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John Woodroffe: Introduction to Tantra Śāstra
Sādhana
Sādhana is that which produces siddhi (q.v.). It is the means, or practice, by which the desired end may be attained, and consists in the exercise and training of the body and psychic faculties, upon the gradual perfection of which siddhi follows; the nature and degree of which, again, depends upon the progress made towards the realization of the ātmā, whose veiling vesture the body is. The means employed are various, such as worship (pūjā), exterior or mental; śāstric learning; austerities (tapas); the pañca-tattva, mantra and so forth. Sādhana takes on a special character, according to the end sought. Thus, sādhana for brahma-jñāna, which consists in the acquisition of internal control (śama) over buddhi, manas, and ahaṃ kāra; external control (dama) over the ten indriyas, discrimination between the transitory and the eternal, and renunciation both of the world and heaven (svarga), is obviously different from that prescribed for, say, the purposes of the lower magic. The sādhaka and sādhika are respectively the man and woman who perform sādhana. They are, according to their physical, mental, and moral qualities, divided into four classes—mṛdu, madhya, adhimātraka, and the highest adhimātrama, who is qualified (adhikārī) for all forms of yoga. In a similar way the Kaula division of worshippers are divided into the prakṛti, or common Kaula following vīracara, addicted to ritual practice, and sādhana with Pañca-tattva; the madhyamakaulika, or middling Kaula, accomplishing the same sādhana, but with a mind more turned towards meditation, knowledge, and samādhi; and the highest type of Kaula (kaulikottama), who having surpassed all ritualism meditates upon the Universal Self.
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