Yamas

Ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya, aparigraha - these are the absolute values of human life. Unless there are some absolute values which cannot be bargained and the consciousness is rooted in those values, it seems to me that sane and healthy societies cannot come into existence.

Yamas do not give you a code of conduct, they give you a perspective of life, an evaluation of life, they give you an attitude towards life. I hope you see the difference. They give you guide-lines for life because, after all, Raja Yoga is a transformation in the perspective of life - from a fragmentary, compartmental perspective to a holistic perspective. It is a transformation in the content of consciousness. Instead of being always filled with thought and knowledge, it is now in the excellence of emptiness. So please do not look upon the Yamas as giving you a rigid code of conduct.

The Yamas are universal values of Life. They are applicable to every human being, irrespective of his or her regional, cultural, and language background.

Ahimsa

When you are dedicated to the awareness of the wholeness of Life, to the inter-relatedness of everything that you see in life, naturally your life becomes a dedication of ahimsa or non-killing, non-violence. That becomes a value of your life, it becomes a demonstration that you do not hurt anyone intentionally, you do not want to destroy anything or anyone, you want to have an intelligent, cooperative, harmonious relationship.

Ahimsa is an intelligent, harmonious relationship. Harmony is the essence of non-violence. It is not only non-killing on the physical level. Supposing that a person does not kill and even takes vegetarian meals, but if he kills the hearts of people by his cruel, cold glances and destructive, abusive words, he is not a non-violent person. If by behaviour, by glances, by words you attack, invade the psyche of other people you are not a non-violent person. You may not kill physically but you are killing psychologically, you are hurting by eyes, you are hurting by words.

When you are aware of the organic wholeness of Life and the inter-relatedness of everything in Life, naturally there is an urge to live harmoniously with every thing and every being. You move intelligently so that there is a harmony with human species, with non-human species, harmony with the mountains, rivers, oceans, trees, birds. Not to use anything or not use anyone as an instrument of your sensual pleasure.

Satya

Truthfulness means we are dedicated to the Truth we perceive, to the Truth we understand. So when you communicate through words, you communicate that Truth without under-rating, over-rating it, without using superlative degrees, without putting in your excessive feelings in it. You say, you communicate as you have seen it.

Truthfulness is harmony to the fact, harmony to the motive. If you hide your motivation, you are not truthful. If you have not done something and you pretend you have done something then you have walked away from truthfulness. It is a psycho-physical, harmonious way.

Our lives are maladjusted, both with regard to the inner motivations and the outer facts. Therefore, it is necessary to say: "Let there be truthfulness". It would be unnecessary to say that truthfulness should be a value, except for the fact that there is so much maladjustment. It is because we go on speaking lies, exaggerating things, pretending to be what we are not, being hypocrites, that education in verbal truthfulness, psychic truthfulness is necessary.

Asteya

Asteya is translated in English commentaries as "non-stealing." Does it simply mean that you and I will not go stealing things from one another's houses or offices? As a Yama, the word asteya, non-stealing, implies much more.

Just to call it "non-stealing", not being a thief would be a very shallow meaning to take from something very precious communicated by Patanjali. To accept things of personal use for which you have not worked - physically, mentally, intellectually. To go on accepting things like unearned income, life securities, unemployment assistance that are given by the governments and for which you have not worked. To have the austerity not to have an inclination, wish or expectation - verbalised or unverbalised - to get anything for which one has not worked.

Do you see the importance of the quality of consciousness which would feel it below its dignity to receive anything, to accept anything for which one has not worked? Do you see the importance of this Yama when we, the modern human beings and our societies, our governments, our administrations are suffering from the cancerous disease of corruption? What is corruption? Corruption is to take money fro which you don't work. You grab money without working for it. you want to have a profit much more than the ration the profit allows you. Do you see the roots of corruption, the source of corruption is in the quality of human consciousness which does not consider it is below its dignity, below its self-respect to receive anything from anyone - individually or collectively - for which one has not worked, physically or psychologically?

Brahmacharya

The root meaning of the Sanskrit word, Brahma is: that which contains inexhaustible potential of creativity. Brahma is a name given by the Vedas to describe the Ultimate Reality because it is inexhaustible creativity. For millions and millions of years, Life has been manifesting, the manifestations have been merging back into formlessness, yet the dance of emergence of forms and merging back of forms into the formlessness goes on. So, the name Brahman was given to un-nameableness of inexhaustible Creativity.

Brahman is not a god, a goddess. It is only all-permeating Supreme Intelligence, because creativity is the characteristic of Intelligence.

The other part of the word, Brahmacharya, is Acharya. The word Acharya is derived from the root chara - to walk, to move, to live. Charya means the way of living. Brahmacharya is the way of living in which you are always aware of the Divinity, of the Supreme Intelligence. Brahmacharya is living a life dedicated to the awareness of Divinity.

Brahmacharya is dedication to the understanding of Divinity. Understanding takes place only when you have perceived something, seen something.

Brahmacharya implies perception of Divinity. Understanding of the nature of Divinity and living in the awareness of Divinity.

Brahmacharya is dedication to the perception, understanding and awareness of Divinity.

Aparigraha

Aparigraha has been translated by the commentators as "non-possession".

Now you have to possess things, you have to have a house, a room to live in, food and clothing. Patanjali would not be stupid enough to say you should not possess anything and go around in a loin cloth. That was not the meaning.

You acquire food, clothing, a place to live in, you acquire provisions for health. You have to acquire these essentials but after acquisition you also begin to own the things and possess them. Please do see that acquisition for utility and acquisition for possessiveness - these two have a different quality altogether.

Acquisition for utility - according to your needs, you acquire and you take care of them. But then there is a sensual pleasure in owning and possessing. Possessiveness becomes a quality of consciousness. You want to own and possess just for the fun of it, just for the joy of it. You want to own and possess not only material things, you want to own and possess human beings. Wife possessing the husband and husband possessing the wife, boyfriend possessing the girlfriend and so on.

Possessiveness has exclusiveness, there is an attachment. When you acquire for utility, it is a sane way of living. You don't have to go begging, you don't become monks, you acquire knowledge, money, you have a family, children, you live as a blossoming, flowering human being. But to acquire and to use without attachment and exclusiveness, without beginning to enjoy possessing possessions just for the sake of possessing. Possessiveness becomes the dominating quality and attitude. Therefore, in Raja Yoga, Patanjali says: acquisition for utility, but not the distortion, the perversion of possessiveness. A sense of belonging is healthy, but attachment - expecting exclusive loyalty, exclusive fidelity - that is morbid. It is a very fine distinction between a sense of belonging, friendship, and possessiveness, attachment, obsessions.