In our pursuit of spiritual development, we often set apart our daily work from our spirituality, treating them like two different aspects of life that have nothing to do with each other. Sadhana is a Sanskrit word meaning disciplined and devoted practice or study leading to spiritual growth.  When you approach work as spiritual practice, you improve not only the professional but the spiritual journey.

Sadhana is a Sanskrit word meaning disciplined and devoted practice or study leading to spiritual growth. Such an approach improves not only the professional but also helps us advance on our spiritual journey.

What is Sadhana and How Does It Relate to Work as Spiritual Practice?

Sadhana is a Sanskrit word meaning disciplined and devoted practice or study leading to spiritual growth. When we treat our work as our sadhana, we look to each task as an opportunity for our spiritual growth and self-expression. To make our work into our sadhana, we can begin by changing our attitude toward work. Instead of looking to it as something we must do to survive, we should treat it like a necessary part of our spiritual journey.

The Power of Gratitude

The first thing you need to do if you want your work to become a way of practicing your spirituality is to develop an attitude of gratitude toward your work.  The ability to work in itself is an opportunity and a blessing that we are given. We can bring the sense of abundance of purpose that gratitude gives us into our work.

Gratitude transforms work into spiritual practice by shifting our focus from obligation to sacred participation in life’s flow.

Infusing Virtue and Love into Your Work as Spiritual Practice

To truly make our work a form of sadhana, we must infuse our actions with virtue and love. This means approaching each responsibility with integrity, compassion, and excellence. Whether you are crafting a piece of art, coding software, or managing a team, when your work is carried out with a deep sense of care and a commitment to quality, it becomes a meaningful part of your spiritual practice.

When every action is carried out with awareness and love, work becomes an active expression of sadhana—a daily opportunity for self-transcendence.

Work as a Reflection of Our Spiritual Values

By aligning our professional conduct with our spiritual values, we create a harmonious life where our spiritual beliefs directly influence how we interact with the world. This alignment encourages us to bring our whole selves to every aspect of our lives, fostering a sense of completeness and satisfaction.

Transforming Work Into Sadhana: Living Spiritual Practice Every Day

Transforming your work into a spiritual practice is a powerful way to live your sadhana daily. It turns ordinary tasks into opportunities for personal growth and expression of your deepest values.

If this approach resonates with you, consider joining our community, where we support and inspire each other to integrate spirituality into all facets of life. Together, we can make every day a step towards deeper spiritual fulfillment.

Feel free to share this message with anyone who might be searching for simplicity and deeper fulfillment in life. With more people like you in our community, the more light we can share with the world.

Oh and you will LOVE The Shankara Oracle – check out the store for more information.

Get The Shankara Oracle and dramatically improve your perspective, relationships, authentic Self, and life.

 

Last Updated: October 6, 2025

There are many challenges on the path of spiritual growth, one of which is ‘spiritual materialism’.  Chögyam Trungpa first used this term to describe how our ego can use spiritual practices for its own validation. This happens when we use spirituality as a way to strengthen our self-image instead of moving beyond it. When we do this, we can become selfish in a subtle way and undermine our spiritual progress.

Understanding Spiritual Materialism and Its Impact on Enlightenment

The purpose of spirituality is to help us achieve a deeper understanding of ourselves and the Universe. Spiritual materialism occurs when we utilize religion or any other metaphysical system to boost our ego or to achieve specific material goals. For instance, we might use meditation or various practices to manifest particular changes in our life, improve productivity or to improve our social standing. 

Getting rewards like these is not in itself problematic. It is problematic when they come to overshadow the real purpose of spirituality. 

The Ego and Enlightenment: Recognizing Subtle Spiritual Traps

Ego has great capacity for adaptation and survival. Even during spiritual exercises ego may find its voice by making enlightenment just another target among many others that should be met. This approach is contrary to the purpose of spiritual practices to dissolve the barriers of the ego, not fortify them. 

Navigating Spiritual Materialism With Awareness and Authenticity

We need to always question ourselves about why we do what we do to ensure we continue to walk on the spiritual path with sincerity. Are we sincerely seeking knowledge and connection? Are we secretly hoping to feel superior or special? The spiritual journey requires humility, honesty and an open mind. 

The Role of Community in Overcoming Spiritual Materialism

Engaging with a community can be invaluable in this journey. A supportive spiritual community provides not only companionship but also perspective that can help identify and overcome instances of spiritual materialism. By sharing our experiences and challenges, we can help each other stay true to the path of genuine spiritual inquiry.

Beyond Spiritual Materialism: Living From True Enlightenment

Recognizing and overcoming spiritual materialism is crucial for anyone serious about spiritual growth. It requires vigilance, honesty, and a commitment to continual self-examination. By understanding and addressing this challenge, we can ensure that our spiritual journey leads to true self-transcendence and not just another form of ego gratification.

In both spirituality and the traps of spiritual materialism, the path forward is one of deep introspection and genuine practice. Engaging with these ideas can lead not only to personal transformation but also to a deeper, more authentic experience of life itself.

Feel free to share this message with anyone who might be searching for simplicity and deeper fulfillment in life. With more people like you in our community, the more light we can share with the world. 

Oh and you will LOVE The Shankara Oracle – check out the store for more information.

Last Updated: October 6, 2025 

Exploring the Distinction Between Spirituality and Religion

Many seekers today search for the difference between spirituality and religion, hoping to understand which path offers deeper meaning and authenticity.

In the pursuit of understanding our true selves, we often encounter two distinct yet overlapping concepts: spirituality and religion. While both can guide us towards deeper understanding and fulfillment, they do so in fundamentally different ways. This distinction is crucial in our journey to connect authentically with our innermost selves and the universe.

The Layers We Inherit: Cultural, Social, and Religious Beliefs

From birth, we are draped in layers of cultural, social, and religious identities. These layers, while providing a sense of belonging and structure, can also obscure our true nature. They shape our perceptions and expectations, often dictating our beliefs and behaviors according to pre-established norms.

Religion: A Structured Approach to Belief and Tradition

Religion offers a structured path complete with rituals, scriptures, and congregational practices. It provides a community and a moral framework, which can be comforting and guiding. However, religion can also impose rigid interpretations that may stifle individual spiritual experiences. For some, these prescribed beliefs and practices might not resonate, feeling more like a barrier than a bridge to their true spiritual essence.

Spirituality vs Religion: A Personal Journey to Authenticity

Unlike religion, spirituality is often seen as a personal and unstructured pursuit. It involves exploring one’s own beliefs and experiences without the confines of an institutional framework. Spirituality encourages personal growth through introspection and connection to the universe, fostering a direct and personal experience of the divine.

The Path to Spiritual Authenticity Beyond Religion

The journey towards spiritual authenticity involves peeling away these inherited layers to discover the core of one’s being. It’s about listening to one’s inner voice and following the soul’s natural inclinations towards love, compassion, and understanding. This path encourages us to forge a connection that is not mediated by dogma but is direct and profound.

Conclusion: Choosing Between Spirituality and Religion

Understanding the difference between spirituality and religion can empower individuals to choose the path that best suits their quest for meaning. While religion can guide and support, spirituality offers a unique and personal route to discovering our authentic selves. Embracing this journey can lead to profound self-awareness and fulfillment.

Feel free to share this message with anyone who might be searching for simplicity and deeper fulfillment in life. With more people like you in our community, the more light we can share with the world. Join HERE.

Oh and you will LOVE The Shankara Oracle – check out the store for more information.

Get The Shankara Oracle and dramatically improve your perspective, relationships, authentic Self, and life.

 

 

Last Updated: October 3, 2025

 

Last updated: July 29, 2025

Karma is not a punishment. It’s not a blessing either. It’s not a system of cosmic tit-for-tat, nor is it the divine version of Santa’s naughty-and-nice list. Karma is memory – raw, undigested memory that shapes the very fabric of your being.

Yes, memory.

Not just your thoughts or what you recall over coffee with a friend – but the invisible scaffolding of your patterns, your trauma loops, your wild instincts, your hesitations, your weird cravings at 2 AM, your broken relationships, and your chronic illnesses. It’s all karma. It’s all memory, rippling through your nervous system, breath, flesh, choices, and soul.

And if you’re serious about spiritual growth and liberation – not just spiritual tourism, but actual freedom – then you must stop trying to be good and start becoming free.

Let’s torch the bullshit and get to the truth.

What Karma Really Is – and Why Most People Get It Wrong

Forget the bland definitions of karma that spiritual influencers regurgitate like fortune cookie proverbs. Karma isn’t just “what goes around comes around” – that’s moralism wrapped in spiritual drag.

Karma is bondage. But not because someone out there is keeping score. It’s because YOU are keeping records – and you don’t even know it.

Every thought, every action, every reaction – even the twitch in your jaw when someone disrespects you – leaves an imprint. This imprint becomes part of your system. It’s carried in your tissues, your aura, your mind. 

Most of it isn’t from this life. Most of your karma – your unconscious patterning – is inherited, assumed, absorbed, and embedded from lifetimes before this one.

Sadhguru says karma is the “residue of action.” But in Death: An Inside Story, he goes deeper. He calls it “software” that drives your entire system. The body is memory. The mind is memory. Even your longing for spiritual freedom is memory – it’s the echo of something you once knew and lost.

So if karma is memory – and memory is what keeps recreating your reality – then what the hell are you going to do about it?

 

The Three Types of Karma – and How They Rope You In

To dissolve karma, you need to see how it loops you.

There are three classic types of karma:

• Sanchita Karma – The big fat storage drive. All karma from all lives – like a hard drive full of unconscious bullshit.
• Prarabdha Karma – The current playlist. The part of your stored karma that’s playing out now – your health, relationships, soul contracts, neuroses, opportunities, and limitations.
• Agami Karma (or Kriyamana) – The fresh recordings. The new karma you’re creating now with your choices, words, and responses.

Here’s the kicker – your entire self is a karmic imprint. Your name, your identity, your fears, your sexuality, your preferences – they are all conditioned. None of it is you. It’s all programming.

This is the illusion of karmic destiny.

Advaita Vedanta tells you this directly: You are not the body. You are not the mind. You are not the doer. You are the field of awareness within which all of this karmic play is happening.

But as long as you believe you are the actor in this karmic movie, you’re stuck playing it out.

Stop Trying to Fix Your Karma – Start Dissolving the Actor

Most people try to “fix” their karma like they’re repainting a prison cell –  but we don’t get out of prison by making it prettier.

The goal is not to tidy up your karma. The goal is to step out of the karmic structure entirely. That is liberation (moksha).

And the only way to do that?

Burn the illusion of being a fixed “self” who owns this karma.

Your identity is the ego’s favorite costume. “I am a healer.” “I am a mother.” “I’m working on myself.” “I need to clear my karma.” All of it – stories within stories. But this is not YOU.

If you are Brahman – the undivided consciousness – then you are already free. But your karma keeps dragging you back into the illusion of separation.

So you need to  start remembering your true nature instead of trying to manage your life.

This is not metaphor. It’s not poetry. It’s a brutal, liberating fact.

The Advaita Sword: Cut Through the Illusion, Don’t Decorate It

Advaita Vedanta doesn’t care about your drama. It is the most ferocious path because it does not cradle your pain. It burns it.

Here’s the truth Advaita wants you to swallow:

• • You are not on a journey.
  • You are not evolving.
  • You are not here to “learn lessons.”

You are Brahman. Pure, formless, infinite awareness. But you think you are a person in a body with a past and a future – and that thought is your primary karma.

This is what Sadhguru means when he says, “If you sit here without the influence of memory, you’re liberated.” Because karma is memory.

To live without karma is to live without the compulsions of memory.

So what does that mean in real life? You stop reacting. You stop identifying. You watch everything, but you own nothing. Not even your pain.

That’s the sword. That’s how karma is burned – not by purification, but by non-identification.

The Buddhist Torch: Burn the Roots with Awareness

Buddhism takes a more methodical approach – it gives you tools for the slow-burn dissolution of karma. And make no mistake, it’s just as ruthless in its wisdom.

The Eightfold Path is not a checklist to be a better person. It’s an architecture of deconstruction.

• • Right view – See the illusion.
  • Right intention – Stop fueling delusion.
  • Right action – Starve the drama.
  • Right livelihood – Exit the game of harm.
  • Right effort – Turn your awareness inward.
  • Right mindfulness – Witness everything, own nothing.
  • Right concentration – Dissolve into the space beyond thought.

Every time you meditate with awareness, you stop recording new karma. Every time you let go of a grudge without spiritual bypassing, you erase a karmic loop. Every time you breathe through the pain instead of controlling it, you open a door.

Buddha wasn’t giving us dogma. He was giving us exit strategies.

Why the Guru Is a Nuclear Reactor for Karmic Meltdown

Without grace, you will drown in your karma. Sorry. It’s true.

There’s a reason all traditions point to the guru – the real guru – not the Instagram messiah. A true guru is a karmic black hole. Their presence alone burns through your stored garbage. Why? Because they are not operating from memory.

You’re trying to undo karma while still being a person. The guru has ceased being a person. They’re functioning as consciousness itself. When you get close enough, their frequency torches your backlog.

But that only happens if you drop your drama and get real. Devotion is not submission. It’s dissolving your resistance to being loved and burned alive by Truth.

This is why Sadhguru says devotion is the most intelligent way to live. You give up the small you, and let the fire of grace reshape your being.

 

How to Actually Stop Karma – The Real Steps (Not the Bullshit)

Let’s get real. Here are the ways to actually stop karma in your life:

1. Dissolve Identity

Stop reinforcing stories. Every “I am” is a chain. You can use them for play – but don’t believe them. Don’t attach to “I am hurt.” Don’t cling to “I need to be seen.” Identity is the stick stirring the karmic pot.

2. Wake Up the Witness

Become ruthless in watching your reactions. Watch your triggers, not from judgment – but from awe. See how memory takes over. Feel how deeply you’ve been programmed. Awareness is the solvent.

3. Let Emotions Flow – Without Labels

Do not bottle. Do not explain. Cry. Scream. Shake. But don’t narrate. Emotional energy is karmic momentum. Releasing it without retelling the story is alchemy.

4. Practice Stillness Daily

Whether it’s breath, mantra, or silence – you must sit in stillness. Daily. No excuses. In stillness, you stop recording karma. You begin unraveling the identity that built the knots in the first place.

5. Surrender to Grace

Invite the guru. The divine. The unknown. Let something greater than you enter. Karma ends where mystery begins. Surrender is not giving up – it’s getting out of the way.

 

Why It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better

You will feel like you’re dying. Good. That means it’s working.

When karma burns, it doesn’t go quietly. The moment you get intentional – the moment you say, “I want to be free,” the karmic files start crashing down.

You lose jobs. Lovers ghost you. Your body freaks out. Your plans collapse.

This is grace. It’s called karmic acceleration. The universe is honoring your request by clearing the decks. And no, it’s not easy.

But if you sit in the fire – if you don’t run back to comfort – you’ll emerge free.

Karma dies when your attachment to meaning dies.

It’s Not About Being a “Good Person” – It’s About Being Free

Karma doesn’t care if you’re polite. It doesn’t care if you meditate while lying to yourself. It doesn’t care if you recycle and say Namaste.

Karma is watching where you act from. Are you moving from memory or awareness?

Are you choosing from fear or truth?

Are you living to avoid pain or to open into the mystery?

You want transformation? You want liberation?

Then stop managing your karma like a frightened accountant – and walk straight into the center of it with fire in your eyes.

 

The Final Truth: You Are Not Your Karma

You are not broken.

You are not healing.

You are not your history.

You are the one who watches it all.

You are Shiva – the destroyer of form.

You are the silence that existed before karma began.

And that silence is your liberation.

Right now – not someday, not in a future life – but now. If you can drop the act, the narrative, the attachments, and the righteousness… even for a moment… you will taste the freedom that all the sages wept over.

Don’t chase karma.

Burn it.

Stand still.

Let the fire come.

If you want guidance and support on your journey from someone who will help you rise into truth, book a private intuitive reading with me. You’ll receive unfiltered truth to guide you toward your healing and liberation.

Q&A: Your Karma-Busting Questions Answered

Q1: What exactly is karma according to Advaita Vedanta and Sadhguru’s teachings?
Karma is not a cosmic reward system. It’s memory. It’s the residue of past actions, thoughts, and emotions that have formed your current body, mind, reactions, and identity. In Advaita, karma is part of maya – illusion. You are not your karma – you are the witness behind it. Sadhguru teaches that liberation begins the moment you stop being ruled by this memory and become aware of it.

Q2: What are the three types of karma

• Sanchita Karma – The total stored karma from all past lives – your karmic bank vault.
• Prarabdha Karma – The part of that karma currently “activated” and playing out in this life.
• Agami (or Kriyamana) Karma – The fresh karma you’re creating right now through your present actions, intentions, and thoughts.

Q3: Can I actually stop or dissolve karma? Or is that just a myth?
Yes – you absolutely can dissolve karma, but not by “doing good deeds” alone. Karma is stopped through deep awareness, disidentification from the ego-self, and liberation from compulsive reaction. Stillness, meditation, surrender, and devotion to the truth burn karma at its roots. The ego accumulates; the Self witnesses and releases.

Q4: How does Buddhism help dissolve karma?
Through the Noble Eightfold Path: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, and so on. Buddhist mindfulness makes you aware of your patterns, reactions, and choices – moment to moment – so you stop accumulating new karma. Every breath taken in full presence is a breath that breaks the karmic loop.

Q5: What spiritual practices actually help with karmic release?

• • Meditation – Witnessing the mind without reacting.
  • Self-inquiry (Jnana Yoga) – Asking “Who am I?” until the false self falls away.
  • Surrender to a Guru or Divine Presence – Let grace incinerate what effort cannot.
  • Emotional release without story – Feel fully, without recycling the narrative.
  • Devotion (Bhakti Yoga) – Melts identity, softens resistance, opens the heart to dissolve karma at its roots.

Q6: Why does it sometimes get harder after I start a spiritual path?
Because you’ve activated karmic acceleration. By seeking liberation, you’ve signed up to burn karma in high gear. Expect losses, breakdowns, confusion – and then clarity, rebirth, and transcendence. This is not punishment. It’s a sacred fast-track to freedom.

Q7: So is being a “good person” not enough?
Being kind is beautiful – but it won’t dissolve karma on its own. Many “good” people stay trapped in karmic patterns because they never question their identity or wake up from their attachments. Freedom isn’t found in moral behavior. It’s found in pure awareness beyond identity.

How to Live a Dharmic Life: A Simple Path to Happiness and Fulfillment

Amidst our quickened, frequently frenzied lives it’s easy to lose our way to genuine joy and serenity. It might seem even impossible to achieve contentment and peace. The principles of Dharmic living offer us an answer and a path that helps us nurture our spirits and deepen our connection with others.

The Dharmic Quest for Simplicity and the Path to Happiness

According to Dharmic philosophy, authentic happiness has nothing to do with riches or possessions; it comes from staying true to oneself. This way of life invites us to peel off any unnecessary layers and concentrate only on the things that really feed our souls. Dharmic living teaches us to be grateful for what we have instead of always desiring more. Such simplicity breeds profound satisfaction and inner freedom.

Fostering Empathy and Connection Through a Dharmic Life

Compassion is foundational in a dharmic lifestyle because dharmic living asks us to recognise and honor the  interconnectedness within the web of existence. It asks us not just to  think about others but also act towards their welfare too. This approach helps us connect more deeply with close ones such as family members, friends and even strangers.

Achieving Inner Peace through Mindfulness

Being present fully in every moment is what mindfulness is about. Whether you are  enjoying your food mindfully or taking mindful walks alone or listening attentively when someone talks, mindful awareness brings us relief by taking us beyond the noise of the mind. Through this practice over time, simple everyday happenings can become illuminated events where ordinary things bring happiness

Joining Together on the Dharmic Path

If you’re intrigued by the idea of a more meaningful and simplified life, consider exploring Dharmic living further. Many find that adopting these principles not only leads to personal growth but also enhances their relationships with others. Communities focused on Dharmic principles provide support and camaraderie as members journey together towards a more fulfilled life.

This approach to living doesn’t require monumental changes. It starts with small, manageable adjustments that gradually build into a new way of living. As we each embark on this path, we contribute to a global shift towards greater peace and understanding.

Living a Dharmic Life as the Path to True Happiness

Dharmic living offers a profound yet accessible path to happiness that aligns with the deepest human values of connection, simplicity, and peace. It provides everything we need to live a truly rich life — one that is measured not by what we accumulate, but by the quality of our relationships and the peace within our hearts.

Consider embracing Dharmic living and discover how it can transform not only your own life but also the world around you. Are you ready to join us on this journey?

Feel free to share this message with anyone who might be searching for simplicity and deeper fulfillment in life. With more people like you in our community, the more light we can share with the world. 

Oh and you will LOVE The Shankara Oracle – check out the store for more information.

Get The Shankara Oracle and dramatically improve your perspective, relationships, authentic Self, and life.

Last Updated: October 10, 2025 

 

The Four Noble Truths are at the heart of Buddhist teachings. They are a roadmap for understanding suffering and finding the way to liberation. These are not just philosophical ideas but practical tools that can be applied in our daily lives, giving us spiritual insight and motivation.

First Noble Truth: Understanding Suffering and Mindfulness

The initial truth is about acknowledging the existence of suffering (Dukkha). By practicing mindfulness, we can recognize suffering as a universal experience rather than something to avoid. This mindful observation is key to understanding the First Noble Truth.

Suffering is part of our life – it comes in various forms such as physical pain, emotional distress or existential angst. This doesn’t mean we should become pessimistic but rather see things as they really are – this is the starting point for any change.

Application: Start by noticing minor annoyances or dissatisfactions. Try not to judge them. It might be something like feeling under pressure due to a deadline or feeling sad because of loss. Understanding that these are normal parts of human experience allows us to deal with them more compassionately than if we resisted.

Second Noble Truth: The Cause of Suffering and Attachment

Attachment is the cause of all suffering in life. We attach ourselves to objects, thoughts, places, emotions  or  people. We attach to whatever we think will make us happy or relieve our pain. This only leads to disappointment when those things change or go away eventually. Through mindfulness and self-awareness, we begin to see how craving and attachment perpetuate suffering

Application: Reflect on what you hold onto – whether it’s a job, relationship or lifestyle; try to  see your attachment affects your well-being and find alternative ways of appreciating these aspects without being too attached to them. It doesn’t mean letting them go from your life,  but changing your attitude towards them.

Third Noble Truth: Ending Suffering Through Awareness and Mindfulness

Suffering can cease. If attachment ends then so does its related pain thus creating freedom from all troubles. 

Application: Be mindful and notice moments when desire drives you on or aversion pushes you away from something unwanted. Practicing meditation helps us develop the awareness required to catch such feelings and release them without acting out impulsively.

Fourth Noble Truth: The Eightfold Path Practice to End Suffering

The last truth gives practical steps for attaining happiness or peace—this is called the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path practice is the living embodiment of mindfulness and compassion. Each step, from Right Speech to Right Effort, helps us transform suffering into wisdom in daily life. The path includes: Right Understanding, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Mindfulness and Concentration.

Application: Walking the Eightfold Path is a lifelong journey. You can begin by incorporating parts of this into daily life. For example, you can seek to be conscious about what you say (Right Speech), ensuring your words are true, necessary and kind and seeking to make ethical decisions that don’t harm others (Right Action).

By living according to the Four Noble Truths it is possible to discover inner calmness as well as direction in life. Each step along the way offers us a chance to grow spiritually while also becoming more loving towards others. 

Last Updated: October 6, 2025

 

fouFeel free to share this message with anyone who might be searching for simplicity and deeper fulfillment in life.

Oh and you will LOVE The Shankara Oracle – check out the store for more information.

Get The Shankara Oracle and dramatically improve your perspective, relationships, authentic Self, and life.