The Game of Sadhana

Young Shriram used to practice meditation during the day, in addition to his regular sandhyavandan at dawn and dusk. Meditation was his favorite play at school. Whenever there was a short break from class-work, he would sit for japa and meditation while other students went to paly. Some of his friends showed an inclination for his unique play. These 3-4 children designed a new game and named it Sadhana. In this game, the player sits with closed eyes. he is asked to visualize the resplendent sun amidst the eyebrows. It is not sure how many students understood this game; nevertheless they sat quietly and replied that they were enjoying the game. In the next phase of the game there would surface discussions about Gayatri, Himalayas, Ganga, Yamuna, Sarasvati, sages and other great people. There would be no arguments during these discussions. They would speak about 8-10 sentences and continue the game for half an hour or so and then disperse. After a few days, Shriram began to go to a nearby forest along with 3-4 friends. The game used to be conducted there under the shade of a huge tree.

One day, Sgriram went to the forest along and came back in the afternoon. The teacher assumed that he must have gone home owing to some work while Shriram's family thought that he was at school. hence no one went in search for him. When Shriram appeared in the afternoon, they questioned him as to where he had been. Shriram replied that he had found a solitary cave in the forest and that they could meditate undisturbed in that caves. The next day, he went to the cave along with his friends. His friends had somehow managed to accompany him upto the entrance to the cave, but no one had the courage to enter it. they were afraid and stayed out while Shriram entered it. His friends were in a dilemma. They neither had the courage to go inside nor to go back to school. They waited for their leader to come back and stood outside the cave.

Shriram came out after an hour and his friends told him that they would not join in his game thenceforth. Shriram was not affected by his friends' refusal. He continued to mediate in the cave whenever he found time from school-work. When he began to frequently miss his classes, the teacher questioned the students about missing Shriram. One of the boy named Gopaldas told the whole story. then the teacher asked him to go and tell these things to Shriram's parents. In this way Taiji got to know about his meditation sessions in the cave. She summoned Shriram and scolded him. She told that there are wild animals in the jungle that will not spare him. Shriram gave his silent consent that he would never go to the cave. His mother immediately hugged him and pulled him close to her heart..