Shishya, one can study about the qualities of a Shishya as described in either the text called ‘Shri Dasbodh’ by Samarth Ramdas Swami or Sanatan’s text titled ‘Shishya’ . Once we imbibe the qualities of a Shishya in us, Guru comes automatically in our life. A teacher automatically gives more attention to a bright student in a class. Similarly, once an individual imbibes the qualities of a Shishya in him, Guru tattva automatically guides him in his onward spiritual journey.

4. Considering oneself as a seeker

The next mistake in spiritual practice is considering oneself as a seeker. Some people start considering themselves as seekers if they start doing a little bit of spiritual practice, chant Stotras, or do pooja daily. This thought process derails the efforts one puts in Sadhana and stops spiritual progress from happening. One can be called a seeker if he does spiritual practice daily for 2-3 hours according to an appropriate spiritual path. We have gone through and understood these fundamental mistakes in Sadhana. It is advisable to avoid these mistakes.