The Niyamas
Part II or my 3 part series. The Yamas + The Niyamas + Life.
Saucha, Santosa, Tapas, Svadhyaya, and Isvarapranidhana ALL discussed in plain english of my perspective of the life application.
There are many religions around the world, and my perspective may or may not be similar to yours. At the end of the day I believe in doing my best. And that these guidelines laid out BEFORE our time are good. They are Golden.
A Special Thanks:
Wikipedia
God
Music by Free Beats on Sound Cloud
Rough Manuscript:
Friday’s release was the yamas. I owe my understanding on this matter to Deborah Adele.
Day three we will put this all together.
Today’s focus is the Niyamas. The Yamas are:
avoid violence, lying, stealing, wasting energy, and possessiveness,
And the niyamas are:
Saucha (cleanliness + purity)
Santosa (contentment, acceptence, optimism)
Tapas (discipline, persistence)
Svadhyaya (self-study, study of sacred scripture)
Isvarapranidhana (devotion, surrender to God)
The last three come really easy to me. It is already in my bones.
I am disciplined to get things done. Disciplined to my work, disciplined to my studies. Disciplined in doing this. In my writing. I am persistent when I want something, I chase it typically full force. And sometimes I am not always mindful of others around me and how it is affecting them. Overall though, discipline and persistence comes easy. I really enjoy doing the work. The work is good and it always pays off. I love learning… So I just keep learning….
Which leads into self study, and the study of sacred scripture. ALL of this is VERY important to me. From studying the bible to A course in miracles. It is as if it was made exactly for me. I love learning more about other religions and attempting to grasp why they believe in what they do. See, Christianity is in me for this is really what I was born into and it all feels right. AND I also know that God allowed the tower of Babel to happen, for other religions to form….
Did you know there are some 4,300 religions around the world? Take a second… sit back and take that in. It is very unlikely that many people in the world believe in the lack of a higher power. Well, A simple google search say 500-750 million people. And 200 million are self identified atheists.
According to sociologist Phil Zuckerman, broad estimates of those who have an absence of belief in a deity range from 500 to 750 million people worldwide. Other estimates state that there are 200 million to 240 million self-identified atheists worldwide, with China and Russia being major contributors to those figures.
2018 estimated population was 7.584 billion people. With only 200 million claiming they believe in NO existence of a higher power.
Mind blowing. That is really not a lot…. at all. Are you one of them? I’d love to hear about your perspective! I had a friend in high school who had this view point and honestly… eventually she came around that something had to be in existence. And if you are one of them, and are listening right now. I have no means to judge you. I know you don’t see or feel a higher power in existence. And I think there is a reason you might be listening now.
The top 5 religions in the world are
*feel free to read my body copy/ manuscript for references of these different believe systems.*
According to wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_religious_groups
Christianity Believes
Christians believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God – fully human and fully divine – and that through believing in him and following his teachings they can inherit eternal life. Christians believe that Jesus died for humanity, that God raised him from the dead, and that Jesus will come again at the end of time. In addition, Christians believe in the Trinity, or the three parts of God: God the Father or Creator, God the Son (Jesus) or Redeemer, and God the Holy Spirit or Sanctifier. The Holy Spirit is God's presence in the world.
The essence of Jesus' teaching comes from his summary of the Jewish law he grew up with:
Islam Believes
What do Muslims believe?
Muslims have six major beliefs:
Irreligious affiliation: (3)
Secular humanism, free thought, critical of “religion”, anti religion
And in many respects still respectful that there is a devine at play.. just not desiring to claim any one specific religion or practice of being religious.
Hinduism (4)
The fundamental teaching of Hinduism, or Vedanta, is that a human being's basic nature is not confined to the body or the mind. Beyond both of these is the spirit or the spark of God within the soul. This spirit is within us and also within everything we see. All beings and all things are really, in their deepest essence, this pure or divine spirit, full of peace, full of joy and wisdom, ever united with God. This is not just theory, but it can actually be experienced. Anyone who takes the trouble to undergo the necessary training to purify and refine the mind and senses can begin to feel the truth of this. This training can take various forms and is known as yoga ("union"- union of the individual self with this inner spirit).
1,2,4 from https://uri.org/kids/world-religions
Buddism (5)
Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual development leading to Insight into the true nature of reality. Buddhist practices like meditation are means of changing yourself in order to develop the qualities of awareness, kindness, and wisdom. The experience developed within the Buddhist tradition over thousands of years has created an incomparable resource for all those who wish to follow a path — a path which ultimately culminates in Enlightenment or Buddhahood. An enlightened being sees the nature of reality absolutely clearly, just as it is, and lives fully and naturally in accordance with that vision. This is the goal of the Buddhist spiritual life, representing the end of suffering for anyone who attains it.
Because Buddhism does not include the idea of worshipping a creator god, some people do not see it as a religion in the normal, Western sense. The basic tenets of Buddhist teaching are straightforward and practical: nothing is fixed or permanent; actions have consequences; change is possible. So Buddhism addresses itself to all people irrespective of race, nationality, caste, sexuality, or gender. It teaches practical methods which enable people to realise and use its teachings in order to transform their experience, to be fully responsible for their lives.
https://thebuddhistcentre.com/buddhism
AS you may gather. There is a lot of spiritual options in this world. And I continue to rest in the fact that there is a higher power at play. And for me, that is God. The Holy Spirit. And we each, if we listen, can hear the spirit. Take the time, read, discover understand the different believes and faiths around the world. THERE ARE SO MANY. Study.
The fith, Isvarapranidhana (decotion, surrender to God)
Surrender to GOD. Surrender to the Devine. I know FULLY that I am not in control. I have the freedom of choice, and yet the universe has the ability to shift and God allows each shift to take place for a reason. Take the pandemic…. I know my lesson was a reminder that God is bigger than me. That if I listen, I can be fully aware of this most recent LOUD message.
Let yourself be fully aware that YOU are not in control.
Now, for the first 2.
Cleanliness + Purity
I think only God can be pure.
I have encountered teachers that claim they are the best and yet I have also seen their human nature come out. So, do we ultimately obtain full purity?
I cuss sometimes, I enjoy a good beer and a great glass of wine.
I allow myself to overindulge in different areas of life. It just depends.. and I try to keep balance. And I have to say… balance is not always easy.
Basically I am perfectly imperfect. And I like it this way. I’ll be honest. I think a life of balance is best. I used to have the “work hard, play hard” mentality and it did not last into my thirties. I learned alot about myself through my twenties and worked really hard in a hamster wheel of madness just trying to make enough money. And I never broke over 16k. Therefore, my point is while I was really impure… my spiritual walk with God was a lot more intense.
Now, in my thirties I feel like I have found balance. A relationship with God the Father, in tune with the Holy Spirit and meditative. I am listening more than I ever have. I am in tune now, more than ever before with what I am supposed to do and who I am supposed to be. And all that really matters is now. Right now.
So, while I may not be the most pure, I am the most authentic version of myself. It is important to me to keep a clean house and pure thoughts. Without a doubt. And in that I believe I am of sound mind and body.
And I am also realistic… I am human.
NEXT
Contentment. Acceptense. Optimism.
This one is definitely a practice for me. The immediate thoughts on this are… my body. I don’t accept it always, I know I can do better. Right? So am I totally accepting of what it is?
No. I am always striving to be better and do better.
And then there is contenment.. I am content. I am happy.
I am mostly optimistic and sometimes really pessimistic. Over the years I have worked really hard to stay optimistic and it is not always easy.
This is a practice for me. I see the good and I also see the bad. It’s like I have the given ability to see both sides of almost any situation.
My point. Practice. I have to consciously practice seeing the good. There is always good. There is always light.
The yamas are simple golden rules to me and then the niyamas really dig deep into our personal life perspective. The Niyamas are sometimes referred to as the do’s and the yamas as the don’ts. The Niyamas are truly how we see and treat ourselves. If I choose to have this self study, optimism, purity, discipline and devotion then I feel my outlook on my personal life is overall amazing… and I am always growing and always learning.
To me, being devoted to God is essential. Even if you don’t beleive, recognizing that a higher power is at play in the universe is simple recognition that there is something greater than yourself. You are great… AND there is GREATER.
