The Yamas and Niyamas are yogic guidelines on how we should conduct our life. We follow something if there is something in it for ourselves. Hence Maharshi Patanjali details the benefits of practicing them too. When a person is following Aparigraha—meaning mentally not taking on to more objects and things that he really doesn’t want—he gets to know the birth and life stories of all those who come to him. The process of life is revealed to him and he can easily tell how each person or creature has manifested and the path they are taking in life. The use of such knowledge is not for the sake of any thrill, but helps to guide others on the mistakes they may be committing in life—that can keep increasing their suffering due to ignorance.
Shaucha or cleanliness gives purity and one-pointedness of mind. The truth reveals itself in such people without any distraction. If there is dust in a glass bulb, the light does not shine through clearly. Purifying the mind of all its desires, hatred, jealousy, delusion, arrogance, anger, fear and selfishness is the process of Shaucha. Cleanliness of our surroundings, the body, mind and intellect gives us the best of everything in life. The focus on purity and oneness leaves you with the right knowledge of your true self, and as a result there will be no urgency or desire to go in for desires that will get us back into the world again with a new body. In a clean room, we can see what we have, much better than in a messy room. When our life is clean, the clarity of vision on what we really need and pursue is the reward of Shaucha. Cleanliness empowers our perception. It empowers the nation too. It becomes a great yoga sadhana to lend our hand to any initiative to clean our country, clean the rivers, clean our homes or clean our minds. What is left behind is just the sparkle of existence.
The third Niyama is Santosha, which means contentment or happiness within. The result of Santosha is an unmatchable gain of happiness. Sukha or happiness means I find myself in a good place. Its opposite Dukha is to be in a sorrowful space. There is space in our mind and that will be happy where there is contentment. Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, can be attracted only by the person who has contentment in life. Where there is contentment, there is happiness. Where there is happiness, wealth, health, prosperity and all reasons for happiness will be there. It is indeed a reverse process. We tend to accumulate money and things to make ourselves happy. Santosha is a cost-free method to be happy first and having all the rest to follow automatically.
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