Niyamas
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Niyamas
The Niyamas ( sa, नियम, translit=Niyama) are positive duties or observances. In Indian traditions, particularly Yoga, niyamas and their complement, Yamas, are recommended activities and habits for healthy living, spiritual enlightenment, and a liberated state of existence. It has multiple meanings depending on context in Hinduism. In Buddhism, the term extends to the determinations of nature, as in the Buddhist ''niyama dhammas''. Hinduism Virtues are extensively discussed in various ancient and medieval era texts of Hinduism. In its Yoga school, they are described in first two of eight limbs (steps, branches, components). The first limb is called ''yamas'', which include virtuous self-restraints (the "don'ts"). The second limb is called ''niyamas'' which include virtuous habits, behaviors and observances (the "dos"). These virtues and ethical premises are considered in Hinduism as necessary for an individual to achieve a self-realized, enlightened, liberated state of ex ...
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Yamas
The Yamas ( sa, यम, translit=Yama), and their complement, the Niyamas, represent a series of "right living" or ethical rules within Yoga philosophy. It means "reining in" or "control". These are restraints for proper conduct as given in the Vedas and the Yoga Sutras. They are a form of moral imperatives, commandments, rules or goals. The Yamas are the "don't do these" list of self-restraints, typically representing commitments that affect one's relations with others and self. The complementary Niyamas represent the "do these" list of observances, and together Yamas and Niyamas are personal obligations to live well.Judith Lasater (1998), Beginning the Journey, ''Yoga Journal'', Nov-Dec Issue, pages 42-48 The earliest mention of ''Yamas'' is in the Rigveda, and over fifty texts of Hinduism, from its various traditions, discuss Yamas. Patañjali lists five yamas in his Yoga Sūtras of Patanjali. Ten yamas are codified as "the restraints" in numerous Hindu texts, including Yajna ...
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Yamas
The Yamas ( sa, यम, translit=Yama), and their complement, the Niyamas, represent a series of "right living" or ethical rules within Yoga philosophy. It means "reining in" or "control". These are restraints for proper conduct as given in the Vedas and the Yoga Sutras. They are a form of moral imperatives, commandments, rules or goals. The Yamas are the "don't do these" list of self-restraints, typically representing commitments that affect one's relations with others and self. The complementary Niyamas represent the "do these" list of observances, and together Yamas and Niyamas are personal obligations to live well.Judith Lasater (1998), Beginning the Journey, ''Yoga Journal'', Nov-Dec Issue, pages 42-48 The earliest mention of ''Yamas'' is in the Rigveda, and over fifty texts of Hinduism, from its various traditions, discuss Yamas. Patañjali lists five yamas in his Yoga Sūtras of Patanjali. Ten yamas are codified as "the restraints" in numerous Hindu texts, including Yajna ...
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Yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciousness untouched by the mind ('' Chitta'') and mundane suffering (''Duḥkha''). There is a wide variety of schools of yoga, practices, and goals in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism,Stuart Ray Sarbacker, ''Samādhi: The Numinous and Cessative in Indo-Tibetan Yoga''. SUNY Press, 2005, pp. 1–2.Tattvarthasutra .1 see Manu Doshi (2007) Translation of Tattvarthasutra, Ahmedabad: Shrut Ratnakar p. 102. and traditional and modern yoga is practiced worldwide. Two general theories exist on the origins of yoga. The linear model holds that yoga originated in the Vedic period, as reflected in the Vedic textual corpus, and influenced Buddhism; according to author Edward Fitzpatrick Crangle, this model is mainly supported by Hindu scholars. Accordi ...
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Santosha
Santosha ( skt. संतोष ''saṃtoṣa'') literally means "contentment, satisfaction". It is also an ethical concept in Indian philosophy, particularly Yoga, where it is included as one of the Niyamas by Patanjali. Definition ''Santosha'', sometimes spelled ''Santosa'', is a portmanteau in Sanskrit, derived from ''Saṃ-'' prefix (सं-, सम्-) and ''Tosha'' (तोष (from root √तुष्, √tuṣ)). SaM-, means "completely", "altogether" or "entirely", and ''Tosha'' (from the root √tus), "contentment", "satisfaction", "acceptance", "being comfortable". Combined, the word ''Santosha'' means "completely content with, or satisfied with, accepting and comfortable". Other words based on the root ''Tuṣht'' (तुष्टः), such as Santusht (सन्तुष्ट) and Tushayati (तुष्यति) are synonymous with ''Santosha'', and found in ancient and medieval era Indian texts. IsaacsNora Isaacs (2014), The Little Book of Yoga, Chronicle, , pag ...
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Ishvarapranidhana
Īśvarapraṇidhāna "commitment to the Īśvara ("Lord")"N Tummers (2009), Teaching Yoga for Life, , page 16-17 is one of five Niyama (ethical observances) in Hinduism and Yoga. Etymology and meaning Īśvarapraṇidhāna is a Sanskrit compound word composed of two words ''īśvara'' (ईश्वर) and ''praṇidhāna'' (प्रणिधान). ''Īśvara'' (sometimes spelled Īshvara) literally means "owner or ruler". Later religious literature in Sanskrit broadens the reference of this term to refer to God, the Absolute Brahman, True Self, or Unchanging Reality. ''Praṇidhāna'' is used to mean a range of senses including, "laying on, fixing, applying, attention (paid to), meditation, desire, prayer." In a religious translation of Patanjali's Eight-Limbed Yoga, the word ''Īśvarapraṇidhāna'' means committing what one does to a Lord, who is elsewhere in the Yoga Sūtras defined as a special person (puruṣa) who is the first teacher (paramaguru) and is free of all hi ...
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Yoga Sutra
The ''Yoga Sutras of Patañjali'' is a collection of Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sutras (according to others, including BKS Iyengar). The ''Yoga Sutras'' was compiled in the early centuries CE, by the sage Patanjali in India who synthesized and organized knowledge about yoga from much older traditions. The ''Yoga Sutras'' is best known for its reference to '' ashtanga'', eight elements of practice culminating in ''samadhi''. The eight elements are ''yama'' (abstinences), ''niyama'' (observances), '' asana'' (yoga postures), ''pranayama'' (breath control), ''pratyahara'' (withdrawal of the senses), '' dharana'' (concentration of the mind), '' dhyana'' (meditation) and ''samadhi'' (absorption). The main aim of practice is ''kaivalya'', discernment of ''purusha'', the witness-consciousness, as distinct from '' prakriti'', the cognitive apparatus, and disentanglement of ''purus ...
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Shaucha
Shaucha () literally means purity, cleanliness and clearness. It refers to purity of mind, speech and body. Saucha is one of the Niyamas of Yoga. It is discussed in many ancient Indian texts such as the Mahabharata and Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. It is a virtue in Hinduism and Jainism. In Hinduism purity is a part of worship, an attitude or purity of mind an important quality for salvation. Purity is a mind pure and free of evil thoughts and behaviors. Saucha includes outer purity of body as well as inner purity of mind. The concept of ''Saucha'' is synonymous with '' Shuddhi'' (शुद्धि). LePage states that Saucha in yoga is on many levels, and deepens as an understanding and evolution of self increases. Shaucha, or holistic purity of the body, is considered essential for health, happiness and general well-being. External purity is achieved through daily ablutions, while internal purity is cultivated through physical exercises, including asana (postures) and pranayama (br ...
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Yoga Journal
''Yoga Journal'' is a website and digital journal, formerly a print magazine, on yoga as exercise founded in California in 1975 with the goal of combining the essence of traditional yoga with scientific understanding. It has produced live events and materials such as DVDs on yoga and related subjects. The magazine grew from the California Yoga Teachers Association's newsletter, which was called ''The Word''. ''Yoga Journal'' has repeatedly won Western Publications Association's Maggie Awards for "Best Health and Fitness Magazine". It has however been criticized for representing yoga as being intended for affluent white women; in 2019 it attempted to remedy this by choosing a wider variety of yoga models. Beginnings ''Yoga Journal'' was started in May 1975 by the California Yoga Teachers Association (CYTA), with Rama Jyoti Vernon as President, William Staniger as the founding editor, and Judith Lasater on the board and serving as copy editor. Their goal was to combine "the ...
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Vrata
Vrata is a Sanskrit word that means "vow, resolve, devotion", and refers to pious observances such as fasting and pilgrimage ( Tirtha) found in Indian religions such as Jainism and Hinduism. It is typically accompanied with prayers seeking health and happiness for their loved ones. Etymology Vrata (Sanskrit: व्रत) means "vow, resolve, devotion",Monier Monier-Williams (1899), Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, page 1042, Article on ''Vrata'' and refers to the practice of austerity, particularly in matters related to foods and drinks by people in Hindu and Jaina culture, as part of a pious observance or prayers seeking health, fertility, long life or happiness for her loved ones. Derived from the root ''‘vr’'' ("will, rule, restrain, conduct, choose, select"), the word is found over 200 times in the Rigveda. It is also found in other Vedic literature including the Upanishads, but the context suggests that the meaning of the word in the Vedic era wa ...
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Cit (consciousness)
Chit ( sa, चित् or Cit) is a Sanskrit word meaning consciousness. It is a core principle in all ancient spiritual traditions originating from the Indian subcontinent, including Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism. Hinduism In Upanishads it is referred to as ''the Drshta'' or ''the Seer'', and the sense that makes all other sense experiences possible. Chit is one of three aspects forming the satcitananda nature of the Absolute, according to the Vedic scriptures. See also * Satcitananda * Citta * Siddhar The Siddhar (Tamil: சித்தர் ''cittar'', from Sanskrit: '' siddha'') in Tamil tradition is a perfected individual, who has attained spiritual powers called ''siddhi''. Historically, Siddhar also refers to the people who were earl ... References Further reading * External links Arthur Avalon, ''Shakti and Shâkta. Chapter 14: Cit-Shakti (The Consciousness Aspect of the Universe)'' Sanskrit words and phrases {{IndoAryan-lang-stub ...
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Japa
''Japa'' ( sa, जप) is the meditative repetition of a mantra or a divine name. It is a practice found in Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism, with parallels found in other religions. ''Japa'' may be performed while sitting in a meditation posture, while performing other activities, or as part of formal worship in group settings. The mantra or name may be spoken softly, loud enough for the practitioner to hear it, or it may be recited silently within the practitioner's mind. Etymology The Sanskrit word ''japa'' is derived from the root ''jap-'', meaning "to utter in a low voice, repeat internally, mutter". It can be further defined as ''ja'' to destroy birth, death, and reincarnation and ''pa'' meaning to destroy ones sins. Monier-Williams states that the term appears in Vedic literature such as in the Aitareya Brahmana (Rigveda) and the Shatapatha Brahmana (Yajurveda). The term means muttering, whispering or murmuring passages from the scripture, or charms, or name ...
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Homa (ritual)
In the Vedic Hinduism, a homa (Sanskrit: होम) also known as havan, is a fire ritual performed on special occasions by a Hindu priest usually for a homeowner (" grihastha": one possessing a home). The grihasth keeps different kinds of fire including one to cook food, heat his home, amongst other uses; therefore, a Yajna offering is made directly into the fire. A homa is sometimes called a "sacrifice ritual" because the fire destroys the offering, but a homa is more accurately a " votive ritual". The fire is the agent, and the offerings include those that are material and symbolic such as grains, ghee, milk, incense and seeds. It is rooted in the Vedic religion, and was adopted in ancient times by Buddhism and Jainism. The practice spread from India to Central Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia. Homa rituals remain an important part of many Hindu ceremonies, and variations of homa continue to be practiced in current-day Buddhism, particularly in parts of Tibet and Japan. I ...
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