Yamas and Niyamas
Of
Raja
Yoga
The Yamas and Niyamas are the first two stages on the eight-fold path of
Raja Yoga
This famous system of Yoga
was systematized by the ancient Sage Patanjali. The Yamas are external
restraints that are said to assist the Sadhaka (Aspirant) on the path of Raja
Yoga.
The Yamas are ( Yogic Self Control )
1) Ahimsa (Non violence) 2) Satya (Truth) 3) Asteya (non
stealing)
4) Brahmacharya
(discrimination and wisdom regarding sexual energy)
5) Aparigraha
(non-possessiveness)
These yamas are said to
harmonize the seeker or Sadhaka.
The Niyamas are ( Discipline in one’s inner life )
1) Saucha (external purity) 2) Santosha (contentment) 3) Tapas (austerity)
4) Swadhyaya (self study)
5) Ishwara Pranidhana
(faith and surrender to the inner absolute self)
These five niyamas help you
to stay grounded and make one fit for the higher stages of Patanjali's Raja
Yoga.
This supplies the mental and psychic
discipline and restructuring which is necessary if you are trying to master and
experience the subconscious and unconscious mind and beyond. Opening even the
superficial layers of the mind without the preliminary discipline as is the
case with some drugs can lead to disaster and never leads to mastery of the
mind .One mearly destroys the vehicle in the long term.
In my own Life I don't try
to be someone that I am not, or apply undue rules and regulations that suppress
tendencies. During the last eighteen years that I have been doing Yoga Sadhana
I have witnessed my tendencies and I think that the Yamas and Niyamas are
beginning to stabilize my Psyche, as an outcome not as a restraint or something
that I impose on myself.
When I began practicing
Yoga I was in my twenty fifth year and had tried many other methods of
exploring the mind often through drugs. I took to Yoga like a duck to water and
soon found that the exploration that I liked could be accomplished naturally
utilizing your own body's chemical factory.
Initially because I am a
little bit of an extremist I became a bit of an introvert practicing many hours
of Yoga daily. But now with maturity I can apply a bit of discrimination and I
am finding that harmony and balance between Sannyasa lifestyle whilst living in
society. I think that Yamas and niyamas are good for Yogi's or anyone who
wishes to balance their lives. Swami Niranjan once said that after progressing
through the higher six stages of Raja yoga that the Yamas and Niyamas start
naturally manifesting and transforming the personality. Ethics and morality
etc. without Asana, Pranayama and the esoteric inner stages of Meditation only
lead to suppression. This is what usually happens with religion, there is no
knowledge applied concerning the needs of the Body, Mind and Spirit.
It is interesting also to
note that in the first step (Yamas) of Rishi Patanjali's Raja Yoga system (Classical
Ashtanga Yoga) not the brand name, there is Satya - truth (even though it is
external) and in the last stage of Samadhi (super-consciousness) the aspirant
experiences the truth that we are. So in the end it becomes a reality to be
experienced- heaven on earth, here and now, Bliss absolute. Not a pipe dream
deferring it until we pass up into the Heavens. This is our journey and
Birthright to discover our
Sat-Chit-Ananda (Existence-Knowledge-Bliss) Absolute
© - Satyam yoga Centre- August 2000 (Swami Mounamurti Saraswati)
The author grants the right to use this file
only if its entirety and authorship must be acknowledged