Yoga Wisdom

From Chapter two of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: 

32. “Purity, contentment, intensity in spiritual practice, practice of learned personal mantras, and alignment of attention with the Eternal Self—the witnessing consciousness—are the internal disciplines, the niyamas.”

The niyamas are internal disciplines that make the practice of the yamas easier. Together the yamas and niyamas create a mental framework enabling proper interaction with the world so that the personal and universal purpose of life is assured.

33. “Upon elimination of opposing beliefs, there is the experience of their opposites.”

34. “Beliefs [at odds with yoga] such as violence result in pain and ignorance. These beliefs are upheld through direct action, the seeds of action, and the approval of action. They can be mild, moderate, or excessive in degree. When resolved through meditation on the results of these beliefs, their opposites prevail.”

The world in which we live is responsive to our states of being. Whatever is within us will be reflected in our experiences. Inner states of fear, violence, or any other destructive tendency need to be eliminated through cultivation of their opposites. States of consciousness that sustain pain in the life experience and ignorance of the eternal Self are at odds with the practice of Yoga. Through inner reflection we can become aware of the existence of these states within our self. We can then grasp how they are upheld through our own subconscious patterns, the actions we perform in the world, and the approval of these actions performed by others. When meditating on the results of how maintaining states of ignorance and pain within us affects us and the world, we can then resolve to restrain and neutralize their expression. Then our consciousness naturally becomes lighter, more whole, and more directly attuned with our eternal Self.