YSP Study Group – Sutra 2.32

शौचसंतोषतपःस्वाध्यायेश्वरप्रणिधानानि नियमाः॥३२॥

śauca saṁtoṣa tapaḥ svādhyāy-eśvarapraṇidhānāni niyamāḥ ॥32॥

shoucha = cleanliness; saMtoSha = contentment; tapaH = austerity; svaadhyaaya = study [of the scriptures]; IshvarapraNidhaanani = devotion to God, the Lord; niyamaaH = observances

Sw. Satchidananda

"Niyama consists of purity, contentment, accepting but not causing pain, study of spiritual books and worship of God [self-surrender]".

The five yamas and the five niyamas remind us of the Ten Commandments of the Christian and Jewish faiths, as well as of the ten virtues of Buddhism.

Bryant

"The observances are cleanliness, contentment, austerity, study of scriptures, and devotion to God"

Whereas yamas are concerned with how the yogi interacts with others by desisting from certain activities, niyamas focus on personal discipline and practice by engaging in certain activities.

Shaucha (cleanliness): Vyasa mentions both internal and external cleanliness. External cleanliness consists in cleaning with clay and water (soap and water for us!) etc. and taking pure food which does not include meat and intoxicants. Alcohol, for example, creates disturbance in the mind which inhibits concentration and meditation. Internal cleanliness consists of purifying the mind of contaminations like anger, hatred, jealousy, pride, vanity, attachments etc. An attitude of friendliness toward all will help internal cleanliness.

Santosha (contentment): Santosha represents disinterest in accumulating more than one’s immediate needs of life. The Bhagavad Gita makes a strong statement against desires that can never be satisfied. To avoid injury to the foot from thorns, one only needs to wear a pair of shoes – there should be no need to cover the entire earth with leather!

Tapas (austerirty): Tapas is the ability to withstand hunger and thirst as well as the dualities of life like hot and cold etc., to avoid useless talk, and to perform fasts etc. Yoga involves enduring hardships and remain undisturbed by the lack of material comforts. Tapas does not mean inflicting undue hardship on the body.

Svadhyay (Study): Svadhyay refers to study of sacred scriptures and repetition of OM and other devotional mantras. By the practice of Svadhyay, desire for worldly objects diminishes and taste for spirituality increases.

Ishvara Pranidhana (devotion to God): Ishvara Pranidhana  is offering one’s activities to Ishvara, the original teacher, without desire for the fruit of actions. In Bhagavad Gita, it forms a central theme for the concept of Bhakti Yoga. Vyasa notes that through devotion to Ishvara all obstacles are removed and one is able to realize the innermost consciousness. Many consider devotion to Ishvara to be the most important of all yamas and niyamas. It is important to note that although Ishvara Pranidhana  was optional in the first chapter (Ishvara Pranidhanat va – sutra 1.23), it is not so in the context of the niyamas or the Kriya Yoga mentioned in sutra 2.1.

Discussion

It is interesting to note that the three components of Kriya Yoga (sutra 2.1), namely, tapas, swadhyaya, and Ishvara Pranidhana have been repeated as the last three Niyamas by Patanjali. According to some commentators:

• Tapas expresses the essence of Karma Yoga
• Swadhyaya expresses the essence of Jnaha Yoga
• Ishvara Pranidhana expresses the essence of Bhakti Yoga

Shaucha

For external cleansing many commentators recommend the practice of the Shatkarma (six cleansing routines) mentioned in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika:

1. Dhauti (internal cleansing)
2. Basti (yogic enema)
3. Neti (nasal cleansing)
4. Trataka (concentrated gazing)
5. Nauli (abdominal churning)
6. Kapalabhati (skull shining)

Internal cleansing is recommended through the attitude of friendliness etc. – sutra 1.33. Six "mental impurities" are commonly mentioned – kama (lust/craving), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), moha (delusion), mada  (arrogance), and matsarya (jealousy). The ultimate internal cleansing involves removing all the five kleshas by the attainment of "viveka khyati" (discriminative discernment).

Santosha

When the mind is happy because of the light of sattva guna, that is contentment. Total lethargy, lack of interest due to dominance of tamas guna is NOT contentment. Sankhya Karika (#50) lists the following as "tushti" (you may call it "false contentment"):

• Giving up the practice of the eight limbs of yoga hoping that Prakriti is working by itself toward bhoga and apavarga (sutra 2.18)
• Believing that by adopting the life of a sanyasi, no effort is required and that samadhi will come by itself
• Since everything is predetermined based on samskaras, there is not need for effort
• If it is in my fate, I’ll get samadhi any way

Tapas

The word tapa literally means heat. Just like gold is purified by putting it through intense heat, the same way our body and mind are purified by practicing tapas. What constitutes the practice of tapas? In my understanding, making a determination to give up your normal comforts for a certain amount of time is a part of tapas. For example, if you enjoy a certain food, you may give that up for, say, six months. You may apply this to watching TV, reading something, giving up smoking, drinking etc. Setting  a certain time of day for your yoga practice (asana, pranayama, meditation) and following through with the program is tapas.

Many commentators mention fasting as a form of tapas. One fast that is mentioned is Chandrayana. In this fast, on the full moon day, you take your regular meal. For the next fifteen days, keep reducing the quantity of food consumed by one fifteenth. On the day of ‘amavasya’ (dark night), observe a total fast for 24 hours. Then continue to increase the amount of food by one fifteenth each day until the full moon day when you eat the regular meal. A more common approach to fasting is to fast once a week.

Other type of tapas mentioned is to keep ‘mauna’ (silence) for a certain period of time. During this time, dedicating most of the time to the study of spiritual literature and spending time in meditation is recommended.

Bhagavad Gita categorizes tapas into sattvic, rajasic and tamasik tapas (Shlokas 17.17-19). It also mentions the tapas of the body, speech and mind.

Swadhyaya

In addition to the study of scriptures like the Gita, Upanishads, Yoga Sutra etc., Vyasa mentions chanting of mantra as a form of Swadhyay. In the Indian culture, one of the most commonly recited mantras is the Gayatri Mantra:

Oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ tát savitúr váreṇ(i)yaṃ

bhárgo devásya dhīmahi dhíyo yó naḥ pracodáyāt

"We meditate on the glory of that Being who has produced this universe; may He enlighten our minds." – Translation by Sw. Vivekananda

This is considered to be a very powerful mantra as it is used to pray for an intellect that will lead us in the right direction in life.

Ishvara Pranidhana

As is commonly believed, Patanjali used the basic tenets of the Sankhya philosophy in formulating the philosophy that he presented in the Yoga Sutras. Sankhya does not include the discussion of Ishvara (God). It only talks about the two independent entities – Purusha and Prakriti. In the Yoga Sutras, in addition to the philosophy, Patanjali has also provided the methodology to achieve the objectives of yoga. He has introduced the concept of Ishvara and has presented Ishvara Pranidhana (surrender to God) as one of the means of achieving the goal of yoga. In the Yoga Sutras the concept of Ishvara is presented in sutras 1.23-29. In chapter 1, Ishvara Pranidhana has been given as an optional means to attain calmness of the mind. However, in chapter 2, it is mentioned both as part of Kriya Yoga (sutra 2.1) and also as one of the niyamas.

Vyasa defines Ishvara Pranidhana as – dedicating and surrendering all practices and acts to the supreme Guru, as well as renouncing the results and fruits thereof. It is worth noting that this definition is different from what was presented in chapter 1. There Ishvara Pranidhana was used more as a mental attitude to calm the mind. As a part of the niyamas, it is more like a practice as part of the eight limbs of yoga. As such, it can be considered a combination of Karma and Bhakti yoga. An often-quoted verse of Bhagavad Gita emphasizes Ishvara Pranidhana thus:

"Whatever you do, eat, offer as sacrifice, or give, whatever asceticism you perform, surrender that unto Me" (verse 9.27)