Yoga - THE ANCIENT WISDOM OF THE YUMS AND NIYUMS

Author

THE ANCIENT WISDOM OF THE YUMS AND NIYUMS

Dr. Jai Maharaj

2005-09-24, 2:26 pm

PUBLISHER'S DESK

Facing Life's Tests With Wisdom

Living by the ancient guidance of the yums and
niyums can help us brave life's challenges

By Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
Hinduism Today
http://www.hinduismtoday.com
September-October, 2001

When we are children, we run freely, because we have no
great subconscious burdens to carry. Very little has
happened to us. Of course, our parents and religious
institutions try to prepare us for life's tests. But
because the conscious mind of a child doesn't know any
better, it generally does not accept the preparation
without experience, and life begins the waking up to the
material world, creating situations about us magnificent
opportunities for failing these tests. If we do not fail,
we know that we have at some prior time learned the
lesson inherent in the experience. Experience gives us a
bit of wisdom when we really face ourselves and discover
the meaning of failure and success. Failure is just
education. But you shouldn't fail once you know the law.

There have been many systems and principles of ethics and
morality established by various world teachers down
through the ages. All of these have had only one common
goal to provide for man living on the planet Earth a
guidepost for his thought and action so that his
consciousness, his awareness, may evolve to the
realization of life's highest goals and purposes. The
ancient yoga systems provided a few simple yums and
niyums for religious observance, defining how all people
should live. The yums, or restraints, provide a basic
system of discipline for the instinctive mind. The
niyums, or positive observances, are the affirming, life-
giving actions and disciplines.

Life offers you an opportunity. As the Western theologian
speaks of sins of omission as well as sins of commission,
so we find that life offers us an opportunity to break
the law as indicated by the yums, as well as to omit the
observances of the niyums. If we take the opportunity to
live out of tune with Hindu dharma, reaction is built in
the subconscious mind. This reaction stays with us and
recreates the physical and astral body accordingly.

Have you ever known a friend who reacted terribly to an
experience in life and as a result became so changed
mentally and physically that you hardly recognized him?
Our external conscious mind has a habit of not being able
to take the meaning out of life's most evident lessons.

The basic laws of life are so simple that many people
don't heed them. Why? Generally because the opportunities
afforded us to fail these tests are so plentiful that we
generate very good reasons for not paying attention to
our lessons. Shall we say it is normal to fail some of
these tests? Yes, isn't this like getting a failing grade
on a report card in school, not passing some of the tests
and having to take a course over again? We must learn
from our experiences or find ourselves repeating them
again and again.

It is our teaching not to react to life's experiences,
but to understand them and in the understanding to free
ourselves from the impact of these experiences, realizing
the Self within. The true Self is only realized when you
gain a subconscious control over your mind by ceasing to
react to your experiences so that you can concentrate
your mind fully, experience first meditation and
contemplation, then samadhi, or Self Realization. First
we must face our subconscious.

There are many amusing ways in which people go about
facing themselves. Some sit down to think things over,
turning out the light of understanding. They let their
minds wander, accomplishing nothing. Let me suggest to
you a better way.

In facing ourselves let us relate our actions, our
thoughts and our feelings to the yums and the niyums, the
wise restraints and observances of Hindu dharma. In
aligning ourselves with these universal laws, we can soon
see how clear or muddy is our own subconscious.
Fulfilling the restraints first allows us to take the
next step on the spiritual path, which is the fulfillment
of the observances. As long as we are evading our taxes,
it is difficult to live up to the ideal of honesty. As
long as we are beating our children, it is difficult to
adhere to nonviolence. As long as we are swearing, using
asura-invoking, profane words in the home, it will be
difficult to cultivate patience. As long as we indulge in
pornography, a mental form of adultery, it will be
difficult to practice purity. Yes, it will be difficult
to cultivate a contemplative nature. All these and more
will require serious penance, prayaschitta as it is known
in Sanskrit, to change the nature and bring it into
harmony with the profound ideals of the ancient Indian
sages and yogis.

We carry with us in our instinctive nature basic
tendencies to break these divine laws, to undergo the
experiences that will create reactive conditions until we
sit ourselves down and start to unravel the mess. If we
are still reacting to our experiences, we are only
starting on the yoga path to enlightenment. As soon as we
cease to react, we have for the first time the vision of
the inner light.

What do we mean by this word light? We mean light
literally, not metaphysically or symbolically, but light,
just as you see the light of the sun or a light emitted
by a bulb. You will see light first at the top of the
head, then throughout the body. An openness of mind
occurs, and great peace. As a seeker gazes upon his inner
light in contemplation, he continues the process of
purifying the subconscious mind. As soon as that first
yoga awakening comes to you, your whole nature begins to
change. You have a foundation on which to continue. The
yums and the niyums are the foundation.

Facing Life's Tests: Two feet planted firmly on the
ground, the experienced devotee graciously greets the
return of his own self-created karma, paving the way to
its resolution rather than its ramification.

The yums and niyums

From the holy vedas we have assembled here ten yums and
ten niyums, a simple statement of the ancient and
beautiful laws of life. The ten yums are: 1) Noninjury,
ahimsa: Not harming others by thought, word, or deed. 2)
Truthfulness, satya: Refraining from lying and betraying
promises. 3) Nonstealing, asteya: Neither stealing, nor
coveting nor entering into debt. 4) Divine conduct,
brahmacharya: Controlling lust by remaining celibate when
single, leading to faithfulness in marriage. 5) Patience,
kshama: Restraining intolerance with people and
impatience with circumstances. 6) Steadfastness, dhriti:
Overcoming nonperseverance, fear, indecision and
changeableness. 7) Compassion, daya: Conquering callous,
cruel and insensitive feelings toward all beings. 8)
Honesty, straightforwardness, arjava: Renouncing
deception and wrongdoing. 9) Moderate appetite, mitahara:
Neither eating too much nor consuming meat, fish, fowl or
eggs. 10) Purity, saucha: Avoiding impurity in body, mind
and speech. The ten niyums are: 1) Remorse, hri: Being
modest and showing shame for misdeeds. 2) Contentment,
santosha: Seeking joy and serenity in life. 3) Giving,
dana: Tithing and giving generously without thought of
reward. 4) Faith, astikya: Believing firmly in God, Gods,
guru and the path to enlightenment. 5) Worship of the
Lord, Isvarapujana: The cultivation of devotion through
daily worship and meditation. 6) Scriptural listening,
siddhant shravana: Studying the teachings and listening
to the wise of one's lineage. 7) Cognition, mati:
Developing a spiritual will and intellect with the guru's
guidance. 8) Sacred vows, vrata: Fulfilling religious
vows, rules and observances faithfully. 9) Recitation,
japa: Chanting mantras daily. 10) Austerity, tups:
Performing sadhana, penance, tups and sacrifice.

More at:
http://www.hinduismtoday.com

Jai Maharaj
http://www.mantra.com/jai
Om Shanti

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http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate

The terrorist mission of Jesus stated in the Christian bible:

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not so send
peace, but a sword.
"For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the
daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in
law.
"And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
- Matthew 10:34-36.

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Dr. Homilete

2005-09-24, 2:26 pm

Johnny Judas Jay "the jackass jyotishithead" Maharaj wrote:

> PUBLISHER'S DESK
>
> Facing Life's Tests With Wisdom
>
> Living by the ancient guidance of the yums and
> niyums can help us brave life's challenges
>
> By Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
> Hinduism Today
> http://www.hinduismtoday.com
> September-October, 2001
>
> When we are children, we run freely, because we have no
> great subconscious burdens to carry. Very little has
> happened to us. Of course, our parents and religious
> institutions try to prepare us for life's tests.

And the little ones' minds get poisoned by the likes of Jay Maharaj and
the wonkers at "hinduismtoday". Look at Pardipshit Parekh: Jay has
turned him into an anal wart, an embarassment to his wife and an insult
to the Hindu community at large.

Dr. Homilete

2005-09-24, 2:26 pm

PRAKASH APPUKUTTAN wrote:

> Witch Doctor Jay Maharaj writes:
>
>
>
>
> The witch doctor is very possibly celibate.

Not by choice. The ugly bastard has bad breath, bad attitude toward
women, body odor, fingernails that haven't been clipped in decades and,
worst of all, he's a hermaphrodite. Does having sex with himself qualify
as celibacy?

puma

2005-09-24, 2:26 pm

Dr. Homilete wrote:
> PRAKASH APPUKUTTAN wrote:
>
>
> Not by choice. The ugly bastard has bad breath, bad attitude toward
> women, body odor, fingernails that haven't been clipped in decades and,
> worst of all, he's a hermaphrodite. Does having sex with himself qualify
> as celibacy?

Hi there,

I never heard that being a HERMAPHRODITE is a worst case!
And never knew that a hermaphrodite is shown by `` HE ``.
And never knew that a hermaphrodite having sex with HIMSELF!

Actually hermaphrodite is a very rare BEAUTY...Which everybody can not
have!
And they are COMPLETE HUMANS...And they do not need other sex organ!

They are allready yogic that is WHOLE...And a beauty.

With compassion,

Puma

PRAKASH APPUKUTTAN

2005-09-24, 2:26 pm

I agree. No wonder the Majafraud was supporting the Devadasi system
with flowery language.

PRAKASH APPUKUTTAN

2005-09-24, 2:26 pm

I agree. No wonder the Mahafraud was supporting the Devadasi system
with flowery language.

PRAKASH APPUKUTTAN

2005-09-24, 2:26 pm

I agree. No wonder the Mahafraud was supporting the Devadasi system
with flowery language.