The word sādhana or abhyāsa means practice. Abhyāsa, which etymologically resolves to ‘being well seated / placed’ represents the steadiness of practice. Sādhana is resolved as ‘that by means of which a thing is accomplished’. So, this word also is generally given the meaning ‘practice’. The set of three words – Sādhana, Sādhya and Sādhaka – are used often in spiritual literature. They mean – the means to achieve the goal, the goal to be achieved and the one who strives for achieving the goal. All these words are derived from the verb sād meaning ‘to accomplish, gain, achieve’ by addition of different suffixes giving the specific meanings to the three words.