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3
Niyamas: Guidelines for Effective Self-Transformation

In the next series of yogic teachings, the adherences (niyamas) are presented for the aspirant to incorporate. After integrating the rules for psychosocial propriety (yamas), one then works on transforming one’s ego by faithful dedication to these following five tenets.

I. Shauca:

First clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, so that the outside may be clean also.

Jesus; Matthew 23:26

[L]et us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates and defiles body and spirit, and bring [our] consecration to completeness in the [reverence] of God.

Paul; 2 Corinthians 7:1 [final brackets author’s]

[P]urity of purpose, of mind, of body, must be kept if there would be the mental or the spiritual urge that will bring peace and harmony in the experience in this sojourn.

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[I]n entering into the silence . . . in meditation, with a clean hand, a clean body, a clean mind, we may receive that strength and power that fits each individual, each soul, for a greater activity in this material world.

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As the body-physical is purified, as the mental body is made wholly at-one with purification or purity, with the life and light within itself, healing comes, strength comes, power comes.

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Be spotless within. Make your inner self a temple of God.

Paramahansa Yogananda¹¹

One who is physically clean and is also rid of the mental taints of uncontrollable desires and restless thoughts indeed invites the Lord to manifest Himself in the purified temple of his life.

Paramahansa Yogananda¹²

Shauca means “cleanliness” and includes both external and internal cleansings.

External shauca consists of physical cleanliness in proper hygiene, foods devoid of chemicals and synthetic processing, vegetarian diets, therapeutic baths, refraining from alcohol or drug use, hatha yoga (physical) asanas, massage therapy, and medicinal herbal or botanical treatments. For external or physical shauca, colon hydrotherapy, sweating, vigorous exercise and breathing, and cleansing foods are also commonly recommended in various wellness traditions. Common-sense fasting, too, is a common shauca. (Refer to The Alkalizing Diet, chapter ten, “The Seven Types of Fasts.”)

Internal shauca consists of avoiding negative, destructive emotions: arrogance, pride, conceit, malice, vengefulness, greed, lust, anger, despair, and apathy are among the most commonly noted. All of these are symptoms of the disease of spiritual rebellion. This emotional pollution is a considerable roadblock to spiritual awareness.

The yogic masters put forth their version of cleanliness is next to godliness, but not to a neurotic extreme. Many religions require cleansing with water as a precursor to prayer or as an important symbolic ritual. What is paramount as a regular part of psychospiritual attunement is to cleanse the mind of negative thoughts and images. This helps reinforce the benefits of consistent meditation. Besides being a sensible and beneficial public health protocol, shauca is required to increase one’s spiritual vibration. In the spiritual yogic traditions, shauca is critical for proper development in the beginning and intermediate stages for all aspirants.

The masters prioritize inner cleanliness over the external, but common sense would dictate incorporating both.

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus dispossesses a young boy of an “unclean spirit,” whereas the disciples could not:

And when He had gone indoors His disciples asked him privately, Why could not we drive it out?

And He replied to them, This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.

Mark 9:28-29

The combination of prayer (attunement) and fasting (shauca) is a frequently employed combination in many spiritual cultures. This should empower the aspirant to rely less on physical means and more on spiritual ones.

[P]urity of purpose, of mind, of body, must be kept if there would be the mental or the spiritual urge that will bring peace and harmony in the experience in this sojourn.

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II. Santosha

Let your character . . . be free from love of money—[including] greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions—and be satisfied with your present [circumstances . . . ]; for He (God) . . . has said, “I will not in any way fail you . . . nor leave you without support . . . nor forsake nor let [you] down . . . ”

Hebrews 13:5

[I]n the meeting of karmic forces in each experience—then there may be [built] that as will bring about . . . contentment which makes for a life much worth while.

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The idea of santosha is quite simple: accept whatever is in your life right now as (1) the result of your actions, (2) the quality of your consciousness, and (3) the perfect circumstances to awaken Divine Mind. This niyama prompts aspirants to accept the reality that they are responsible for their progress or lack thereof. Santosha allows no room for a blind fatalism but instead states that everything that is in your life is there for a reason—and you are that reason.

If you want roses and have none, start planting rose bushes now. If it is blueberries that you lack, get busy planting those seeds, and in time, the harvest is yours. The key idea is that we cannot blame anyone else or anything for our life situation, not the boogeyman, not the devil, not “bad luck,” not the past, and especially not God. We have the divine gifts of willpower and creativity in our minds and should consistently exercise them for positive, productive results. This is how the yamas and niyamas empower the aspirant, and santosha is a key ingredient.

The readings’ version of santosha can be summed up by the following:

“By applying what we know day by day” we gain a better understanding of ourselves and our spiritual knowledge.

A Search for God, Book I

While there are those karmic influences that must be met, because of that which has been [built] by an entity . . . it must of itself meet that which is the measure according to . . . universal [law]. Or, to put it in another manner:

It is not all for an entity, or a soul, to have knowledge concerning law; whether karmic law, spiritual law, penal law, social law, or what not. The condition [stipulation] is, what does the entity do about