sadhaka

   A sadhaka (from the SANSKRIT root sadh, complete, accomplish) is anyone who is accomplished in a special skill, or striving to be so. For example, one may be a “literary sadhaka.” The term is often used to describe a spiritual seeker. In certain contexts the term is translated as “adept,” but “spiritual aspirant” is also a good translation. The term is particularly used in TANTRA, where it refers to someone who is devoted to the path, but other traditions use it as well, for example, the tradition of SRI AUROBINDO and THE MOTHER.

   Further reading: Agehananda Bharati, The Tantric Tradi-tion (New York: Grove Press, 1975); Rachel Fell McDer-mott, Mother of My Heart, Daughter of My Dreams: Kali and Uma in the Devotional Poetry of Bengal (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001); Swami Narayananda, A Word to Sadhaka: Spiritual Aspirant, 3d rev. ed. (Gylling, Denmark: N. U. Yoga Trust & Ashrama, 1979).