Yoga

PUBLISHED BY YOGA SCOTLAND

SCOTLANDMAGAZ I N E

sportscotlandGoverning Body for Yoga in Scotland

www.yogascotland.org.ukScottish Charity Number SCO20590

Issue 49 January 2016

Theme: The Ethics of Teaching Yoga

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The Yamas and Niyamas: Patanjalis Viewby Jason Birch and Jacqueline Hargreaves1

Like a fence that has been painted and repainted numerous coloursover its lifetime, the 195 aphorisms (stra) of the Yoga Stra havebeen interpreted many different ways over the centuries. Such a longand complex history can make it difficult to understand its ethicalframework, which nonetheless continues to intrigue those interestedin yoga. In seeking a historical understanding of this work, allcommentaries and translations play a valuable role, and thesuperiority of one interpretation of an aphorism may give way toanother as soon as the historical context changes.

It seems that very few people are aware that the Yoga Stra ispart of a larger work known as the Ptajalayogastra (4th 5thcenturies CE), which consists of the stras and the insightfulcommentary called the Bhya. Philipp Maas groundbreaking work(2013) proves beyond reasonable doubt that the Ptajalayogastrais the work of one author.2 The strongest evidence for this is that boththe Yoga Stra and Bhya were quoted as a single work called thePtajalayogastra by various medieval authors, the earliest beingthe eighth-century poet named Mgha (Maas 2013: 57). Some ofthese authors cite Patajali (i.e., iti patajali) when quoting passagesof the Bhya, which indicates that they believed that Patajali wasthe author of the entire Ptajalayogastra.3

There is also evidence in the text itself that supports the view thata single author composed the Ptajalayogastra. For example,verbs in the first person are sometimes used to introduce new topics.Also, the Yoga Stra and Bhya often depend on one anothersyntactically. In one case, a pronoun in a stra (2.27) refers back to anearlier passage in the Bhya (Maas 2013: 62-63).

Why has this been overlooked by so many for so long? Theconfusion appears to have arisen from the opening verse of

Vcaspatimiras commentary (10th century) and the chaptercolophons, which mention a Vedavysa as the author of thecommentary. Several centuries later, a doxographer by the name ofMdhava attributed the Yoga Stra to Patajali and the Bhya toVysa in his well-known Sarvadaranasagraha (Maas 2013: 58).

The aim of the first part of this article is to outline how Patajalimight have understood the Yamas and Niyamas in hisPtajalayogastra. The second part (to be published in the nextissue) will consider a few examples of how the Yamas and Niyamashave been reinterpreted for different audiences since the time of thePtajalayogastra.

The following discussion of the Yamas and Niyamas is limited tothe Ptajalayogastra and any historical information that isrelevant to the time in which it was written (i.e., 4th 5th centuriesCE). Such a discussion would be incoherent if one relied only on theYoga Stra, because the stra text does not explain what the wordsyama and niyama actually mean. Indeed, any attempt to finddefinitions of these behavioural guidelines in the Yoga Stra leads todisappointment. For the Yoga Stra contains only the names and twogeneral comments on the Yamas and Niyamas,4 as well as the powersthat await those who succeed in following them.

The Yamas and Niyamas are ten behavioural guidelines that areintended to aid the yoga practitioner in the attainment of a profoundstate of meditation called Samdhi, which leads to freedom fromtransmigration (sasra). The intended aim of these guidelines canbe inferred because they are auxiliaries (aga) in an eight-fold systemof yoga (i.e., Agayoga) that culminates in Samdhi.

The term auxiliary (aga) implies that the Yamas and Niyamas areessential for the success of Agayoga. Therefore, it is inevitable

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that the eager student of this yoga would ask, what exactly must I doto abide by the Yamas and Niyamas? If one confines oneself to aliteral translation of the Yoga Stra, such a question will remainimpossible to answer.

This is one reason why a commentary on the Yoga Stra is soimportant. In fact, all modern publications on this gnomic worktranslate and interpret it with a significant amount of additionalexplanation. The explanation may derive from a written commentaryon the stra, the spoken views of teachers (often called an oraltradition if such views transmit the teachings of a lineage of teachers)or the translators own personal knowledge of yoga. In our opinion, itis impossible to understand the Yoga Stra without supplyingessential information from elsewhere. Therefore, it is highly unlikelythat the Yoga Stra was ever intended as an independent literarywork.

Some scholars remain unconvinced that one person composed andcompiled both the Yoga Stra and Bhya. The most commonargument against a single authorship of the Ptajalayogastra isthat there are some contradictions between certain stras and thecommentary. Underlying this argument is the question; if one personwrote the whole work, how could such contradictions exist? However,it is clear that the Ptajalayogastra is a composite work. In fact,its author was aware that some stras are older than others (Maas2013: 62). Therefore, the author most probably composed some strasand compiled others from elsewhere, weaving them together,sometimes imperfectly, with the commentary. Nonetheless, it is alsothe case that better explanations of these so-called contradictionswill be found when scholars who are historically and philogicallyorientated begin to study the Ptajalayogastra as a unified work,since this was the understanding of its author.

If one accepts that there is a single authorial intention behind theYoga Stra and Bhya, then it is clear that the Yamas and Niyamashave been explained in a well-structured manner within theframework of the Ptajalayogastra. The discussion proceeds asfollows:

1. The Five Yamas (2.30 Stra)

2. Definitions of the Five Yamas (2.30 Bhya)

3. General Comment on the Yamas (2.31 Stra and Bhya)

4. The Five Niyamas (2.32 Stra)

5. Definitions of the Five Niyamas (2.32 Bhya)

6. General Comment on Overcoming Hindrances (2.33 34 Stra and Bhya)

7. The Benefits of Following the Yamas and Niyamas (2.35 45 Stra and Bhya)

Stra 2.30 lists the five Yamas as non-violence (ahis), truthfulness(satya), not stealing (asteya), celibacy (brahmacarya) and notpossessing (aparigraha). The Bhyas explanations of theseguidelines are for the most part as follows:5

Among [the Yamas], ahims is not hurting any being in any way atany time. It is the foundation of the subsequent Yamas andNiyamas. Because their chief aim is perfecting [ahis], they areaccomplished for the sake of accomplishing [ahis]. They areundertaken in order to achieve a purified state of [ahis...]

Truthfulness is when ones speech and thought agree with reality.Just as [something] is seen or inferred, so [it is with] speech andthought. A word that has been spoken in order to convey onesknowledge to others [is truthful], if it is not deceitful, wrong ordeficient in meaning. It is [truthful when it has been] uttered inorder to help all beings and not to harm them. [...]

Stealing is the unauthorised taking of another persons goods foroneself. However, the opposite of this is not stealing, in the senseof not desiring [anothers goods].

Celibacy is the restraint of the genitals, the private organ.

Not possessing is not owning things because one sees theproblems of acquiring, protecting, losing, desiring and harming[them].

The next stra (2.31) states that the Yamas are a great vow(mahvrata) so long as they are not modified according to the type ofliving being, the location, time or convention. The Yamas are valid forall stages of the yogins path (srvabhauma). The Bhya uses theYama of non-violence as an example. If non-violence could bemodified to exclude some types of living beings, a fisherman mightclaim that he is still following non-violence by killing only fish andnothing else. If non-violence could be modified according to location,one could say, I will not kill in a sacred place and then delight inkilling elsewhere. In other words, the author seems to have beenaware that people tend to limit the scope of the Yamas to suit theirown personal circumstances and preferences, and this is prohibited ifone is to adhere to the great vow.

This leads to the Niyamas listed in stra 2.32 as cleanliness(auca), contentment (santoa), asceticism (tapas), ones own study(svdhyya) and worship of vara (varapraidhna). Once again,the definitions are contained in the Bhya:

Among [the Niyamas], external cleanliness is produced by [cleaningoneself with] loamy soil, water etc., and eating pure food, etc.Internal [cleanliness] is washing away the impurities of the mind.

Contentment is not wanting more than the resources at hand.

Asceticism is enduring opposites. The opposites are hunger andthirst, heat and cold. [Asceticism also includes] standing and sitting[for long periods of times] and [maintaining complete] silence likea piece of wood and [partial] silence in speech [only], as well asperiods of observances such as [various fasts called] Kcchra,Cndryaa and Sntapana,6 according to what is appropriate.

Ones own study is the study of scriptures about liberation or therepeating of O.

Worship of vara is offering all ones actions to [vara, who is]the supreme guru.

The next two stras (2.33 34) provide some general advice onwhat to do when one is tempted to transgress these guidelines. Thesetemptations are psychological hindrances (vitarka),7 and it issuggested that one can overcome them by cultivating the oppositesentiment. In the case of non-violence, when one has harmfulthoughts, the author recommends that one chastise oneself bycultivating the following thought:

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Being cooked in the terrifying embers of transmigration, I go torefuge in the moral code of yoga (yogadharma) by giving to allbeings freedom from the fear [of being harmed]. Having forsaken[these] temptations and accepting them again, I am the same assomeone who behaves like a dog.

If medieval Indian views on the behaviour of dogs are not clear to thereader, further clarification is provided:

Just as a dog is a licker of its own vomit, so am I [who] acceptsagain [that which] was abandoned.

This poignant image of undignified behaviour is intended todiscourage a person from breaking their resolve to follow the Yamasand Niyamas. This mental castigation also seems to insinuate thateating regurgitated hindrances might leave a rather bitter taste inones mouth. This simile is not new to our culture, for it is found in theOld Testaments Book of Proverbs (26.11) in a somewhat similarcontext; As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to hisfolly.

After the advice on how one can overcome hindrances to theYamas and Niyamas, the author sets out the powers gained by thosewho succeed in upholding these guidelines. One can read the nexteleven stras (2.35 45) and their commentary as a single discourseon the powers. By way of example, here are the benefits of the firstthree Yamas (2.35 37):

If [ones practice of] non-violence is steadfast, hostility isrelinquished in ones presence. [In this case, hostility isrelinquished] by all living beings. If [ones practice of] truthfulnessis steadfast, it unifies ones [verbal] actions with their results. [Forexample,] if [one says to someone,] be virtuous, [that person]becomes virtuous. [If one says,] you will obtain heaven, [thatperson] obtains heaven. Ones speech becomes efficacious. If [onespractice of] not stealing is steadfast, one has access to all riches. [Infact,] riches everywhere become available to one.

The importance of three of the Niyamas is reinforced at thebeginning of the Ptajalayogastras second chapter in a basicsystem of yoga called Kriyyoga (2.1). It consists of asceticism (tapas),self-study (svdhyya) and the worship of vara(varapraidhna). The inclusion of asceticism in both systems ofKriy and Agayoga as well as the prohibitions against sex andpossessing goods in the Yamas denote the ancient world of Indianrenunciation, out of which Buddhism and Jainism emerged. Somescholars have demonstrated Buddhisms direct influence on thePtajalayogastra8 and noted the similarities of the latter withJainism, at least insofar as the significance of non-violence and thedescription of the Yamas as a great vow.9 However, thePtajalayogastra was not composed for Buddhists or Jains, so theobvious question is, for whom was it intended?

The author of the Ptajalayogastra most frequently addressesmale Brahmins, the priestly caste of India.10 Brahmanical religionflourished at this time under the rule of the Gupta empire (3rd 6thCE). At the centre of this religion was the performance of sacrificialrites in accordance with Vedic scripture. Strictly orthodox Brahminscensured those who renounced these rites. They believed that theirduty was to be a householder. Social responsibilities and raising afamily were important to them. However, it is clear in two passages ofthe Ptajalayogastra that its audience was not Brahminhouseholders, but Brahmin renunciants (yati, sannysin), whorenounced social and familial responsibilities in order to pursue thearduous path of gaining liberation through yoga. The path of this yoga

was arduous because asceticism was at the heart of it. In fact, thePtajalayogastra (2.1) states that its yoga cannot beaccomplished by one who is not an ascetic (tapasvin).

Why might Brahmin householders renounce? Following Vedicinjunctions and performing the required rituals throughout their livesguaranteed liberation only after death. However, by renouncing andundertaking Patajalis yoga, those who mastered Samdhi couldattain liberation in this lifetime.

If one reads closely the Ptajalayogastra without a moderninterpretation, the influence of Indian asceticism can be seenthroughout the work, from the definition of yoga (cittavttinirodha) asa seemingly catatonic state of physical and mental inactivity to thenotion of liberation as a persons true identification with a completelypassive, unchanging and eternally witnessing monad (purua). Theascetic flavour of Patajalis yoga might seem inappropriate to most oftodays yoga practitioners whose life largely concerns family, work andcoping with the modern economy. In a busy world, many people areattracted to yogas potential for increasing their physical flexibility,relieving stress and improving overall health.11 Yet, how many peoplemight be attracted to yogas potential for attaining a stone-like stateof stillness? Surely the most ambitious marketing guru would struggleto sell catatonic yoga.

The Yamas and Niyamas seem to appeal to modern yogapractitioners who seek guidance in a morally ambiguous world.Nonetheless, a strict interpretation of Ahim is an exacting ideal forhouseholders, most of whom have little time to pause to think of adogs dietary habits when about to displace some ants from thekitchen sink. And how much more might a householder want toembrace sustained celibacy (brahmacarya) in any strict sense of theword?

In the second part of this article (to be published in the next issue),we will discuss examples of how medieval commentatorsreinterpreted Patajalis Yamas and Niyamas for different audiencessuch as householders, and how these perspectives can provide someinsight into the teachings of modern gurus.

1 This article was inspired by a number of conversations we had with PhilippMaas at Vienna University. We thank him for the time he spent with us inVienna as well as his insightful comments on this article. Thanks also to JamesMallinson, Mark Singleton, Giles Hooper, Vina Shah, Phil Lemke, Emil Wendeland Elizabeth de Michelis for their valuable comments. We are grateful toDagmar Wujastyk and the ERC-funded Ayuryog Project at Vienna Universityfor their support during the writing of this article.

2 Philipp Maas, A Concise Historiography of Classical Yoga Philosophy, inHistoriography and Periodization of Indian Philosophy, ed. Eli Franco. De NobiliSeries, Vienna 2013. A pre-print version is available at:https://univie.academia.edu/PhilippMaas [accessed 5 September 2015].

3 Examples include rdhara, Abhinavagupta, Hemacandra, Viubhata,ivopdhyya and Devapla (Maas 2013: 57).

4 The terms yama and niyama literally mean a restraint. One mightdistinguish the Yamas from the Niyamas by the fact that the former regulateones conduct towards all other living beings and the latter, the preliminarypractices more specific to Patajalis yoga. More research needs to be done onthe relationship between the Yamas and Niyamas.

5 Jason Birch has supplied the words and punctuation in square brackets.These translations are based on the edition by Kintha str ge:Vcaspatimiraviracitaksavalitavysabhyasametni Ptajal-ayogastri, tath bhojadevaviracitarjamrtabhidhavttisametniptajalayogastri. straphastravarnukramascbhy casanthktni. Pune: nandramamudralaye 1904 (nandramaSanskrit Series, 47).

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6 Kcchra, Cndryaa and Sntapana are described as facts in the book ofManu (e.g., Manusrti 11.208 13).

7 See Bhojadeva's Rjamrtaa on stra 2.33: the vitarka are obstacles toyoga ([...] vitark yogaparipanthina [...]).

8 For recent information on this, in particular textual parallels between thePtajalayogastra and Vasubandhus Vibh, see Dominik Wujastykstalks, The Earliest Accounts of sana in the Yoga Literature, Vog, April 2015and Some Problematic Yoga Sutras and their Buddhist Background, Vienna2013 (both available on his page at academia.edu).

9 For example, see the crgastra, the first book of which is generallyascribed to the second or third century BCE and prescribes the properbehaviour (cra) of a Jain. As far as we are aware, no one has yet foundtextual parallels between the Ptajalayogastra and an early Jain text. So,whether Jainism directly or indirectly influenced Patajalis yoga, as opposedto some other ramaa tradition whose scriptures are now lost, remainsuncertain.

10 For references and a more thorough discussion on the words Brhmaa,yati and sannysin in the Ptajalayogastra see Philipp Maas, Der Yogiund sein Heilsweg im Yoga des Patajali, in Karin Steiner (ed.), Wege zumHeil(igen). Sakralitt und Sakralisierung in hinduistischen Traditionen.Wiesbaden 2014: Harrassowitz, 65-90.

11 http://www.yogajournal.com/press/yoga_in_america. Thanks to Phil Lemkefor this reference.

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