To Linda on New Year sankalpa/yamas niyamas etc

[Guest guest]

parvati and latha and all,

 

earlier we were talking about yamas and niyamas ... today i found in a

book where this [what i was thinking of] came from ... patanjali! ...

i googled a link on it ...

 

http://www.yogamovement.com/resources/patanjali.html

 

basically they are [copy/pasted from site]:

=====

Yama

 

Yama is social behavior, how you treat others and the world around

you. These are moral principles. Sometimes they are called the

don'ts

or the thou shalt nots. There are five yamas:

 

* Nonviolence (ahimsa). Do no harm to any creature in thought or

deed. In his book Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda asks

Mahatma Gandhi the definition of ahimsa. Gandhi said, "The

avoidance

of harm to any living creature in thought or deed." Yogananda

asked if

one could kill a cobra to protect a child. Gandhi maintained he would

still hold to his vow of ahimsa, but added, "I must confess that I

could not serenely carry on this conversation were I faced by a

cobra."

* Truth and honesty (satya). Tell no lies. Cheating on your income

taxes falls into this category.

* Nonstealing (asteya). Do not steal material objects (a car) or

intangibles such as the center of attention or your child's

chance to

learn responsibility or independence by doing something on his own.

* Nonlust (brahmacharya). Don't worry; this is not a call to

celibacy. Many yogis of old were married and had families of their

own. The person who practices brahmacharya avoids meaningless sexual

encounters and, as the well-known teacher B.K.S. Iyengar puts it,

"sees divinity in all."

* Nonpossessiveness (aparigraha). Free yourself from greed,

hoarding, and collecting. Do you really need more shoes, another car,

or to hog the conversation every time you see your friends? Make your

life as simple as possible.

 

Niyama

 

Niyama is inner discipline and responsibility, how we treat ourselves.

These are sometimes called observances, the do's, or the thou

shalts.

There are five niyamas:

 

* Purity (shauca). Purity is achieved through the practice of the

five yamas, which help clear away the negative physical and mental

states of being. Keep yourself, your clothing, and your surroundings

clean. Eat fresh and healthy food. The next time you joke about

treating your body like a temple, think of this niyama.

* Contentment (santosha). Cultivate contentment and tranquility by

finding happiness with what you have and who you are. Seek happiness

in the moment, take responsibility for where you are, and choose to

grow from there.

* Austerity (tapas). Show discipline in body, speech, and mind.

The purpose of developing self-discipline is not to become ascetic,

but to control and direct the mind and body for higher spiritual aims

or purposes.

* Study of the sacred text (svadhyaya). Study sacred texts, which

are whatever books are relevant to you and inspire and teach you.

Education changes a person's outlook on life. As Iyengar says, a

person starts "to realize that all creation is meant for bhakti

(adoration) rather than for bhoga (enjoyment), that all creation is

divine, that there is divinity within himself and that the energy

which moves him is the same that moves the entire universe."

* Living with an awareness of the Divine (ishvara-pranidhana). Be

devoted to God, Buddha, or whatever you consider divine.

=====

 

 

 

 

 

, "parv108" <parv108> wrote:

>

>

> Namaste Linda,

> Hope you don't mind if I through in my two cents concerning

sankalpa.

> Swamiji has always said that each one of us will design our own

> sankalpa according to our own capacity, time, energy, inspiration,

> health, etc. Sounds like you have a great idea to study the

DeviGita

> and the Cosmic Puja. The Devi Gita is one of my favorite scriptures

> because the Goddess herself describes how to worship in a way that

> is most pleasing to Her. As Swamiji mentioned earlier the Devi Gita

> describes the philosphophy behind the sadhana we are doing.

>

> Parvati

>

>

> , nierika@a... wrote:

> >

> > Latha wrote:

> >

> > I am wondering how many people in the group are interested in

108

> > Chandis a year. I was hoping that we could keep Chandi-date

> tracker

> > starting January with people's names against them - borrowing

the

> > spiritual diary idea from Jayadeva.

> >

> >

> >

> > Dear Latha,

> >

> > After reading your Q & A with Swami about the Devi Gita, the

> Chandi Path,

> > and the Cosmic Puja, and due to my illness, and because I have

> been chanting

> > the Chandi over and over and over ... I sort of feel I would like

> my sankalpa

> > to obtain the two books I don't have, to do them in the order

> Swami

> > recommended, and keep in mind what he said about the purpose of

> each one. I don't know

> > if this would last a whole year for me, but if not, I could then

> take up the

> > Chandi again. What do you think of this? Is it possible to do

> something

> > different from the rest of the group? Thank you. Jai Maa , Jai

> Swamiji ~ Linda