While your mind will naturally take you off course and away from your pure Self, your mind is also the key to your liberation—because it conjures the thought that you need to enroll you in the path to freedom.
In the inner world of the mind, desires take two forms: those that elevate and those that bind. Those that are noble—focused on enlightenment and love, and those that are base—devoid of light and love.
The noble desires guide you toward enlightenment and freedom from suffering. They are the seeds of compassion, love, and a deep yearning for spiritual transformation and growth. These desires illuminate your path, clearing the way for a journey filled with purpose and liberation.
On the other hand, desires such as lust, envy, vengeance, and greed are like shadows that obscure the beauty of your inner garden. They cloud your understanding and hinder your progress on the path for spiritual transformation. Recognizing these desires for what they are is the first step toward spiritual transformation.
“I am no longer the wave of Consciousness thinking itself separated from the sea of cosmic Consciousness. I am the ocean of Spirit that has become the wave of human life.” ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
Some might say that most of our desires are tainted, but you can cleanse your desires through thoughtful scrutiny and discernment. You can dissect each desire before taking action on it. If you use a simple method of evaluation, you can determine which aspects of each desire should stay and which should be removed. You are the master of your desires, if you wish to be.
Many of us throw ourselves into our desires the moment they emerge. We barely pause to breathe before embracing even the most base desires. We believe that our natural urges are continuously working in our favor, but they are not. Our natural urges are born from an unmonitored ego and mind. These urges respond to chemicals running through our bodies, not our most divinely inspired intentions.
Each thought you have is either a gift or a hindrance. It’s up to you to evaluate it in the moment—and take care to pause if the thought is working against your peacefulness and divine nature.
From our thoughts, we establish intentions. From intentions, we conjure actions. From our actions, we create our lives. Be careful with each thought that arises so that you are continually protecting the present moment and your path forward.
What is the Purpose of Sadhana (and How Does It Help)?
Sadhana, or spiritual practice, cultivates the exploration of the soul and helps us connect with our noble desires.
When we practice Sadhana through meditation, chanting mantras, engaging in prayer, performing rituals, practicing yoga, offering selfless service, smiling, or loving others unconditionally, we open our hearts to universal joy and a blissful Consciousness.
Sadhana is more than a set of practices; it’s also a way of life that guides us back to the true nature of our Selves. The journey starts with a spiritual transformation from within that leads us to feelings of being stuck or untrue to ourselves. Coming into that sacred space where our spirit resides helps us find the clarity we need to find our purpose.
Meditation is a powerful tool to transform our mind and liberate our true Selves. At its core, meditation works to cultivate a deeper sense of inner peace, clarity and awareness. It enables us to navigate the obstacles of life with more confidence, ease, and resilience.
We also learn to quiet the incessant chatter that goes on in our mind and learn to observe our thoughts with a greater sense of detachment. The Buddha taught non-attachment to overcome suffering and recognizing that life is impermanent and clinging to desires causes pain. Developing a meditation practice can help reduce stress while enhancing your overall well-Being.
If you’ve ever struggled to release your emotions or dissolve the core of your traumas, meditation is the most profound pathway to spiritual growth and spiritual transformation. Over time, you’ll become more present and attentive as meditation improves your focus, creativity, and emotional intelligence. You develop a deeper connection with yourself and the world around you while enriching your experiences and relationships.
“The more space you create between your body, mind, and spirit, the more your focus rises into the heart and crown chakras, inviting non-linear, non-physical, divine, and other extraordinary experiences.” ~ Shri Krishna Kalesh
Choose a Mantra
Choosing a mantra can also help your vibratory energy resonate within while harmonizing your inner frequencies with the universe. The alignment transforms our sense of unity and belonging. We’re not isolated entities but integral to the Divine. Mantras and prayer, when done sincerely, become a dialogue with The Devine where all of our fears, emotions, challenges, hopes, and gratitude are shared to foster a relationship built on faith.
Rituals deepen our connection to the Divine and use symbols and gestures to ground us in ancient wisdom and teachings while keeping us present. Or, a practice like yoga can unite the body, mind, and spirit to help promote balance, peace, and well-being.
Seva is a type of selfless service that helps guide us beyond our ego and make a more meaningful impact on others. Giving without expecting anything in return purifies the heart and nurtures compassion. Giving can be something simple, like a kind word or smile that breaks down barriers and brings more joy to create meaningful connections that ultimately spread light and love in the world.
Loving others unconditionally is among the most challenging and rewarding parts of practicing Sadhana. It asks us to look beyond the surface and recognize and honor the divine spark in every Being. Loving freely and without judgment, project, or expectation helps us heal and transforms us to create a life and environment where kindness flourishes.
“Stand up tall. Do not be afraid any longer. There’s nothing that can hurt you. There’s nothing in this world that can actually do anything to you. You are free. You are the substratum of all existence. Everything is an image of Consciousness. The whole universe, all the planets, and all the galaxies, are all images on Consciousness, and you are Consciousness. Know yourself and be free.” ~ Ram Dass
Committing to Sadhana means inviting light into our lives and diminishing the shadows of doubt and fear. Our perspectives also shift, and our relationships start to deepen while our actions gain more meaning. Challenges are not obstacles, but opportunities for growth and setbacks are lessons in resilience. We learn to embrace each moment with gratitude to see the beauty in the mundane and the extraordinary in the ordinary.
Our lives are enriched by these practices and become beacons of hope and inspiration for everyone around us. We can see that happiness isn’t just a distant goal but a present-day reality that’s accessible through the simple act of turning inward and extending outward with love and compassion. In this way, Sadhana is more than a practice but a celebration of life, the transformative power of love and the enduring strength of the human spirit.
Approach Sadhana with an open heart and tempered mind that’s ready to start the journey of Self-discovery and freedom from suffering. This will elevate you as you contribute to the upliftment of the world, creating a legacy of love and peace that transcends spacetime.
From Broken To Divine Mind
Our fears and worries—those shadowy figures that often loom large in our minds—are indeed creations of our own making. Before they took root in our Consciousness, they were non-existent, mere potentialities that we breathed life into through our thoughts and perceptions.
This realization is both sobering and liberating, for it reveals that just as we have the power to create our fears, we also possess the power to dissolve them.
We are really Beings of light that embody peace and love. This is our true, natural state and most authentic and true Self. However, over time, our minds turn into untended gardens that are overrun with the weeds of negative thinking, past traumas, and the influences of society. Our perception of reality quickly gets distorted by these experiences and causes us to see our lives through a lens of fear and scarcity. Instead, we could be embracing our existence as one of love and abundance.
“The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace. With each step, the wind blows. With each step, a flower blooms.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Remember, our minds aren’t broken and flawed. They’re really just lost in an illusion of the go, or Maya. The fears and worries we feel aren’t a reflection of reality but are projections of our own inner struggles and false perceptions. Fears are simply illusions and don’t have real substance, but they hold incredible power over us and how we walk through life. In time, they distort our own judgment and pull away from us and distract us from our true purpose.
The path to finding our true Selves and a life of peace all starts with recognizing that our fears are constructs of the mind. Observing our thoughts with detachment and not getting caught up in our own drama allows us to see fears for what they really are—temporary and powerless. A core part of Sadhana is mindfulness, which allows us to let go of these stories that cause so much anxiety and return to the prose, where peace and spiritual transformation is found.
When you engage in positive perspectives, meditation, and other spiritual practices, we can reprogram our minds and replace our fear-based thinking by replacing them with thoughts rooted in love, gratitude, and trust. Cultivating a more loving and compassionate relationship with ourselves leads to a shift in our perception of the world. We begin to see opportunities where we once saw obstacles. Our problems also become less intimidating and turn into puzzles that need creativity, patience, and laughter to be solved. Yes, laughing at ourselves can go a long way!
In this light, our fears and worries are not curses but imagined disruptions. If we can command them into nothingness, we can grow our faith and deepen our connection with The Divine. Our mental perseverations remind us that we are still allowing the mind and ego to rule the day.
Truly, we are not bound by the creations of our minds unless we choose to be. In every moment, we have the choice to return to love, to align our thoughts, words, and actions with our most divine intentions, and to live a life of peace, hope, and limitless potential.
“The quieter you become, the more you can hear.” ~ Ram Dass
In this way, we not only liberate ourselves from the shackles of fear and worry – but also light the way for others, proving that a life beyond stress and anxiety is not only possible but our birthright.
Imagine your purified mind as a clear, tranquil lake, reflecting the sky above without a ripple. This calmness is not just a state of mind but a beacon guiding you forward. You can live in partnership with this beacon, continuously hearing its call and responding with right thought, right intention, and right action.
Dive deeply into your heart with your purified mind and a resounding peace and clarity will emerge. When we allow this to happen, we embolden our resolve to become Self-realized.
Enlightened Masters On Desire
Sri Ramana Maharshi, Amma (Mata Amritanandamayi), and Paramahansa Yogananda, though coming from distinct spiritual backgrounds, share common ground in their understanding of desires and suffering. Each, in their unique way, addresses the root causes of suffering and the role of desires in spiritual transformation.
Sri Ramana Maharshi
Sri Ramana Maharshi taught that not all desires inherently lead to suffering; rather, it is only the base desires that lead to suffering, while the noble desires illuminate our lives toward liberation. the attachment to the outcomes of these desires that causes pain.
Maharshi might ask a seeker to inquire, “Who is it that desires?” By deeply investigating the source of desire within the Self, one realizes that true happiness and peace are not found in the fulfillment of desires but in the recognition of one’s true nature as the pure eternal Self (Brahman), extending far beyond the ego, mind, and their cravings.
Amma (Mata Amritanandamayi)
Amma, with her deep compassion, might acknowledge that desire is actually a natural part of what it means to be human but emphasize the need to distinguish between temporary pleasures and true spiritual fulfillment. When we are ego-driven and our material desires take over, we suffer because they are endless and short-lived.
Even in death, we lose everything that we ever desired in life and reveal that they were just temporal. Amma teaches that the desire for spiritual growth, selfless service, and unconditional love comes from the Divine within us and leads us to the true happiness and freedom from suffering we’re looking for.
Paramahansa Yogananda
Paramahansa Yogananda taught that all of our worldly desires trap us in a continuous cycle of karma and rebirth, while divine desires guide us toward union with the Divine. When you’re meditating and focusing on leading a more spiritually focused life, he believed we could rise above these lower desires, reduce our suffering, and move closer to God-realization and spiritual transformation.
“The mind creates the abyss; the heart crosses it.” ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Embarking on a Spiritually Transformative Experience
Our desires are born from our essence. If we are purifying ourselves daily, our desires become purified. This results in less suffering and further cements our habits and path toward spiritual transformation and enlightenment.
By embracing Sadhana, our spiritual practices, we embark on a transformative path, gently unraveling the false and concrete layers of our Being to uncover the essence of our true nature.
Through these ancient practices, you will eventually distinguish between the transient cravings of your ego and your soul’s deeper yearnings for a divine and fulfilling transcendence.
Begin with just a few minutes of meditation and prayer each morning and evening. This will help you lay the foundation for habits that blossom into preferences, guiding you ever closer to embodying your purest Self amid purified desires.
Your simple yet profound commitment to Sadhana can illuminate your heart and mind. It also works toward spiritual transformation from the ordinary into the extraordinary. Over time, your daily practices can lead you to the realization that within you lives an infinite wellspring of peace and a constant flow of boundless love from The Cosmos to YOU.
Nourish your connection to your spiritual essence, one breath at a time, one moment at a time, one day at a time, and so on. You are far more expanded than you realize.
