Yama And Niyama: The Foundation Stones Of Yoga
Author: Dada Vedaprajinananda

Yoga is more popular now than it has ever been. Famous
entertainers and other celebrities practice it and thousands or
perhaps millions of other people are also doing yoga exercises
in one form or another. Yet, despite this widespread
popularity, yoga is still misunderstood. Many people think that
yoga is primarily a physical activity, something that they can
use to get their body in shape. While it is true that yoga has
a great role to play in the physical realm, yoga is much more
than this.

Yoga is, in its deepest sense, the science of human perfection.
It is the means by which a person can attain his or her fullest
development: physical, mental and spiritual.

Human perfection? This is a tall order. It does not come with
just a few stretches of your thighs. While yoga has its
external practices and exercises, its true foundation is proper
conduct. Proper conduct means living a life that will put you in
harmony with the society around you and with your own inner
self.

When I first began practicing yoga, I told one of my friends
about it. He became interested and wanted to begin. I wasn't a
teacher at that time so I recommended a book. He looked at me
and said, with all seriousness, "Where can I steal it!"

Well, you can't begin yoga like that because stealing is not a
way to get in harmony with society or with yourself. In yoga
disciplined or controlled conduct is known by its Sanskrit
term, "samyama" and this controlled conduct has two parts
"Yama" and "Niyama."

In many yoga books Yama is sometimes defined as "abstinences,"
meaning things that you shouldn't do. Niyama is sometimes
translated as "observances," referring to things that you
should do. These rough translations are not quite correct.

A better way to understand Yama is to think of it as a
discipline that will help you to find harmony with your
external environment. Niyama, on the other hand, are those
practices that will help you to attain internal harmony.

Let's look briefly at the various parts of Yama and Niyama. In
future articles of this series I will focus in more detail on
each aspect of Yama and Niyama.

Yama has five parts. They are as follows.

1. "Ahimsa" means to refrain from harming others with your
thoughts, words or actions. Consciously we should not do
anything that will harm others or block their physical, mental
or spiritual progress. If you want a two or three-word English
definition of this Sanskrit word just remember "non injury" or
"non-harming." But there is more to Ahimsa than just two words.
What about self-defense? What about our relations to other
living beings? These are important issues and there are a
variety of viewpoints. I will discuss them at length in the
next article in this series.

2. "Sayta" is generally referred to as truthfulness. A better
definition given by Shrii Shrii Anandamurti is "action of mind
and right use of words with the spirit of welfare." Whatever we
think or say should be done with the spirit of helping others.
It generally means to tell the truth, but if the exact truth
will create harm to someone, then we have to choose our words
carefully. That is why a good two-word definition would be
"discriminating truthfulness."

3. "Asteya" means non-stealing. We should not take possession
of something that is owned by another. We should not even think
of stealing something and we should also refrain from depriving
others of what they are due.

4. "Brahmacarya" literally means to "remain attached to Brahma
(the Supreme Consciousness). The idea of this practice is to
treat every living and non-living entity as an expression of
God.

5. "Aparigraha" is defined as non-accumulation of physical
objects that are superfluous to our needs. According to your
circumstances you should acquire what you need to live your
life, but you should not accumulate luxuries that go beyond
your real needs.

These are the five parts of Yama.

Just as there are five aspects of yama, niyama is also composed
of five principles. Practice these five and you will achieve
inner harmony. Briefly, they are as follows:

1. "Shaoca" (pronounced: Sha-o-cha) means cleanliness and
purity. Keep your environment clean and your thoughts pure. The
old proverb says "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" and it is
true.

2. "Santosha" is contentment of mind. Work hard, do the best
you can, and then remain contented with what you have.

3. "Tapah" signifies the practice of penance to reach the goal.
It doesn't mean suffering for the sake of suffering. Rather,
look around and you will find people with difficulties. Take on
some of the burdens of others and you will not only help society
but your own inner self will be purified.

4. "Svadhyaya" is the study and true understanding of uplifting
literature. Whenever possible seek out the company of
spiritually minded people. When that is not possible read and
absorb the teachings contained in books written by enlightened
teachers.

5. "Iishvara Pranidhana" literally means to take shelter in the
controller of the universe. It is practiced through daily
meditation on the ultimate goal of life.

In the following articles of this series I will explain each
part of Yama and Niyama with more detail.


About The Author: Dada Vedaprajinananda is a senior yoga and
meditation teacher with the Ananda Marga Society,
http://www.anandamarga.org He is the author of Yoga Weight Loss
Secrets, http://www.yogaweightlosssecrets, and Start Meditation,
Stop Smoking, http://www.start-meditation-stop-smoking.com