Sadhana and Character

This morning's meditation.

It is said:

sādhu-saṅge kṛṣṇa-nāma ei mātra cāi
saṁsāra jinite āra kono vastu nāi

"Other than sadhu-sanga and the name of Krishna, nothing else is needed to cross over the ocean of birth and death."

The holy name is not dependent on anything, even sadhana. It is effective at any time and any place. It is not that it will only act if chanted a certain number of times or at a certain time of the day.

Similarly, sadhana is not an absolute requirement in getting the mercy of sadhu-guru. Mahaprabhu blessed the animals in the Jarikhanda forest, and Narada Muni blessed the hunter Mrigari. What sadhana were they doing to justify getting such mercy?

What then is the necessity of having strict daily practices in our sadhana?

What we do affects our consciousness. Similarly, our consciousness makes our character. Therefore maintaining strict daily sadhana will build our character and thereby give us qualification for getting bhakti.

As Aristotle said: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."