yama-niyama: (Sanskrit) "Restraints-observances."

The first two of the eight limbs of raja yoga, constituting Hinduism's fundamental ethical codes, the yamas and niyamas are the essential foundation for all spiritual progress. They are codified 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 yamas and ten niyamas, with the exception of Patanjali's classic work, which lists only five of each.

The yamas are the ethical restraints; the niyamas are the religious practices. Because it is brief, the entire code can be easily memorized and reviewed daily by the spiritual aspirant. Here are the ten traditional yamas and ten niyamas.

yamas:

1)    ahimsa: "Noninjury." Not harming others by thought, word, or deed.

2)    satya: "Truthfulness." Refraining from lying and betraying promises.

3)    asteya: "Nonstealing." Neither stealing, nor coveting nor entering into debt.

4)    brahmacharya: (Sanskrit) "Divine conduct." Controlling lust by remaining celibate when single, leading to faithfulness in marriage.

5)    kshama: (Sanskrit) "Patience." Restraining intolerance with people and impatience with circumstances.

6)    dhriti: "Steadfastness." Overcoming nonperseverance, fear, indecision and changeableness.

7)    daya: "Compassion." Conquering callous, cruel and insensitive feelings toward all beings.

8)    arjava: "Honesty, straightforwardness." Renouncing deception and wrongdoing.

9)    mitahara: "Moderate appetite." Neither eating too much nor consuming meat, fish, fowl or eggs.

10) shaucha: "Purity." Avoiding impurity in body, mind and speech. -

niyamas:

1)    hri: "Remorse." Being modest and showing shame for misdeeds.

2)    santosha: "Contentment." Seeking joy and serenity in life.

3)    dana: "Giving." Tithing and giving generously without thought of reward.

4)    astikya: (Sanskrit) "Faith." Believing firmly in God, Gods, guru and the path to enlightenment.

5)    Ishvarapujana: "Worship of the Lord." The cultivation of devotion through daily worship and meditation.

6)    siddhanta shravana: "Scriptural listening." Studying the teachings and listening to the wise of one's lineage.

7)    mati: "Cognition." Developing a spiritual will and intellect with the guru's guidance.

8)    vrata: "Sacred vows." Fulfilling religious vows, rules and observances faithfully.

9)    japa: "Recitation." Chanting mantras daily.

10) tapas: (Sanskrit) "Austerity." Performing sadhana, penance, tapas and sacrifice.

Patanjali lists the yamas as: ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya and aparigraha (noncovetousness); and the niyamas as: shaucha, santosha, tapas, svadhyaya (self-reflection, scriptural study) and Ishvarapranidhana (worship).

See: raja yoga.

(See also: Yama-niyama , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

dana: (Sanskrit) "Generosity, giving; a gift." See: yamaniyama.

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

ahimsa: (Sanskrit) "Noninjury," nonviolence or nonhurtfulness. Refraining from causing harm to others, physically, mentally or emotionally. Ahimsa is the first and most important of the yamas (restraints). It is the cardinal virtue upon which all others depend. See: yamaniyama.

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

Purity impurity: Shaucha-ashaucha.

Purity and its opposite, pollution, are a fundamental part of Hindu culture. While they imply a strong sense of physical cleanliness, their more important meanings extend to social, ceremonial, mental, emotional, psychic and spiritual contamination. Freedom from all forms of contamination is a key to Hindu spirituality, and is one of the yamas.

-       Physical purity requires a clean and wellordered environment, yogic purging of the internal organs and frequent cleansing with water.

-       Mental purity derives from meditation, right living and right thinking.

-       Emotional purity depends on control of the mind, clearing the subconscious and keeping good company.

-       Spiritual purity is achieved through following the yamas and niyamas, study of the Vedas and other scriptures, pilgrimage, meditation, japa, tapas and ahimsa.

-       Ritual purity requires the observance of certain prayashchittas, or penances, for defilement derived from foreign travel, contact with base people or places, conversion to other faiths, contact with bodily wastes, attending a funeral, etc.

Purity is of three forms - purity in mind, speech and body, or thought, word and deed. Purity is the pristine and natural state of the soul. Impurity, or pollution, is the obscuring of this state by adulterating experience and beclouding conceptions. In daily life, the Hindu strives to protect this innate purity by wise living, following the codes of dharma. This includes harnessing the sexual energies, associating with other virtuous Hindu devotees, never using harsh, angered or indecent language, and keeping a clean and healthy physical body.

See: dharma, papa, penance, punya, yamaniyama.

(See also: Purity impurity , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

japa: (Sanskrit) "Incantation."

Practice of concentrated repetition of a mantra, often while counting the repetitions on a mala or strand of beads. It may be done silently or aloud. Sometimes known as mantra yoga.

A major sadhana in Hindu spiritual practice, from the simple utterance of a few names of God to extraordinary feats of repeating sacred syllables millions of times for years on end. It is recommended as a cure for pride and arrogance, anger and jealousy, fear and confusion. It harmonizes the doshas and quiets the vrittis. Filling the mind with divine syllables, awakening the divine essence of spiritual energies in the physical body, japa brings forth the amrita. For Saivites, Namah Sivaya in its various forms is the most treasured mantra used in japa. The mantra Hare- Rama-Hare-Krishna is among the foremost Vaishnava mantras.

Japa yoga is said to be of 14 kinds:

• daily (nitya),
• circumstantial (naimittika),
• the japa of desired results (kamya), f
• orbidden (nishiddha),
• penitential (prayashchitta),
• unmoving (achala),
• moving (chala),
• voiced (vachika),
• whispered (upanshu),
• bee, or murmured (bhramara),
• mental (manasa),
• uninterrupted (akhanda),
• nonuttered (ajapa) and
• circumambulatory (pradakshina).

See: amrita, mantra, yama-niyama, yoga.

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

abstain: To hold oneself back, to refrain from or doing without. To avoid a desire, negative action or habit. See: yama-niyama.

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

saucha: (Sanskrit) "Purity."

See: purity-impurity, yamaniyama.

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

mitahara: (Sanskrit) "Measured eating; moderate appetite."

A requisite to good health and an essential for success in yoga. The ideal portion per meal is described as no more than would fill the two hands held side by side and slightly cupped piled high, an amount called a kudava. All the six tastes should be within these foods (sweet, salty, sour, pungent, bitter and astringent), and the foods should be well cooked and highly nutritious.

See: yamaniyama.

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

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)

instinctive: "Natural or innate." From the Latin instinctus, "staff," "prick," a participle of instigere, "impelling," pricking," "instigating."

The drives and impulses that order the animal world and the physical and lower astral aspects of humans- for example, self-preservation, procreation, hunger and thirst, as well as the emotions of greed, hatred, anger, fear, lust and jealousy. The first steps on the spiritual path consist in learning to harness these tendencies and impulses and transmute their energies into the higher nature.

See: manas, mind (individual), mind (three phases), yama-niyama.

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

nonperseverance: The act, practice or attitude of not persisting, giving up too easily.

See: yama-niyama.

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

instinctive mind: Manas chitta. The lower mind, which controls the basic faculties of perception, movement, as well as ordinary thought and emotion. Manas chitta is of the manomaya kosha.

See: manas, manomaya kosha, yama-niyama.

(See also: Instinctive mind , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

vegetarian: Shakahara. Of a diet which excludes meat,

fish, fowl and eggs. Vegetarianism is a principle of health

and environmental ethics that has been a keystone of

Indian life for thousands of years. Vegetarian foods

include grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes and dairy

products. Natural, fresh foods, locally grown, without

insecticides or chemical fertilizers, are preferred. The

following foods are minimized: frozen and canned foods,

highly processed foods, such as white rice, white sugar

and white flour; and "junk" foods and beverages (those

with abundant chemical additives, such as artificial

sweeteners, colorings, flavorings and preservatives). A

person following a vegetarian diet is called a shakahari.

See: guna, mansahari, yama-niyama.

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

restraints:

See: yama-niyama.

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

astikya: (Sanskrit) "Faith." See: faith, shraddha, yamaniyama.

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

kshama: (Sanskrit) "Patience."

See: yama-niyama.

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

niyama: (Sanskrit) "Restraint."

See: yama-niyama.

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

forbearance: Self-control; responding with patience and compassion, especially under provocation. Endurance; tolerance.

See: yama-niyama.

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

Ashtanga yoga:

the eight fold path of yoga as outlined by Patanjali: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi

(See also: Ashtanga yoga ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

A part of the varna dharma of each person is sadharana dharma- the principles of good conduct applicable to all people regardless of age, gender or class.

sadharana dharma: "Duties applicable to all." Listed in the Manu Shastras as:

• dhairya (steadfastness),
• kshama (forgiveness),
• dama (selfrestraint),
• chauryabhava (nonstealing),
• shaucha (cleanliness),
• indriyanigraha (sense control),
• dhi (high-mindedness), vidya (learning),
• satya (veracity),
• akrodha (absence of anger).

Another term for such virtues is samanya dharma: "general duty," under which scriptures offer similar lists of ethical guidelines. These are echoed and expanded in the yamas and niyamas, "restraints and observances."

See: yama-niyama.

(See also: Sadharana dharma , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)