Yama and Niyama | Life’s Guide.

Despite the fact that today there are many directions of yoga, offering their own, unique in its execution methods of influence on the human mind and body, some primary sources still remain unshakable and authoritative for all schools without exception. One of them is the text called “Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras”.

It is believed that the sage Patanjali lived somewhere between 500-200 B.C. and was a scholar and respected man in society. In India, he is rightly referred to as Swayambhu, an exalted soul who came into the world of his own free will to help humanity evolve. According to his paradigm, the universal suffering that accompanies us throughout our lives arises not from the will of God’s wrath or any form of primary sin, but from spiritual ignorance – Avidya. Avidya is the first of the five kleshas, which is the cause of the others: selfishness, attachment, aversion, and clinging to life. The kleshas give rise to endless desires that sow the seeds of sorrow. In order to get rid of suffering, one must first overcome the kleshas in the mind. This can be achieved through yogic practice, which purifies the body, senses and mind, allowing one to realize the ocean of tranquility and merge with the Creator.

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras consist of 196 statements (sutras) covering all facets of life, from its external aspects to a person’s realization of his true self. Each word of the sutras is concise and precise. Each sutra holds wisdom and richness of thought, gifting the student with absolute knowledge of his true nature. Here Patanjali uses the concept of Kriya Yoga (Sanskrit kriya – action), which emphasizes dynamic effort. According to the concept of the Sutras, in order to achieve one’s goals on the spiritual path, one must make considerable effort in the course of mastering the eight yogic disciplines: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi. These are the eight stages or aspects of practice that comprehensively develop the adept, moving him towards evolution.

This article will attempt to elaborate on the first two, fundamentally important steps of the eightfold path of yoga. Advanced teachers authoritatively state that despite their outward [illusory] simplicity, Yama and Niyama have a decisive influence on the further development of the practice. The essence of their view is that these disciplines first and foremost determine the vector of one’s development, and consequently the final destination of one’s arrival. No matter how fast and efficiently you move, if you end up arriving at the wrong place, all the benefits of your efforts will be in vain. The principles of Yama and Niyama will keep you from making harmful mistakes and accumulating strong negative karma, which can lead you off the originally chosen path.

“It is one thing to know these principles and another to practice them” Dada Sadananda. photo: internet

Yama makes five demands on human beings: Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya and Aparigraha. These norms and restrictions serve as rules of social behavior that we, as yoga devotees, must abide by. Let us look at each of them in detail.

Yama 1. Ahimsa. “Ahimsa” translates as harm, evil; ‘a’ means negation (Sanskrit). Ahimsa is the renunciation of harming others on three levels: action, word, and thought. Strange as it may seem, the fundamental level is thought, because this is where evil originates. Evil thoughts will sooner or later manifest themselves in the form of sharp, sarcastic and frankly aggressive words. And words, in their turn, will inevitably lead a person to cruel actions.

Cruel actions are not permissible not only towards other people but also towards all living beings, animals included. Vegetarianism is one of the obligatory forms of observance of Ahimsa. While here opponents sometimes raise the objection, “Plants are also living, so you cannot eat them,” the answer is very simple. Yes, it is true that human beings eat mostly living food, but it is advisable to do so at the expense of the least developed forms of it (life). If there is a choice between eating another person or an animal, the animal is preferred. If it is possible to replace the animal with a plant, of course, the choice should be made in favor of the second. Also, it is not a violation of Ahimsa to inflict harm in consequence of self-defense. The scriptures specify five types of threats to be met: the threat of losing one’s home, defense of one’s spouse, any kind of armed threat, the threat of poisoning, and the threat of robbery. So, on the one hand, the yoga practitioner is indeed spreading only peace and tranquility in his life, but on the other hand, there are reasonable limits to everything.

It is believed that when nonviolence is affirmed in a person’s speech, thoughts and actions, his aggressive nature is weakened and everyone loses their hostility in his presence.

Yama 2. Satya. The root “Sat” means “eternity,” “truth,” “that which does not change.” Satya means truthfulness, the renunciation of untruthfulness. By observing this Yama, the practitioner renounces lying forever, first of all towards himself. Here he has first of all to realize the roots of all motives for his undertakings, be it cowardice, envy, vanity, or some other Ego-unpleasant revelation. Having developed the skill of inner honesty, it becomes much easier for a person to maintain honesty towards others as well. However, it is worth noting here that one should not focus one’s attention solely on stating the truth, because Truth (Sat) is also absolute love. Therefore, when observing this Yama, one should always weigh the consequences of one’s truthful speech. If it results in suppression of the other person and degradation, then it is not in accordance with Satya. Truthful speech should be used only with love, in a spirit of benevolence, for the benefit of others.

When a person is fully rooted in truthfulness, his words take on power and whatever he says is translated into reality.

Yama 3. Asteya. “Asteya” means stealing; ‘a’ means negation. That is, Asteya is non-stealing, the denial of appropriating another’s property. According to the scriptures, stealing is of four types: 1) misappropriation of another’s property at the level of action; 2) misappropriation of another’s property at the level of thought (i.e., when you wanted to steal something, but actually could not do it because you were afraid of punishment, condemnation, or for some other reason beyond your control); 3) refusal to give to others what is owed to them on the level of action (including debt, payment for labor, and simply deserved praise/gratitude); 4) refusal to give to others what is owed to them on the level of thought (when actual payment occurred, but not out of your good will – you just had to). Violation of Asteya leads to material disadvantage and difficult financial conditions of life. If a person has problems of material nature, it may indicate that in the past he had serious violations of this principle of Yama (this and the next – Aparigraha).

He who does not lay hold of other people’s possessions becomes the possessor of unearthly riches. He who is not burdened with desires attracts to himself any treasure, both literally and figuratively.

Yama 4. Aparigraha. “Parigraha” means ‘accumulation’; ‘a’ means negation. Aparigraha is the avoidance of excesses in one’s life. Every thing we possess wastes precious energy. A spiritual practitioner tries to utilize all the resources available in his life as rationally as possible and solely for the sake of development, his own and that of others. If he is distracted by his endless and groundless desires, the level of effectiveness of his life will be greatly reduced. He will simply waste himself on trifles. For this reason, the adepts of Yoga do not allow themselves anything unnecessary that has nothing to do with development. However, one should also not confuse Aparigraha with the vow of poverty. This Yama does not imply giving up those material resources that come to you by karma and are productively used for good. The most important thing is to treat them without attachment. As if these resources are not yours, but are given to you from above for the purpose of ennobling this material world (here, of course, it is important not to fall into the trap of your own greed, which will surely justify the extreme necessity of any unnecessary trinket).

Living without the desire for excessive possessions and free from greed, man realizes the true meaning of life, and his whole existence unfolds before his inner world. As a result, he gains knowledge of his past and future lives.

Yama. 5 Brahmacharya. “Brahma” means supreme consciousness, the Absolute, ultimate love; “Char” means “to eat something on the go.” Brahmacharya literally means to go and there is Supreme Consciousness on the go. If we translate this metaphor into actual meanings, then following Brahmacharya, a person lives his life perceiving any surrounding objects and events as manifestations of the Supreme. As a consequence, the boundary between good and bad is erased, because one comes to truly realize that the Absolute is everything. Whatever surrounds us, whatever happens to us – everything exists solely for our benefit and for our evolution.

However, in yogic circles, there is another explanation of this Yama (although there is no etymological confirmation). Many teachers associate Brahmacharya with sexual abstinence, in some cases the vow of celibacy (in relation to ascetics and monks), as well as control over passions (pursuit of sensual pleasures). For me personally, there is no need to sort out which of these versions is correct, because both sides of this explanation of Brahmacharya are useful to apply.

As far as the latter version is concerned, sexual energy really has unimaginable power, so it is useful for everyone to control and properly direct it. It is important to note here that trivial suppression of sexuality at the level of action is not the essence of Brahmacharya. If lust is cultivated in one’s thoughts, physical abstinence can lead one to health problems. First of all, control should be exercised at the level of thought, by raising energy to the higher centers. Then, even physical sexual intercourse in moderate amounts (in the case of a family man), is used as a physical form of expression of love, the desire to merge with the spouse, the opposite beginning.

By observing Brahmacharya, one directs the full potential of sexual energy to achieve spiritual development. He acquires knowledge, strength, power and spiritual energy (ojas).

Yamas are universal laws that are mostly enforced on those around us. They cannot be practiced in isolation from society. Niyamas, on the other hand, are already practiced exclusively in relation to oneself.

Niyama 1. Shaocha – Purity. From a yogic perspective, purity is a stretchable concept and has several levels of understanding. The first level is the “outwardly physical”. Here, the yogi is necessarily concerned with the external cleanliness of his body, clothing, odor, and the environment in which he lives. It is believed that even on such a primitive plane one can effectively influence all the other, deeper ones. The next level of purity is the “inner physical”, which involves keeping one’s body, i.e. the internal organs, clean. The most effective tool in this is considered to be a quality diet, which does not contribute to the pollution of the body. In addition, yogis also have a whole set of cleansing techniques that effectively free the body from accumulated slags, toxins, pus and mucus. At a new level of practice, the yogi already monitors the purity of information coming into his mind (the third level – external mental purity). Just as there is “toxic food for the stomach”, there is also “toxic food for the mind”, i.e. everything that lowers our consciousness to the lower levels – destructive music, movies of the same quality, computer games and so on. In order to protect our inner world from contamination, we are supposed to consciously filter not only everything that enters us through the mouth, but also through the eyes and ears. The last and deepest level of purity is “inner mental” purity (the fourth level). Here the work is already done with one’s own thought stream. Yoga categorizes six types of thought that are highly polluting to the human mind and should be avoided – lust (kama), anger (krotho), greed (lobha), pride (mada), envy (matsarya) and attachment (moha).

Cleanliness and neatness protects the body and makes it a worthy abode for the contemplator, so that one is no longer attracted to sensual pleasures and refrains from contact with other bodies. When the body becomes pure, it becomes a temple and experiences the joy of self-awareness.

Niyama 2. Santosha. Tosha means a state of balance, contentment and happiness. Santosha is the cultivation of a state of gratitude and contentment with everything you have at the moment, be it things, situations, skills, the nature of interaction with the surrounding society and any other attributes of life. One who abides by this principle finds positive aspects in every situation, no matter what happens to him or her. Due to this, contentment and benevolence of consciousness arises in a person, which gives him supreme happiness.

Niyama 3. Tapas or Tapah – is asceticism, inner fire and self-discipline. Adherence to the principle of Tapas implies ascetic effort in the process of yoga training on the physical, mental and spiritual levels. On the physical level it is expressed in keeping the body healthy and resourceful. On the mental level, it is a tireless effort to study the various disciplines of yoga, to maintain focus on the object of study, and to manage one’s emotions. Spiritual ascesis in the teachings consists of regular spiritual practice (sadhana). Also, it is important to note that in addition to efforts for personal development, Tapas involves sacrificing oneself for the benefit of others. In other words, the practitioner should not think only about himself, but necessarily about society as a whole.

Tapas is the burning flame of inner zeal and asceticism, the unrelenting austerity of self-discipline in which forgiveness and compassion are born. Self-discipline burns away all pollution and sows sparks of divinity.

Niyama 4. Svadhyaya. “Sva” means self and ‘Thya’ means to read or engage in education. In other words, Svadhyaya is self-education. Just as if a bed is not regularly tended, it will sooner or later become overgrown with weeds, so also our mind, if it is not cultivated, it will inevitably degenerate. Mental weeds eventually give rise to false ideas, false ideas form wrong words and behavior, and wrong behavior leads one to suffering. Within Svadhyaya, the practitioner tirelessly studies the spiritual scriptures in an effort to understand their essence. Moreover, the latter is the key factor in this action. The yogi takes nothing on faith: “Even if lotus-born Brahma, the Creator of the Universe, says something illogical, one should discard it like a weed, but if a little boy says something logical and rational, one should certainly accept it. Of course, the authority of the scriptures is important, but by no means should one behave fanatically.

Niyama 5. Ishvara Pranidhana. “Ishvara” means ‘one who rules the universe’; ‘Pranidhana’ means ‘taking refuge’. Ishvara Pranidhana translates as “taking refuge in the Supreme.” Traditionally, within this context, man always takes refuge in something, usually material possessions: health, job, fortune, family, friends, and so on. When he has all these things, he feels good about himself. But the problem is that all the components of the material world are unstable and changeable. Today you have a job and tomorrow you don’t, now you feel good, but at any moment the situation can change dramatically. And so it is in everything. Thus it turns out that, relying solely on the material component, sooner or later a person is doomed to suffering. Ishvara Pranidhana suggests that all the tendencies of one’s mind should be consistently brought out of the worldly sphere into the spiritual sphere. The closer one feels his connection with the Supreme, the less vulnerable he becomes.

As a result, Ishvara Pranidhana frees the sadhaka from the bondage of worldly desires, leads to detachment from sensual aspirations and cultivates devotion in its strongest form. Surrender to the Lord, that is, renunciation of one’s Ego, pride, gives perfection, Samadhi.

All the principles of Yama and Niyama create a state of mind in which the full potential of one’s personality is utilized solely for one’s benefit. It is these first two stages of yoga that give us the key that unlocks the spiritual gate. Mastery of yoga is impossible without observing the ethical precepts of Yama and Niyama.

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