In this new series, DAAJI bridges the
wisdom of Yoga with the way we can change our behavior patterns and
habits. He challenges us to evaluate our ways of thinking and feeling in
order to refine our tendencies, and to reset our compass toward a
lifestyle that is noble and good.
We sow a thought and reap an act;
We sow an act and reap a habit;
We sow a habit and reap a character;
We sow a character and reap a destiny.
—19th century proverb
Thoughts, actions, habits, character and destiny
This well-known and often-quoted English proverb is based on a simple
sequence of cause and effect. The same idea is also found in Chinese
texts, in The Bible, and in the Buddha’s and Patanjali’s Eightfold Paths.
In other words, the concept is universally appreciated across
cultures.
Despite its clear message, during the last few decades character has
taken a back seat in a world that has been accelerating toward corruption,
fake news and misinformation, digital addiction, extremes in wealth and
poverty, and unregulated destruction of the environment. Perhaps because
of all these issues, there is now a significant revival of interest in
values and character. One term that has been coined for this revival is “a
moral revolution1.” Ethics have once more become fashionable,
and books like James Clear’s Atomic Habits are bestsellers as
people look for answers and ways to change.
Here we will together explore the reasons for thought pollution which is
created as a consequence which also becomes a cause for many other ills.
Yamas and Niyamas
Philosophers and thought leaders from ancient times to the present day
have extolled the importance of character and the creation of good habits,
not with the idea of judgment and condemnation, but in order to offer
guidelines and inspiration, and in this series I would particularly like
to focus on the age-old yogic concepts of Yama and Niyama in the
light of our modern-day needs.
Thousands of years ago, in his Yoga Sutras, the great sage Patanjali
presented the importance of the practices of Yama and
Niyama, the first two of the eight limbs of Yoga. The idea behind
these two practices is really very simple:
“Giving up untrue feelings and untrue thought is Yama.
Yama means to give up. Wanting to know Reality and thinking of
Reality is Niyama. Yama means not to accept gifts, not
to steal, not to tell lies etc. … Yama is the giving up of
unwanted things from the heart, whereas Niyama is the filling up
of the required qualities in the heart.2”
In other words, certain thoughts, feelings and habits propel us toward a
life of integrity, and others pull us away from it. The idea is to remove
the unwanted habits that pull us away, and cultivate the evolutionary
habits that propel us toward integrity.
Why do I continue to struggle to get rid of the bad, and why does it feel
like a torturous uphill battle in embracing what is good for me?
The impact of a great movie or a great novel depends upon how it ends,
especially how good prevails over evil. Character matters, and intuitively we all know it. Whether it is in a
Jane Austen novel, a Star Wars film, or a Marvel comic, we want the good
guys to triumph over the bad guys. Our understanding of good versus evil
is alive and well across all spectra of society. And when it comes to our
children, we want them to cultivate virtues that matter, like honesty,
integrity, compassion, humility, wisdom and simple kindness. Currently,
character has even become a hot topic of discussion in the news, perhaps
more than at any other time in recent history.
Yet, knowing all this, most of us struggle to live up to our ideals. At a
very personal level, we may get angry with our loved ones and say hurtful
things, or tell lies to avoid confrontation or to wriggle out of
situations. We may behave selfishly, betray others, steal from them, and
kill innocent creatures in the name of progress. There is also the
behavior of omission, which means that we turn a blind eye and do nothing
to stop unethical things from happening in our families, communities and
societies.
Ethical intelligence
Ethical intelligence is not just about knowing what is right or wrong –
most of us know the difference deep down – it is about making wise choices
in every moment of every day. It is about the things we think, feel, do
and don’t do. It is in the implementation of ethics that we find
character. And this covers all aspects of our behavior, both seen and
unseen. The great UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden, once said, “The true
test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.”
Ethical intelligence is not just about knowing what is right or wrong
– most of us know the difference deep down
– it is about making wise choices in every moment of every day.
It is about the things we think, feel, do and don’t do.
It is in the implementation of ethics that we find character.
Ethics and character also cover our duty and responsibility to ourselves
and others – known in Yoga as dharma. We are social creatures, and if we
are interested in being an active member of the human race, we need to ask
ourselves: “What sort of lifestyle is required to fulfill my
responsibilities?” For a start, we have a biological duty of care to look
after our children, like all adult mammals, and this is critical in humans
as children need many years of care. Yet today we commonly see parents
delegating that duty to professionals and teachers, so that both can work
full-time. Parents and grandparents are often not the main carers of their
children. I am not judging that trend, simply witnessing it, and it is
worth noting that we have reached a stage where even the fundamental
biological responsibility of nurturing our own young is
ignored as our ethical duty. What does that say
about our society? We could ask ourselves about the ethics of leaving
children in the care of strangers, teachers, and digital babysitters like
television and mobile devices, day in and day out.
Traditionally, we also have a responsibility to our extended family
members, to our local communities, to society at large, and to our broader
environment – the Earth and its atmosphere. The concept of stewardship of
the Earth is valued in all religions, as well as non-sectarian groups like
the current Climate Change movement, and Buckminster Fuller’s
Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth.
These are just a few of the topics that fall under the heading of ethical
intelligence, and they are just the tip of the iceberg. This series of
articles is not intended to point fingers at anyone, whether individual or
societal, but to inspire us to pause and refer to our hearts on what
habits we wish to create in our day-to-day living and then bring about the
change. If we are to use the current time of uncertainty wisely, this will
be a very valuable exercise that may help us to adapt for the
future.
The role of Yoga in creating habits
The framework for this inquiry starts with the Yamas and
Niyamas of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. What did Patanjali consider
to be the habits and qualities of a good life? There are no surprises in
his list, as you will see. In fact, Yoga has always advocated the same
core human values that we hold dear today. The corollary of this is that
people back then must have been struggling with the same inadequacies,
weaknesses and character flaws that we struggle with today. We may use
different names for them now, but essentially our awareness of our ideal
has stood the test of time.
Per contra, there have been major recent developments in how we work with
these habits since Patanjali’s era. One of the most significant is that
everyday family life is now considered to be a very suitable lifestyle for
yogic practice, especially for the development of the Yamas and
Niyamas. In Patanjali’s time, yogis were often celibate ascetics
or mendicants, living in ashrams, monasteries, forests and mountains,
whereas modern-day yogis can be found in cities, juggling families and
careers while also following their path of enlightenment. In fact, the
challenges of family life and work are a wonderful field of action for
character development and habit creation. As a result, our perspective on
the Yamas and Niyamas has evolved to encompass the
sphere of human relationships and collective awareness. The focus has
evolved from “me to we.”
Inner transformation
is the catalyst for outer change.
But let’s first start with a summary of Patanjali’s description of the
five Yamas – non-violence, truthfulness, honesty, moderation of
the senses, and a non-possessive attitude.
In ancient times, the practice of these five Yamas was arduous.
Seekers were expected to take them up and master them as the first steps,
along with the Niyamas, before embarking on the other yogic
practices. They spent countless years in penance and character building.
Great willpower, patience and personal discipline were needed even to get
to first base. Imagine Lord Buddha spending months living in the jungle,
foraging for food, exposed to the weather, and foregoing all comforts in
order to reach his goal. Are we capable of such hardship and sacrifice?
Thankfully for us, the sequence of steps in Yoga in the current era has
made it so much easier for us. We first start with Heartfulness
Meditation, Cleaning and Prayer – encompassing Patanjali’s final four
limbs of Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi – so as to
refine, regulate and purify the mind. As a result, our instrument of
perception, the mind, with which to work on our character, is purer and
thus more effective. Inner transformation is the catalyst for outer
change. This sequence is very practical because behavioral change is much
easier once the mind is refined and well-regulated.
Inner transformation for someone who still has
a heart full of desire, worry, anger, fear or guilt becomes a daunting
task.
The neuroscience and psychology of habit formation
This evolution of approach has coincided with a growing awareness of the
science of habit formation and subconscious programming, through the
western disciplines of psychology and neuroscience. We know that many of
our habitual patterns are formed in early childhood, and lead to automatic
behaviors of which we are often not even conscious. For every conscious
thought, we have at least a million subconscious thoughts, and our
subconscious thoughts condition 95% of our activities3.
Unfortunately, most of the neuroscientific research has focused on the
changes we see in the brain associated with happiness versus unhappiness,
positivity versus negativity. In the light of ethical intelligence,
however, we are looking far beyond our own self-centered need for
happiness; we are rewiring for evolution not just happiness. It will be
interesting to see the findings of the research currently being done with
Heartfulness practitioners, whose purpose in life is evolutionary. How
does rewiring for evolution affect the brain?
Many people think that meditation and Yoga are for developing well-being,
health, peace and happiness, but that is just the preparation for the
first step – the mastering of our desires, dislikes, and inadequacies, and
the connection with our inner reservoir of stillness that is like the eye
of the storm.
The yogic science of Pranahuti
The shift in approach has also coincided with extensive research in the
field of Yoga during the last 100 years, the development of simple yogic
practices, and the rediscovery of the ancient yogic technique of
pranahuti, also known as Transmission. Pranahuti is
described in the Upanishads as pranasya prana. It was utilized in
ancient times, but remained largely unknown for centuries until Ram
Chandra of Fatehgarh rediscovered and mastered its use in order to help
others transform.
While meditation with Transmission elevates us rapidly from the inside,
melting away obstacles to progress and dismantling the very roots of our
subconscious mental programming, we also need to modify our habits so that
this inner transformation is matched by behavioral changes, otherwise
there is no harmony between inner and outer. Our inner world may expand
and evolve, but if our character and lifestyle lag behind then we remain
stuck, unable to move forward. And if we as individuals remain stuck, so
does society.
While meditation with Transmission elevates us rapidly
from the inside, melting away obstacles to progress
and dismantling the very roots of our subconscious mental programming,
we also need to modify our habits so that
this inner transformation is matched by behavioral changes.
Becoming lotus-like – the process of removal and refinement
The word “Yama” has various meanings. In Sanskrit, it means
“regulation” or “self-discipline.” In Hindu mythology, the God of Death is
also called Yama. How is death intertwined with self-discipline
and the refinement of lifestyle? The secret of self-transformation is to
let our own entangled mental and emotional complexities die, in order to
transcend ‘I’-ness and allow our consciousness to become universal. This
is the death of individuality, of the ego. In meditation, we transcend the
individual self, so that we merge with the universal Self and
begin to resonate with the Absolute.
The idea of Yama as death may sound morbid, but there is
tremendous wisdom in removing unwanted complexities and transcending the
‘I’-ness of the ego. It is the death of our self-created sense of identity
– the layers of our persona. The ego can be a very restrictive force,
limiting us to a very rigid belief system. It can prevent us from
remaining flexible and blossoming in new and open ways. But the methods
are there to help us change all that. When we are able to let go of the
things that no longer serve us, transcending the limitations of our belief
systems, the ego becomes our ally. We move from a limited focus on
personal beliefs to being open to the universal consciousness.
In order to do this, we refine the mind, also known as the subtle body,
so that it becomes pure, light, expansive and unlimited.
There are two fundamental aspects to this refinement:
1. Removal of complexities from the subtle body:
We remove any complexities and heaviness from the subtle body – the
impressions we have accumulated from our past – so that it becomes light
and pure. These impressions are called samskaras in Yoga. This
removal leads to the death of our individual network of beliefs, emotions,
fears, habits, desires and myriads of traits.
Many people try to do this through psychoanalysis and personal therapy at
the mental level, but that is generally a long slow process because of the
depth of the subconscious roots of patterns and tendencies. In
Heartfulness, the practice of Cleaning removes the root
samskaras by directly cleaning the subtle body at the vibrational
level. This process is so effective that the impressions from one whole
lifetime can be removed in a single meditation session with a trainer.
To support this, we also need to remove the habits and behaviors that are
the outer expression of the inner impressions, so that we don’t re-create
the same patterns again and again. Otherwise, we are like little mice in a
cage on a spinning wheel, going round and round, removing, re-creating,
removing, re-creating. It is a never-ending cycle until we change our
behavior and lifestyle.
When we are able to let go of things that no longer serve us,
transcending the limitations of our belief systems,
the ego becomes our ally.
We move from a limited focus on personal beliefs
to being open to the universal consciousness.
2. Ongoing refinement of the subtle body:
The second aspect is the refinement of the four main functions of the
subtle body – consciousness, thinking, intellect and ego:
With meditation on the heart, the thinking function deepens and expands
to include feeling, and then expands further to include states that are
beyond experience. Our mental process moves toward the subtlest state
possible, guided by the heart.
The intellect deepens into intelligence, and then to intuition, to wisdom
and beyond – again it becomes subtler and subtler. As we remain connected
with the universal consciousness, wisdom flows like a current from beyond.
The ego is redirected from a selfish focus on “I” toward a selfless focus
on “we,” toward generosity of the heart, then greater humility and
acceptance, and finally to the subtlest states of identity.
As these three mental functions are refined, consciousness is able to
expand into its infinite state, untethered and in osmosis with the
universal consciousness.
With meditation on the heart,
the thinking function deepens
and expands to include feeling,
and then expands further to include states
that are beyond experience.
If we could do all this through meditative practices alone, we would all
be soaring in no time, but the ego does not move from selfishness to
generosity without a fight! It is a process. And it takes time to trust
our feelings and the wisdom of the heart, and to become totally dependent
on something higher, ignoring the pros and cons of the rational mind that
are determined by the cognates of our programmed belief systems. It
requires adjustment and recalibration of character, side by side with
practice.
As we continue to transcend toward lightness and freedom, we experience
the real aliveness of living from the heart. We live a life connected with
the universal Being. Such a life is supported by the wisdom of conducting
life with the self-discipline that we know as Yama.
This state of self-discipline is beautifully described as being in this
world but not of this world, symbolized by the lotus living in the mud,
unpolluted by the dirt, radiating purity and beauty. I like to call these
Yamas the five vows of the seeker. They are vows of
self-discipline for living life bravely and not straying from the noble
path. In the next articles we will explore their relevance in our daily
lives.
1 Novogratz, J., 2020.
Manifesto for a Moral Revolution: Practices to Build a Better
World.
Macmillan Publishers, NY, USA.
2 Ram Chandra, 2013.
Complete Works of Ram Chandra,Volume 2. Shri Ram Chandra Mission, India.
3 Lipton, B. H., 2005.
The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter
and Miracles.
Hay House, USA.
Article by DAAJI