Īśvarapraṇidhānāni niyamāḥ—are less important than the yamas, as the yamas are
more difficult to practise because they lay the foundation for one’s moral character
and the toughness of one’s personality. Therefore, one has to bestow a little more
attention on the yamas, as the niyamas may take the form of a daily routine of a
positive character, but the yamas are not a routine—they are a spirit that we
maintain, which is very difficult to entertain in the mind always.
When one is properly placed in an atmosphere of mastery which is provided to
oneself through the practice of the yamas and niyamas, the Yoga Shastra tells us
that one is spontaneously endowed with an energy which is an indication of the
extent of mastery that one has already gained. These disciplines, or preparations, are
not merely punishments meted out to us by the scriptures or the Gurus—they are
necessary processes of purifying one’s personality in order that it may receive the
energies of the cosmos. Strength immediately follows as a matter of direct experience
when the purification is effected thoroughly, or at least to an appreciable degree.
It is very clear that it is the presence of impurities of the mind—such as kama,
krodha, lobha, etc.—which prevent the entry of the light of the divine into oneself
and make one feel famished, physically as well as psychologically. As it was
mentioned earlier, the weakness of one’s personality is due to one’s isolation from
nature—ultimately an isolation of oneself from God Himself, Who is the source of all
strength, power and energy. Therefore, this isolation is artificial. Really we are not so
isolated. It is a psychological isolation, and this has come about on account of the
dross in the mind—the presence of rajas and tamas. It is necessary that these
impediments to the revelation of the divine light and the force of nature within
oneself in the form of rajas and tamas be completely eradicated by such disciplinary
practices as these yamas and niyamas in their true spirit, and not merely in their
letter.
The letter is very easy to understand, whereas the spirit is difficult to understand.
The spirit comes into question when it is understood that this practice is intended for
the growth of one’s personality and the increase in the depth of one’s being towards
the evolution of oneself for unity of oneself with the Absolute. This understanding
will give an idea of the spirit which has to be maintained in the practice, apart from
merely an appreciative understanding of its literal meaning.
Chapter 73NEGATIVE CHECK AND POSITIVE APPROACHThese principles and disciplines of yama and niyama are regarded in yoga as
unconditional and absolute. This is a very peculiar insistence in the system, perhaps
due to the difficulties that one may have to face in case these disciplines are relaxed
even a little, because the relaxation of these preparatory principles, though it may be
in a very mild form and in a negligible degree, may lead to a powerful outburst of
those very urges which have been kept in check for a long time by these practices. So,
to avoid any such possibility of giving a long rope to these instincts and confronting
them later on with pain as the result, the sutra tells us that these disciplines should