Yamas and Niyamas (γιάμας και νιγιάμας)

YAMAS & NIYAMAS Εξωτερικοί και Εσωτερικοί Κώδικες Συμπεριφοράς (detailed explanation hereindown in English)

Είναι δυνατό να ασκηθούν οι άλλες πλευρές της Γιόγκα, χωρίς πρώτα να ολοκληρωθούν οι προϋποθέσεις των γιάμας και νιγιάμας;

Παρόλο που, σύμφωνα με το οκταβάθμιο μονοπάτι της Γιόγκα, τα γιάμας και νιγιάμας έρχονται σαν μέρη ένα και δύο, οι ασάνες και πραναγιάμα σαν μέρη τρία και τέσσερα, η πρατυαχάρα και η ντάρανα σαν μέρη πέντε και έξι, και η ντυάνα και το σαμάντι σαν μέρη επτά και οκτώ, στην πρακτική ζωή σήμερα τα γιάμας και νιγιάμας μπορούν να εφαρμοστούν αποτελεσματικά μόνον αφού έχει επέλθει κάποια μορφή νοητικής και παραψυχικής ολοκλήρωσης, που σημαίνει μετά από τις πρακτικές των ασάνα, πραναγιάμα, πρατυαχάρα και ντάρανα.

Η έννοια των γιάμας και νιγιάμας γενικά είναι η εξής: ειλικρίνεια, τιμιότητα, μη κτητικότητα, αυτο-ανάλυση, πίστη, εγκράτεια, πειθαρχία, ατομική καθαριότητα κ.λπ.

Όταν ο Πατανζάλι ρωτήθηκε «Τι είναι Γιόγκα;», στο πρώτο αξίωμα ή σούτρα απλώς είπε: «η Γιόγκα είναι μια μορφή πειθαρχίας». Όταν ρωτήθηκε ξανά «Τι είδος πειθαρχίας;», απάντησε: «Είναι ο έλεγχος των διακυμάνσεων του νου». Έτσι, στην αρχή, κάποια πνευματική πειθαρχία θα πρέπει να υιοθετηθεί, η οποία είναι και εξωτερική και εσωτερική, για να ξεπεραστούν αυτές οι τάσεις διακύμανσης του νου (βρίττις). Μέχρι να έχουν λάβει χώρα η ολοκλήρωση και ο εξαγνισμός, το σύστημα της Γιόγκα είναι ατελές.

Πρέπει επίσης να καταλάβουμε ένα άλλο σημείο, ότι η έμπνευση για να ακολουθήσει κανείς το μονοπάτι των γιάμας και νιγιάμας δεν επιβάλλεται, αλλά δημιουργείται μόνη της από μία κατάσταση όπου ο νους και το πνεύμα βρίσκονται σε ενότητα. Μέσα στη ζωή έχουμε ακούσει ότι θα πρέπει να είμαστε συμπονετικοί, θα πρέπει να είμαστε ειλικρινείς, δε θα πρέπει να βλάπτουμε κανέναν και ούτω καθεξής, αλλά δεν μπορούμε να ακολουθήσουμε αυτές τις υπαγορεύσεις εξαιτίας διάφορων άλλων καταστάσεων που δημιουργούνται από την κοινωνία και οι οποίες γίνονται καταστροφικές για την ανάπτυξη των θετικών μας ικανοτήτων. Τα γιάμας και νιγιάμας αντιπροσωπεύουν τη θετική έκφραση της προσωπικότητας μας.

Οι άνθρωποι έρχονται στη Γιόγκα για πολλούς και διαφορετικούς λόγους. Δεν έρχονται όλοι με σκοπό να ελέγξουν τα βρίττις του νου και δεν έρχονται όλοι για να εξελιχθούν πνευματικά. Κάθε άτομο έχει διαφορετικές ανάγκες σύμφωνα με το στάδιο της εξέλιξης του. Μία από τις βασικές ανάγκες της ζωής είναι η διατήρηση ενός υγιούς σώματος. Άλλες ανάγκες είναι η νοητική ειρήνη, η ισορροπία και η ηρεμία, ή ένας νους ελεύθερος από εντάσεις, η εύρεση της εσωτερικής ευτυχίας, ευχαρίστησης, ικανοποίησης, χαράς ή ευδαιμονίας. Έτσι οι ανάγκες ενός ατόμου ταξινομούνται πρώτον σε φυσικές, δεύτερον σε ψυχολογικές και τρίτον σε πνευματικές. Μπορεί να εντάσσεστε ή όχι σ’ αυτήν την ταξινόμηση, αλλά γενικά ο κόσμος ακολουθεί αυτό το σύστημα.

Έτσι, στο σύστημα της Σατυανάντα Γιόγκα, έχει υπάρξει μία ελάχιστη αλλαγή στη σειρά του οκταπλού συστήματος του Παταντζάλι. Οι ασάνες και η πραναγιάμα γίνονται το πρώτο και δεύτερο βήμα, τα οποία δίνουν μια κατανόηση του αναμάγια κόσα (εμπειρία της ύλης) και του πραναμάγια κόσα (εμπειρία της ενέργειας). Η εξισορρόπηση ολόκληρου του συστήματος της ύλης και της ενέργειας επέρχεται μέσα από τις πρακτικές της ασάνα και πραναγιάμα. Στο τρίτο και τέταρτο βήμα χρησιμοποιούμε τις πρακτικές της πρατυαχάρα και ντάρανα με σκοπό να ανυψώσουμε το νου σε ένα σημείο όπου μπορεί να περάσει μέσα από μία διαδικασία ολοκλήρωσης με το σώμα και το πνεύμα -μία διαδικασία αυτοπαρατήρησης, απόκτησης επίγνωσης της σφαιρικής θεώρησης της ζωής και της εκμάθησης πώς να αναπτύξει κανείς τις νοητικές ικανότητες και να συγκεντρώσει το νου, ώστε αυτός να μην έχει διακυμάνσεις. Η πρατυαχάρα και η ντάρανα βοηθούν να ισορροπήσουν οι δραστηριότητες του μανομάγια κόσα (εμπειρία του νου) και του βιγκιαναμάγια κόσα (εμπειρία της εξωτερικής και της ανώτερης διάνοιας). Έτσι, σε αυτά τα τέσσερα στάδια, υπάρχει ελπίδα να λάβει χώρα κάποιο είδος ολοκλήρωσης, κάποιο είδος εξαγνισμού.

Αφού αποκτήσουμε εξαγνισμό και ολοκλήρωση στη ζωή και την προσωπικότητα μας, το πέμπτο και έκτο στάδιο γίνονται τα γιάμας και τα νιγιάμας, όπου οι θετικές ποιότητες αρχίζουν να εκδηλώνονται σταδιακά, φυσικά και αυθόρμητα. Όταν έχει πετύχει κανείς μία αίσθηση ισορροπίας, δεν είναι πλέον πειθαρχίες που επιβάλλονται. Μάλλον είναι εκδηλωμένες πειθαρχίες. Τα γιάμας και νιγιάμας τότε γίνονται οι αυθόρμητες εκφράσεις και πειθαρχίες της ζωής -το τελικό αποτέλεσμα μιας ολοκληρωμένης προσωπικότητας. Όταν αυτές οι ποιότητες ή ενέργειες είναι εκδηλωμένες, τότε είναι φυσικό για το νου και το πνεύμα να κινούνται σε μία διαλογιστική κατάσταση που αργότερα μετασχηματίζεται και γίνεται σαμάντι. Έτσι, έχοντας αυτό στο νου, το σύστημα της Γιόγκα που ορίστηκε από τον Παταντζάλι, έχει τροποποιηθεί από τον Παραμαχάμσατζι Σατυανάντα σύμφωνα με τις διαφορετικές ανάγκες του σήμερα.

Τα συστήματα της Αστάνγκα Γιόγκα δεν έχουν εφαρμογή σε κάθε άτομο πάντα, για τον κύριο λόγο ότι όλοι έχουμε διαφορετικό τύπο προσωπικότητας. Η σύγχρονη ψυχολογία και η γιογκική ψυχολογία ταξινομούν την προσωπικότητα σε τέσσερεις κατηγορίες. Πρώτη είναι η δυναμική προσωπικότητα -ενεργητική, εξωστρεφής, εκφραστική. Δεύτερη είναι η συναισθηματική προσωπικότητα -που αισθάνεται, αφιερώνεται, παραδίνεται. Τρίτη είναι η διανοητική προσωπικότητα -που αναλύει, αιτιολογεί, ταξινομεί, καταλαβαίνει. Τέταρτη είναι η παραψυχική προσωπικότητα -επίγνωση της βαθύτερης και Πνευματικής πλευράς της ύπαρξης. Εάν προσπαθήσουμε να ακολουθήσουμε το σύστημα της Αστάνγκα Γιόγκα με αυτές τις διαφορετικές προσωπικότητες, μπορεί να αντιμετωπίσουμε κάποιο εμπόδιο.

Για έναν άνθρωπο που έχει συναισθηματική φύση, η ασάνα και Πραναγιάμα μπορεί να μην έχουν κανένα νόημα, μάλλον αυτός ο τύπος προσωπικότητας θα ένιωθε μία συγγένεια με τις πρακτικές της Μπάκτι Γιόγκα -αφοσίωση, ικανότητα να παραδίνεται κανείς, ικανότητα να βιώνει τη θεία φύση. Με αυτή τη λατρευτική σταθερότητα, οι πλευρές του γιάμα και νιγιάμα θα εκδηλωθούν αυθόρμητα και δε θα είναι απαραίτητο γι’ αυτούς να ασκήσουν ασάνα, πραναγιάμα ή πρατυαχάρα. Η ντάρανα και η ντυάνα θα επέλθουν φυσικά.

Έχουμε επίσης τη δυναμική προσωπικότητα, εξωστρεφή και εκφραστική. Αυτός ο τύπος μπορεί να ασκήσει Χάθα Γιόγκα για εξαγνισμό, διότι θα νιώθει μεγαλύτερη συγγένεια με αυτές τις πρακτικές. Μπορεί επίσης να ασκήσει Ράτζα Γιόγκα και ίσως Μπάκτι Γιόγκα, αν αυτή η πλευρά έχει εκδηλωθεί σ’ αυτόν.

Για έναν άνθρωπο που είναι διανοητικός υπάρχουν οι πρακτικές της Γκυάνα Γιόγκα. Για έναν διανοητικό άνθρωπο μπορεί να είναι δύσκολο να καταλάβει τη διαδικασία της μπάκτι, γιατί η μπάκτι σίγουρα δεν είναι διανοητική. Αφορά το αίσθημα, το αίσθημα της ένωσης με μία θεία δύναμη.

Για την παραψυχική φύση υπάρχουν οι πρακτικές της ντυάνα.

Στην κατάσταση της ντυάνα οι πλευρές του γιάμα και νιγιάμα, πρατυαχάρα, ντάρανα και σαμάντι, θα ανθίσουν φυσικά και αυθόρμητα. Μπορεί να μην είναι καν απαραίτητο για έναν τέτοιο τύπο να ασκήσει ασάνα και πραναγιάμα, νέτι και κούντζαλ, μπάστι, ντάουτι και σανκαπρακσαλάνα -τις τεχνικές της Χάθα Γιόγκα.

Επομένως, η Γιόγκα δεν είναι ένα απλό σύστημα ή μονοπάτι. Δεν υπάρχει μία μόνο συνταγή που να ταιριάζει σε όλα τα άτομα. Αλλάζει σύμφωνα με την ατομική ανάγκη, αλλά το τελικό αποτέλεσμα είναι πάντα το ίδιο -ολοκλήρωση. Στο τέλος όλοι οι κλάδοι της Γιόγκα ενσωματώνονται ο ένας μέσα στον άλλο.

Μετασχηματισμός μέσω γιάμα και νιγιάμα

Η υιοθέτηση των γιάμας και νιγιάμας γίνεται μέρος του διαλογιστικού μετασχηματισμού που βιώνουμε μέσω της γιόγκα. Σκεφτείτε τα πέντε νιγιάμας. Καθαριότητα σαοτσα, ικανοποίηση σαντόσα, αυτοανάλυση σουαντάγια βιώνονται στο διαλογισμό. Ο διαλογισμός γίνεται μία διαδικασία εξαγνισμού του εαυτού από όλα τα σκουπίδια που συσσωρεύονται μέσα στο χρόνο, το οποίο είναι ταπάσυα. Ο διαλογισμός γίνεται ένα εργαλείο για να μάθουμε πώς να αφηνόμαστε και να παραδινόμαστε, Ισουάρα πρανιντάνα.

Ο διαλογισμός γίνεται ένα εργαλείο για να ζούμε τα πέντε γιάμας επίσης, για να ζούμε την αλήθεια, σάτυα. Με αυτό τον καθαρισμό της φύσης μας, η ένταση της βίας υποχωρεί από την προσωπικότητά μας και το καθρεφτίζουμε αυτό ακολουθώντας την αχίμσα. Η αστέγυα, μη-κλοπή, απαριγκράχα απλή ζωή και μη κτητικότητα και η μπραχματσάρυα να διατηρούμε πάντα τον ψηλότερο στόχο στο νου, γίνονται φυσικά και αυθόρμητα για μας.

Η πραγματοποίηση των γιάμας και νιγιάμας είναι αυτό που φιλοδοξούμε να επιτύχουμε κατά την άσκηση στην κάρμα γιόγκα, μπάκτι γιόγκα και γκυάνα γιόγκα. Η Σάτυα, η αλήθεια δεν μπορεί να γίνει κομμάτι μας μέχρι να εδραιωθούμε στην γκυάνα γιόγκα. Γκυάνα γιόγκα σημαίνει εφαρμογή της σοφίας έτσι ώστε να μην υπάρχει απάτη. Υπάρχει μόνο αλήθεια. Παρόμοια, η αχίμσα δεν μπορεί να γίνει κομμάτι μας μέχρι να εδραιωθούμε στην κάρμα γιόγκα. Έτσι τα γιάμας και νιγιάμας είναι συμπληρωματικές πρακτικές στις άλλες γιόγκας, και όταν αρχίσουμε να τα ζούμε μετά πάμε σε μία διαλογιστική επίγνωση η οποία είναι συνεχής και σταθερή και όχι απλά φευγαλέα. Είναι αυτή η αίσθηση της συνέχειας και της σειράς που χρειάζεται τώρα να εφαρμόσουμε στη ζωή μας.

~ SWAMI NIRANJANANANDA SARASWATI
BIHAR SCHOOL OF YOGA, MUNGER (BIHAR) INDIA

Yama & Niyama: The Path of Ethical Discipline

Yoga is rooted in the notion of developing a positive personality. Therefore ethical discipline or the practice of correct conduct is necessary for success in yoga. This is the basis of yama and niyama, the two moral backbones of yoga. They define the attributes to be practised in everyday life by a spiritual aspirant.

YAMAS

The five yamas are ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truthfulness), asteya (abstinence from theft, honesty), brahmacharya (being established in divine consciousness), and, last but not least, aparigraha (non-possessiveness). The yamas are mainly qualities that the spiritual aspirant should have in order to communicate and interact with the outside world and the people in it, They are also self-restraints from performing actions of the weaker lower mind. The niyamas are the self-disciplinary qualities which are entirely devoted to helping the aspirant on their spiritual journey. They are also fixed rules one should follow in order to do the practices of meditation (dhyana) and to reach samadhi. Practising the yamas and niyamas is very fruitful in itself, but the main aim and consequence is spiritual growth and evolution.

Ahimsa

Ahimsa, non-violence, not only means not causing harm or pain to any creature in thought, word or action, but also not having even a hint of aggression within your being. We shouldn’t skip this yama, for what is the use of truthfulness, non-possessiveness, abstinence from theft and so forth without establishing ahimsa in our minds and actions first? Swami Sivananda says that one of the purposes of the other yamas is to perfect ahimsa.

Giving up meat or any other type of food or beverage whose acquisition causes pain to others beings (being vegan) is also considered to be ahimsa. Usually our actions in themselves are violent, though our purposes are not at all so. When a mother slaps a child, she does so because she wants to teach the child a lesson. It is done out of love, not hatred. Therefore, it is the purpose that matters, and not the action.

It is equally sinful if we encourage others to be violent or if we are violent ourselves. Himsa (violence) is not only physical violence, but also includes manipulation, hurting someone’s feelings, psychic influence and so on. The most important thing is not to directly deny people, even if they get violent, i.e. not getting into fights, arguments, disputes, quarrels. Himsa is not considered to be violence if it is to save your life, or if you kill one in order to save many. It is said that when you perfect ahimsa, a sort of magnet will act around you, preventing anyone from doing you harm or being violent. People will start to enjoy your presence and feel no discomfort as long as they are in your presence.

In the Christian Bible, Christ says, “If one smites thee on thy right cheek, turn to him thy left also.” Christ, Krishna, Rama, Prophet Mohammed, Buddha and other saints, prophets and messiahs were great followers of ahimsa and dharma. Great saints like St Francis of Assisi and Ramana Maharshi, who could communicate with animals, were also great followers of ahimsa. Aggression is a reaction to fear and, therefore, if we overcome our fears (through brahmacharya, we can practise ahimsa.

It will be easier to observe ahimsa if we remember that whatever we do, good or bad, will come back to us in this life or in the next, whether we believe in reincarnation or not. Good actions produce good results, while bad actions produce bad results. This is called (the law of) karma, and you can’t escape it. Someone is always watching over you.

A good example is the story of the Sufi saint who called his disciples together and said, “I have five birds, one for each of you. Take them and kill them in separate places, but no one must see you doing it. When you bring them here, we’ll have a feast.” So they all came back sooner or later and gave explanations about where they killed their birds and how no one saw them. When the last disciple came, he said “I’m sorry Guruji, I failed you. I could not kill it. Wherever I went, I felt as though someone was watching me.” He turned out to be the best disciple.

Satya

Satya, or truth, is the second yama, and also a very important qualification. Let’s take Galileo as an example of satya. He was caught by the Inquisition twice for his discoveries, but, in spite of the danger, he went on with his writing, teaching and research until he could no longer use his eyes and ears. He stuck to the truth of his discoveries till the end, because he knew they were true, and he wasn’t even prosecuted. Swami Sivananda says, “God is truth, and He can be realized by observing truth in thought, word and deed.” According to him, the thirteen forms of truth are: truthfulness, equality, self-control, absence of jealousy, absence of envious emulation, forgiveness, modesty, endurance, charity, thoughtfulness, disinterested philanthropy (being too public-spirited or civic-minded), self-possession, and unceasing and compassionate harmlessness. Under certain circumstances, telling a (white) lie to produce immense good is regarded as truth.

Swami Sivananda says that the vak siddhi (vak means speech, and siddhi is a special power a yogi receives through practising sadhana and tapasya) can be mastered by observing truth always and at all times. The vak siddhi gives you the power to make whatever you say or think turn out to be true, even if it was not so before you said it. In other words, one gets the power to accomplish things by mere thought. This is also known as psychic speech. By practising truth at all times, one also obtains the power to weigh one’s words during conversation, thus directing the result of one’s words according to one’s will.

A lie is not only a lie if you speak incorrect or dishonest words. If you acted foolishly and afterwards blinded yourself with the belief that you did the right thing, it is also considered to be a lie, even though it all happened in your mind. It’s the same if you exaggerate, or brag, in order to boost your ego. Satya is not merely abstinence from telling lies, but also the ability to see the truth, to be aware of the truth behind everything. If you tell people what they should or should not do and then do whatever pleases you, you are a hypocrite. You say one thing and do another, thereby not being true even to yourself. Why should one lie? One lies to escape the consequences of the actions of oneself or one’s associate. This is a manifestation of the petty mind. Therefore, satya also helps in overcoming the petty mind.

Asteya

Asteya, the third yama, is commonly known as honesty (in the sense of ‘abstinence from theft’). To be able to follow asteya, we must be satisfied with what we have, our personal belongings, our way of thinking, what we do, where we are, who we are, etc. In other words, we must not be greedy and should try to be contented. We steal things because we desire them. To be able or to be strong enough to resist the temptation to steal the object that one desires, one’s mind must be strong. Hence, through mastering asteya, one purifies the mind of desires and vrittis.

Asteya makes the mind pure, like a mirror in which your divine mind is reflected. The very thought of gain through theft should not arise in the mind, because constant desire for objects not belonging to oneself is actual theft. People sometimes feel that you desire something belonging to them, and if they are good-natured, they’ll give it to you. That is not good, because you probably did not deserve it in the first place, and above all you are depriving that person of something they may have liked. Non-expressed desires for things that are not yours is a milder form of mental manipulation towards the owners of whatever you desire.

We steal things because we desire them, so it does not necessarily mean that we steal physical objects. There are people who steal the ideas of others. That is the worst form of theft. Try to keep your desires moderate. If you cannot fully clear your mind of them, do not just try to forget them, suppress them or put them aside, because when they come back to you, they’ll have reinforcements. And if the desires become too strong and you are unable to fully suppress them, they should be fulfilled as soon as possible, or else they will weigh even more heavily upon your mind until they lead you to theft or something similar.

These desires or thoughts which trouble the mind are called vrittis. If you are too good or too kind-hearted to steal, the desires/vrittis may probably gain more power over you if you are not mentally strong; and you will soon not be able to think straight or sleep well. That is the power of vrittis and desires. If you can control the mind with its desires or vrittis, you can observe asteya. And if you can completely observe asteya, it is said that things for which you have even the slightest desire will just come to you by whatever means, as if you were a magnet. Another material fruit obtained through perfecting asteya is that one will also get the intuitive power to know where to look for and find wealth.

Brahmacharya

Brahmacharya is usually depicted in books, discourses, scriptures etc. as celibacy. But Brahma literally means the ‘divine consciousness’ and charya, in this case, means ‘living’ or ‘one who is established in’. Therefore, brahmacharya actually means ‘being established in divine consciousness’, or ‘being established in the higher (form of the) mind’.

Scientists have proved that only ten percent of the average human brain is active and freely accessed during daily activities. Spiritually evolved people said long ago that the human mind has an enormous capacity. Unfortunately, a large part of the ten percent is driven by instincts and indulges in sensual and petty activities. The four basic instinctive drives are: ahara (food), nidra (sleep), bhaya (fear) and maithuna (sexuality). These are dominant in our minds for the simple reason of survival. Since survival is not such a big problem in today’s society as it was in ancient times, a sort of vacuum is created. Food is over-available, fear becomes an obstacle in daily life, the world is over-populated and so on. Most people fill this vacuum by amplifying the fulfilment of these desires for sensual pleasure. Brahmacharya deals with filling this vacuum with spirituality.

Many people would say that ahara is the greatest drive, but it is not so. Brahmacharya is being free from the pleasure of fulfilling the instincts of the lower mind, and it is most commonly known as ‘celibacy’ because maithuna is the most powerful instinct. Maithuna is the greatest drive for without it we would have died out as a species long ago.

To most people, following brahmacharya would mean suppression of desires. Brahmacharya should not be suppression, and suppression is not the remedy for overcoming the lower mind or controlling any of its instinctive drives. Unless one is established in the higher mind, suppression is of no avail. One may be able to stop oneself from satisfying any of these instincts, but one cannot suppress the mind from dwelling upon them continually. That is not brahmacharya, being established in the higher mind, and the higher mind does not waste time by dwelling on such matters.

There is a story about two monks on a pilgrimage in (supposedly) strict brahmacharya. When they come across a lady unable to cross a large puddle, the senior monk carries her across to safety. Shocked, the younger monk eventually remonstrates with the senior monk, who replies, “You are still carrying her in your head while I left her by the banks of the puddle!” The younger monk is a perfect example of the opposite of brahmacharya. Swami Satyananda says, “When firmly established in brahmacharya, the yogi gains vigour, energy and courage, whereby he becomes free from the fear of death. Thus, brahmacharya is an important way of overcoming the klesha called abhinivesha, which is fear of death.” And since almost all fears have their roots in death, brahmacharya is a useful tool for overcoming fear in general.

Aparigraha

Aparigraha, the fifth and last of the yamas, is non-possessiveness (also known as abstinence from greed). It is actually complete freedom from greed or covetousness. You should not try to possess more than you minimally need. As Swami Satyananda Saraswati mentions in Four Chapters on Freedom, “This keeps the mind unoccupied and also he (the aspirant) does not have to worry about anything because there is nothing (no possessions) there to be protected.” When we become non-possessive, or non-attached, we become impartial and in that way the conditioned love, affection, compassion and so on becomes unconditional, and not merely restricted to family, friends, relations, etc.

Gifts from others affect us and make us greedier. One consequence is that we start giving gifts because we expect something in return, which is bad because we get offended if we do not receive anything. A sannyasin should therefore avoid gifts. Greed also leads to attachment, and anxiety accompanies attachment. These are all obstacles to gaining spiritual knowledge. Swami Sivananda says, “ . . . freedom from attachment will result in knowledge of the whole course of our journey.” Also, it will be easy to observe asteya, or abstinence from theft, if we have mastered aparigraha.

The memories and habits of possessing objects must be first washed away from the mind, and only then can you start life anew. The mind also becomes pure by following aparigraha, and it is said that when you observe aparigraha fully, you obtain the siddhi through which you can remember your past lives, if you believe in reincarnation. But you must not carry aparigraha beyond your limits, or it will give rise to vulnerability and possessive- ness. In other words, if aparigraha is carried too far, it may have the opposite effect.

NIYAMAS

The five niyamas, or five fixed rules of self-discipline, are: shaucha (cleanliness), santosha (contentment), tapas (austerity), swadhyaya (study of the self) and Ishwara pranidhana (complete self-surrender to God). The niyamas, all in all, are the fixed rules of self-discipline for spiritual aspirants on their journey of spiritual development.

Shaucha

Shaucha, cleanliness, is the first niyama. Not only external cleanliness, like having a shower, brushing your teeth, etc., but purity of actions, purity of mind from evil and distracting, unnecessary thoughts and from bad, haunting memories. Cleanliness of the environment and of oneself is necessary for hygienic reasons, but the state of the environment also affects your mind. If it is clean and tidy, you will become more centred and will be able to concentrate properly, but if it is an unhygienic, messy or untidy environment, your mind may become disorganized. That is why it is better to tidy up your room in the morning. Such things seem trivial, but they help to keep the mind free of clutter and make it sharp and clear.

In other words, practising shaucha on the physical plane also affects the mind on the pranic and mental levels. Sage Patanjali says in the Yoga Sutras that by practising shaucha on the physical plane, one gains indifference towards the body and non-attachment towards others in the course of time. He says that when your mind is pure through shaucha, you become cheerful and fit to practise concentration (dharana) and sense control (pratyahara), as the mirror of the mind is clean and, therefore, you are able to see your real self reflected in it.

Santosha

Santosha, contentment or satisfaction, is the second niyama. Santosha is being content with one’s actions and with what one has, what one is, where one is, and with what one has done or what one is doing. It also means to be content about where one is, whether it be concerning time or space. You should not daydream about the future nor should your mind linger in the past. Be content with where you are, or you will never be happy or feel true satisfaction. Also, santosha is being content with what one is. If you do not like being what you are, you won’t find any happiness in life either. You have to be contented with what you do, if you have done your best.

Santosha is essential for spiritual life. If you do not practise it, you won’t really get very far on your journey. By putting santosha into practice, you can get rid of cravings and attain great happiness to progress on the spiritual ladder, path, journey, or whatever you want to call it. It is also necessary to practise santosha in order to observe asteya. A beggar is a king if he is contented with what he has, while a king is like a beggar if he still desires more riches to add to his treasure troves and vaults by imposing more taxes on the poor.

If you are dissatisfied, it causes psychic infirmity and many other complexes. In the Yoga Vashishtha, Sage Vashishtha, who was one of Rama’s teachers, says that vichara (reflection), shanti (peacefulness), satsang (being in the company of truth, in any form), and santosha (contentment) are the four sentinels at the gate of moksha (salvation, or being completely freed from the cycle of birth and rebirth). He says that if you have mastered santosha, the other three will let you pass automatically.

Tapasya

The third niyama is tapasya (or tapas), austerity or moderation – depending upon one’s capacity. The main purpose of attaining tapasya is to be able to meditate properly. It creates a controlled mind which will not accept any interference from the body, like “I’m thirsty!” or “I want food!” or “that hurts!” etc. It also hardens the body, so that these desires aren’t too frequent. It strengthens the organs and makes them healthy in order not to experience painful distractions during meditation. Thus it leads to pratyahara or abstraction of the senses. In the Bhagavad Gita it is mentioned that there are three types of austerities: (i) austerity of the physical body, (ii) austerity of communication and speech (mouna), and (iii) austerity of the mind. Tapasya includes control over one’s thoughts in order to avoid unnecessary talking.

As a sculptor chips away all the unnecessary bits of rock to make a beautiful sculpture, so the hardships through which the body goes strengthen the mind and chip away all the unnecessary bits, leaving only the true essence of your real self. By practising tapasya, the body becomes immune to extensive heat, cold and even poisons and other hardships.

According to Swami Satyananda Saraswati in Four Chapters on Freedom, there are five types of tapas: (i) exposure to the sun to harden the skin, (ii) exposure to fire to make one’s body slim and brown, (iii) doing pranayama to heat the body, (iv) accumulating the fire of concentration at one point, and (v) the fire of fasting. These are the five fires which remove the toxins to make the body fit for meditation.

Tapasya is not only about making the body fit for meditation. Doing things one does not want to do out of laziness or tamas is another form of tapasya. The same applies to moderating entertainment which only pleases oneself and does no good to others. This form of tapasya helps to control the ego, making one more disciplined.

Swadhyaya

Swadhyaya is the fourth niyama, which I have defined as study of the self in the introduction. It is usually defined as ‘study of ancient spiritual scriptures’, but one can read the scriptures and not understand or apply a single thing from them in our daily lives. Swa means ‘self’ here; therefore, swadhyaya is actually the study of the self, or self-analysis. One must be the drashta, the witness, the observer. The higher type of knowledge is actual experience, while the lower form is learning directly from books and the even lower form is learning from books but not understanding a thing that one is reading. It is recorded in the Essene Gospel of Peace that Jesus said, “Seek not the law in your scriptures, for the law is life, whereas the scripture is dead.”

Through swadhyaya we can improve ourselves and guide ourselves on the right path to some extent without the help of the guru. If you can see your life and observe it like a book, as in the yogic practice of antar mouna, you can observe swadhyaya, as Swami Niranjanananda has pointed out in Yoga Darshan. One can observe and modify one’s reactions, one can moderate one’s negativity and improve one’s way of perceiving things through observing the self.

From another point of view, chanting the name of God in the form of the Gayatri mantra, the Om mantra, a prayer, etc., or even your own initiation mantra, helps to focus the mind, which helps in swadhyaya. When one chants a mantra from the heart, one does not necessarily need to understand what one is chanting in order to experience spiritual upliftment.

Ishwara pranidhana

Ishwara pranidhana, or complete self-surrender to God, is the last and one of the hardest niyamas. One gets to a stage on the spiritual journey when the guru steps back and when one cannot proceed without help and one becomes desperate. Such is the human mind that one can develop complete faith in God only when a desperate situation arises, where none but God (by God I mean Ishwara, Allah, Yahweh, or any other) can help, whether you believe in God or not. People understand God in many different ways. Some do not even believe in the concept of God. Yet everyone who seeks spiritual guidance and evolution reaches this stage if they are sincere in their quest. As God is different to many people, we reach this stage through different means and situations. It is the time when one completely lets go of all ego and surrenders to destiny. Sage Patanjali says in the Yoga Sutras that one can even attain the highest form of samadhi, the final stage before kaivalya, if one can truly and fully surrender to God. Your self-surrender should be free and unconditional.

There is a story about a dedicated monk deep in meditation in his cave. Suddenly there was a freak flood and the town nearby was filled with gushing water. Some good-natured people paddled laboriously on their little raft to try and save the monk. But when they reached his cave, the monk said, “Do not worry. I am a pious man who has been serving God all his life. God will not desert me now. Never fear, He will come and save me with His own hands.”

A few minutes later a yacht with five men arrived. They attempted to rescue the monk, but received the same reply. Finally, a rescue helicopter arrived and hovered outside the cave, but the monk sent them away.

The water rose, flooded the monk’s abode and he drowned. When he reached heaven he said to God, “I’ve been worshipping you all my life and yet you didn’t come and save me when I needed you the most!” And God replied “Well, I don’t know what you expected. First I sent you a raft, then a yacht, then a first class helicopter, and you only said silly things like ‘God will save me with His own hands.’ The raft, yacht and helicopter were my hands.”

It all seems to be a mental process; however, the physical outcome is that when one surrenders to and realizes Ishwara, one never remains the same because one cannot realize God if one has even the smallest hint of a human ego.

Sage Patanjali supported advaita vedanta, which does not support the principle of God as our loving father living in another world, in heaven. So here Ishwara is not God, but the unchanging, ever-uniform reality, while nashwara is the changing, decaying, creative aspect in the cycle of (our) evolution. God exists, and you can experience that only if you have complete faith in him or her (whichever you prefer), if you reach Ishwara pranidhana.

Conclusion

This concludes this article about the different yamas and niyamas from the eight-fold path of raja yoga. Keep practising the yamas and niyamas, even while you are practising another branch of the eight-fold path. The beauty of the Yoga Sutras is that everyone can read them and come up with a different theory from the same source. This article is but one way of perceiving them.

You may have noticed that the yamas and niyamas are all in a way interrelated, so they don’t allow you to skip any of them if you are sincere in your desire to master them. Also, the yamas and niyamas are not meant only for yogis and sannyasins, but for everyone to practise. You can, for example, take one of the yamas or niyamas that you like and practise it until you think you’ve perfected it; and then go on to another one, and so on . . . until you’ve perfected them all! (Then go on to the 18 ‘ities’ of Swami Sivananda.)

Bibliography

Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Four Chapters on Freedom, Yoga Publications Trust, Bihar, India, 2000.

Swami Sivananda, Raja Yoga, Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, 1999.

Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati, Festival of Yogic Life, Swam Editions, France, 1997.

Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati, Yoga Darshan, Yoga Publications Trust, Bihar, India, 2002.

Swami Satchidananda, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Integral Yoga Publications, Yoga Ville, Virginia, USA, 1990.

Edmond Bordeaux Szekely, Essene Gospel of Peace, Academy of Creative Living, San Diego, 1970.

L.K. Taimni, The Science of Yoga, Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, Madras, 1988.