Meditation, morals, ethics, yama, niyama, ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacarya, aparigraha, shaoca, santosha, tapah, svadhyaya, ishvara pranidhana. Practical tips on yogic ethics and insights.

1. Yoga
- Moral Principles

2. Namaskar
 It means:
I
salute the divinity within you with all
the good feelings of my mind and
love of my heart.

3. Overview
 Calming the Conscious Mind
 through
Yama & Niyama,
 i.e. moral principles.

4. The First Step
• Calming the Conscious
Mind …
• The process to develop
and elevate the
Conscious Mind is to
apply certain principles
to one’s life.
• Achieves mental
equilibrium.

5. Mental Equilibrium
 Our energy is drained by disharmony
within ourselves and with those around
us.
 The first level of the mind is the Conscious
Mind which relates through the senses
with the external world.
 Mental equilibrium is the first step to move
towards higher realization.

6. Developing and elevating the mind
 To develop and elevate the Conscious
Mind, the yogis and spiritualists through
deep reflection synthesized certain
principles in order to attain mental
equilibrium and lead a good life.
 These moral principles are called Yama
and Niyama.

7. Yogic Principles
 In the practice of Yoga there are two
sets of principles for leading a good life:
There are 5 principles related to the
external world (Yama).
 There are 5 principles related to oneself or
internal development (Niyama).


8. The Practice of Yama




Principles that guide one’s relationship with
other entities.
There must be a second entity to relate the
principle to.
These principles bring balance to the
conscious mind (the first layer of the mind).
They also enhance social welfare, as the
establishment of a society depends on the
mutual help of its members and their cooperative behaviour.

9. Principles of Yama





Not to inflict pain or hurt on anybody by
thought, word or action.
Use of mind and words for welfare.
Not to deprive others of what is their due,
including planning in the mind to deprive
others - ‘non-stealing’.
Keep the mind always absorbed in Supreme
Consciousness.
Live simply – non accumulation of
superfluous things.

10. Not harming anyone - Ahimsa’
 You harm someone when you stop their
physical, mental or spiritual progress.
 It is not ‘non-violence’ (therefore allows
for self-defence and the protection of
others from harm by use of force).

11. Not harming anyone - Ahimsa’
Food - one organism is the food of others.
• Articles of food should be selected from among
those items in which development of consciousness
is comparatively little; i.e. if vegetables are
available, animals should not be slaughtered.
• The policy of eating, without due consideration,
whatever is available cannot be supported in any
case.
• How to practice Ahimsa‘ – requires auto-suggestion,
as it does not just happen automatically.
•

12. Use of words for welfare - Satya
 Proper use of mind and words with the
spirit of welfare.
 Not exactly the same as telling the fact
or the truth (because you may need to
shelter the innocent from the knowledge
of someone wanting to cause harm to
them).
 It implies welfare.

13. Satya gives hope
 Through Satya hope is encouraged and
it strengthens humanity.
 The capability to do what is necessary
or good for humanity; in the realm of
spirituality such thought, word or action
has been defined as Satya.

14. Non-stealing - Asteya
 Not to deprive others of what is their
due.
 Including not planning in the mind to
deprive others.
 Non-stealing means both materially and
mentally.

15. Non-stealing – Asteya (4 types)




Physical theft of any material object.
Psychic theft - Here you did not take material
possession of anything, but you planned it in
your mind.
Depriving others of their due physically, so
you become responsible for their loss.
Depriving others of their due mentally planning in your mind to do so.

16. Keep the mind in the stance of
the Supreme - Brahmacarya
 To remain attached to the Universal
Consciousness – recognizing all as
One.
 Treat the objects as different
expressions of that Universal
Consciousness.
 To feel the Cosmic Entity in every
material object and living being.

17. Brahmacarya – results of practice
 Attraction towards the ultimate reality,
and not attraction towards crude
material objects.
 Desire for the Infinite, and not for finite
objects.
 It is control over subjectivity.

18. Live Simply - Aparigraha


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Non-indulgence in the enjoyment of such
amenities and comforts of life as are
superfluous for the preservation of life is
Aparigraha.
It is control over objectivity.
However, society is obliged to provide the
minimum requirements to all (food, housing,
clothing, education, medical care).
But complete establishment in Aparigraha
ultimately depends on the individual.

19. Aparigraha – social aspects
 It is a constant effort to reduce one’s
own objects of comforts out of
sympathy for the common people, …
 … after ensuring that individuals are
able to maintain solidarity in their
physical, mental and spiritual lives for
themselves and their families.

20. The Practice of Niyama
 It is an internal practice.
 Its field is inside you.
 No second entity is needed.

21. Principles of Niyama
 Cleanliness of the body and of the
mind.
 Contentment.
 To undergo discomfort or hardship to
help and service others.
 The study, with proper understanding,
of scriptures and philosophical works.
 Meditation on Supreme Consciousness.

22. Shaoca – Cleanliness
 Shaoca – means cleanliness of body
and mind 
physical and mental.
 Purity and cleanliness in all respects 
external and internal.

23. Cleanliness of body - external
 External physical cleanliness by:
Bath
 Half-bath
 Use of water
 Soap
 Clean environment and household


24. Cleanliness of body - internal
 Internal physical cleanliness by proper
food.
The physical body is conditioned by the
food you eat.
 3 forces in the Universe:

Sentient
 Mutative
 Static
Sentient (good for body and mind) plant based
food is the cleanest.


25. Cleanliness of body - internal
 Internal - Physical:
The physical body is composed of
countless cells.
 Each cell has its own mind.
 The human mind is a unit microcosm plus
the collection of the minds of the cells.
 Cells grow from the light, air, water and
food we take in.


26. Cleanliness of body - physical

Static food creates static cells:

has no real life force .

27. You are
what you eat.

28. Cleanliness of body - physical
Static cells create
a static influence
on the mind.
 A static mind
becomes easily
depressed and
frustrated.


29. Cleanliness of body - physical


Sentient food creates sentient cells
… and
 sentient cells create a sentient
influence on the mind.
Sentient means conducive to
physical and mental well-being,
awakens intuition and bringing
effulgence and lucidity to human
existence.

30. Cleanliness of body & mind

A sentient mind
experiences a deep
sense of harmony
and balance within.
• Fasting: helps to
purify the body
and mind.

31. Cleanliness of body & mind
 Environment:
The environment has an impact in one’s
mind.
 All vibrations reaching the mind through
the sensory organs affect the mind.
 You should take care with all that you see,
touch, smell, taste or hear.


32. Cleanliness of mind
 Internal psychic cleanliness:
In this case one does not get swayed,
conditioned, or think or act according to the
external stimulus.
 If there is a negative idea around, you can
take an opposite positive idea to neutralize
the negative impact.


33. Cleanliness of mind

How to develop internal
mental cleanliness:


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Jealousy – impose opposite
idea of friendliness.
Problematic behaviour –
impose opposite idea of
compassion.
Envy – impose opposite idea of
encouragement and help others
progress.
Win a miser with charity.

34. Cleanliness of mind
 Other hints:
Conquer an angry person by your
controlled temper.
 A dishonest person by your honesty.
 A liar by your truthfulness.


35. Santos’a – Contentment


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It means to maintain an state
of mental ease.
When the mind hungers for
something it is in a state of
uneasiness.
Upon satisfying that desire
the moment of ease or relief
which the mind gets is called
tos’a in Sanskrit.

36. Contentment – Santos’a



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Then, the mind again will run in pursuit of new
objects leaving behind the objects already
tasted.
Once long cherished objects loose their
importance quickly.
Achieving the desired objects may give a
temporary pleasure for an hour or so.
Human desires knows no end.

37. Contentment




Millionaires want to become multi-millionaires.
Ask millionaires if they are
happy with their money.
They will say: “Where is the money?
I am somehow pulling on.”
A small donation brings no physical
discomfort for millionaires.

38. Established in contentment
 If a man is established in Santos’a he is
the king of kings.
 Without Santos’a a person remains a
beggar, even if a multi-millionaire.
 Objects of enjoyment go on increasing in
number and one’s mind can never rest.
 To remain content needs a special
mental effort to keep aloof from external
allurements.

39. Happiness and contentment
 Happiness is when one gets a favorable
feeling from an object as desired.
 After getting enough happiness when
one feels that more of that is not
needed then it is contentment.
 The essentialities of life are very
limited…
 …but human hunger is infinite.

40. Contentment – other points


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Continuous enjoyment of favourable
vibrations is happiness.
The feeling that you need no more is
contentment.
The agony of the rich – they want more and
more …
Aparigraha (to live simply) helps Santos’a
(contentment).

41. Santos’a (Contentment)



Those people who are easily
satisfied and maintain a state of
contentment are following Santos’a.
It means to accept ungrudgingly
and without complaint the results of
one’s mental and physical work.
Contentment is not at all possible if
the individual is running after every
pleasure imaginable.

42. Tapah – Undergoing hardships
 To undergo physical hardship to attain
the objective / goal.
 To undergo hardship to make others
happy.
 To undergo hardship for one’s progress
in the mental and spiritual sphere.

43. Purpose of Tapah?
 There is only one purpose behind the
practice of penance (tapah) and that is
to shoulder sorrows and miseries of
others to make them happy, to free
them from grief and to give them
comforts.

44. Sva’dhya’ha – Study of philosophy
 The study, with proper understanding,
of scriptures and philosophical books.
 Not doing things without understanding
why.
 Nor just repeating empty words without
knowing the meaning.
 Nor accepting illogical tales in name of
dogma or religion.

45. Study of philosophy


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Social philosophy changes according to the
age – ideas develop.
Internal intuition of spiritual philosophy does
not change, even if expressed diversely.
Those who cannot read can listen to the
philosophy.
One can learn through association with the
wise - keeping good company.
One should shun away from bad company.

46. Ishvara pran’idha’na –
Devotion to a higher principle of life



It is an auto-suggestion of the idea that each
and every entity is an instrument in the hands
of the Divine:
 a mere spark of the supreme fire.
Iishvara pranidhana also implies implicit faith
in the Supreme irrespective of whether one
lives in momentary happiness or sorrow,
prosperity or adversity.
Meditation on Supreme Consciousness.

47. Meditation
 Our technique of meditation is based on
mantras.
 Mantra is a word or phrase in Sanskrit
language which expresses a thought…
 …the thought of the Supreme
Consciousness.

48. Process of Meditation
 Withdraw the mind from all external
objects and concentrate that you are an
entity within Supreme Consciousness.
 Let the mind flow with the eternal
feeling.
 One should do it twice a day for
complete benefits.

49. Meditation Practice
 For beginners, a simple technique …
 Mantra meditation with:
Baba Nam Kevalam
Baba: Dearest
Nam: Expression
Kevalam: Everything

50. Baba Nam Kevalam meaning
 All is the Supreme Consciousness
 Love is all there is

51. Let us meditate now
 Baba Nam Kevalam