YAMA, THE RESTRAINTS
These rules certainly carry a moral meaning, but one somewhat different from the one familiar in the West. Above all, they help to remove the causes of disturbance and agitation that stand in the way of spiritual development.
Patanjali lists five of them. (y.s.II.30)
1. Ahimsâ, non-violence
Ahimsâ, non-violence, requires not only abstaining from causing harm and pain to living beings or taking part in their enslavement and destruction, but above all aims to uproot from instinct the desire to kill and to cause suffering. Vyâsa's commentary specifies that all the “restraints” and all the “disciplines” contain the idea of non-violence, and that observing them makes it more authentic. When Ahimsâ becomes natural, feelings of hostility disappear: “in the presence of one who has adopted non-violence, all beings give up enmity”. (y.s.II.35) This power is called Bhûtasiddhi.
2. Satya, truthfulness.
2. Satya, truthfulness. It is not enough to refrain from concealment, lying, deceit or slander: right speech must match right action. Right action is action free of selfishness, which therefore sets off no chain of cause and effect; it dies out by itself and has no painful consequence. Truthfulness requires sustained reflection and attention, and a total absence of calculation.
“One in whom truthfulness is established obtains and masters the fruit of their works”. (y.s.II.36).
The occult power that arises from it is called Vâcsiddhi:
The power of speech. Whatever the true yogin says comes to pass or takes on an aspect of truth.
3. Asteya, honesty, refraining from theft.
3. Asteya, honesty, refraining from theft. Perfect honesty consists in avoiding taking what belongs to others and in rooting out the desire to steal. In some circumstances this may go as far as refusing benefits or gifts that are offered. And paradoxically, when letting go approaches perfection, “one who makes total honesty their rule sees wealth come to them”. (y.s.II.37).
4. Brahmacarya, continence.
4. Brahmacarya, continence. The Anugîtâ defines the chaste one, the Brahmacârin, as one who dwells in the absolute (Brahman):
“One who, having gone beyond action and austerities, dwells in the supreme, the Brahman, is called a Brahmacârin. Like the Brahman, he travels (cari) through the world. The Brahman is his fuel. It is his fire. The Brahman is his seat and his purifying water. The Brahman is his master. He lives absorbed in the Brahman”.
All yogas stress the beneficial influence of the forces stored up through continence. Voluntary retention of the “semen virile” makes concentration easier and preserves vital and nervous energy. It must not lead to sexual repression, which would cause imbalance, nor even to mystical sublimation, but truly to the destruction of carnal ideas, emotions and sensations, just as mental states and subconscious residues are “burnt” by the fire of contemplative realisation.
“One who practises continence acquires and controls vital energy”. (y.s.II.38).
The task proves harder for individuals with a powerful sexuality, but the energy accumulated through continence will then bring them an intensity of experience in proportion to the ardour of their temperament.
The tantric yogin of the “left-hand path” (kaula) goes even further in difficulty: playing with fire, he uses sexual desire and the act itself (maithuna) as a vehicle for reaching unification, while strictly forbidding himself ejaculation. Apart from these particular cases, true chastity requires permanent celibacy, without sexual union.
However, for those who have chosen to live with a partner, or who do not observe complete abstinence, the sexual act is allowed outside periods of intense practice. In any case it remains preferable to a saddening and badly lived abstinence.
Commenting on verse 61 of chapter I of the Hatha yoga Pradîpikâ, Brahmânanda says on this subject: “...outside the time of assiduous practice, it is not forbidden to unite with one's wife...”
It should nevertheless be noted that a few rare texts completely disregard continence, but this is quite unusual in classical yoga. (See Yoga Kundalinî Upanisad, 56.)
5. Aparigraha, poverty, the absence of possessions.
5. Aparigraha, poverty, the absence of possessions. Possession breeds violence and the foolish, constraining organisation of the defence of property, which goes as far as war. One cannot possess without depriving others, and it is a source of attachment. Independence is greatly compromised by possession, but also by debts or obligations towards those who provide us with goods or offer us gifts. This is why the yogin avoids receiving gifts. If by chance he accepts, he owes nothing.
When the spirit of non-possession takes root in the depths of the being, the occult power of remembering one's births arises: “one who observes strict poverty remembers their previous lives” (y.s.II.39).
Some differences appear in the Yoga Upanishads and in later texts. Generally, secondary rules are added to those set out in the Yoga sûtra, but the main restraints are found everywhere, except for poverty and, very occasionally, continence.
What matters in the practice of the Yama is not deprivation in itself, but the spirit of detachment from the passions and from selfish inclinations.
The next step of Yoga is Niyama, the disciplines.