‘good,’ for the yogin gives up the fruit of action, and not ‘bad,’ because he
does not perform actions [YBh. 4.7]. Yoga’s treatment of the mental and
the physical as reciprocally related dimensions of the unitary person is ev-
ident in the range of applications of ́sauca. Purity is a necessary condition
for psychophysical health, and the spiritual purity supported by physical
health is in turn instrumental for the ultimate healing of liberation.
SamtoÓ Ósa, the second element of niyama,means contentment, “the
absence of desire to obtain more of the necessities of life than one already
possesses” (YBh 2.32). SamtoÓ Ósameans absence of greed, resulting in
calmness and serenity regardless of external or internal circumstances.
Such contentment is one of the determinants of mental health. Content-
ment is a means to the end of mental equanimity, the state wherein mind
is without disturbance, and Self-nature can be realized. To practice con-
tentment is more than stilling mental disturbances as they intrude; it en-
tails preventing their arising.
Tapas, translated as austerity, self-discipline, or purification, “con-
sists in endurance of the pairs of opposites” such as heat and cold, and
the desire to eat [YBh 2.32]. The verb √tapmeans ‘to heat,’ and tapas
may be likened to the purification of metals by intense heat so that the
dross is burned away and the pure metal remains. Tapasinvolves fasting
and observance of various vows, such as the vow of silence. Tapasmay
also be performed by practicing pra ̄Ónay ̄ ̄ama. Tapasordinarily involves
self-discipline of the physical body, with the intention of weakening the
association of the physical body with consciousness, making possible an
awareness of the body as ‘not-self.’ Impurity leads to illness—physical,
mental, and spiritual—and tapasrepresents practices that not only re-
move impurities but contribute to endurance and non-susceptibility to
help make the body/mind a fit vehicle for the spiritual journey.
Svadh ̄ aya ̄ means self-education. Adhyaya ̄ means study or education;
its verbal root is √dh ̄ı, ‘to think.’ The prefix sva, ‘self,’ underscores the
sadhaka’s ̄ individual effort toward self-realization by exerting his or her
intelligence. Svadh ̄ ̄ayaincludes study of scriptures, pondering of religious
and philosophical questions, recitation of mantras, and, ultimately, leav-
ing the texts and disciplines behind and gaining knowledge from within
oneself.
Î ́svara-praÓnidhana ̄ , surrender to Î ́svara or God, means “the doing of
all actions to fulfill the purpose of the Great Teacher” [YBh 2.32]. Dedi-
cating oneself to the will of God destroys the ego through merging the in-
dividual with the sacred, the all-embracing consciousness. This niyamais
embodied in the Bhagavadg ̄ıt ̄a’sprescriptions of ni ́skama karma ̄ , acting
classical yoga as a religious therapeutic 111