“Sadhana is nothing but where one prepares for the day to become kind and compassionate to everyone including the enemies”. Yogi Bhajan
Sadhana means daily spiritual practice to train the body and mind to serve the soul. Sadhana is a calm, serene way to approach your day. It is a disciplined practice of yoga and meditation techniques to expand our inner beauty. Sadhana engages us in a process of spiritual awakening to be in a conscious state of being. Some say it’s like an energetic bath. Our mind, body, emotions and subconscious need a daily bath so that we can present our radiance not our garbage. It’s where we can let go, surrender and trust our soul.
We practice Sadhana during what are called the “ambrosial hours” just before sunrise, when the sun is at a sixty-degree angle to the Earth, the energy you put into your Sadhana gets maximum results. Your world is quieter. It’s easier to meditate and concentrate before the hustle and bustle of the day begins. If you absolutely cannot get up early in the morning to do Sadhana, then do it some other time! Doing Sadhana at any time of the day or night will benefit you. Dedicating yourself to morning Sadhana can be difficult at the beginning. Be grateful that you are able and willing to do anything. If you miss a day, don’t criticize yourself. Appreciate who you are and what you can do. Love yourself! Self-compassion is the most important part of our journey.
As our practice takes root we are motivated to do morning Sadhana by a desire to deepen and enjoy the experiences we’ve encountered during the early hours. In my experience I have been so blessed to see beautiful sunrises all around the world that take your breath away or the moon setting as dawn begins to break. It’s such a quiet time that you can’t help but feel that what you’re doing is sacred and so good for your soul.
It can be done alone or in a group. When doing group Sadhana we end it with the Aquarian Chants (which are a series of specific mantras) as a supportive and uplifting practice to sustain us during the challenging times of the Aquarian Age (hence the name Aquarian Sadhana Chants). Snatam Kaur shares a little bit about the Aquarian Chants; The following is what I know and have experienced personally from these chants. I hope that it in some way helps your practice.
The first chant is the Long Ekongkars. I learned that every fear, every emotion, every physical discomfort could be channelled into Long Ekongkars. With a straight spine, chin locked in and plenty of breath I soon discovered that this mantra has the power to cleanse anything. It vibrates from the central channel, the Shushmana, and actively purifies and cleanses this channel and connects the entire charka system.
Wah Yantee is the mantra of creativity and renewal. This is where the joy begins and the journey. The tunes for me are totally different every morning. Sometimes I am surprised by the energy of this Mantra because it is so creative in nature and yet so ancient. It is the most secure creative energy that we have available to tap into. For any creative person out there, you must know the importance of being secure in your creativity and that is why I tap into this mantra every morning.
The Mul Mantra connects you to the Infinite Truth where there is no question, boundary, or lack of energy. Whatever thoughts or ideas that may mislead you will be corrected in this Mantra. This Mantra corrects you, without you knowing it because very simply you vibrate with its eternal truth and it becomes your eternal truth. All of the sudden things that were unbearable to deal with, challenges that you didn’t know how to deal with, thoughts that kept coming back uninvited are brought to light. The eternal truth always comes into play and relaxes things… that’s all that is needed. Then you see what is real and what is not.
Sat Siri Akal is the Mantra that prepares us for death, for that moment when the Prana leaves the body and the soul answers for all vibrations, all thoughts, and all actions. The penetration of this Mantra helps us to guide our lives so that we take the right course on a day to day basis, and are in the Infinite Flow at the time of death.
Then following this comes Rakhe Rakhanhar. This is the most powerful Mantra that can be practically applied for protection. I have used it many times in my life. The beautiful thing is that it is a Mantra for protection that not only surrounds you with protection but your entire community: it is real and strikes down any negativity coming your way. It is essentially a very sweet and beautiful Mantra.
The Waheguru Waheguru Waheguru Wahejio Mantra is where the chanting practice goes very deep into the psyche. First of all it is really long. So after you have gotten into it, enjoyed it, gotten thoroughly bored of it, then it takes hold of you. It is in this moment of boredom that if you stay with it and allow the rhythm of the words to keep beating on your consciousness that Guru Ram Das will come in and lift you into a place where the mind has no domain any longer, where it is between you and your soul and the vibratory frequency ofyour own consciousness. We all have complete awareness, we are all enlightened beings, and this Mantra takes us into that state.Finally we are ready for the healing of Guru Ram Das when we chant to him at the end of Sadhana. The sun is usually rising or the first light is coming depending on where you live and what time of year. But this sensation of the sun rising perfectly describes the feeling of this Mantra. It is the Infinite space where Guru Ram Das exists and you are right there with him. It is the time for your inner most prayers, the ones you didn’t even know existed, the prayers that come from your Soul. your own consciousness. .Finally we are ready for the healing of Guru Ram Das when we chant to him at the end of Sadhana. The sun is usually rising or the first light is coming depending on where you live and what time of year.