When I originally read the Yamas, the first of the 8 limbs
of yoga as outlined by Patanjali, I couldn’t help but notice a parallel between
them and the Ten Commandments as outlined in the Bible. The Yamas are considered moral restraints and tell us how to
behave in society; the Ten Commandments do the same.
Before Patanjali transcribed the Yoga Sutras in 400 AD,
laying the groundwork for modern day yoga, yoga was taught one on one, wisdom
passing from guru (teacher) to student. Not unlike Martin Luther who
translated the Bible from Latin to German to spread the word of God to a larger
audience.
AHIMSA:
The first Yama is AHIMSA, which is the practice of
"non-violence".
According to
Judith Lasater, “This refers not only to physical violence, but also to the violence
of words or thoughts.”
Judith Lasater is considered one of the nation's foremost yoga instructors having co-founded not only the Iyengar Yoga Institute in San Francisco, but also, the most prominent magazine for yoga enthusiasts, Yoga Journal.
A lot of yogis
interpret AHIMSA to include all animals and animal by-products resulting in the
participation of
veganism or vegetarianism.
AHIMSA is similar to the 5
th commandment, “Thou shalt not
kill.”
However, in 1280 B.C. in the land
of Exodus and Deuteronomy, the books of the Bible where the Ten Commandments
appear, God was still demanding the slaughter of innocent farm animals as a
temporary covering of sins.
His
intention with the Fifth Commandment was not to create a world of herbivores.
While I can never see myself converting to
veganism, I have found myself being more conscientious toward all living creatures.
I no longer mindlessly swat insects and as
far as violent thoughts are concerned, I am judging less and viewing all beings including myself with compassionate
eyes more.
Whether or not AHIMSA
was intended to extend to all living creatures or just mankind is
up for interpretation, similar to many passages in the Bible.
The next Yama is known as SATYA or “truth”. Judith Lasater wrote, “Honesty is what we do
when others are around and might judge our actions or words, but to have integrity
is to act in an honest manner when others are not around and will never know
about our actions.” Again this Yama
bears a strong resemblance to the 8th commandment, “Thou shalt not
bear false witness against thy neighbor.”
In other words: Tell the truth. Be honest.
Don’t lie.
In
The Small Catechism by
Martin Luther, the explanation
of the 8
th commandment is expanded to read, “We should fear and love
God that we may not deceitfully, belie, betray, slander or defame our neighbor,
but defend him, think and speak well of him, and put the best construction on
everything. I believe “neighbor” is
a broad term and can be expanded to include all people with whom you come into
contact. Because our truth(s) are filtered through our own
experiences and beliefs--our perception
is our reality—we have a better chance of achieving SATYA if we speak
with the intention of not harming others.
ASTEYA:
The third Yama is ASTEYA, which translates to “non-stealing”.
Again there is a commandment that supports
that philosophy.
Commandment #7—“Thou
shalt not steal”.
While the meaning of
this Yama is obvious from the outset, it goes a little deeper.
Not only are we to not take what isn’t ours,
but also not more than we need.
In a
society where the
obesity rate is at an all-time high, food is a good
example.
Judith Lasater wrote, “We fail also when we steal from
ourselves—by neglecting a talent…”
Before
I enrolled in yoga teacher training, I thought I needed to be able to soar in
Bakasana, also known as crane pose.
If I can’t do it, how can I teach it? I thought.
One day I realized that once I had the pose, I would find another
obstacle—something else wouldn’t be perfect—and that if I truly wanted to be a yoga
teacher I needed to quit focusing on what I couldn’t do and focus on what I could
do!
BRAHMACHARYA:
The fourth
Yama, BRAHMACHARYA, may be the one that lends itself to (mis)interpretation the
most. The literal translation is celibacy,
but when the word is dissected we end up with a new meaning…”Walking with God”.
BRAHMA-the name of a deity
CHAR-to walk
YA-actively
So while some people may choose to
live their life as a nun or monk offering their sexuality as devotion to God,
others believe BRAHMACHARYA simply asks us to remain faithful within a
monogamous relationship. I again feel a
direct correlation between the practice of BRAHMACHARYA and the 6th
commandment: “Thou shalt not commit
adultery.” Judith Lasater wrote, “…use
sexual energy like all life energies, in accord with the practice of AHIMSA (non-violence). This means that we respect ourselves and our
partner when we are in a sexual relationship and do not use others to have sex
mindlessly.”
APARIGRAHA:
The fifth and final Yama is
APARIGRAHA, which means “non-greed”.
When I hear this Yama I think of the ninth and tenth commandments: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house”
and thusly “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his man-servant, nor
his maid-servant, nor cattle, nor anything that is his.”
In our name-brand, designer world, it
is easy to get caught up in greed. It is
also easy to fall into the “keeping up with the Jones’s” trap. I’m guilty of both—always measuring and
comparing, but I’d like to believe I’m making strides in the right direction
and that my yoga practice has had an impact.
I have so much less ego than I did when I began this journey. Recently I had the opportunity to purchase a
new car. When I began the search, I
started at BMW and Porsche. When I wrote
the check, it was signed to Toyota of North Charlotte. In an effort to be a more globally
conscientious citizen, I bought a Prius.
While I wish it had a power-lift gate or automatic seat positioners, I
squeal with delight every time my MPG jumps a tenth.
Just as the Bible can be interpreted
to be self-serving, so can the Yamas: to
eat meat or not to eat meat, to have sex or not to have sex, as a practitioner
we have to use the Yamas as guidelines to live a life as close to our own truth
as possible.
As I write this, I am transported
back to catechism class 1982 discussing I Corinthians 6:19-20, “Do you not know
that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have
received from God?”
Pastor Westendorf
explained that it was okay to drink alcohol and use tobacco products as long as it wasn't done in excess—as long as we didn’t harm our bodies, which were the
temples of God. When I told my Grandma
what the pastor had said, she scoffed. “That’s
just his justification for smoking cigars!”
Yeah.
Well…even men of God have their vices!
My relationship with God and organized religion in general has been tentative for years. I prayed daily to God while questioning his very existence. By the time I started yoga teacher training in 2013, I was agnostic at best. It was the reading of the Yamas that made me begin to believe that perhaps there really is only one true God--no matter if he is called Brahma or Ishvara, Allah or the Universe--he, she, it is one in the same. It seems clear to me that although yoga itself is not affiliated with any religion, perhaps some of it's earliest teachers were in fact influenced by the word of God.
I'm still working to discover what God truly means to me, but I'm open and that's the first step. Being open to all possibilities means I have a greater chance of receiving whatever messages the Universe sends my way. I don't know if I'm correct. I'm not a theologian--just a yogi who has experienced a power greater than herself.
But now that I've published it on the internet--it must be true!
