Book Review
Sadhana simply means to do a regular or fervent exercise of what has been believed for achieving a higher level of spirituality. It is the practical aspect of spiritual discipline. The author presents forty-seven exercises for spiritual therapy. He starts with his attempt to answer on how to guide a unsatisfied, unfulfilled and frustrated person in his or her prayer life.
Anthony de Mello, in his book offers here some practicable forms of exercise that could lead a person to inner peace that would bring him/her to prayer. In these forty-seven exercises, teaching things such as awareness of physical sensations, stillness, healing of hurtful memories, and consciousness of self and world. He well presents helpful tips for fruitful prayer for those who have ever experienced prayer as so difficult, dull and frustrating through dealing with the ‘holy desire for others and for oneself. He suggests his readers’ to bring all desires before God in a simple and usual manner, which would always give them a place to exercise in ordinary faith.
The essential point Anthony brings here is that to journey beyond mere thinking and discover satisfying level of getting answers of prayer from heart, which opens the room for a greater sense of awareness.
Though, most of the thoughts are not from the Bible and they cannot be verified through a Biblical theological standard, yet they carry some values of prayer through different posture, positions and created environment. The suggested techniques can be very helpful in some circumstances and to some set of people, not for every Christian, and in this sense, the author has successfully put those Sadhana (not only the spiritual, but also physical, mental, and emotional exercises) aiming everyone who would wish to get to God.
Book: Mello, Anthony De. Sadhana a Way to God. New York, NY: Doubleday, 1978.
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