Satsang
PODCAST
EPISODE NO.
12

Three Kinds of Effort in Spiritual Practice

2014 retreat
December 31, 2016

Shambhavi talks about the different kinds of effort we engage in as we progress in our spiritual practice. This satsang is based on the teachings of Anandamayi Ma. A podcast from Satsang with Shambhavi.


FIRST WORDS FROM THE PODCAST

The topic of today’s dharma talk is the three kinds of effort that we could engage in with relation to our sadhana, our spiritual practice. Anandamayi Ma talked about all three of these kinds of effort. We experience all three of these kinds of effort together. Sometimes we’re experiencing one, and there’s a little breakthrough of another kind. And then sometimes another breakthrough until it all becomes effortless, effortless sadhana, spontaneous sadhana.

The first kind of effort I want to talk about is the kind of effort where we’re actually making a big effort, and we feel it’s something difficult, and we don’t want to do it. Ma said, By practice, by constant practice, anything howsoever difficult can be accomplished.” We don’t understand that by and large in our culture today. We don’t understand how much effort it takes to be excellent. We don’t understand the whole idea of apprenticing ourselves to a task that is difficult and takes a long time. We don’t have, in general, the patience for going day by day in a small way. We don’t, in general, have patience for what Ma called coming and going.” The process of coming and going is when we’re trying to do something difficult and the process is y’know, two steps forward and one step back.

 

ABOUT THE PODCAST

Satsang with Shambhavi is a weekly podcast about spirituality, love, death, devotion and waking up while living in a messy world.