Robert Adams - Self Inquiry

The question is always asked in this respect, if it's necessary to do sadhana in order to awaken?
Is it necessary to spend years in yoga techniques and pranayama, breathing exercises, to sit in meditation,
to think of certain things, to pray?
Is all this necessary?
What do you think?
Who can tell me?
It's not necessary, but it sure is helpful.
That's actually a good answer.

My question is, therefore, to whom is it helpful?
Who is getting satisfaction from sadhana?
Only your ego.
It is true to an extent you're subduing your ego, but you and I know many people who've been doing sadhana for a hundred years and nothing happened. As a matter of fact some of you even become worse. It's paradoxical. For some people it causes them to move ahead. But it's still all in relative terms, and as we all know by now, relative terms do not exist.

So for whom is sadhana?
Again it's for the mind and the ego.
If you think it's helping, by all means continue.
But remember I said, "If you think it's helping".
If you stop thinking you do not have to do any sadhana.
I suppose sadhana is necessary as long as
you believe you are the mind and the body.
Again, after all, who is doing the spiritual disciplines?
Does the Self need to do that?
Does consciousness need to do discipline?
Does absolute reality need discipline?
What needs discipline? The mind and the body.
Therefore the more you are attached to the mind and body the more you have to do sadhana.
Does that make sense?
Sadly, yes.

So I won't say to you, "Stop doing it", due to the fact that many of you have a strong connection with your body and your mind.
As long as you do I suppose sadhana makes you sort of quiet for a while and gives you it's own experience of a sort of peace that doesn't last too long. It causes samadhi for some people, nirvikalpa samadhi. But if you're an aspiring Jnani,
what's the purpose of sadhana?

You simply ask yourself, "Who needs to do this? I do.
What is this 'I'?
This personal 'I', where did it come from?
How did it get here?
Who gave it birth?"
As you ask yourself these questions, that is your sadhana.
That's all you need to do.
But you continue doing this 24 hours a day.
That's what it means by 'praying without ceasing'.

As you meet the challenges of the day you keep asking yourself, "To whom does this come? Who is feeling this condition? Who is going through this situation? Who feels emotional?" As you keep doing this all day long, you will find that you become more peaceful, you become happy and your life becomes better.
That's really the only sadhana you need.

But of course if you cannot do that then you have to do whatever you have to do.
Whatever helps you, that's what you have to do.
I suppose that's why it says that Jnana Marga, atma-vichara, is for the mature soul, one who can do this regularly, without reverting back to Hatha Yoga or Raja Yoga, any of the Yogas.
They all have their place, but self-inquiry is the royal way.
It's the short cut.
But it's up to you.
It's your choice.

And of course self-inquiry is merely to quiet the mind.
It's a fast method to quiet the mind.
For when you ask, "To whom does this come?
It comes to me", and you hold on to that me by inquiring,
"Who am I?
What is I?" and saying "I-I" to yourself, "I-I", the mind becomes quieter and quieter.
The deeper you go within yourself the quieter you become.
And that's your sadhana.
That's all you have to do.

 http://www.robertadamsinfinityinstitute.org/