Yama in Asana

1. In Lesson 4 we dealt with how yama and niyama are achar dharma niti pranali (ethico-religious principles and practices) that are not moral and ethical practices.[1]

Guruji brought yama and niyama into asana….[2] When he spoke of violating the vow of ahimsa in Trikonasana, he did not mean that we were committing moral-ethical himsa (harm)…. It would be a totally different himsa in asana — by the mind and breath, etc. — according to Guruji….

2. We are not like ferocious predatory beasts…. In asana and pranayama it is a totally different [parameter] of ahimsa… when you are interacting within yourself. It connotes something different. In the social realm, when someone inflicts himsa on another, that person suffers, but in yoga we [commit]… himsa and ahimsa by ourselves unto ourselves.

Ahimsa satya asteya brahmacharya aparigraha (non violence, truth, non-stealing, continence, non-possessiveness) [yama][3] are not moral and ethical principles in yoga because they are subjective. They are intra-personal [in yoga], not inter-personal [in the social realm of] moral and ethical principles….

3. Although we may not be ferocious predators, there still can be himsa. For example, if I were to mildly pinch a baby, the afflicted baby would cry. However, if I were to pinch an adult, he would remain unafflicted and would not cry…. There are many aspects of parameters of himsa to consider. Himsa in asana and pranayama does not mean that we are pinching ourselves and, thus, afflicted….

Dharma Sustains Us +6.00

1. In [Lesson 4], after comparing dharma and religion, dharma was defined as sustaining the person who has fallen, is falling, or is about to fall….[4] What does it mean to sustain?

It doesn’t cost a lot to sustain a [homeless] pavement dweller — perhaps only a tent [would suffice]…. It will cost [a lot more] to sustain a multi-billionaire…. It is economically more difficult to support the very rich than the poor.

2. Dharma will sustain a human being who has an average duty-consciousness. It is an [entirely] different proposition to sustain one who [lacks] sufficient duty-consciousness compared to one with a very high degree of duty-consciousness. Dharma will sustain the [latter] very well.

3. Does dharma merely sustain us…? We require much more than mere sustenance. The concept of sustenance is flexible. Dharma will cater to all of that.

A statement in the Dharma Shastra Grantha said,

If you sustain karma, in one degree, dharma will sustain you a hundred fold.” [untraced]

[When] we do a little bit, it will do a lot…. That is the proposition on which dharma [is founded]. It doesn’t just reciprocate. It always [yields] a bounty.

Therefore, dharma is like a mother. [If] you do a wee bit for your mother, your mother will give abundantly. A mother does not have a mercantile mindset that thinks, “If I am given something worth ten [rupees], then I can [only] give [that much] to my child.” The mother is magnanimous because she has a different background.

Dharma is like that magnanimous mother. Dharma not only sustains you. When it is said to sustain, it does much more than that. It has that magnanimity.

The textual statement

dharmo rakshati rakshitaha
dharma protects those who protect it[5]

means that if you protect dharma, it will protect you a hundred fold, a thousand fold, a million-fold That is another definition of dharma.

Dharma Provides Wealth +10.40

1. We need much more than to be just sustained by dharma. Are we in this world just to be sustained…? Dharma gives us [more].

Another definition of dharma [in Vaisheshika Darshana Sutra] is

yatah abhyudaya-nihshreyasa-siddhih dharmah
dharma is that which fulfills prosperity and ultimate bliss.[6]

What is dharma? When you get dharma, you also get abhyudaya (prosperity, evolvement). Not only do you get involvement or sustenance, but you also get wealth (abhyudaya) in all of the lokas (worlds), all of the planes in which we will be moving. Dharma gives abhyudaya (prosperity) in all the sapta lokas (seven worlds)….[7]  Dharma also gives us abhyudaya (prosperity). It enriches us.

2. And then dharma gives nihshreyasa, the ultimate good. Dharma… has so much to offer that it will give us abhyudaya (wealth) to nihshreyasa (the ultimate good). That is how it is defined in the Vaisheshika Darshana Sutra.

Dharma is Subjective +13.00

1. This concept of dharma is subjective.

A prevalent misconception is that punya (virtue) is dharma and papa (sin) is adharma. Punya (virtue) and papa (sin) are a pair that [do not correspond to] the paired dharma and adharma.

Punya (virtue) is, with few exceptions, universal — virtue is a virtue anywhere and at any time. Vice is always a vice anywhere and at any time….

2. We call the good things within us virtue, and the bad things within vice. Man has been endowed with the intelligence…, the faculty to identify punya (virtue) and papa (sin)…. It is not outside the sphere of human intelligence. It can be determined what punya (virtue) and papa (sin) are….

3. However, that is not the case with dharma. The Mahabharata says,

“Dharma is decided deep within the core of the heart.”

Dharma is relative. It changes from one person to [the next].

But punya (virtue) and papa (sin) do not change from one person to the next. What is punya to me is also punya to you. What is papa to me is papa to you….

This is not the case with dharma:

Dharmasya tattvam nihitam guhayarh
the principle of dharma is kept hidden[8]

The complex concept of dharma is decided in the deep cave.

What is my dharma? What is your dharma…? What is dharma for me may not be dharma for you. But, what is punya (virtue) for me is also punya for you….

4. In the Mahabharata [the prominent warrior] Bhishma fought against Lord Krishna even though he was a devotee of Lord Krishna….[9] It was his dharma — not adharma — to position himself against Lord Krishna on the battlefield.

5. On the other hand in the Ramayana, another devotee of equal caliber— Vibhishana — betrayed his [elder] brother, the antagonist who fought against Lord Rama,[10] by joining Rama. Fighting with his Bhagavan (divine) [Rama] was his dharma….

6. The Bhagavad Gita also states that karma is also difficult to comprehend. It’s not that dharma is complex. It is we, ourselves, who are very complex…. We are not simple. The psyche and consciousness of a human being are very complex.

All dogs are dogs. All cats are cats…. All human beings are not [humane] beings. In the fabric of consciousness, all human beings are not human beings. Some human beings are worse than a cobra, …lion, or tiger….

That’s why the human psyche itself is very complex. Whereas we [might] say dharma is confounding, and yoga a complex subject, it is actually we that are complex…. Therefore, dharma is important in the dharma niti mimamsa (investigation of the dharmic code of conduct).

Dharma in Asana +20.55

1. Today we are all [involved] in the run-up to [preparatory stage of] yoga, but we are far away from essential yoga. Although yoga is very fashionable…, it says in Bhagavad Gita VI.3 that karma yoga is for neophytes.[11]

We have made yoga such a technical subject — “get a mat and props…. Do the pose technically like this….” But the Bhagavad Gita VI.3 describes yoga for the beginner:

 arukshor muner yogam karma karanam uchayate||
For the beginner (aruruksha) wishing to attain purification of the heart leading to concentration, karma yoga is said to be the way.

Essential yoga starts when the seeker has karma-consciousness…, which is, to some extent, dharma-consciousness.

There is concern about right and wrong from a dharma point of view, but not right and wrong from a technical point of view — [such as] a right or wrong Trikonasana…. Yoga doesn’t [abide by] that type of correctness.

For a raw beginner, it lies in [what the Bhagavad Gita calls] karma karanam (action as the means). Karma-consciousness — achar dharma niti (ethico-religious practices) — “Am I right in the posture?” Even if the posture were not be right, I could be right in my dharma niti and score merit.

[On the other hand,] I could be right in my posture, and wrong in my achar dharma niti (conduct of ethico-religious principles), and not score merit. So yoga is all in dharma.

2. Essential yoga starts when you are conscious about right and wrong, both relatively and absolutely. Your consciousness must be pure for your yoga to be pure. It does not mean that if your postures are pure and perfect, then you are right. Nor, if your pranayama is right, then you are right.

In human dynamics, the intent that drives your work is very important. You can’t just assess the pose by the activity — whether it is right or wrong activity. There could be a right activity and a wrong motion, which would make it a wrong activity because the very motive would be wrong. The drive would be wrong. First of all, the intent… and motive must be right to make it justifiable.

3. For example, when a disciple goes to an acharya (spiritual preceptor) and says, “My colleague knows the Bhagavad Gita by heart, so I will [memorize it].” Understand the intent — because my competitor knows the Bhagavad Gita by heart, but I don’t, I want to know it as well….

Although it displays good intent to [memorize it], the acharya asked, “Why did it dawn on you to do that today…? If it is only [to compete with] your competitor, don’t do it for some time.” The wrong drive will make your actions wrong. First set right your drive…. Wait until the competitive nature in you subsides….

4. There is a Sanskrit maxim [from the Upanishads] —

| yatha… tat kratur bhavati… tat karma kurute |
| yat karma kurute tad abhisam padyate ||
As your intent (kratu) is, so is your deed (karma).
As your deed is, so is your destiny.[12]

The [English translation that associates it with the Biblical saying] as you sow, so shall you reap… is not precise: As you have that drive [or intent], so shall you sow. As you sow, so you reap. Intent lies behind sowing seed. If your intent is not right, whatever you sow… and reap will not be right…. Checking your intent is the first step in determining whether you are right or wrong…. That is the first factor that must be right….

5. Dharma tells us about assessing our own intent. Why am I doing something? Why do I feel like doing something? What is my intent? Classical Yoga gives you this consciousness. Develop this kind of inquiry in the preparatory stage, prior to Classical Yoga.

6. Don’t just do good things. Why are you doing good things? If you are only doing good things to compete with your rival, who is doing good things, your good things are not [so] good. Intent, drive, is so important.

Intent is the source of all our karma. Dharma tells us about that. Yoga will start teaching you to develop that karma-consciousness. Until you develop karma-consciousness, you cannot [advance from the preparatory stage] to Classical Yoga.

That is why the dharma niti mimamsa (investigation of the dharmic code of conduct) is so important in yoga. All the aspects of practice are completely within the framework of ethico-religious practices. From ahimsa, the first yama, to asamprajnata samadhi, the last stage of ashtanga yoga, it is all achar dharma niti mimamsa (investigation of ethico-religious principles).

7. One more dimension of dharma. Once you are in yoga…, you will always try to assess your dynamics. What are dynamics?

Don’t confuse activity and dynamics. Activity is merely activity. What are dynamics? Drive, motive, motion, execution, and purpose. All of these have to be assessed….

8. Yesterday, in Lesson 5, I referred to Guruji’s statement that his yoga was dynamic meditation.[13] What is that? It comes from the concept of dharma.

The core of Guruji’s practice was his dharma, not his fervor, nor his enthusiasm. Nor any challenges, nor any motivation…. Dharma niti (dharmic code of conduct) is central to all of the aspects of yoga practice…. That is all for the day.

Surya Namaskar is Not Yoga +32.00

1. Someone asked if Surya Namaskar can comprise the [entirety] of yoga. Is it sufficient to just practice Surya Namaskar? Will it become whole yoga? Surya Namaskar is Surya Namaskar. Yoga is yoga. Although you may identify some yoga asanas in Surya Namaskar, Surya Namaskar does not become yoga basically because… motion is paramount in Surya Namaskar.

2. But yoga asana is [defined] as

|| sthira-sukham asanam ||
Perfection in asana means firmness (sthira) in body, steadiness (sthira) in intelligence, and benevolence (sukham) in consciousness. [PYS II.46]

Steadiness is important in asana, whereas motion is important in Surya Namaskar. Surya Namaskar is good for exercise, and good for coordinating body, mind, and breath….

3. If you worship the sun, you should revere the sun, and know why you should revere the sun. Surya Namaskar should be samantraka (accompanied by sacred verse)…. It should be more than a corporeal exercise…. [If] it is a sun salutation, you should be saluting the sun in what you do to enhance its value.

4. But Surya Namaskar leads nowhere. It’s not complete yoga. It’s not even yoga. In yoga you have to remain steady:

|| sthira-sukham asanam ||
Perfection in asana means firmness (sthira) in body, steadiness (sthira) in intelligence, and benevolence (sukham) in consciousness. [PYS II.46]

In the meditative practice of yoga, you must be steady: As it says [in the Bhagavad Gita VI.13]:

| samam kaya-shiro-grivam dharayan achalam sthirah |
Hold (dharayan) the body (kaya), head (shiro), and neck (grivam ) straight (samam), unmoving (achalam), and still (sthira).

It stipulates that you must sit straight, steady, erect, firm, unmoved. But you have to move in Surya Namaskar.

5. Don’t confuse Surya Namaskar with yoga. Although there may be yoga postures in Surya Namaskar, for them to become asanas, you must stay and maintain…. There are also many other implications of asana that are not adhered to in Surya Namaskar.

Surya Namaskar is good. It has its own virtue. But it should not be mixed up with yoga.

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[1]         In Lesson 4 we dealt with how yama and niyama are achar dharma niti pranali (ethico-religious principles and practices) that are not moral and ethical practices: See “Yama and Niyama are Ethico-Religious Principles” 4-19-20— Prashant S. Iyengar

[2]         Guruji brought yama and niyama into asana: See “Yama & Niyama in Asana,” BKS Iyengar & H.H. The Dalai Lama, Paths to Happiness, Lecture Demo 11-20-10. +30:40—43:30 Guruji B.K.S. Iyengar explains how the ethical precepts of yama and the disciplines of niyama can be expressed in Utthita Hasta Padasana and Utthita Trikonasana.

[3]         Ahimsa satya asteya brahmacarya aparigrahah (non violence – truth – non stealing – continence – non possessiveness) [yama]: See PYS II.30

[4]         dharma was defined as sustaining the person who has fallen, is falling, or is about to fall: See “What is Dharma?” Yama and Niyama — Ethico-Religious Practice 4-19-20 — Prashant S. Iyengar +12.00 <>

[5]         dharmo rakshati rakshitaha (dharma protects those who protect it): Manusmrti 8.15

[6]         yatah abhyudaya-nihshreyasa-siddhih dharmah (dharma is that which fulfills prosperity and ultimate bliss): Vaisheshika Darshana Sutra.

[7]         all the seven lokas (worlds): earth, sky, middle region, place of rebirth (jana-loka), mansion of the blessed (tapa-loka), and the abode of truth (satya-loka) described in the Arthavaveda, ca. 1000 B.C.E.

[8]         the principle of dharma is kept hidden: Mahabharata Vana Parva 313.1171

[9]         Bhishma fought against Lord Krishna even though he was a devotee of Lord Krishna: Bhishma commanded the Kuru forces against the Pandavas. Arjuna, the protagonist of the Bhagavad Gita, was a Pandava advised by Lord Krishna.

[10]       Vibhishana — betrayed his elder brother, the antagonist who fought against Rama: Vibhishana was a younger brother of Ravana, King of Lanka. When Rama defeated Ravana, he crowned Vibhishana the new King of Lanka.

[11]       karma yoga is for neophytes: Bhagavad Gita VI.3 arukshor muner yogam karma karanam uchyate For the beginner (aruruksha) wishing to attain purification of the heart leading to concentration, karma yoga is said to be the way. When a sage (muni) is established, tranquility (shama) is the means (karanam).

[12]       | yatha… tat kratur bhavati… tat karma kurute | yat karma kurute tad abhisam padyate || As your intent (kratu) is, so is your deed (karma). As your deed is, so is your destiny: Desire breeds intent. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV.4.5

[13]       Guruji’s statement that his yoga was dynamic meditation: See Iyengar’s Yoga — Dynamic Meditation under Dynamic Meditation 4-25-20+30.25 — Prashant S. Iyengar. <>