Patanjalis Yama & Niyama

Patanjali's Yoga Sutras:

Patanjali's Yoga Sutra enunciate the Eight steps to Self Realisation. The first two in the Eight steps are Yama and Niyama. The world over these Eight Steps are being taught but only lip service is paid to the  first Two Steps. The other steps namely, Asana, Pranayama, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi is being followed with zeal in the hope of reaching the goal of Samadhi.
It is the genius of Patanjali to put the Yama & Niyama right at the beginning. Doing the rest of the Six Steps without first internalising the first two you will never reach the final goal.
Let us consider one of the Yamas..... Truthfulness. Now, if one is not truthful, the psyche of that person will always be disturbed. That consciousness which we are trying to make still like the depth of an ocean with our Sadhana, our daily Yoga practice, can never be achieved. The ripples of lies one untruth sets off will make the consciousness muddy and always disturbed. One has to just ponder over each of his Yama and Niyams to thus realise their utmost importance in life and more so in spiritual life.
Therefore, in the Second Chapter, Patanjali has devoted 10 Sutras( from Sutra 35 to 45) to bring forth the powerful benefits of adopting these Social & Moral Codes in ones life.
The following is a compilation of explanation of these Ten Sutras by three Spiritual Giants, Rishi Ved Vyas, Swami Vivekanand and Paramhansa Swami Satyananda.

Jai Gurudev!! जै गुरुदेव!! ਜੈ ਗੁਰੂਦੇਵ!! जे गुरुदेव!! જી ગુરુદેવ!! 

The Five Yamas:

अहिंसा सत्य अस्तेयब्रह्मचर्यअपरिग्रह यामः


अहिंसा  Non-violence
सत्य      Truthfulness
अस्तेय     Honesty
ब्रह्मचर्य   Sensual abstinence
अपरिग्रह  Non aquisitiveness
यामः      Self-restraint


The Five Niyamas:


शौचसंतोष स्वध्ययेशवरप्राणिधनानि  नियमअह
सौच              cleanliness
संतोष            contentment
तपः               austerity
स्वध्यय्           self study
इश्वर प्रनिधनि   surrender to God
नियमः             Rules

The following interpretation deal with the Sutras that detail the importance of the Yama & Niyamas and the power that flows from following them.

Sutra 36, Chapter 2:             सत्य प्रतिष्ठायाम क्रियाफलाश्रयात्वं
Maharishi Vyasa: When a Yogin says to a man "Be righteous", the man actually becomes righteous; if he says to him "may you attain heaven", the man actually attains Heaven. In fact the Yogins words becomes infallible.
( Yoga Darshan: Sutras of Patanjali with Bhasya of Vyasa, Translated into English with notes by Ganganatha Jha, Dev Publishers & Distributors . New Delhi, 2011. ( First published 1907)

Swami Vivekananda: By the establishment of truthfulness the Yogi gets the power of attaining for himself & others the fruits of work without the works.

Commentary: When this power of truth will be established with you, then even in dream you will never tell an untruth. you will be true in thought, word & deed.... If a man is diseased and you say to him, "Be thou cured", he will be cured immediately.
(Raja Yoga: Conquering the Internal Nature, by Swami Vivekananda, Published by Swami Bodhasarananda, Thirty-ninth reprint, 2011, first published in NewYork, 1899.)

Swami Satyananda Saraswati's translation: On being firmly established in truthfulness, the actions result in fruits, entirely depending on it.

 Commentary: Only that person can speak truth who knows how to weigh each word: it becomes a condition of his speech. He does not express anything without weighing the words with spiritual power.....so that whatever comes from the mouth of such a person comes true.
(Four Chapters on Freedom: Commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Yoga Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar, India, 2008 ( First edition in 1976).
(Compiled by Kamini)