sadhana
Sadhana (from the SANSKRIT root sadh, complete,
accomplish) is used generically for any spiritual
practice but is most frequently used to refer to
Hindu TANTRIC practice.
Further reading: Pandit Madhav Pundalik, Bases of
Tantra Sadhana (Pondicherry: Dipti, 1972); Sir John
Woodroffe and Swami Pratyagatmananda, Sadhana for
Self-Realization: Mantras, Yantras and Tantras (Madras:
Ganesh, 1963).
sadhu
A sadhu (from Sanskrit fisadhvi, “good”) is a
renunciant, most commonly a mendicant who
wanders in search of alms. Such people are
regarded as good, pure, and religiously devoted.
The terms sadhu and SANNYASI (more rarely their
feminine forms sadhvi and sannyasini) are gener-
ally used interchangeably for wandering mendi-
cants. The name SWAMI is also sometimes used.
Customs and characteristics vary greatly
among sadhus and depend upon the sect to which
they belong. They may be devoted to any divinity
or to the BRAHMAN, the ultimate reality. Celibacy is
universally required. Sadhus who worship Lord
SHIVA may freely partake of hashish and marijuana
to inspire their devotional chanting; for all others
such drugs are strictly forbidden. Sadhus are very
often devoted to a particular GURU (almost always
a man) and follow his dictates strictly.
The sadhu or wandering mendicant is a very
familiar feature of the Indian landscape and a
distinctive aspect of Hinduism. While they are
typically welcomed, there has always been some
skepticism about their authenticity as well.
Further reading: Ramesh Bedi and Rajesh Bedi, Sadhus:
The Holy Men of India (New Delhi: Brijbasi Printers,
1991); Agehananda Bharati, The Ochre Robe: An Auto-
biography, 2d ed. (Santa Barbara, Calif.: Ross-Erikson,
1980); Robert Lewis Gross, The Sadhus of India: A Study
of Hindu Asceticism (Jaipur: Rawat, 1992); Dolf Hartsui-
ker, Sadhus: India’s Mystic Holy Men (London: Thames
& Hudson, 1993).Sahadeva See PANDAVAS.
Sahaja Yoga Center (est. 1970s)
Sahaja Yoga was founded by Sri Mataji Nirmala
Devi (b. March 21, 1923), an Indian girl born
to a Christian family in Chindawara, India. Her
parents, Prasad and Cornelia Salve, were direct
descendants of a royal household in India. She is
said to have been born with complete self-real-
ization and to have known from childhood that
she had a spiritual mission to help humankind.
Early in her life, she displayed great wisdom,
intelligence, and an understanding of the human
nervous system and it energetic components.
Her parents were active in the Indian inde-
pendence movement. Her father was a renowned
scholar, a close associate of MOHANDAS KARAM-
CHAND GANDHI, who served on the Assembly of
Free India; he helped to draft India’s Constitu-
tion. As a child, Nirmala lived with her parents
in Gandhi’s ashram and served as a youth leader
in the independence movement. Gandhi rec-
ognized her spiritual gifts and often engaged
with her in conversation about the principle of
Sahaja Yoga (the union with the divine innate
in all people). Both agreed that fundamental-
ism and religious competition were obstacles to
SELF-REALIZATION.
Nirmala studied medicine and psychology at
the Christian Medical College in Lahore, Pakistan.
In the late 1940s she married C. P. Srivastava, a
member of the Indian Civil Service and later a
diplomat. They had two daughters.
In May 1970, Nirmala had a transformative
experience. She felt an opening in the crown
CHAKRA at the top of her head. The KUNDALINI
energy coiled at the base of the spine began to
uncoil and to open the other energy centers along
the spine. Empowered with this spiritual energy,Sahaja Yoga Center 373 J