Ananda Marga, the spiritual aspirant or sadhaka practices sadhana. This signifies the effort through which a person becomes completely realized. In Tantra the spiritual master, the guru, plays a special role, guiding students on the spiritual path. The aspirant learns meditation from a qualified acarya. An acarya is most commonly a monk or nun, but in the Ananda Marga tradition there are also "family acaryas". In the initiation the aspirant makes a commitment to practice meditation and to live in harmony with the universal balance, and is then taught the technique itself. The aspirant is then required to keep the individual lessons personal. In addition, he also taught Kapalika meditation to many sanyásins. His system of yoga can be termed as Rájadhirája Yoga, Tantra Yoga, or simply Ánanda Márga Yoga. The basic Ananda Marga meditation system is called Sahaja Yoga. The system consists of six meditation techniques or lessons taught one by one, on a personal basis. The six lessons are: 1)Iishvara Pranidhana (Personal mantra and Ishta Cakra), 2) Guru Mantra (Personal Guru Mantra), 3) Tattva Dharana (Concentration on Cakras' Tattvas), 4) Sadharana Pranayama (Basic Pranayama. A special breathing technique), 5) Cakra Shodhana (Purification of Cakras. A special type of Dharana), 6) Guru Dhyana (Special type of ideation for Dhyana). A set of higher meditation lessons is taught to advanced practitioners committed to dedicate more time for spiritual practices and universal service. According to the Ananda Marga system, the Lalita Marmika dance is performed particularly during the collective meditation. It was supposedly invented by Parvati, the wife of the god Shiva. This yogic dance with swaying movements, combined with a kirtan (the chanting of the universal mantra), is regarded as useful in freeing the mind and preparing it for meditation. Ananda Marga members are recommended to practice collective meditation at least once a week. These meetings, Dharma Chakras (held weekly in the Dhyan Mandir), are preceded by the singing of Prabhat Samgiita ("Songs of the New Dawn" composed by Sarkar) followed by the spiritual dance of Lalita Marmika. Before meditation the mantra is chanted. At the end of meditation the and the mantras are recited. Baba Nam Kevalam is a universal kirtan mantra given by Sarkar. Vegetarian diet, yogic asanas, physical exercises and yogic treatments The basic practices of Ananda Marga are yoga asanas, mudras, bandhas, pranayama, self-massage and two specific dances, kaos'ikii and tandava. These are accompanied by Lacto-vegetarian