A serious seeker who has undertaken spiritual disciplines...

A serious seeker who has undertaken spiritual disciplines, is usually celibate and under the guidance of a guru. He wears white and may be under simple vows, but is not a yogi or sannyasin. See: sadhana. sadhana marga: (Sanskrit) "The way of sadhana." A term used by Sage Yogaswami to name his prescription for seekers of Truth--a path of intense effort, spiritual discipline and consistent inner transformation, as opposed to theoretical and intellectual learning.

See: mysticism, pada, sadhana, spiritual unfoldment. sadhana: (Sanskrit) "Means of attainment." Self-effort, spiritual discipline; the way." Religious or spiritual disciplines, such as puja, yoga, meditation, japa, fasting and austerity. The effect of sadhana is the building of willpower, faith and confidence in oneself and in God, Gods and guru. The effect of sadhana is the building of willpower, faith and confidence in oneself and in God, Gods and guru.

Sadhana harnesses and transmutes the instinctive-intellectual nature, allowing progressive spiritual unfoldment into the superconscious realizations and innate abilities of the soul. See: purity-impurity, pada, raja yoga, sadhana marga, spiritual unfoldment. sadhu: (Sanskrit) "Virtuous one; straight, unerring." A holy man dedicated to the search for God. A sadhu may or may not be a yogi or a sannyasin, or be connected in any way with a guru or legitimate lineage.

Sadhus usually have no fixed abode and travel unattached from place to place, often living on alms. There are countless sadhus on the roads, byways, mountains, riverbanks, and in the ashramas and caves of India. They have, by their very existence, a profound, stabilizing effect on the consciousness of India and the world. See: vairagi. sadhvi: (Sanskrit) Feminine counterpart of sadhu. See: sadhu. Saguna Brahman: (Sanskrit) "God with qualities." The Personal Lord. See: Brahman, Parameshvara.

sahasra lekhana sadhana: (Sanskrit) "Thousand-times writing discipline." The spiritual practice of writing a sacred mantra 1,008 times. sahasrara chakra: (Sanskrit) "Thousand-spoked wheel." The cranial psychic force center. See: chakra. Saiva Agamas: (Sanskrit) The sectarian revealed scriptures of the Saivas. Strongly theistic, they identify Siva as the Supreme Lord, immanent and transcendent. They are in two main divisions: the 64 Kashmir Saiva Agamas and the 28 Saiva Siddhanta Agamas.

The latter group are the fundamental sectarian scriptures of Saiva Siddhanta.