R
rcscwc
Guest
Ashtanga Yoga- Niyamas
Yoga is more than just a physical discipline. It is a way of life. It is a way to achieve liberation. The yamas (restraints) and niyamas (observances), in and by themselves, are ten good common-sense guidelines for leading a healthier, happier life for bringing spiritual awareness into a social context. They are for you to think about and ponder over with a rational mind, because yoga is not about mindlessly accepting externally imposed rules—it is about finding the truth for yourself—and ‘connecting’ with it.
Yoga believes in achieving Him through a sound mind in a sound body and does not advocate self mortification. It calls for control of sensual attachments and passions and for this gives an Eight-Fold Path of Discipline ie Ashtanga Yoga.
Niyamas are the Second discipline to be practised before undertaking Yoga.
Niyamas:
The niyamas or cultuure are the second constituents of Ashtanga Yoga. How we interact with ourselves, our internal world. The niyamas are about self-regulation—helping us maintain a positive environment in which to grow. Their practice harnesses the energy generated from the cultivation of the earlier yamas. According to sage Yajnavalkya, there are ten niyamas and the Bhagavad Gita lists 11 constituents. But Patanjali names only five for cultivation of good habits as a way of life, Yoga or no Yoga. They are exemlplary self disciplines under every circumstance.
• Shaucha or purity,
• Santosha or contentment,
• Tapa or austerity,
• Swadhyaya or self-education and
• Ishwar-Pranidhan or
• meditation on the Divine
Shaucha implies both external as well as internal purity. In the words of sage Manu, water purifies the body; truthfulness the mind; true knowledge the intellect and the soul is purified by knowledge and austerity. It advocates the practices of intellectual purity, purity of speech and of the body. Cultivation of healthy and hyegenic practices, purification of the mind by good emotions and sentimrnts [eg. friendliness, kindness, cheerfulness] and indifference to the vices of others [thou shall not judge].
The second niyama is that of contentment, which is described as not desiring more than what one has earned by his honest labor. This state of mind is about maintaining equanimity through all that life offers but without coveting. Santosha involves the practice of gratitude and joyfulness—maintaining calm at all costs. This state of mind does not depend on any external causes.
Austerity, the third niyama, is described in Yoga philosophy as power to stand thirst and hunger, cold and heat, discomforts of place and postures, silent meditation and ritual fasts. It also maintains that the perfect man is he who practices both mental as well as physical austerity.
Self-education: According to the commentator Vyas, self-education or swadhyaya consists of scriptural studies. The scripture being, the Vedas and Upanishads together with the recitation of the Gayatri Mantra and the Om mantra. Applied to secular realm, one should exert to enlarge the knowledge gained from teachers.
Meditation on the Divine: Commentators describe Ishwar-Pranidhan, the last of the niyamas, as the dedication of all our actions, performed either by intellect, speech or body, to the Divine. The results of all such actions are by definition, therefore, dependent upon Divine decision. The mortal mind can simply aspire to realize the Divine through dedication, purification, tranquilization and concentration of the mind. This Divine contemplation spills over to all aspects of the yogi’s life.
Bhagwad Gita
2.47 Your right is to work only, but never to the fruit thereof. Let not fruit of action be your object, nor your attachment be to inaction.
2.48 Arjuna, perform your duties dwelling in Yoga, relinquishing attachment, and indifferent to success and failure; equanimity is called Yoga.
5.12 Offering the fruit of actions to God, the Karmayogi attains peace in the shape of God-Realization; whereas he who works with a selfish motive, being attached to the fruit of actions through desire, gets tied down.
Yamas : nonchristiansandchristians.yuku.com/topic/100
Yoga is more than just a physical discipline. It is a way of life. It is a way to achieve liberation. The yamas (restraints) and niyamas (observances), in and by themselves, are ten good common-sense guidelines for leading a healthier, happier life for bringing spiritual awareness into a social context. They are for you to think about and ponder over with a rational mind, because yoga is not about mindlessly accepting externally imposed rules—it is about finding the truth for yourself—and ‘connecting’ with it.
Yoga believes in achieving Him through a sound mind in a sound body and does not advocate self mortification. It calls for control of sensual attachments and passions and for this gives an Eight-Fold Path of Discipline ie Ashtanga Yoga.
Niyamas are the Second discipline to be practised before undertaking Yoga.
Niyamas:
The niyamas or cultuure are the second constituents of Ashtanga Yoga. How we interact with ourselves, our internal world. The niyamas are about self-regulation—helping us maintain a positive environment in which to grow. Their practice harnesses the energy generated from the cultivation of the earlier yamas. According to sage Yajnavalkya, there are ten niyamas and the Bhagavad Gita lists 11 constituents. But Patanjali names only five for cultivation of good habits as a way of life, Yoga or no Yoga. They are exemlplary self disciplines under every circumstance.
• Shaucha or purity,
• Santosha or contentment,
• Tapa or austerity,
• Swadhyaya or self-education and
• Ishwar-Pranidhan or
• meditation on the Divine
Shaucha implies both external as well as internal purity. In the words of sage Manu, water purifies the body; truthfulness the mind; true knowledge the intellect and the soul is purified by knowledge and austerity. It advocates the practices of intellectual purity, purity of speech and of the body. Cultivation of healthy and hyegenic practices, purification of the mind by good emotions and sentimrnts [eg. friendliness, kindness, cheerfulness] and indifference to the vices of others [thou shall not judge].
The second niyama is that of contentment, which is described as not desiring more than what one has earned by his honest labor. This state of mind is about maintaining equanimity through all that life offers but without coveting. Santosha involves the practice of gratitude and joyfulness—maintaining calm at all costs. This state of mind does not depend on any external causes.
Austerity, the third niyama, is described in Yoga philosophy as power to stand thirst and hunger, cold and heat, discomforts of place and postures, silent meditation and ritual fasts. It also maintains that the perfect man is he who practices both mental as well as physical austerity.
Self-education: According to the commentator Vyas, self-education or swadhyaya consists of scriptural studies. The scripture being, the Vedas and Upanishads together with the recitation of the Gayatri Mantra and the Om mantra. Applied to secular realm, one should exert to enlarge the knowledge gained from teachers.
Meditation on the Divine: Commentators describe Ishwar-Pranidhan, the last of the niyamas, as the dedication of all our actions, performed either by intellect, speech or body, to the Divine. The results of all such actions are by definition, therefore, dependent upon Divine decision. The mortal mind can simply aspire to realize the Divine through dedication, purification, tranquilization and concentration of the mind. This Divine contemplation spills over to all aspects of the yogi’s life.
Bhagwad Gita
2.47 Your right is to work only, but never to the fruit thereof. Let not fruit of action be your object, nor your attachment be to inaction.
2.48 Arjuna, perform your duties dwelling in Yoga, relinquishing attachment, and indifferent to success and failure; equanimity is called Yoga.
5.12 Offering the fruit of actions to God, the Karmayogi attains peace in the shape of God-Realization; whereas he who works with a selfish motive, being attached to the fruit of actions through desire, gets tied down.
Yamas : nonchristiansandchristians.yuku.com/topic/100