Making extreme distinctions between what is "sadhana" and worldly life creates an oppositional and unfriendly world - the more extreme the distinctions, the greater the proportion of separateness.
At some point the tension between the two is unbearable, as in the case of a sadhu who was my neighbor at one time, and she began to see the world as hostile to her and "her sadhana."
The irony is that by definition sadhana would imply a seeking of Self, or Oneness, non-duality Consciousness; but, constantly reinforcing distinctions between what is considered "spiritual" and non-spiritual creates an even greater duality field with a stronger ego to see and project itself as good (interpreted as spiritual) opposed to forces bad (interpreted as non-spiritual).
She polarized even to the extent of not living a satvic lifestyle: not taking care of her living space, rationalizing that even maintaining cleanliness, etc. took time away from sadhana.
It took on at last a messianic complex: her spiritual ego. At some point the pretense of acting "spiritual" was not able to be sustained. The fall from Grace was anti-climactic. And it was a hard fall. She had to be taken away to a mental ward. The very obstacle from which sadhana is hoped to set one free from, the mind, became her prison in the end.
To think or not to think...
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