Five Niyama's

Swami Atmananda Saraswati

In the last issue we saw a brief introduction of Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga, and also saw the Five Yama's. Now in this article we shall briefly see the Five Niyama's. Niyama's are those values for which we need to daily put some effort to assure their inculcation and assimilation. These values need to be so deep-rooted in us that they become part of our personality. While five yama's too are such values which need to become part of our personality, the difference between the two is in the nature of these values. While the five yama's relate more with our social interaction, the five niyama's relate more with our personal life & outlook. Moreover, there is an underlying implication that necessary efforts need to be put on a daily basis for the inculcation and assimilation of these personal traits & values.

Before we go into these five niyama's one should realize the importance of regular, or rather daily exposure to certain values & qualities. They need to seen as important & fundamental disciplines for the flowering of our personality. Initially mind gets its direction and values by convincing & powerful impressions. It is only later that one can think, analyze & decide about any particular values or principles of life. That is why there is necessity of good company or satsang. Mind is very impressionable, so one should make it a point to bring about positive impressions in it. We need to work deliberately, sincerely and real hard for qualities which will facilitate bringing of a free, and enlightened mind. With this background we will now see what are these five niyama's.

The Five Niyama's are Shauch, Santosh, Tapa, Swadhyaya and Ishwar-Pranidhana. We shall now briefly see the meaning and importance of these five Niyama's :

1. Shauch : Shauch means Cleanliness. This niyama validates the prevalent saying that 'Cleanliness is next to Godliness'. Cleanliness is not only necessary for good health, but also for a good mind. This is suggested at two levels, external & internal. So taking care of ones body & senses properly, having a clean body, mouth & bowels, having clean water & food, clean fresh air, clean place to live, all together contribute to a clean & healthy living. Insensitivity to lack of cleanliness at any levels, will not only become instrumental to various kinds of diseases, but that such a person will also not even be conscious to his or her dirty mind, and thus close doors to any process of its purity & evolution.

More important than the external cleanliness is the internal cleanliness. The cleanliness of the mind. Cleanliness of the mind implies a mind which can think, enquire & feel without any conditionings, and thereafter live as per ones conviction. Everyone of us has some likes or dislikes, but when these likes & dislikes become so powerful, then we lose the capacity to even see a thing or a person without reactions, then it amounts to losing our fundamental human quality, and is thus termed as impurity. One needs to protect & preserve ones quality & capacity of objective enquiry & thinking at any cost. Purity of intentions, transparency in the personality, pleasantness, truthfulness, all together contribute to a clean mind.

2. Santosh : Santosh means contentment. Contentment is the joy & blessedness of being what you are. It implies the capacity to make the best of your present moment and all what you have, rather than keep craving & thirsting for all that which you dont. Contentment provides foundation for selfless living. A person who is happy in himself alone has the time & disposition to look around and not only see but also enjoy the beauty of all that which is. Such a person alone can truly love & serve others. Such a person suddenly has all the time in the world for finer things in life & even self-knowledge, others keep crying for lack of time when it comes to finer things. It is synonymous to peace of mind, which every person is so desperately seeking in the world. Santosh opens a new chapter in our life & perceptions.

However, one needs to understand that santosh should always be with reference to the situations of life and our self, not with reference to karma as such. It is never implied to bring about a disenthused, demotivated & complacent person, but needs to bring about a paradigm shift in ones value structure. Rather than living selfishly, one needs to live selflessly, but with equal if not greater enthusiasm & drive. Let no situation deter you, because you have no personal axe to grind, you work to serve, and not for ego-satisfaction. One needs to feel blessed for being what you are, be it being a human being, the highest evolved being on this planet, or just being your unique self. Santosh is a great divine quality, it is the sign of an enlightened person, so one needs to work daily to keep aside ones motivation of selfishness, which is an outcome of a deep sense of lack & insufficiency within, a drive motivated by things like envy, holier than thou, spirit etc.

3. Tapas : Tapas means austerity. Tapas is a great discipline. It is basically the capacity to grow over our inadvertent habits and replace them deliberately with anything which we deem fit & necessary. Whether it is something to do with our physical necessities, external dependences, routine, requirements of our senses, emotional dependences, mental habits or even intellectual compromises, etc. Anyone who is dependent on anything whatsoever will have to face problems accordingly. Many a times we have this notion and fear that without such and such thing I will have lot of problems and may even die, tapas is an effort to discover that line & limit, crossing which our existence becomes truly questionable. Once we see that, then we also see that we were unnecessarily depending on so many things. We start experiencing freedom with the practice of tapas itself.

Tapas may involve sadhana's like dietary changes or even fasting, exposure to hardships, practices like japa, asana, pranayama, etc. We may resolve to give up any habit which has started becoming a dependence. Deliberate & dedicated application of our free-will to do or change anything, not only helps us to be free of so many dependences but also helps brings about inner strength and even self-esteem. Tapas increases will-power, and a person who has strong will-power can dare to think of any goal in life. Tapas also helps good health.

4. Swadhyaya : Simply translated the word 'Swadhyaya' means self-study. So daily study of enlightening & inspiring scriptures is swadhyaya. One should regularly keep in touch with scriptures like Upanishads & Bhagwad Gita, which motivate us to work for self-knowledge. They also reveal the ways & means of this great subjective goal.

However, it is not merely the study of scriptures which is implied by swadhyaya, but this word also incorporates suggestions for self-analysis & introspection. Self-Knowledge is not about imagining oneself to be so & so, but directly seeing the truth of oneself. This being so, one needs to start this process by a re-look at our existing perceptions. Moreover, how we react & respond in a particular situation reveals a lot about our existing notions, priorities & values. So in & through our daily interactions, deep down we keep on objectively watching & studying ourself. So swadhyaya is a two-pronged discipline, one, daily study of the notes of all those who have treaded on this path, and objectively watching & analyzing ourself. One who wants to know alone shall know, so the gates of self-knowledge get opened only to such people.

5. Ishwar-Pranidhana : Ishwar-Pranidhana means belief, devotion and surrender to God. It is worth remembering that Yoga shastra follows Sankhya darshan to a large extent, but this is one of the points where it clearly differs from Sankhya philosophy, which is basically atheist. One should clear believe and appreciate the existence of that omniscient & omnipotent intelligent creator of the creation. If there is an effect there has to be a cause. To believe that there can be an effect without a cause is baseless & even unscientific. So there is a pattern, a logic, a reason behind all that which is. One needs to see that even our existence is part of the total plan. Belief in god helps us to discover our role in the scheme of things. It helps us to concentrate on that which is discerned to be our role & responsibility. A believer of god is not only free of so many burdens of life, but can see & appreciate the beauty of all that which is. There is profound blessedness in being blessed with such a beautiful life. All problems are seen as our errors by not appreciating the truth of the our self or the world, so that alone becomes the focus of our efforts & sadhana's. Ishwar is not only the creator & sustainer etc of the universe but also represents our goal, so a profound belief and devotion unto him is of profound importance.