POWER OF GROUP SADHANA

Jun 5, 2017 Sanjay Sabnis Art of Living Experiences, Art of Living Wisdom, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Sudarshan
Kriya, Yoga and Meditation.

Existence has two aspects the visible and the invisible; the gross and the subtle; or the
tangible and intangible. Our body is concrete, it is visible; but our breath, mind, intellect,
memory, ego and the spirit is the invisible aspect of the same reality.
Contrary to popular belief, the invisible aspect of our existence is much bigger and powerful
than the visible aspect. Usually we think that our mind is inside our body, however in reality
the body is inside the mind. Mind is much bigger than the body. Mind is also much powerful
than the body. The body cant take a single step unless the mind tells it to do so. Gurudev Sri
Sri Ravi Shankar ji says, A strong mind can carry a weak body but a weak mind cannot
even carry a strong body.
It is the invisible aspect of our existence which governs the visible aspect. But ironically, the
invisible aspect of our existence is the most neglected aspect. The root cause of all the human
suffering can be traced, by one way or other, to this gross neglect of the subtle aspect of
existence.
Sadhana is one way to take care of this invisible aspect of our life. Sadhana refers to the
discipline of spiritual practices like yoga, pranayama, meditation, japa, chanting etc.
undertaken to elevate and enliven the spirit inside. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji says, Sa means
true and Dhanameans wealth. Sadhana is the real wealth, which nobody can take away
from us.
Sadhana gives benefits on all levels of existence; physical, mental as well as
spiritual. Sadhana enhances the process of evolution of individual consciousness.
Consciousness evolves from animal to human and finally to the Divine consciousness.
Sage Patanjali says, Sa tu dirgha kala nairantarya satkara sevito drudha bhumihi. We can
get firmly established in the Abhyaasa (practices), when we do our practices with regularity,
without break, for a sufficiently long time and with honour and love (devotion).
Honour and love for the Self, for the technique and for the Guru accelerate progress on this
path. Here, doing Sadhana as an expression of honour and love is the key. Respect helps
us to maintain a one pointed focus, discipline and gratefulness. Love helps to maintain an
unbroken connection with the Self, with the technique and with the Guru.
Gurudev says, Repetition either leads to boredom or elevates you to perfection. Our
daily Sadhana is nothing but repetition. When the Sadhana is done mechanically as a routine
job, it may lead us to boredom. However, when the same Sadhana is done with honour and
love, it elevates us to perfection.
When Sadhana is done as an expression of honour and love, then there are no expectations
from Sadhana (Achaah), no doer-ship (Akinchan) and a natural effortlessness
(Aprayanthna).
The benefits of Sadhana increase manifold when we do our practices in a group. Scriptures
say that, Sanghe Shakti Kaliyuge. In this age of Kaliyuga, if you are in a group, if you are
united, that has more power than an individual. Thousands of years ago, the individual mind
was very simple, focussed and full of faith. In present age, mind has become overloaded with
information and concepts. Mind has become highly complex, stressed and divided. Individual
mind has lost its original strength because its energy is dissipated multiple directions.
However, when many minds join together in a group activity
like Sadhana, the synergy produced benefits everyone.