Sadhanas
Daily
Daily
sadhana
or practice can take a variety of forms. The fundamental basis of
practice is remembering Krsna always and never forgetting him. This
what someone who loves him does. By the principle of "what the
perfected do the practitioner practices," a practitioner adopts a number
of methods to help him or her remember Krsna.
Japa
, soft repetition generally counted on beads, of Krsna's names and mantras
is one form of practice.
Kirtana
, loud recital or singing, of Krsna's names, qualities, forms, and sports
is another form.
Smarana
, remembering or meditating on, Krsna's names, qualities, forms, and
sports is another form of
sadhana
. A Caitanya Vaisnava practitioner usually does a combination of all of
these.
Here, I will assume that those interested in
sadhana
have already worked out their
japa
and
kirtana
practices. (If you have not contact me) Instead I will focus on
smarana
. Here is a nice little
sadhana
taken from the more detailed practice of remembering the sports of Radha
and Krsna through the eight periods of the day. It requires
memorizing 12 verses and having a watch or access to a timepiece.
Here
is my translation of Krsnadasa Kaviraja's 12 verses on
smarana
. At the beginning of each of the eight periods (the times are given
in the translation), recite the verse summarizing the sport of that period
and read the translation. For the first period there are three
verses (the mangala, the general summary and the summary of the sports for
Night's End) to recite and for the last there are two (verses 11 and
12). In this way one will be reminded throughout the day of what
Radha and Krsna are upto in their parallel universe called Goloka.
Try it for a week or a month or a year and see how it affects your life
and the way you look at the world. Write meand tell me what you
experienced.
Long Term
(Coming soon: Sanatana's combination of
nama-kirtana
and
smarana
)