Acharya Mahashraman
There are five words sadhya (destination), sadhan (means), sadhana (spiritual practice), sadhak (practitioner), and siddhi (success). These five words encircle everything. Sadhya is destination. The person who follows the path of sadhana is sadhak. Sadhak practices the sadhana to achieve the sadhya. The question is - what is important? Is it means or destination? In fact, means in themselves are not of much value. The means are good if they lead us towards our destination and help in achieving our destination. Therefore, the most significant thing is the right destination. If your destination is right then no matter the path is rough or smooth, it will get to the endpoint.
Man should decide his goal with determination. After deciding the goal if one moves forward then success is sure. Success is doubtful in race without a goal. The goals may vary from individual to individual. A person working for the society has different goal than the person in political field. After defining the goal man should start the journey with a plan. If the situations are in favour then the goals can be achieved sooner. Many times, it happens that inspite of having right goal, man does not move consistently. He gets constant fear of possible obstacles in the life and he thinks, 'How will I move forward? How will I make progress? How will I reach my destination?' Therefore, there is always doubt in the progress of fearful person.
As beautifully articulated by an ethicist:
Prarabhyate na khalu vighnabhayen neechaih Prarabhya vighnavihata virmanti madhyah Vighnaih punah punarapi pratihanyatnanah Prarabhya chottamajanana parityajanti
The people of ordinary category do not start the work because of fear of problems. They get nervous in the very beginning. The people of intermediate category initiate the journey towards goal with enthusiasm but when they are confronted with oppositions and obstacles, disruptions and hurdles on their way, they become unable to accept and give up before them. Consequently, their journey towards their goal comes to a halt. Supreme category people are those who commence the work with enthusiasm and confidence; happily accept the resistance and impediments, interruptions and obstacles and face them. They deal with them in friendly manner and achieve their goal.
Goal setting is necessary in spiritual life also. Though the ultimate goal of a spiritual person is salvation (moksha), yet to achieve this great goal, short term goals should also be planned. Man should do self-introspection. He should be aware of his weaknesses and strengths. Then he should decide which weaknesses I should reduce and which strengths need to be enhanced more. Someone may have fear while the others may have anger. Man must have an aim to get rid of fear, anger, ego etc. A spiritual practitioner's success may get delayed without having firm belief and deep concentration in his practice.
Meditation is a tool to take you to your goal. One, who wants to realize the self, wants to become free form passion and likes to move forward towards purifying his psyche; he will have to practice meditation. Beside meditation, there are many other practices which can become means to be free from passions and purify the psyche. Some examples are: swadhyay (reading scriptures), anupreksha (Contemplation), and chanting etc. H.H. Acharya Mahapragya propounded Preksha Meditation and presented a technique of sadhana before mankind. The aim of Preksha Meditation or sadhana is to have a peaceful life. There can be many obstacles in the way of peace. Three major troubles are: adhi (physical illness), vyadhi (mental illness), and upadhi (emotional illness). Out of three the root is upadhi i.e. emotional illness and the feeling of attachment and aversion.
The first attempt of Preksha Meditation is to rectify upadhi and cure it. Once upadhi is cured adhi (mental illness) which is produced by upadhi is also cured. For, upadhi is the ground for adhi. By destroying the base (upadhi), no illness gets support to stay. And it gets off by itself. The third impediment is vyadhi which means physical illness. Most of the physical diseases are caused by mental and emotional illness. In the absence of mental and emotional illness physical illness gets to an end. But, many physical diseases can also be the effect of karmas of that person. Good health or ill health depends upon the rising of satvedaniya (good health determining) or asat vedaniya (ill health determining) karmas. During his sickness man should think that he got a chance to shed off his karmas. Enduring the pain of disease peacefully causes a good amount of eradication of karmas.
If a man has the power of sadhana in his life then he does not lose his peace even in his sickness. His detachment and calmness gets empowered at such an extent that peace does not get disturbed by illness. It sustains.
To get to the destination it is necessary to have unwavering faith for the goal in the mind. The means also should be respected. If one has a respect for the available means but does not have faith in sadhana (practice) then how can goal be achieved? Destination can be achieved if the practice is done along with dedication and respect. If a practitioner thoughtfully decides his goal and moves on with effort, then destination can be achieved.
