Sadhana is a conscious,
ongoing effort which you make to experience the transformation of your nature.
It is not something that you do for one hour. Sadhana is continuous awareness,
being in the present moment. One has to become a sadhaka in order to experience
the truth, the auspiciousness and the beauty in life. The entire process of
yoga is based on the principle of sadhana. Samadhi, which is the aim of yoga,
does not mean meditative isolation from the world where you become one with yourself,
rather it means a harmonious interaction of the feeling of unity within and
without.
-
Paramhamsa Niranjanananda Saraswati
Evolution is more than just a theory. It is the defining view of our times – the recognition
that everything is moving forward at an accelerating, i.e. exponential,
rate. Of course we are not just talking
about biological evolution but also the evolution of mind, technology and
culture.
Whereas our ancestors lived in a world that was somewhat
static and predictable from generation to generation, we live in a world where
things change dramatically within a decade or even a year. As our technology changes so do we on some
level. We must learn to adapt to
survive.
Human beings have survived due to our adaptive
abilities. Now we are adapting to the
changes we ourselves have brought about.
Perhaps as some theorists suggest we are becoming transhuman – a hybrid
of biology and technology. Perhaps we’ll
attain some form of immortality by uploading ourselves onto computers.
There is a deeper level of evolution that needs to take
place. This is the evolution of
consciousness. It is important not to
get too fixated on our devices. We also
need to pay attention to our inner selves.
The twentieth century was a demonstration of how our technological
abilities can outstrip our spiritual development. As Albert Einstein put it, "It has become appallingly obvious that our
technology has exceeded our humanity."
Technology which is meant to
make life easier actually seems to create more stress. As a friend confided to me in the 90s, “I
used to just send a letter and wait for the reply. Now I’m running back and forth to the fax
machine all day.” Now we are confronted
with the ubiquity of cell phones that interfere with us engaging on a personal
level in the actual world.
Yoga is a means of reconnecting with our inner being and
evolving on a conscious level. Yoga is
not just about a set of physical postures but about inner transformation
through spiritual devotion, self-inquiry, service and meditation. Through yoga sadhana we can evolve ourselves
as conscious beings and help the world to evolve on a deeper level. This is inner evolution.
Without inner
evolution outer evolution will continue blindly until it annihilates us. In this sense, yoga is essential for the
survival and consciousness evolution of humanity.
