yamas and niyamas are guidelines. They are all designed to keep your mind as calm as possible and help you reach the final goal of liberation.
Yamas:
Asteya means you will not steal in word, thought or action. you will not say take from somebody what belongs to them and steal their peace and sleep. You will not steal somebody elses credit. You will not steal from your parents, government, or society. You will live a pure and uncorrupt life. If you live as per asteya, then you are freed from anxieties of losing what you have stolen, of being found out and punished, of the guilt of having something you stole.
Ahimsa means you will not harm anybody in word, thought or action. If you are faced with an adversary first ignore them. If they persist then reason with them. If they still persist then protest against them. If they still persist then resort to the least violent means. Strong violence is always the last resort. Do not curse others and do not even think negative thoughts about others. Even if you have to physically harm somebody, do it not out of anger, but out of righteousness. If you live as per ahimsa, you will not get negative thoughts, all your thoughts will be clean and pure for others. You will be respected by others as saintly.
Aparigrah means you will not try to possess anything that is beyond your needs. Live a simple and humble life, take only as much as you need, save some for the future, and give the rest to charity(10% of your income should go to charity) Eat only as much as you need to maintain your body. Also do not try to possess knowledge, take only as much as you need. Your house should be mostly empty space, your clothes modest and your possessions few. If you live your life as per aparaigrah you will never have to worry about waste, you will have fewer attachments and greater freedom
Brahmacharya means to keep your senses and desires under control. Do not watch too much films and television(eyes) do not indulge too much in food(mouth) do not indulge too much in perfumes(nose) do not indulge too much in intimacy(skin) and listening to music(ears) And when you do indulge make sure what you put into your senses is as pure as possible - movies that inspire, educate and have good messages and not crass Hollywood or Bollywood; food that is healthy and light and not fast food; perfumes that are natural and enhance your bodies odours and not expensive chemicals and intimacy with only your spouse at night and not with anybody you meet in a club, pub or bar. If you live your life as per brahmacharya your senses will always remain under your control, you will have discipline and character, and your mind few desires. This will lead to a quieter mind and your liberation will be easier.
Satya means to be honest in word, thought or action. Always speak the truth, your mind, thought and actions should be in tandem with one another. Be as objective, factual and honest as you can, even with yourself. When you spot flaws in your beliefs and thoughts, root them out. Don’t worry about whether your truth produces loss/gain, pain/pleasure, just do your duty. Speak your truth wisely. When debating with others, concede where your opponent is right. It is truth that is important, not winning a debate. If you live as per satya there will be never conflict between your mind, body and spirit, you will be brave and fearless, and you will get correct knowledge and understanding. Many will respect you and take you as a leader.
Niyamas:
Shaucha means to Keep your mind, body and soul pure. Keep your body healthy and clean by following dinacharya. Do yoga for your mind and spirit. If you have a choice then always remain in clean environments and keep the company of the virtuous. If you live as per shauca you will never be afflicted with disease and by congregating with virtuous people you will not be faced with unpleasentaries and dirty politics.
Santosha means to remain content to whatever happens in life. We cannot control what happens to us in life. Pain and pleasure; loss and profit; success and failure are the constant ebb and flow of life. Remain content towards it. Do not become too depressed by pain, loss and failure and not become too elated at pleasure, profit, success. As what goes down will come up; and what goes up will come down. Accept this as the nature of life and you will never be disappointed. If your live your life as per santosha you will develop equanimity, sorrow will never touch you, you will become steadfast. Meditation will come easily to you.
Tapas means austerity, penance, exertion and hard work. You must work hard in life if you want to achieive anything. The maxim “No pain, no gain” is one of the truest ever spoken. Never allow yourself to lazy, whatever goal you have set for yourself. Achieive it, no matter what. Put your 100% effort in. If your live as per tapas you will always be full of positive energy, be productive in life and ultimately succesful. Whatever your goal. These are the qualities of a leader.
Svadhyaya means self-study or study of spiritual scriptures. We must alway study our own selves not just through meditation, but introspection. We must review ourselves from moment to moment in life. Remain aware of our words, thoughts and actions and always make sure we are in dharma. In addition we need to expose ourselves to spiritual knowledge to inspire us and put us in touch with our soul and in contemplation of reality to keep the intellect alive. Read the Upanishads, Gita, Yoga Sutras, Yoga Vasistha, Samkhyakarika, Vaiseshika sutras, Nyaya sutras, Chanakya Niti, Vidhura Niti, Mahabharata, Ramayana. The works of Adisankara, Vivekananda, Yogananda, Chinmayananda, Aurobindo, Gandhi. Always keep yourself connected to the sages. If you live as per svadhyaya you will never let flaws and errors stay too long in your personality, you will develop a pure sagely personality, your intellect will sharpen and your will become more connected to the soul.
ishvarapranidhana means surrender to the cosmic intelligence. There is a great intelligence or higher power as they say that governs this entire universe and governs you. It is this higher power that does everything and it listens to you, looks after you, sends the right people in your life and brings events in your life that you need to learn and grow. Always remain humble to this power. Worship this power. Pray to this power. Develop a relationship to this power. If you live as per ishvarapranidhana you will develop humility and everything in your life will start to go right.
If you practice the yamas and niyamas and become fixed in your practice anxiety will never touch you again. In fact by doing this you will come closer and closer to liberation. Each moment in your life will become bliss.
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