People generally become aware of the yamas and niyamas, when they read the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Many interpreters from overseas and from India, who have had no experience of yoga, believe the yamas and niyamas to be the ethical and moral code of conduct, as devised by yogis in the past. They are far from the mark, when they say that. Yamas and niyamas definitely do not form part of any ethical or moral code of conduct. They represent qualities and moods which have to be cultivated, developed, ex pressed and lived, to have a better understanding of our dharma, our interactions with other people, the environment and nature.
Yama is a mental attitude, a form of mental awareness. Niyama is a physical discipline. The niyamas correspond to prana shakti, they are balancing prana shakti. The yamas correspond to balancing manas shakti, the chitta shakti, the subtle pranic force. This is the main purpose of yama and niyama. You practise your asana, it is a physical exercise. That physical exercise is altering the flow of prana shakti. The highs and the lows of prana shakti are regulated at the physical level. You feel more vital, more vibrant, more energetic, and you have more stamina. The mind has to support that. The mind cannot lag behind, yet the mind cannot be accessed by a physical act. The mind can only be accessed by an attitudinal change, a mood change.
Mental health is dependent on happiness, yet the experience of happiness is continuously blocked by the six conditions which are prominent in the mind. When there is desire, passion, anger and aggression, hatred and jealousy, when there are all these different expressions and conditions of the mind, known as vikaras then there is distortion. Vikara is a peculiar word; akara means a form, and vikara means something which is distorted. The six conditions create distortion in the mind which inhibits and blocks the experience of positivity, strength and happiness. With asana, we believe we are working with the body, but the pranas are also being stimulated. In pranayama, we believe we work with breath, but pranas are being regulated. At the physical level, we can have that experience, yet at the mental level, we need to go through this attitudinal change, to support harmony, balance and awakening. This is where yamas come in. I classify them as attitudes or awareness of different things, which balance, regulate and harmonize our ida shakti, our ida nadi. It is a mental perception.
What are the yamas of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras? Satya, truthfulness; it is a mental expression. Ahimsa, non-aggression, non-violence. It is not a physical act, the seed is in the mind. Asteya, to grab things, to pick up things; the desire to acquire is mental. All the yamas are mental in nature, and all the niyamas are physical in nature. Shaucha, cleanliness, is to pick up the broom, start cleaning and not only the environment, but yourself, your mind. It is an action, a process, an activity. Santosha, contentment, is an activity. Tapas, austerity is an activity. Swadhyaya, self-observation and correction, is an activity and an engagement. All the niyamas help regulate and balance the pingala component of our life. Yamas and niyamas are supports, and not an ethical or moral code of conduct.
These yamas and niyamas do not exist only in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, but in every yoga. Without yamas and niyamas, there is no yoga. Without yamas and niyamas, there is no lifestyle. Without yamas and niyamas, there is no understanding of our blocks or our advancement. We can just be practising our postures, our breathing, mudras and bandhas, in a very mechanical manner, and not derive anything from it. Even hatha yoga has yamas and niyamas. There are ten yamas, and ten niyamas of hatha yoga. Even karma yoga has yamas and niyamas, because they are the supports to achieve the desired result of the practice. They are as important as the practice of asana or meditation. You can only practise asana for a limited period of time, like one hour or two hours. Meditation you can only practise for a limited period of time, five minutes, ten minutes properly, without dozing off and without distractions. Otherwise you can sit for two hours, yet you will be sleeping most of the time and not meditating.
What is with you throughout the day? The attitude, the positivity, the strength which you develop and cultivate with the practice of yamas and niyamas. That makes you into a yogi, not your meditation and your asana practice. When you become a yogi, you begin to live the yamas and niyamas, as it is the ideal condition defined by yoga, to explore the human nature, personality and to express the positive, the qualitative and the strengths.
I am an adherent of yamas and niyamas, because they create the change internally, and they give you a different perception and outlook to life. They make interactions better, more positive, constructive, honest and open. And they definitely develop the best quality of life, which in my opinion is understanding. I do not consider love, kindness or compassion to be qualities. If there is no understanding, you cannot express, no matter how much love, feelings of kindness or compassion you may have. If there is understanding, everything is given that is needed. If love is needed, love is given; if kindness is needed, kindness is given; if compassion is needed, compassion is given; if a slap is needed, a slap is given, however, it is done with the right and proper understanding. This is the role and the relevance of the yamas and niyamas in our practice.
24 September 2023, Hatha Yoga–Karma Yoga Training, Ganga Darshan, Munger