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The 30th Sutra deals with the yama and its upāṅgas. Yama is the aṅga and the upāṅgas of the yama.
अ॒हिं॒सास॒त्या॒स्ते॒यब्र॒ह्म॒चर्या॒प॒रि॒ग्र॒हा य॒माः ॥ २.३०॥
Ahiṃsā satyāsteya brahmacaryāparigrahā yamāḥ
The five upāṅgas are given: ahiṃsā, satya, asteya, brahmacarya, aparigraha and yamāḥ. Ahiṃsā is ahiṃsā. Hiṃsā is injuring; ahiṃsā is non-injuring, non-violence. Satya is truthfulness. Asteya — steya is stealing; asteya is non-stealing. Brahmacarya — brahma plus carya, brahmacarya. Generally it is understood as continence, but we should understand more deeply. Brahmacarya is the movement towards brahman. Aparigraha — pari means all, graha is taking, receiving. Parigraha is receiving all; aparigraha means not receiving all, means not receiving at all. Yamāḥ is the plural; they are called the yamāḥ. All these five are called as the yamāḥ. Each one is very important. As many of us are conversant in detail, and a lot of descriptions and interpretations are available, we shall just see at a glance what each one means.
First, what yama means. Yama comes from the root yam, which means control, restraining. There is the word yam, from that yama comes. And all these five things, five upāṅgas, are to be practiced. As we have seen earlier, there is no order, there is no sequential order which is to be practiced. It doesn't mean that satya should be practiced only after ahiṃsā. In fact, as we have seen, they are all interdependent, interrelated, and interconnected. If we take up one practice intensely, all other things will just have their own shades and come together. That is how the entire yama practice goes.
Generally it is understood that yama is a social behavior and niyama is a personal behavior. That is, yama is the rules and regulations of our transactions and communications in our lifestyle and behavior in society as a social person — or just to understand, as a social animal. As we live in society, what are all the various rules and regulations for a smooth existence — that is defined by yama. And then niyama is a personal behavior.
But it is a very partial truth. It is not that yama has only a social behavior and niyama is only a personal behavior. There can be various interpretations and dimensions of the practices, but it is all a partial truth.
So what is ahiṃsā? Ahiṃsā really denotes an attitude and a mode of behavior to all living creatures. That behavior and attitude is based on recognition of the unity of life. It is respecting life.
As I have a life, as we have life, there are living creatures. As we have a right to live, all other living creatures have their own right to live. They also struggle to survive. Ahiṃsā is respecting that, recognizing that. So based on that recognition of the unity of life, the oneness of life, that is really the practice of ahiṃsā. Lot of discussions people propose, but if this principle is understood, quite a lot of things will be cleared in our understanding. And that, in the yogic philosophy, is based on the doctrine of that one life — that one puruṣa, one īśvara in all the living — of course even in the non-living — but ahiṃsā pertains to the living.
So our external behaviour should be in conformity with the all-embracing law of life — that is ahiṃsā. It really denotes that. But various discussions and interpretations go on. The famous saying is there: ahiṃsā paramo dharmaḥ. But for the protection of dharma, if hiṃsā is performed, it is not considered as hiṃsā, because it is protection of dharma. A soldier who kills in performing his duty — it is not hiṃsā. A fisherman whose duty is fishing — it is not hiṃsā. Apart from his duty, if he kills, if he breaches the law, then it will be hiṃsā. A soldier in a war front is okay, but the same thing he cannot do outside the war front. Same law applies. Of course, a lot of shades and variations are there for ahiṃsā.
Similarly, satya. Satya is a strict avoidance of all exaggerations, equivocations, elaborations, pretending, falsehood, and similar false which are involved in saying and doing things which are not in strict accordance with what we know as true. Facts without any additional exaggeration is satya. One saying is there Satyam Vad Priyam Vad. Speak truth but it should not hurt. So various shades and dimensions also are there for satya, but let us remember: satya is truthfulness. There is no need to speak lies or propagate falsehood. Without checking the facts, without verifying the facts, just passing on, elaborating, exaggerating — that is not satya. If we cannot verify the facts, if we cannot know the truth, it is better not to exaggerate and spread. That is satya. We shall see more when we come to the particular sutra later on.
Asteya — asteya is not just abstaining from stealing, but it is abstaining even from the misappropriation of all kinds. Of course steya is stealing, but asteya is not just non-stealing; it is more than that — even abstaining from misappropriation, what for it is not meant it not used for that, that is called asteya.
Brahmacarya — generally understood as restriction, restraining, or away from sexual life. Though it is true, brahmacarya has a more wider and deeper meaning. Brahmev Charanti it is. It is moving towards brahman, or a life of dedication, a life of commitment, a life of discipline, a one-pointed life — that is brahmacarya. Normally people understand brahmacarya as not marrying. It is a very simple, normal way of understanding. But brahmacarya should be understood in a wider and deeper sense from the yogic dimension of the Yoga Sūtras. Maharṣi Patañjali's important vision is that life moves towards brahman — all our efforts are moving towards that brahman - Purushah.
Aparigraha. Parigraha we know. Aparigraha — not collecting, not accepting, not receiving. Because when we receive something, mentally and psychologically, somewhere deep inside there will be a lurking commitment, a lurking partiality towards the person from whom we received a gift. That will be a danger. So aparigraha is not only that. Still higher, one should know the difference between needs, wants, and luxuries. And it may be pointed out that it is really not the quantity of things by which we are surrounded, but our attitude towards them which is very important and that matters a lot. There may be only a few things in our possession, but yet the instinct of possessiveness may be very strong — that is parigraha. On the other hand, we may be rolling in wealth and yet be free from any sense of possession. We have examples in our own purāṇas. There may be people living within our own surroundings and environments.
So yama-niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, samādhi are the aṣṭāṅgas. And in this, yama — ahiṃsā, satya, asteya, brahmacarya, aparigraha — are the upāṅgas of the yama.
We shall see more details when each sutra connected to the particular upāṅga is taken up in our later sutras in understanding the Patañjali Yoga Sūtras, when Maharṣi Patañjali describes the benefits and the results of the practice of each of these upāṅgas.Om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः|| To Be Continued.. ----------------------------------------
These are transcription of session delivered by Vice-President of Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra, Sri M. Hanumantha Rao Ji.
Audio Link - https://youtu.be/afFgcC5iG5Y?si=qnVuDTsYN3qq3gue
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मुक्तसंग्ङोऽनहंवादी धृत्युत्साहसमन्वित:।
सिद्धयसिद्धयोर्निर्विकार: कर्ता सात्त्विक उच्यते ॥१८.२६॥
Freed from attachment, non-egoistic, endowed with courage and enthusiasm and unperturbed by success or failure, the worker is known as a pure (Sattvika) one. Four outstanding and essential qualities of a worker. - Bhagwad Gita : XVIII-26
