In this episode of “5 Minutes,” Dr. Robert Svoboda explores sadhana for beginners and shares traditional guidance on how to begin and sustain a spiritual practice.

First, the word sadhana. It comes from a root that means to move forward in focused anticipation of achieving a particular goal. This is the first thing to remember. You need to have a goal. It may be a general goal, such as moving in a spiritual direction, whatever that means. Better still, it should be a more specific goal. The more specific the goal, the more likely you are to attain it.

The next question is, what kind of sadhana should you perform?

Many well-known texts, as well as my mentor, the Aghori Vimalananda, taught that in Kali Yuga, the best possible sadhana is bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion. It is acknowledging that the Supreme Reality is supreme, while we are individuals who bow before that reality. It is becoming devoted to that reality, forgetting everything else, and usually choosing one particular form of the Divine to whom you dedicate yourself.

In jnana yoga, the attitude is, “My will be done.” In bhakti yoga, it is, “Thy will be done.” You seek guidance from the Divine in every aspect of your life, and, if possible, you strive to remain aligned with that reality at all times.

That is the goal of bhakti yoga. It is not merging with the deity, but remaining in the presence of the deity, always aligned with that reality, so that the sweetness of devotional love may continually be experienced by the devotee.

If we consider the advice of the Srimad Bhagavatam, one of the most respected scriptures and the principal scripture of Krishna worship, we find this teaching:

“Having obtained the mercy of the teacher who shows what has been handed down through tradition, the devotee should worship the Supreme Personality in whatever form he or she desires.”

If you have an acharya, someone to guide your spiritual practice, that is ideal. If not, you will need to decide which deity you wish to worship and how you would like to begin that worship.

Keep things simple in the beginning. Decide whom you wish to worship and how you wish to begin. At the same time, remain open to suggestions that may arise through the grace of that deity and may come to you from unexpected places, showing you how to deepen and refine your practice.

The most important thing, according to the meaning of the word sadhana, is to remain focused on your goal and continue steadily towards it.

You can be sure that the more sincerely you practise sadhana, the more challenges may arise in your life, because your karmas will begin to be worked through more quickly.

So always practise sadhana at a pace that you can personally digest. Do not harm your health or disturb your mind by imagining that you are doing yourself, or the devata, any favour.