Ahimsa (Non-violence)

Satya (Truthfulness)
Asteya (Non-stealing)
Brahmacharya (Centeredness)
Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)

 Ahimsa or Non-violence means to completely

eradicate violence from our inner-self. The very
thought of inflicting harm upon others is to be
removed from the mind. Nothing can be
achieved by harming others or ourselves, and to
harm others is to also harm ourselves. There is
no need for this once we understand our true
nature and essence. The positive side of
nonviolence is love. When our hearts are filled
with love, no thoughts of violence arise in us and
such state of mind is congenial for yoga Sadhana.

Stop all kinds of violence

Violence is of many forms and
hues and it need not be limited
to physical violence.
In fact physical violence is the
mildest one and that will get
healed in a few days.
Mental harassment is most
cruel kind of violence and has
many hues, such as:

Office violence: Giving an employee

certain work load which Is beyond his /her
capacity is nothing but inflicting violence.
It results in
Increase in stress levels
This stress transforms to physical illness,
such as increase in Hypertension, loss of
memory, diabetes etc.
Increases impatience and as a result the
family life gets disturbed.
and many more
Let employers understand this and try to
assess the capabilities of employees and
assign duties accordingly.

Violence by word of mouth:

Our words are always melodious to us, but they may
not be so to others. If we go on uttering something
nonsense without taking into consideration of the
listeners state of mind, interest etc., it hurts the
listener more than physical abuse. Those words
need not be in the nature of scolding and rebuke.
Using words that hurt the feelings and sentiments
of others is also violence.
Using words that creates fear, dismay and shock are
also considered as violence.
Creating high pitched sounds using megaphones etc,
creates mental distress so those are to be avoided.

Self Inflicted violence:

Violence is not only caused by outsiders, at
times we ourselves are cause of violence
on us.

Brooding over misgivings, nonperformance, self pity are some of the

things that affect our brains and inflict unrepairable damage to us.
Taking/accepting responsibility which is
beyond our capacity is also self inflicted
violence.

Create an atmosphere of
Peace , Harmony, Mutual
Co-operation, Togetherness
and Love in Home, Office,
Community and Society at
large.
Love yourself, Your fellow
being, Society, Nature and
Everything on Earth. That is
the complete expression of
Ahimsa (Non-violence).

 Satya or Truthfulness means removing the

veils of falsehood and deceit from our lives.
We gain nothing by being false. To preserve a
lie we have to lie a hundred times and live a
life of deception. To follow the path of
truthfulness, we only need courage to face the
realities of life. First let us be truthful to
ourselves in every action. The farther we
remove ourselves from falsehood, the closer
we move to truth.

Truthfulness is understanding our own

nature without pretentions and falsehood.
Removing the pests of lies those are
harmful to ourselves as well as others.
Have to cultivate good intentions for
having great results. When the intentions
are good and without falsehood, the
Harvest is good.
We should be able to decide which way to
go, whether the path of righteousness or
the path of deceit and falsehood. Nobody
can force you into a wrong way when you
strongly stand on the right path. The
power of your will turn your opposition
into your side.

Decide yourself, what to do and what not to

do. You should understand what are your
strengths and your weaknesses. Allow
neither fear nor pride into yourself when
assessing yourself. By constant
introspection and self analysis you can
improve your virtues and cut down your
mistakes.
Always follow the path of Truth which can
help you to cross all obstacles in life with a
smile. When you follow truth you dont
have any feeling of guilt and that makes
things easier for you.

You are the most important person

for yourself. To be good to yourself,
you have to stop telling lies to
yourself and others as well. Dont
strain the mind unnecessarily for
creating and enacting lies all your life.
You would be the happiest man if you
keep yourself out of the web of lies,
once you enter the web there is no
going out.
Stress is a heavy burden that has
been carried by people, by giving
false promises, false commitments
and false show-offs. To be away from
falsehood is to be away from stress.

Now is the right time to stop telling lies to

yourself and to others. One has to live in
the present, not in past nor in future;
people live in lies has to remember the
past lies and think of framing the future
lies, thus they cannot live in present. All
achievers, in any field, lives in present and
that is the secret of their achievements.
Write down all the deeds you have done in
the day and read it for yourself. Checkout,
whether there are any false commitments
to yourself or others, get rid of them to
have a peaceful slumber.

 Asteya (Non-stealing) also includes honesty

and non-exploitation. The meaning of asteya
is abstinence from theft. To steal indicates
dissatisfaction with what we have, which is
driven by desire for more due to greed. To
achieve the state of Asteya, we must learn
self-satisfaction and we must conquer our first
foe, desire.

 One should be honest in all his

dealings, whether they are
financial or otherwise. Desire and
greed are the qualities that prompt
a person to steal things of others.
Both desire and Greed should be
treated as our enemies, once we
caught up by them, they lead us to
our doom.
Above all, honesty guarantees us a
peaceful life without stress and
fear. Be honest to yourself and to
others in all aspects of life.

 The least offensive kind of stealing

it stealing of food for ones survival.
It is the minimum responsibility of
Governments to ensure that their
citizens get work for earning their
food honestly.
To abstain from something is not
easy, but with practice and control
one can easily learn it. Even the
mighty elephant dances to the
command of its trainer, who is not
a compare before its size and
strength.

 The more severe kinds of stealing

are theft of Identity, theft of
intellectual property etc. It is
difficult to identify those people
who do this kind of stealing as they
are next to you and looks like
gentlemen. Beware of them.
There is another kind of stealing,
which is called exploitation. It is
spread everywhere and is to be
curtailed. Everybody should feel
that it is their duty to fight against
all kinds of exploitation, united.

 There are high-tech thieves who

may steal your money from your
Bank account, provident fund, tax
refund and the benefits due to
you from the government. You
should be vigilant all the time to
safe guard your assets from these
thieves.

Everybody should take a vow

that they do not steal from
others and should not allow
others to steal them.

 Brahmacharya is continuity and centeredness.

The general meaning is also celibacy and to
control sexual thoughts. However, the
etymological meaning of the word is
something different. Brahma + Charya = the
creative principle + the action. That means
action by the creative principle. More
precisely, brahmacharya means centeredness,
avoiding extremes and restricting wavering.

 Bramhacharya means

centeredness, avoiding
extremes and restricting
wavering. It is required for
achieving anything in life,
whether mundane or
spiritual.
One has to have control
over his mind and once the
mind is under control and
balanced, it will decide our
actions and guide us
through out the execution.

 Bramhacharya also means

celibacy. Celibacy mentioned
here is more of mental rather
than physical. One who indulges
excessively in sexual thoughts,
lacks concentration in thought
and action and fails in judgment.
If consumed by the flames of
lust, it leads to obsession and
hence, enslavement
Like a duck in the water, one
has to be stable in the ebbs and
flows of situations and
circumstances.

 Life is a tight rope walk, which

needs an unwavering mind and
the thoughts should be well
synchronized with action.
When an incense stick is burned
in the open, the smoke spreads
out without direction. If the mind
is allowed to waver, no decision
can be taken and no action
follows.

 Ones thoughts should be

under the control of his/her
own will, which facilitates
him/her to concentrate on
the required object, without
wavering.
Ones attention should be
centered on the path leading
to his destination, not on the
side ways.

 Bramhacharya helps one

to practice Yoga with
measurable results and the
practice of Yoga helps one
to maintain Bramhacharya.
Both are interdependent
like water and forest.
With unwavering mind
pursue your goals, you
never fail.

 Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness) is the last of

the five yamas. The desire to own things is
possessiveness. It is a part of kama (desire),
our first foe. Once we have decided to fight
this enemy, we can easily overcome it.

 One may wish to possess the entire

world, nay, universe. But is it possible ?
Desire and greed are the root causes to
the idea of possessiveness. If one is
infested with the idea of possessiveness,
he/she spends the entire life for that
purpose and cannot enjoy life.
You can enjoy the nature as much as
you want, but you cannot keep it only
for yourself. It is the gift of God /
creation , not only for human beings but
also for all living beings. Learn to share
with all. This is Aparigraha.

Our life in this world is impermanent and the

worldly possessions are just like foot steps on a
sandy path. Even if there is another life, as some
believe, one cannot carry or transfer his/her
possessions to that life. Instead of having
material possessions, possess love, happiness
and joy.

If ones desire goes beyond the minimum needs

to live, it becomes greed. A greedy person, who
wanted to possess everything under his sight,
cannot enjoy his possessions in his life time. Be
contended with what you are having and what is
needed to survive.

 The green fields, the ocean

waves, the blue sky, the rainbow ,
the star studded night sky with
full moon; there are many such
things that can keep us in good
cheer. But , we cannot possess
them only for ourselves and keep
in our Iron Lockers.
Aparigraha gives us Joy and
Liberate our souls from mere
earthly existence into our Divine
Self.