The practice of Sadhana

This is my second post in this series. In part 1, I explained the philosophy behind the practice of Sadhana. In this part, I will help you understand how you can practice it in your daily lives with your uplines and mentors.

Sadhana is a process of self discipline and analysis. You write what you did for the day and the learning that you experienced the day before. It is a process of analysing your mistakes yourself, before your mentor. It allows your mentor to check you every day. This is not a report, it is a learning process where you discuss your weaknesses and your learning for the day.

The process is done continuously for 108 days. Like Mouna, if you miss a day, you start all over again from Day 1.

For the process to be tracked with simplicity, each message is marked with a simple numbering system. Day 1 is marked as 1/108, Day 2 as 2/108 and so on.

You have completed a full cycle of Sadhana when you reach 108/108, without missing a single day. That’s when you live in the Zone…

One complete Sadhana raises you to another level with your mentor.

What is Sadhana?

Many of you in the network practice Sadhana, especially those who have been with me from the early days. Over the years, I have tried to inculcate this as a habit and an inherent practice in networking, alongside the practice of Sphere of Silence. Many newcomers have been asking me what Sadhana really means, especially in the networking context.

I am writing a 2 part series here, to serve as a guide to those of you who are trying to understand this and the innate philosophy behind it. In the first part, I will go into what Sadhana means in the larger context and why  this is an important practice. In the second part, I will break down the process for the networkers amongst you, of the actual practice.

“Sadhana” means the same thing in numerous languages, including Sanskrit, Tibetan, almost all major Indian languages of the subcontinent, Japanese, Thai, Burmese, and lately in the English-speaking parts of the world. In its literal sense, it means “accomplishing something”. More intrinsically, it is an ego transcending spiritual practice.

Sadhana is a spiritual discipline of the mind, which at times coincidentally includes the body. Ultimately the objective is to sharpen and redefine the mind and its perception of reality. In a more simplistic sense, sadhana is about repeating the same practice every day. It is the straightest, most well-travelled path to mastery over oneself, or over a particular discipline.

In the context of network marketing, particularly the one that I developed as a tool for integrating and communicating internally within the network, sadhana is a simple requirement – the adherent or the downline must submit a daily observation of his various challenges or learnings to his upline.

It is usually practiced during mouna when the individual notes his observations, thoughts, and learning processes, and sends them out continuously for 108 days to his upline, which completes one cycle. Then the process is repeated. There are times when the mentor who receives sadhana will reply, although that is optional. When he chooses to reply, then the number and cycle of the sadhana becomes relevant to the reply.

Uniquely enough, although in many cases sadhana can be read, the act of writing it out itself provides an internal guiding system to the individual sending it out. There mere act of pouring out his challenges and outlining them causes him to re-evaluate his predicament – and often leads to an answer, or a correction in his strategy.

The sadhana sometimes accomplishes so much at its first stage. On the occasions when the mentor replies, there is interaction and the mentor-mentee relationship is strengthened. Very often it goes to a third or fourth individual, as the mentor is himself a mentee to someone else. Thus, when he is faced with a difficult problem, he escalates it to another level for guidance.  As this this  process goes upwards, ever so often, it reaches me and an answer or direction I give to a particular problem/question may end up answering a dozen people down the line. Then sadhana becomes a process of self-searching, self-evaluation, self-analysis and self-direction, which can be taken to another level when a group discussion is held. In fact, it is the most effective tool that I have come across in holding the group together.

The process originates from the gurukala system of ancient India; the monastic system practiced in ashrams throughout India. There, the circles are tighter, generally within one ashram, but the requirements remain the same. A daily journal and system of learning through self-analysis are encouraged. The rationale of this exercise hinges upon the principle that the answers lie within. We just need to find the way to the right door that opens to the right answer.

As a side effect, sadhana builds strength of character, for it requires discipline, duty, focus, and leads to a sense of purpose. To many who are not yet comfortable with themselves, this can be a humungous task, but when done in stages, the resulting effect is seen when one actually becomes comfortable with who they are. In a sense, sadhana for centuries has played the role that psychiatrists fill today.

In many a case, we need to clarify our thoughts. On occasion a thought once enunciated, becomes transparent for what it is. If not properly thought out, it dissipates. But when one learns the art of thinking things through, then the thought grows in strength to eventually become a thought process. That is the key to developing the path to wisdom.

Watch out for the second part of this series on the Practice of Sadhana.

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