Introduction and all points of Yama.
Have you ever had this experience?
You meditate in the morning,
You feel calm,
Centered,
Ready to face the day,
But then you go to work or school,
And the moment you meet that one person who triggers you,
All that peace seems to vanish.
You find yourself reacting,
Losing your balance,
And wondering,
Why can't I hold on that peace I felt during my morning meditation for the whole day?
If that sounds familiar,
You are not alone.
Many people feel that way.
The truth is,
What happens during the rest of your day is just as important as your morning meditation practice.
How to extend the benefits of meditation and yoga into the busiest,
Most challenging parts of your day?
By practicing just five simple principles,
Known as Yama.
These principles act like an anchor,
Helping you not only to manage difficult situations,
But even to prevent them from disturbing your peace of mind.
I remember once being invited to give a lecture after a sitar concert.
The musician,
He thought his subtle,
Calming music would create the perfect atmosphere for my talk.
But when I arrived,
I discovered that other loud,
High-energy bands were also playing and I was scheduled to speak right after them.
The audience was noisy and agitated.
The sitar player was apologetic.
He said,
I don't think you can get them to pause and listen.
But I told him,
I came here to speak,
And I will use my time to do that.
So he led me to the stage.
I sat down,
Closed my eyes,
And I applied the ideation of Brahma Charya.
This is one of the five principles or practices of Yama,
Which means seeing everyone as an expression of the same higher consciousness.
By the time I opened my eyes,
The hall was silent.
I introduced the science of meditation,
They listened,
And everything went well.
Afterwards,
The sitar player came to me and asked,
What special power did you use?
I told him,
It was simply one of the principles of Yama,
Called Brahma Charya.
Yama is a set of five principles or practices from the yogic philosophy.
They are designed to help you maintain harmony with everyone and everything around you.
They've been interpreted throughout times in many ways,
But we follow a clear,
Practical interpretation,
Something you can actually live by and,
Most important,
Implement in your daily life.
When you apply these five principles of Yama,
You are able to keep your relationships and the environment harmonious,
And as a result,
Your own mind stays calm and clear.
You won't master them overnight,
But even small steps will bring real benefits.
Here is an overview.
Number one,
Ahimsa,
In Sanskrit,
Not to harm anyone by thought,
Word,
Or deed.
When you harm others,
You create a conflict outside you that disturbs your mind inside,
It drains your energy,
And it disturbs your meditation,
Your inner peace.
Number two,
Satya,
Truth with benevolence.
When you are telling the truth,
Make sure you are choosing the right words,
The right moment,
Consider the welfare,
The mental state of the people.
If you don't do that,
If you just say the blunt truth,
You may cause more harm than good,
And that also will disturb your inner peace and meditation.
Number three,
Asteya,
Not taking what isn't yours without permission,
Just like no stealing.
And this includes physical objects,
But also other things like time,
Peace of mind,
Ideas.
If you respect others' boundaries,
You will keep your life clean and free of unnecessary friction.
Number four,
Brahmacharya.
This is about making the effort to see all beings,
And even the inanimate world,
As expressions of one higher consciousness.
That's the one I used in the story during my lecture.
And it's often misinterpreted as only celibacy.
But,
Of course,
Moderation in sexual life is important for preserving energy,
But the deeper meaning is to keep your mind focused on the higher consciousness.
And then,
From that awareness,
Respect,
Love will naturally flow.
Number five,
Not accumulating what is unnecessary or superfluous.
If you take more than you need in the physical world,
You are going to deprive others of their needs.
Plus,
It will fill up your mind with unnecessary concerns.
So,
Simplicity creates space for peace.
Namaskar.
