The Niyamas are codified as "the observances" in numerous scriptures including the Shandilya and Varuha Upanishads, Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Gorakshanatha, the Tirumantiram of Tirumular and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. All the above texts list ten Niyamas, with the exception of Patanjali's work, which lists only five. They comprise the "shall-do" in our dealings with the inner world. The ten traditional Niyamas are: Hri: remorse, being modest and showing shame for misdeeds; Santosha: contentment; bei ...

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niyama: (Sanskrit) "Restraint."

See: yama-niyama.

(See also: Niyama, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Niyama:

Yogic tenets for how to treat yourself.

(See also: Niyama, Psychic, Psychic Dictionary, Parapsychology, Parapsychology Dictionary)

Hinduism lays great emphasis on ethical discipline. Yama (self-restraint) and Niyama (religious observances or canons) are the foundations of Yoga and Vedanta.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

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The Sanskrit word 'yoga' is derived from the root verb yuj, which means union. The supreme union of individual mind and cosmic mind is yoga. In his Yogasutras , Patanjali advocated the eight-fold path of astanga yoga . Its eight limbs are: yama (self-restraint), niyama (life-regulating moral rules and observances), asana (postures of bodily restfulness), pranayama (breath control), pratyahar (withdrawal of senses), dharana (fixing the mind on the Supreme), dhyana (absorption of self), and samadhi (liberation of the soul).

Read more here: » Patanjali Yoga Sutras: Supreme Union of Body, Mind, Soul with the Patanjali Yoga Sutras

A man, who has attached ethical perfection by the continued practice of right conduct or Yama and Niyama, has got a magnetic personality. He can influence millions. Character gives a strong personality to man. People respect a man who has good character. Moral people command respect everywhere. He who is honest, sincere, truthful, kind and liberal-hearted always commands respect and influence at the people.

From "Easy Steps to Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Sadachara: Glory of Sadachara

I am a Hindu because I was born in a Hindu home. The Hindu way of life appeals to me because it gives me freedom to think and act. It does not bind me to rigid codes or to some particular book, but only requires that I try to follow the first two parts of the eight-fold ashtanga yoga, namely, yama or abstentions and niyama or observances, expecting me to do nothing more than being a good member of society. Practice of the next six parts is optional.

(See also: Hinduism, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

A Meditation On Sri Shankaracharya - a Hindu Prayer.

From Hindu Fasts & Festivals by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Hindu Prayers: Meditation On Sri Shankaracharya - a Hindu Prayer

All aspirants commit mistakes now in jumping to Samadhi and Dhyana all at once as soon as they leave their houses without caring a bit for ethical perfection. The mind remains in the same condition although they have practiced meditation for fifteen years. They have the same jealousy, hatred, idea of superiority, pride, egoism, etc. Meditation and Samadhi come by themselves when one has the ethical perfection.

From "Easy Steps to Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Ethics: Ethics is a Means to Yoga

Ashtanga Yoga mentions nothing about this Kundalini, but propounds a still subtle, higher path, philosophical and rational, and asks the aspirant to control the mind, to withdraw all the senses and to plunge in meditation. Unlike Ashtanga Yoga which is mechanical and mystical, Ashtanga Yoga teaches a technique with eight limbs, appealing to the heart and intellect of aspirants.

Read more here: » Kundalini: Ashtanga Yoga and Kundalini

Without ethics, you cannot have progress in the spiritual path. Ethics is the foundation of Yoga. Ethics is the corner-stone of Vedanta. Ethics is the strong pillar on which the edifice of Bhakti Yoga rests. Ethics is the gateway to God-realisation.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Ethics: Ethics, Spirituality And Religion

The word Yoga comes from the root Yuj which means to join. Yoga is restraint of the activities of the mind, and is the union of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul.

Hiranyagarbha is the founder of the Yoga system. The Yoga founded by Patanjali Maharshi is a branch or supplement of the Sankhya. It has its own charm for students of a mystic temperament and of a contemplative type. It claims greater orthodoxy than the Sankhya proper by directly acknowledging the existence of a Supreme Being (Isvara).

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Yoga: Hindu Philosophy - The Yoga

Hinduism Facts

Hinduism Facts about Karma, Reincanation, Dharma and Worship.

Read more here: » Hinduism: Hinduism Facts

Four Facts of Hinduism

About Karma, Reincarnation, Dharma and Worship.

Read more here: » Hindu Beliefs: Four Facts of Hinduism

Hinduism and Yoga

Yoga means union. Yoga aims to bring this union through the integration of various components of the body and mind into one harmonious whole and in the next stage through the union of the individual self with the Higher Self. Yoga unites a disorganized body and mind into one performing whole leading to the opening of energy channels and flowering of his consciousness. 

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raja yoga: (Sanskrit) "King of yogas."

Also known as ashtanga yoga, "eight-limbed yoga." The classical yoga system of eight progressive stages to Illumination as described in various yoga Upanishads, the Tirumantiram and, most notably, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

The eight limbs are as follows.

1)    yama: "Restraint." Virtuous and moral living, which brings purity of mind, freedom from anger, jealousy and subconscious confusion which would inhibit the process of meditation.

2)    niyama: (Sanskrit) "Observance." Religious practices which cultivate the qualities of the higher nature, such as devotion, cognition, humility and contentment- giving the refinement of nature and control of mind needed to concentrate and ultimately plunge into samadhi.

3)    asana: "Seat or posture." A sound body is needed for success in meditation. This is attained through hatha yoga, the postures of which balance the energies of mind and body, promoting health and serenity, e.g., padmasana, the "lotus pose," for meditation. The Yoga Sutras indicate that asanas make the yogi impervious to the impact of the pairs of opposites (dvandva), heat-cold, etc.

4)    pranayama: "Mastering life force." Breath control, which quiets the chitta and balances ida and pingala. Science of controlling prana through breathing techniques in which lengths of inhalation, retention and exhalation are modulated. Pranayama prepares the mind for deep meditation.

5)    pratyahara: "Withdrawal." The practice of withdrawing consciousness from the physical senses first, such as not hearing noise while meditating, then progressively receding from emotions, intellect and eventually from individual consciousness itself in order to merge into the Universal.

6)    dharana: "Concentration." Focusing the mind on a single object or line of thought, not allowing it to wander. The guiding of the flow of consciousness. When concentration is sustained long and deeply enough, meditation naturally follows.

7)    dhyana: "Meditation." A quiet, alert, powerfully concentrated state wherein new knowledge and insight pour into the field of consciousness. This state is possible once the subconscious mind has been cleared or quieted.

8)    samadhi: "Enstasy," which means "standing within one's self." "Sameness, contemplation." The state of true yoga, in which the meditator and the object of meditation are one.

See: yoga, asana, samadhi, raja yoga.

(See also: Raja Yoga, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Raja Yoga or Ashtanga Yoga is one of the four major Yogic paths of Hinduism, the others being Karma yoga, Jnana yoga and Bhakti yoga. Raja Yoga involves psycho-physical meditational techniques to attain experiences of the truth and finally achieve liberation, described in Hindu thought as moksha (liberation from the cycle of rebirth). Raja yoga is also known as Ashtanga Yoga. The term Ashtanga means eight limbs, thus Ashtanga Yoga refers to the eight limbs of yoga. It is the classical Indian system of Hindu ...

Including:

• Raja Yoga - Origin
• Raja Yoga - Concept
• Raja Yoga - Practice
• Raja Yoga - Eight limbs of Raja Yoga
• Raja Yoga - Yama
• Raja Yoga - Niyama
• Raja Yoga - Asana
• Raja Yoga - Pranayama
• Raja Yoga - Pratyahara
• Raja Yoga - Dharana
• Raja Yoga - Dhyana
• Raja Yoga - Samadhi
• Raja Yoga - Results

Read more here: » Raja Yoga: Encyclopedia - Raja Yoga

Arhatic Yoga is a form of Yoga, developed and taught by Grand Master Choa Kok Sui, that synthesizes in a single discipline all the other paths of yoga. The goal of AY is the achievement of "Arhatship", or "Arhat" status. A good definition is the following: "The Arhat is the Perfected One who has overcome The Three Poisons of Desire, Hatred and Ignorance. At the end of the p ...

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Paschimottanasana literally translated as "intense stretch of the west". A yoga position (or asana) where one sits on the floor with legs flat on the floor, straight ahead. Put your hands flat on the floor and lean slightly forward without bending your knees. ...

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Patañjali (Devanāgarī पतञ्जलि) is the compiler of the Yoga Sutra, a major work containing aphorisms on the practical and philosophical wisdom regarding practice of Raja Yoga. ("Yoga" in traditional Hinduism involves inner contemplation, a rigorous system meditation practice, ethics, metaphysics, and devotion to the one common soul, God, or Brahman/Atman.) Virtually nothing is known about the life of Patañjali, and some scholars believe he is entirely mythical. Various references suggest he lived between ...

Including:

• Patañjali - Yoga Sutras of Patañjali
• Patañjali - The Mahābhāṣya

Read more here: » Patañjali: Encyclopedia - Patañjali