FOUNDATIONS OF SADHANA.. PRERQUITES OF SPIRITUAL SADHANA:- I will dwell have upon the main qualifications necessary for launching upon the actual Sadhana. All the ancient saints, seers, men of God that have had intuitive experience of the Truth have been declaring to all mankind the great bliss, the vast power & knowledge that con be experienced if only man would turn from sensual sinful life & strive for the higher divine life. Yet we see today that man is as much immersed—if not more—in worldliness as he was centuries ago & the state of mankind is as apathetic towards these questions of a life in the spirit as it was at the beginning of creation. Why is it that in spite of the clarion call of very many great seers, the confident assurance of the scriptures, the repeated experiences of man himself in failing miserably to attain happiness amidst external physical world, man is again & again being deceived? Why is it that man has not yet learnt to take to Sadhana? We read hundreds of spirifual books; we attend discourses; we convene gatherings as during the Sadhana Week. After years of intense study of spiritual books, contact with saints, after hearing these things again & again, yet man dose not actually do anything. Because he does not have a deep & abiding faith in the admonitions of saints, in the scriptures, in the words of those who have trodden the path & attained bliss. His faith in external objects is something more real to him. If only man did really believe in these great ones he would certainly be induced to act up to their words. It is this basic lack of faith in man that is at the root of his failure to do Sadhana. Sadhana is necessary; but man will not do it because he does not really believe in its necessity. Man believes that for his happiness money is required. Man believes that if only he will get a good job he will get money. Man believes that if he has good college education he will get this jog; & through that money; & through that, happiness that he desires. THE ESSENCE OF SADHANA:- A Raja Yogi slowly ascends the Yogic ladder along the eight steps, viz., Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana & Samadhi. He gets ethical training in the beginning to purify by the practice of Yama & Niyama. Then he steadies his posture, Asana. Then he parctises Pranayama to steady his mind & purify the Nadis. Then by practice of Pratyahara, Dharana & Dhyana he gets Samadhi. Through Samyama he gets different Siddhis. He restrains all the mental modifications that arise from the mind. Hatha Yoga concerns with the physical body & control of breath. Raja Yoga deals with the mind. Raja Yoga & Hatha Yoga are interdependent. Raja Yoga & Hatha Yoga are necessary counterparts of each other. No one can become a perfect Yogi without a knowledge of & the practice of both. Proper Raja Yoga beings where properly praoperly practiced Hatha Yoga ends. A Hatha Yohi starts his Sadhana with his body & Prana, while a Raja Yogi with his mind; a Jnana Yogi with his Buddhi & will. This is the chief difference. To get success in Raja Yoga, one should have a thorough knowledge of the mysteries of the mind & the way by which it is controlled.