YAMAS AND NIYAMAS

Five rules of conduct and Five observances called yama and

niyama are listed in raja yoga, but hatha yoga does not place
much emphasis on them. Raja yoga claims that yama and
niyama must be practiced before commencing hatha yoga. It
says, control the mind and then purify the body, but in this
day and age too many problems can arise if an aspirant comes
into direct confrontation with his mind at the beginning of his
spiritual quest.
It is like running from a den of lions into a cage of tigers.
Therefore, in hatha yoga the whole system has been designed
for the people of kali yuga. Hatha yoga commences with
purification of the body, the shatkarmas, then comes asana
and pranayama
Yama and niyama can be practiced later when the mind has
become stable and its outward-going tendencies can be
controlled.
Here, Swatmarama is merely listing what is required from a
sadhaka at a later stage of practice. He has mentioned the
ways in which yoga can be enhanced and the factors that can
lead to failure. The yama and niyama are given to verify why
he states these causes, so there may be a little repetition on
certain points. Swatmarama also advises “not to adhere to
rules.” Yama and niyama are rules, and to an extent they are
also moral codes. Initially, it is not essential to practice these
and it should not be thought that you cannot succeed without
them. The yama and niyama have been given as guidelines
to keep a sadhaka on the path
YAMAS
Ahimsā satyamasteyam brahmacharyam kshamā dhrtih
dayārjavam mitāhārah śaucham chaiva yamā daśa

The ten rules of conduct are: ahimsâ (noninjuring), satyam

(truth), asteyam (nonstealing), btrahmacharyam (continence),
kshama (forgiveness), dhrtih (endurance), dayar
(compassion), javam (meekness), mitahara (sparing diet) and
saucham (cleanliness).
1. Non-violence,
2. truth,
3. non-stealing,
4. continence (being absorbed in a pure state of
consciousness),
5. forgiveness,
6. endurance,
7. compassion,
8. humility,
9. moderate diet and
10.cleanliness are the ten rules of conduct (yama).
The first yama is ahimsa, or ‘non-violence’:
to remain passive in any situation, without
the desire to harm anyone or anything,
either physically, emotionally,
psychologically or psychically.
‘Honesty’ is something we rarely find in this modern
world of corruption, and it is definitely something
which needs to be cultivated and instilled again. If you
make a habit of fooling or cheating others, you start
to believe the lies yourself. You are only being
dishonest with yourself. Basically, honesty means
being truthful with yourself and not aiming to cheat
others for your own personal gain or to discredit
them.
‘Non-stealing’ is easy to understand: not taking what
does not belong to you, not only for social or moral
reasons, but to avoid psychological and karmic
repercussions. Stealing breeds guilt. In yoga we are
trying to release the complexes and samskaras from
our mind and personality, so we really do not want to
create any more. If you need something and it is truly
essential, somehow it will come to you.
‘Continence,’ or brahmacharya, is the next yama. Generally,
brahmacharya is considered to be abstention from sexual
involvement or relationships. Some people even go as far as
having absolutely no contact with the opposite sex, neither
talking nor looking at a woman or man. However, this is not
the true meaning of brahmacharya. Brahmacharya is the
combination of two words: Brahman, ‘pure consciousness'
and charya, ‘one who moves.’ Therefore, it means ‘one who
lives in constant awareness of Brahman;’ ‘one whose
awareness is absorbed in pure consciousness, whose mind is
above the duality of male/female, who sees the atman in all.’
One who is in constant communion with the atma is a
brahmachari.
The next yama is ‘forgiveness,’ or kshama. Forgiveness
actually means the ability to let experiences go from the
mind and not to hold on to memories of past events. It
means living in the present. This yama is not only for the sake
of other people, it is more for your own benefit. If you can
forgive, life becomes more pleasant and harmonious.
Whereas revenge brings anger and remorse and creates
karma, forgiveness bring happiness and lightness to your
heart
Swatmarama has called endurance is ‘perseverance.’
The trials and tribulations of life are often arduous
and painful, but they have a positive purpose. If you
cannot endure ordinary mundane experiences, how
will you cope when the atma reveals itself? A spiritual
experience can occur at any moment and you have to
be prepared to sustain it on every level. It is not just
something which happens to the spirit and leaves the
body/mind unaffected.
One has to be ever alert and constant in both practice and
aspiration. Even if the whole world collapses around you, it
does not matter. If you give up hope and effort, you can never
be successful. The divine power is gracious to devotees and
disguises itself in many forms just to test their devotion and
faith. When we give up hope and belief because the odds
seem to have turned against us, we have misunderstood the
situation. Due to our concepts of good and bad we assume
that a particular experience is negative, and react to it.
However, whether circumstances seem to be pleasant or
unpleasant, we must maintain faith and continue our practice;
only then can sadhana bear fruit
‘Compassion’ is kindness to the young and old, rich and poor,
worthy and seemingly unworthy. We are all of the one atma.
Cruelty to others ultimately rebounds on us. Kindness to
others brings divine mercy. If you open your heart to the
divine energy and you can feel compassion for every creature,
you will make quick progress in your search for the atma.
Swatmarama has described humility as ‘modesty.’
Spontaneous humility comes with divine awareness
and surrender of the ego or ‘I’ awareness. It is ego
which creates the feeling of separation from the atma
and prevents us from feeling the inner being. Those,
like Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh and many other
great saints, who found unity in the atma, were as
meek as small children. Humbleness or meekness
means simplicity of character and lifestyle. The soul
needs no lavish accessories, food or praises, and
when you seek them they pull you away from your
true identity.
‘Moderation in diet’ means neither overeating nor under
eating. It means eating sparingly but comfortably filling the
stomach and meeting the requirements of the body. Thus,
body and mind remain healthy and balanced. A weak body
cannot support a strong mind. A strong and healthy body
reflects the nature of the mind. Overeating and greediness for
food shows an uncontrolled mind. Your diet should be simple,
pure and not over spiced. Eat what is necessary to maintain
your bodily requirements and choose a diet which will be
most conducive for your sadhana. However, do not become
too food conscious.
The last of the yamas is cleanliness in your whole
lifestyle, keeping the body and mind in a pure state.
When the body is clean and there are no blockages, it
can become a perfect vessel for divine energy and
pure consciousness. Not only should the internal body
be clean, so should the surroundings in which you
live. To clean the body internally, hatha yoga
prescribes the six cleansing techniques – neti, dhauti,
nauli, basti, kapalbhati and trataka.
NIYAMAS

Tapah santosha āstikyam dānamīśvarapūjanam

siddhāntavākyaśravanam hrīmatī cha tapo
hutam niyamā daśa samproktā
yogaśāstraviśāradaih
1. Penance (austerity),
2. contentment,
3. belief (faith) in the Supreme (God),
4. charity,
5. worship of God,
6. listening to the recitations of sacred scriptures,
7. modesty,
8. a discerning intellect,
9. japa (mantra repetition) and
10. sacrifice
are the ten observances (niyama).
The first is tapah which means ‘to heat’ and also refers to
austerities. There are three types of tapas: sharirik, physical;
vachik, vocal; and manasik, mental; which may again be
sattwic, rajasic or tamasic. In the olden days, tapas meant
standing in cold water on one foot for hours at a time, or
wearing a loin cloth in the freezing cold, and such like.
However, these methods are unnecessary for spiritual
evolution and actually they do not help people of this age to
come any closer to self-realization.
‘Contentment,’ or santosha, means developing the sense of
satisfaction in any situation, whatever may come to you.
Whether you have a lot or nothing, if you gain or lose, you
should try to feel that you have more than enough. The
opposite of this is insecurity, which creates restlessness and
unsteadiness. Definitely we are all searching for something.
Most people find contentment in material fulfillment, but
after a while discontent arises. When you realize that desires
can never be satisfied, it is time to search for fulfillment in
spirit. This is the only way to truly feel santosha or
satisfaction.
‘Belief in the Supreme,’ or astikyam, is the same as faith.
Some people call the Supreme ‘God.’ Of course, God is not a
man sitting in heaven on a throne. Life and creation are very
systematic and scientific. You may call the cosmic power God,
Nature or Supreme consciousness, but definitely a higher
force exists and controls all lower existences. Some people
have been able to experience the existence and operation of
the Supreme and it is the right of everyone to expand their
consciousness to such a state. We can only maintain faith that
one day, we too shall have this experience.
‘Charity,’ or daanam, not only means providing material things and
financial aid for the poor and underprivileged, it also means helping or
serving others in any way required, for example, by offering mental or
emotional support. To be truly charitable, one must have a giving,
unselfish and sharing attitude but, of course, not to the extent that you
exhaust your own resources. Swami Sivananda calls this udara vritti,
which means ‘having a large heart.’ In his words, “Charity must be
spontaneous and unrestrained. Giving must become habitual. You must
experience joy in giving. If you give, the whole wealth of the world is
yours. Money will come to you. This is the immutable, inexorable,
unrelenting law of nature. Some people do charity and are anxious to
see their name published in newspapers. This is the tamasic form of
charity. You must give with the right mental attitude and realize God
(the ultimate reality) through charitable deeds.”
.” ‘Worship of the Supreme Being,’ or Ishwara poojanam,
should not be misunderstood as pertaining to religion.
Patanjali calls it Ishwara pranidhana, or resignation to the
Supreme Being. In India the majority of people do ritualistic
pooja to their own deity, but that is not the meaning implied
here. The external life we lead is but the manifestation of the
Supreme; it is the interplay of energy and consciousness. That
should be remembered constantly. Everything is sacred, not
just a pooja room, etc.
The sixth niyama is ‘listening to discourses of spiritual
scriptures,’ siddhanta or siddhantavakya shravanam.
Traditionally, siddhanta is a specific section of the Vedas and
vedantic philosophy. Siddhanta is the culmination of spiritual
knowledge collected in a concise form. Listening to spiritual
knowledge and to what ancient sages found in their quest and
experience helps develop our higher faculty of knowledge, or
jnana. It helps us understand the spiritual path and the way in
which the spirit unfolds.
‘Modesty,’ or hree, is a part of humility
‘A discerning intellect,’ or mati, is essential for discriminating
between truth and untruth. It means being able to perceive
the essential nature or underlying truth of a situation,
whether the situation involves other people, or only yourself.
It is something like being able to interpret the significance of a
dream, i.e. whether it was due to physical unbalance, mental/
emotional purging, suppression if it was of spiritual
significance. Life is also symbolic of the internal world.
Understanding its meaning and being able to analyze and
judge correctly is to have a discerning intellect
In some yogic texts the eighth observance is tapo, while in
others it is japo. As tapaha has been mentioned in the first
place, it seems more likely that the original word is japo. The
Hatharatnavali and Srimad Devi Bhagavatam have also listed
japo. Japa means ‘repetition of mantra.’ Mantra can be
repeated mentally, whispered, sung or written. Not just any
sound can be a mantra, nor are mantras the names of gods or
holy words. They are specifically formulated sound vibrations
which affect the deeper layers of the mind and consciousness.
There are different grades of mantras: some affect the subtle
body, some affect the pranic vibrations and others are purely
transcendental.
‘Sacrifice,’ or hutam, is the last niyama. It does not
mean the ritualistic form of offering oblations in a
fire ceremony. It means internal sacrifice, giving up
worldly desires and surrendering the ego; sacrificing
sensual experiences for spiritual experiences.
Sacrifice is giving up the idea that life is for worldly
pleasure alone.
All the yamas and niyamas stated here constitute twenty
mental disciplines and self-restraints which were originally
designed to help a sadhaka conserve and build up his store
of pranic and psychic energy. Although they were formulated
by exponents of yoga, they can also be found in many
religions. Those who had higher revelations found these
disciplines helpful for preparing aspirants for spiritual
experiences. However, they should not be considered as mere
religious practices; they are a part of the yogic science
In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, only five yama and five
niyama are specified: non-violence, truthfulness, honesty,
abstinence and nonpossessiveness; cleanliness,
contentment, austerity, self-analysis and resignation to the
Supreme Being. However, the Hatharatnavali says there are
fifteen yama and eleven niyama: mental pleasure,
contentment, keeping silence, control of the senses,
compassion, politeness, belief in the Supreme,
straightforwardness, forgiveness, purity of thought/emotion,
non-violence, abstinence, patience and forbearance;
bathing, cleanliness, truth, repetition of mantra, oblations of
water, austerity, self- restraint, endurance, reverential
salutations, observance of vows, and fasting
In this day and age it may be difficult to try and force
yourself to keep to these rules, therefore, Swatmarama
does not stress their importance. However, they can be
cultivated with sadhana and spiritual endeavor. The
mind should never be forced to accept something
which feels unnatural. When it comes spontaneously
there will be no suppression. If you force yourself to
do something which is going against your nature, you
will develop all sorts of psychological complications.
Keep the yamas and niyamas in mind and let them
develop naturally.