Beginners find it difficult initially to hold their wandering mind on to one spot and focus on Sadgurudev Siyag's form. Sounds around the spot where a practitioner is meditating – honking of cars in traffic outside, songs blaring out of TV/radio sets or noisy machines working in the neighborhood, those present around conversing loudly, wind rattling the windowpanes or rain drumming on the roof, etc.- can easily detract the meditating person. Greater distraction is caused by waves of thoughts constantly crashing through mind.
However, a practitioner needs to go on practicing patiently without getting upset or losing hope. He will soon realize that his concentration is improving very fast. External sounds or thoughts begin to give way to a new calm. Some then begin to see the image of Sadgurudev Siyag or other divine entities during meditation. As the practitioner progresses on the path of meditation, he gradually reaches the stage when he can achieve Samadhi, a trance-like state. Samadhi is an important milestone in yoga as it prepares the practitioner to begin to feel and perceive subtle forces active in the universe around us.
Siddha Yoga is very simple to practice for anyone who is interested in it. No previous knowledge or experience of yoga is necessary; no special tools, aids, dress code and/or the presence of a yoga instructor are required; no rituals are required to be performed.
No practitioner of Siddha Yoga is required to give up his religious belief or complete faith and devotion to Sadgurudev Siyag to achieve good health and spiritual progress.
A person who has formally become Sadgurudev Siyag's disciple through a Diskha program is required to practice Siddha Yoga regularly, preferably daily. The daily practice includes constant and silent chanting of divine mantra and 15-minute meditation sessions 2-3 times a day. The chanting of the mantra can be done at all times of the day and while performing various activities: while working, studying, driving, in the bathroom etc.
A practitioner can meditate at home or any other place he/she finds suitable for meditation. For a beginner, a quiet spot where meditation is not likely to be interrupted would be ideal. He/she should meditate daily in the morning and evening or at any time that is suitable or convenient.
Since meditation is to be done with eyes closed, beginners usually worry about overshooting the 15-minute time-limit and delaying their daily routine. However, they should know that Siddha Yoga works with divine help, which ensures that the meditation lasts only until the time limit mentally set by the practitioner before commencing meditation. So no need to set up an alarm-clock here.
Indian Yogic Philosophy holds no disease (physical or mental) as incurable. The Mantra given by Guru Siyag to his disciples is a Sanjeevani Mantra, which means that even a person who is on the brink of death can be freed from the disease if he/she chants the Mantra and meditates sincerely with complete faith. While Guru Siyag does not impose any restrictions on practitioners, and does not ask them to change their lifestyle in any way, he has found that if a practitioner observes the following guidelines he / she will be freed from a problem very quickly:
Mental chanting (jaap) of the Mantra is key to successful practice of Siddha Yoga. Practitioners also worry about being able to sustain efforts to chant the Mantra. However, they should know that sincere and concerted efforts for this purpose are needed only for a short while. The chanting of Mantra becomes automatic when it is repeated continuously over a certain period of time. This however depends directly on the degree of intensity and sincerity with which the chanting is done. In some cases the chanting becomes automatic just over a week while some other cases it takes a fortnight or even few months. The practitioner is strongly advised not to give up if he/she finds the progress to be slow.