Yoga and Self-realization
An exploration into the yamas
Yoga is defined by Patanjali as constituting of 8 parts (ashtanga), the first among which is yamas.
The 5 yamas of Yoga are all negatives:
- non violence
- non stealing
- non lying
- non promiscuity
- non hoarding
So instead of trying to impose them through will, we can ask why we indulge in their opposites...violence, stealing, lying, promiscuity, hoarding. Many factors such as fear of judgement, insecurity, feeling of lack, desire to impress others etc will come up if we are honest to ourselves. And we can see that at the root of it all is the identification with the me...the sense that I am this body, thoughts, intellect. So the yamas in their true sense cannot flower until the false ego dies.
That's why yamas, niyamas etc are not to be seen as 8 steps of a ladder as commonly explained. But one of 8 parts (ashtanga) that make the whole. Each part supports every other part.
We notice there's an awareness/witness within us of all activities of the ego. The activities of the ego keep changing, but the witnessing remains constant and untouched by any activities. The witness of anger is not angry, witness of lying is not lying and so on. To be alert to the activities of the ego, ask who is watching this and abide as the witness consciousness that's already within is to be free of ego identification.
We can also notice that everything happens spontaneously. Our breathing, digestion, thoughts, power of speech, movement, sense perceptions, actions etc. The power within that makes all this spontaneous play of the world possible is the power of consciousness itself...Ishwara/God. When we are in deep sleep, unconscious etc, there's no experience of the ego, senses, world. The moment we are conscious, everything comes up spontaneously. Thought is only a small part of this power and as such can never understand It. So to completely surrender to this power is to also be free of the me. This is Ishwara Pranidhana as defined by Patanjali.
So freedom from the me is the essence of Yoga and the blooming of all its 8 parts (angas).