Microsoft Word - Taimni - The Science of Yoga.doc

tions. The so-called civilized man will not allow himself to put a silver spoon in his
pocket when he goes out to a public dinner but his conscience may not prick him ade-
quately when he gives or receives gratification for doing his duty.
Asteya should really not be interpreted as abstaining from stealing but abstain-
ing from misappropriation of all kinds. The would-be Yogi cannot allow himself to
take anything which does not properly belong to him, not only in the way of money or
goods but even such intangible and yet highly prized things as credit for things he has
not done or privileges which do not properly belong to him. It is only when a person
succeeds in eliminating to a certain extent this tendency towards misappropriation in
its cruder forms that he begins to discover the subtler forms of dishonesty which are
woven in our life and of which we are hardly conscious. The aspirant who intends to
tread the path of higher Yoga has to proceed systematically in the gradual elimination
of these undesirable tendencies until their last traces have been removed and the mind
rendered pure and in consequence tranquil. He should practise these prescribed virtues
as a fine art aiming at greater and greater refinement in the application of the moral
principles to the problems of his daily life.
Brahmacarya: Of all the virtues enjoined in Yama-Niyama this appears to be the
most forbidding and many earnest students who are deeply interested in Yogic philoso-
phy fight shy of its practical application in their life because they are afraid they will
have to give up the pleasures of sex-indulgence. Many Western writers have tried to
solve the problem by suggesting a liberal interpretation of Brahmacarya and taking it
to mean not complete abstinence but regulated moderate indulgence within lawful
wedlock. The Eastern student who is more familiar with the traditions and actual con-
ditions of Yogic practice does not make this mistake. He knows that the real Yogic life
cannot be combined with the self-indulgence and waste of vital force which is in-
volved in the pleasures of sex life and he has to choose between the two. He may not
be required to give up sex life all at once but he has to give it up completely before he
can start the serious practice of higher Yoga as distinguished from mere theoretical
study or even Yogic practices of a preparatory nature.
To the serious and advanced student this desire to combine the enjoyments of
tne worldly life with the peace and transcendent knowledge of the higher life seems
rather pathetic and shows the absence of a true sense of values with regard to the reali-
ties of the Yogic life and therefore unfitness for leading this life. Those who can equate
or even consider comparable sensual enjoyments with the peace and bliss of the higher