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 me and tell me what you
experienced.
Long Term
(Coming soon:
Sanatana's combination of nama-kirtana
and smarana)