Unlike Raja Yoga (pure meditation), Sadhana requires us to identify our Ishta (Personal Divine). This is where Sanatana Dharma (SD) differs from organized religions.
When faith is “organized”, someone has already set an Ishta and a path to that. For example, Jesus Christ is the Ishta, and Christianity is the path to him. Allah is the Ishta, and Islam is the path to That. Peace and Compassion are our Ishta, and Zen Buddhism is the path to That.
SD — A Buffet
SD, on the other hand, isn’t an organized faith. That means you have to choose your Ishta and the path like a buffet.
Eating in a buffet is a liberating experience, but it can get heavy without discipline or direction. The same applies to SD, so identifying “Who or What You Mean by “God” becomes an essential aspect here.
Therefore, as a first step, “assign” an Ishta. Yes, the term is “assign”. Some have a natural inclination toward some Ishta, akin to falling in love before marriage. However, the vast majority don’t have any such tendency. So, they’d identify an Ishta and then learn to fall in love, akin to an arranged marriage.
SD’s Buffet Options
If you are taking the path of “arranged marriage” in spirituality, below are the “buffet” options given by the sages:
- Atheism (yes, SD supports this): Ishta is Peace-Love-Compassion; Path is Raja Yoga.
- Nature: Ishta is Sun, Indra, etc.; Path is Shaurya.
- Man: Ishta is Shiva; Path is Shaiva. Alternative: Skanda & Kaumara.
- Woman: Ishta is Devi; Path is Shakta.
- Man, Woman, or Other: Ishta is Vishnu; Path is Vaishnava.
- Child: Ishta is Skanda; Path is Kaumara. Alternatives: Little Krishna and Vaishnava, Little Devi and Shakta, Little Shiva and Shaiva, or Little Ganesha and Ganapatya.
- Animal: Ishta is Ganesha; Path is Ganapatya. Alternative: Hanumana and Vaishnava. Naga (Snake) and Tantra.
- Energy: Ishta is Inner and Outer Energy; Path is Tantra.
- Formless: Ishta is the Inner Self; Path is Advaita Vedanta.
My Ishta & Friend-Mentor
My Ishta is Divine Energy, and the Path is Tantra; Sri Vidya Tantra, to be specific.
Today, that sounds straightforward, but it was quite a task. There was a time when my mind shifted my Ishta like flipping a calendar. I went from one form to the other and even carried an atheistic view for a while. I explored different SD streams, including a couple in Tantra. Still, my Sadhana went nowhere.
While nobody except your soul can lead you to your truth, a spiritual mentor can help you identify what “god” means to you. Each time I headed in the wrong direction or lost interest, my friend-mentor nudged me back—at times gently and sometimes more firmly.
Finally, I just decided to “assign” an Ishta. At that time, I was constantly running out of energy. Plus, I loved the radiance on my friend-mentor’s face. So, I decided to choose Energy.
With that, my spiritual life became easy because all my Sadhana was centered around what I wanted — radiance, which comes from inner peace and the power of mantras.
So, now, Energy is what God means to me. This could be radiance, love, compassion, peace, and whatnot. For what else is there in this universe besides Energy? At least, that’s what it feels like to me!
Love,
Sri Devi Om
