Eight Tools to Perfection

Ashtaunga Yoga ~ the Eight-Fold Path

Yama & Niyama

The yamas and niyamas help in managing our energy in an integrative manner, complementing our outer life to our inner development. They help us view ourselves with compassion and awareness. They help in respecting the values of this life, in balancing our inner growth with outer restraint. In short they help us to lead a conscious life.

Yamas and niyamas are not about right and wrong. They are about being honest with the true Self. Living according to these principles are about living our lives in a better way, about moving towards an understanding, about making it possible to 'connect' with the Divine.

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.

In many yoga books Yama is sometimes defined as abstinences, meaning things that you shouldnt 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.  Lets look briefly at the various parts of Yama and Niyama.

Yama has five parts. 

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. Satya 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. More than a concern about material propriety, we should also participate in furthering that no one should suffer from being stolen from, including their dignity.  Asteya also applies to stealing or destroying the sanctity of the wellbeing of others, including their peace of mind and their dignity. 

4. Brahmacarya literally means to experience all things as Brahma (the Supreme Consciousness). The idea of this practice is to treat every living and non-living entity as an expression of the Supreme Consciousness. By doing so all actions are performed by it in whole, rather than the responsibility and reactions to an action being the burden of the doer of such actions. 

5. Aparigraha is defined as non-accumulation of physical objects or circumstances 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.

Niyama is also composed of five principles. Practice these and you will achieve inner harmony. 

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 doesnt 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.

The influences and peculiarities of these practices nuance the root of all life within us, are nuanced by the above practices

Yogasana

A yogasana is a posture comfortably held. The primary aim of asanas is to affect the glands and massage the organs, and sustain a comfortable sitting posture to facilitate meditation. Asanas also help in balancing and harmonizing the basic structure of the human body, which is why they have a range of therapeutic uses too.

Pranayama 

'Pranayama' is a compound term ('prana' and 'yama') meaning the maintenance of prana in a healthy throughout one's life. More than a breath-control exercise, pranayama is all about controlling the life force or prana. Ancient yogis, who understood the essence of prana, studied it and devised methods and practices to master it. These practices are better known as pranayama. Since breath or prana is basic to life, the practice of pranayama helps in harnessing the prana in and around us, and by deepening and extending it, pranayama leads to a state of inner peace. 

Pratyahara

Pratyahara involves rightly managing the senses and going beyond them instead of simply closing and suppressing them. It involves reining in the senses for increased attention rather than distraction. Pratyahara may be practiced with mantra meditation and visualization techniques.

Benefits of Pratyahara
It is essential to practice pratyahara for achieving the three meditative stages of dharana, dhyana and samadhi. Perfecting this technique of yoga is also essential in order to break out from the eternal cycle of rebirths.

Dharana

The last three limbs of Ashtanga Yoga are the three essential stages of meditation. Dharana involves developing and extending our powers of concentration. This consists of various ways of directing and controlling our attention and mind-fixing skills, such as concentrating on the chakras or turning inwards.  

Dhyana

Dhyana is the state of meditation, when the mind attains the ability to sustain its attention without getting distracted. Strictly speaking, unlike the other six limbs of yoga, this is not a technique but rather a state of mind, a delicate state of awareness. This state rightfully precedes the final state of samadhi.

Samadhi

Samadhi, or total absorption, is the ability to become one with the True Self and merge into the object of concentration. In this state of mind, the perceiver and the object of perception unite through the very act of perception—a true unity of all thought and action. This is the acme of all yogic endeavors—the ultimate 'yoga' or connection between the individual and the universal Soul!