Dance is movement, and the most exquisite dance is the most disciplined dance. Hindu spiritual disciplines lead to oneness with God through self-reflection, surrender, personal transformation, and the many yogas.
Explanation
To progress on the path, we study the Vedas, other scriptures, and our guru’s teachings and make every effort to apply these philosophical truths to daily experience. We strive to understand the mind in its fourfold nature:
Chitta, consciousness;
Manas, instinctive mind;
Buddhi, intellectual mind; and
Ahamkâra, ego or I-maker.
We perform Japa, meditation, and yoga each day. Such spiritual discipline is known as sâdhana. It is the mystical, mental, physical, and devotional exercise that enables us to dance with Siva by bringing inner advancement, changes in perception, and improvements in character. Sâdhana allows us to live in the refined and cultured soul nature, rather than in the outer, instinctive, or intellectual spheres. For consistent progress, sâdhana should be performed regularly, without fail, at the same time each day, preferably in the early hours before dawn. The most important sâdhanas are the challenges and practices given by one’s guru.
The Vedas caution, “The Self cannot be attained by the weak, nor by the careless, nor through aimless disciplines. But if one who knows strives by right means, his soul enters the abode of God.”
Compiled by Advaitya
