Answer
Yes, a very big part of spiritual life is following sādhana. As I told you, sādhana clears the negative influences within us, but that alone is not sufficient. Unless the soul contemplates Krishna, desires Him, becomes attached to Him, reads His pastimes, and begins to see His hand in practical life, real attachment will not develop.
If you treat sādhana-bhakti simply as a ritual—just a set of actions—that is not enough. Sādhana is not only doing; it includes thinking, feeling, and willing. It means Krishna-conscious thinking, Krishna-conscious feeling, Krishna-conscious willing, Krishna-conscious doing, and Krishna-conscious desiring. So don’t reduce it to a narrow idea that “I will do certain practices every morning and everything will be fine.” Yes, that will help to a large extent, but your question is deeper—whether something more is required—and the answer is yes.
You have to understand that you are beyond the body and beyond the mind. Sādhana helps cleanse the negatives that drag you into material life, but the positive attraction required to go to Krishna must be consciously cultivated. That requires your own decision and your personal relationship with guru and Krishna. Every person’s life is unique and complicated, so realization has to become something lived in your own life. You must practice faith in Krishna, attachment to Krishna, and dependence on Krishna, and you should consciously observe how He reciprocates with you.
You can even keep a diary and write down how Krishna has helped you. In this way, you develop a living relationship with the Lord in the heart. Sādhana is meant to bring you to that relationship. Whether you want it or not, sādhana will at least do one thing—it will clean your heart. But cleaning the heart is only removing the covering; the heart itself has to be activated.
If the tendency for independent enjoyment is still there, then even after cleansing, you will again create new impurities. So it is not only about removing dirt but also about not creating it again. That requires a conscious decision. You have to reciprocate with Krishna, you have to pray to Him, even cry to Him, “Please remove me from this illusion, please take me to You.”
This is why your question is valid—there is something beyond just external sādhana. Thinking for Krishna, feeling for Krishna, willing for Krishna, doing for Krishna, desiring for Krishna—these are all part of real sādhana, but most people do not include them. They think sādhana means just following a routine like attending maṅgala-ārati and completing certain practices. That is good, but what is happening in your consciousness at that time? Are you feeling gratitude to your spiritual master? Are you begging for mercy? Are you appreciating the causeless mercy of the Deities?
These inner activities are essential. A true sādhaka is internally engaged, not just externally present. Gradually, if this is done sincerely, natural attraction for Krishna will awaken. At the same time, if you perform sādhana nicely but associate with materialistic influences, you again contaminate yourself. Sādhana does its job of cleaning, but you are the one who can create new coverings again.
The mind may be trained and purified, but originally the tendency for wrong action comes from the soul’s desire for independent enjoyment. So ultimately the soul has to decide: “I do not want false pleasure, false love, or false power. I only want Krishna.” When that decision becomes firm, then real purification and steady advancement take place.
