Sādhana and The Five Duties
When we study and practice our religion, we are not necessarily performing deep sādhana. We are simply dispatching our religious duties. These duties are concisely outlined in the pañcha nitya karmas, the five minimal religious obligations of Hindus. The first duty is dharma, proper conduct, living one’s life according to the teachings of the Tirukural and atoning for misconduct. The second duty is upāsana, worship, performing a personal vigil each day, preferably before dawn, including a pūjā, followed by the performance of japa, scriptural study, and meditation. The third duty is utsava, holy days, observing each Friday (or Monday) as a holy day, as well as the major festival days through the year. On the weekly holy day, one cleans and decorates the home altar, attends the nearby temple and observes a fast. The fourth duty of all Hindus is tirthayātrā, pilgrimage. At least once each year, a pilgrimage is made to a Hindu temple away from one’s local area. Fifth is saṁskāras, the observance of traditional rites of passage, including nāmakaraṇa, name-giving; vivāha, marriage; and antyeshṭi, funeral rites.
Another vital aspect of Hindu duty is service. The Vedas remind us, “When a man is born, whoever he may be, there is born simultaneously a debt to the Gods, to the sages, to the ancestors and to men” (Śukla Yajur Veda, SB 1.7.2.1. VE, P. 393). Service to the community includes helping the poor, caring for the aged, supporting religious institutions, building schools and upholding the lofty principle of ahiṁsā in raising one’s children. Hinduism is a general and free-flowing, relaxed religion, experienced in the temple, in the āśramas, the aadheenams, at festivals, on pilgrimage and in the home.
The performance of personal sādhana, discipline for self-transformation, is one step deeper in making religion real in one’s life. Through sādhana we learn to control the energies of the body and nerve system, and we experience that through the control of the breath the mind becomes peaceful. Sādhana is practiced in the home, in the forest, by a flowing river, under a favorite tree, in the temple, in gurukulas or wherever a pure, serene atmosphere can be found. A vrata, vow, is often taken before serious sādhana is begun. The vrata is a personal pledge between oneself, one’s guru and the angelic beings of the inner worlds to perform the disciplines regularly, conscientiously, at the same time each day.
NANDINATHA SŪTRA 85: THE HOME AS REFUGE
Śiva’s men devotees, on arriving home from work, immediately bathe and enter their shrine for the blessings of Gods and guru to dispel worldly forces and regain the state of Śiva consciousness. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.