Recorded at the Vedanta Society of Western Washington on September 6, 2014.
In this talk, Swami Bhaskarananda introduces the meaning and purpose of spiritual practice, or adhyatmika sadhana, as the disciplined effort to manifest the divinity already present within us. Drawing on the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, he explains that the goal of human life is not worldly achievement but the experience of God — understood as the realization of infinite bliss beyond limitation. Reflecting on his own spiritual journey, he describes the search for lasting fulfillment and the discovery that our dissatisfaction with finite pleasures points to our inherent longing for the Infinite.
Swami Bhaskarananda emphasizes that spiritual life requires preparation: purity of mind, earnest yearning, holy company, faith in genuine teachers, moderation in food and conduct, and conservation of energy. Using vivid analogies — such as water transforming into vapor and the movie screen underlying projected images — he explains how a purified mind can glimpse what lies beyond time and space. The cultivation of sattva, or clarity and serenity, becomes essential for knowledge of the Self, and spiritual practice is presented as steady, repeated effort that gradually refines the mind and reveals the awareness of inherent divinity.
