2.2. The Niyamas (according to the Major Upaniṣads)

The Yogasūtra describes niyamas as:

1. śauca,
2. santoṣa,
3. tapa,
4. svādyāya and
5. īśvarapraṇidhāna.^[1]

These niyamas are enumerated in major upaniṣads like Īśa, kena, kaṭha etc. These are to be practised essentially for access to the Brahman.

1) Śauca

Among the Niyamas the first and most important is śauca which means cleanliness. The term śauca indicates not only the external purity but the internal also. The upaniṣads discuss śauca or cleanliness along with the practices of tapas, satya etc, which are the means for internal purity.

The kaṭhopaniṣad says that one who lives in purity can gain self-realization, It states:

yastu vijñānavān bhavati samanaskaḥ sadā śuci |
sa tu tatpadamāpnoti yasmād bhūyo na jāyate ||

Besides the upaniṣads, the Manusmṛti also emphasizes the importance of śauca as:

kṣāntyā śuddhayanti vidvāṃso dānenākāryakāriṇaḥ |
pracchannapāpā japyena tapasā vedavittamaḥ || ^[2]

which means that the yogi should be purified through karma, dāna, japa and tapa. Again it points out the internal and external purity of the body through water, mind through satya, ātmā through vidyā and tapa, and buddhi through jñāna^[3].

2) Santoṣa

Santoṣa is the second of niyama. By the term santoṣa Vyāsa means the satisfaction upon the availed ones. It is considered as the most important means for the concentration of mind. Through the first verse of the Iśāvāsyopaniṣad the concept of santoṣa is defined.

It advises that the human beings should be happy upon the consumed things that which are available.

tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā māgṛdhaḥ kasyasviddhanam |

It points against the greed of men who are advised that they should not be covetous towards others property.

3) Tapas

Tapas is the third niyama which is referred to as a part of the Kriyāyoga. Vyāsa refers to tapas as ‘Dvandvasahiṣṇutā’. Those who can be same on hunger and thirst, heat and cold etc. can attain the state tapas. The Upaniṣads have a lot of references on tapas. According to the Kenopaniṣad tapas is the means to acquire the knowledge about brahmavidyā or jñāna. Those who practise tapas aims at the attainment of Brahman with the idea of reacting the ‘paramātmā’, the supreme end of Brahmavidyā.

It states,

tasya tapo damaḥ karmeti pratiṣṭhā vedāḥ sarvāṅgāni satyamāyatanam |^[4]

In the praśnopaniṣad, tapas is regarded as the means for self-realization^[5]. The same idea can be seen in the Muṇḍakopaniṣad. Tapas is mentioned differently in the Muṇḍakopaniṣad. It is the root cause of all like,

tapasā cīyate brahma tato'nnāni jāyate | annāt prāṇo manaḥ satyaṃ lokāḥ karmasu cāmṛtam || ^[6]

This is also mentioned in the Taittirīyopaniṣad^[7]. Again when tapas becomes jñānamaya for a sādhaka then it gets aligned to Brahman, nāma, rūpa, anna etc.

This is mentioned as:

yaḥ sarvajñaḥ sarvavit yasya jñānamayaṃ tapaḥ tasmādetat brahma nāmarūpamannaṃ ca jāyate |^[8]

It also treats tapas itself as

Brahman^[9]. The Muṇḍakopaniṣad mentions that the sādhaka should acquire knowledge through tapas and when it is not possible it is useless. The Chāndgyopaniṣad regards tapas as the most important means for the attainment of realization. It observes that those who resort to tapas become famous and illumined through Brahman^[10].

Apart from these the Śvetāśvataropaniṣad also considers tapas as the means to brahmaprāpti^[11] and points out that only the person who practises tapas should be reserved for the teachings of Brahman.^[12]

Among niyamas tapas is very important when we also realize that the Atharvaveda mentions it as the means to win over death for the devatas^[13].

4) Svādhyāya

Svādhyāya is the fourth niyama. It pertains to the teaching of praṇavajapa or the like, and the mokṣaśastra. It is defined in the Yogaśāstra as:

svādhyāyaḥ praṇavādipavitrāṇāṃ mantrāṇāṃ japāḥ mokṣaśāstrādhyayanaṃ vā |^[14]

The term svādhyāya indicates the internal exercise or spiritual teaching on citta and its thoughts. There are various descriptions found on svādhyāya in the upaniṣads. The Taittirīyopaniṣad highlights and insists on the importance of svādhyāya through its

śikṣāvalli. It refers to pravacana along with svādhyāya. It advocates the practice of satya, tapa, dama, śama etc, along with the merged practice of svādhyāya and pravacana. It stated in the Taittirīyopaniṣad thus:

ṛtaṃ ca svādhyāyapravacane ca | satyaṃ ca svādhyāyapravacane ca || tapaśca svādhyāyapravacane ca | damaśca svādhyāyapravacane ca || śamaśca svādhyāyapravacane ca |^[15]

It also treats svādhyāya and pravacana as tapas. Through its śikṣāvalli Guru discloses to his disciple about the necessity of svādhyāya as:

svādhyāyapravacanābhyāṃ na pramāditavyam |^[16]

The Chāndogyopaniṣad too upholds the importance of svādhyāya or the study of the vedas. It suggests svādhyāya for a house holder to perform his karmas or duties successfully.

It says,

tatrāpi gārhasthyavihitānāṃ karmāṇāṃ svādhyāyasya prādhānyapradarśanārthamucyate |^[17]

It also advocates that this svādhyāya should be performed in a lonely place which is kept neat and tidy in accompaniment with one’s daily routines.

A person who performs svādhyāya ever makes his son or disciple become righteous, practise non-violence, restrain his senses, attain Brahman etc.. Again the Chāndogyopaniṣad introduces svādhyāya as a means to become grown up as a great exponent.^[18] Apart from these certain minor upaniṣads like Śukarahasyopaniṣad, Akṣyupaniṣad etc. uphold the importance of the study of vedagrandhas.^[19]

5) Īśvarapraṇidhāna.

Īśvarapraṇidhāna is the fifth and the last among the niyamas. The Yogasūtra regards Īśvarapraṇidhāna as a form of yoga treated as a kind of bhakti by which one who attains ananyacitta and who is completely dedicated to Īśvara, can attain Samādhi.

The Yogsūtra defines it easily and rapidly as,

īśvarapraṇidhānaṃ sarvakriyāṇāṃ paramagurāvarpaṇaṃ tatphalasanyāso vā |^[20]

It is also described in the Bhagavadgīta as,

yatkaroṣi yadaśnāsi yajjuhoṣi dadāsi yat | yattapasyasi kaunteya tatkuruṣva madarpaṇam || ^[21]

Here, Kriṣṇa asks Arjuna to dedicate all karmas towards him and be free from all its results. By the term Īśvarapraṇidhāna the Upaniṣads do not mean dedication of all the karmas while it mentions that man is not bounded by his karmas or actions. It means that one who upholds the niṣkāmakarma and who resorts to the tatphalāśanas of yoga is detached towards the fruits of actions. Through this upaniṣad it ascertains the importance of Īśvarapraṇidhāna and by this one can attain self-realization.^[22]

This is also mentioned in the Bhagavadgīta as:

teṣāmevānukampārthamahamajñānajaṃ tamaḥ nāśayāmyātmabhāvastho jñānadīpena bhāsvatā^[23]

Which means that through Īśvarapraṇidhāna or upāsana a devotee can attain self-illumined jñāna and can thus remove tamas from his antaḥkaraṇa.

On the Īśvarapraṇidhāna the Kenopaniṣad states:

athādhyātmaṃ yadetadgacchatīva ca mano'nena caitadūpasmaratyabhīkṣṇasaṅkalpaḥ^[24] ||

It means that the mind of a sādhaka seems to attain paramātmā and for this the mind continuously passes through saguṇa or nirguṇa upāsana.

The Kaṭhopaniṣad emphasizes the importance of Īśvarapraṇidhāna thus,

nāyamātmā pravacanena labhyo na medhayā na bahunā śrutena |
yamekaiva vṛṇute tena labhyastasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṃsvām || ^[25]

Which means that the Parabrahma reveals himself to the sādhaka to whom he is satisfied. This can be seen in the Muṇḍakopaniṣad also^[26].

The Vyāsabhāsya also mentioned it as:

praṇidhānād bhavativiśeṣādāvartita īśvarastamanugṛhṇātyabhidhyānamātreṇa || ^[27]

These lines indicate that Īśvarapraṇidhāna is a means to reveal the eternal self if the sādhaka performs his task satisfactorily. Again, through the blessing of that Supreme Self the sādhaka becomes one with the self.

The Kaṭhopaniṣad mentions:

jānāmyaham śevadhirityanityaṃ | na hyadhruveḥ prāpyate hi dhruvaṃ tat || tato mayā nāciketāścito'gni | ranityairdravyaiḥ prāptavānasmi nityam || ^[28]

In the context of Yama–Naciketa dialogue the Kaṭhopaniṣad establishes Īśvarapranidhāna as a means to attain parabrahmaprāpti. Here omkāra or praṇava is illustrated as an appropriate tool of Īśvarapraṇidhāna. It also says that those who meditate upon parabrahma through the means of praṇava definitely can attain paramātma.

It is stated:

etaddhevākṣaraṃ brahma etaddhevākṣaraṃ param | etaddhevākṣaraṃ jñātvā yo yadicchati tasya tat | etadālambanaṃ śreṣṭhametadālambanaṃ param | etadālambanaṃ jñātvā brahmaloke mahīyate || ^[29]

In the Muṇḍakopaniṣad also there is a mention thus:

oṃ brahma devānāṃ prathamaḥ sambhūva viśvasya kartā bhuvanasya goptā sa brahmavidyāṃ sarvavidyā pratiṣṭhāmatharvāya jyeṣṭhaputrāya prāha || ^[30]

Here the upāsana upon the Paramātmā is considered on Īśwara praṇidhāna. The Taittirīyopaniṣad also mentions the same.^[31] The Katḥopaniṣad describes that through Īśwarapraṇidhāna Naciketa became the leader of full yoga thus became free from all thoughts and emotions without death.

The Katḥopaniṣad explains the gradual practice of Īśvarapraṇidhāna thus: The intelligent person fixes his ‘vāṇi’ into manas, manas into buddhi and buddhi into mahattattva and mahattattva into the eternal ātmā that is Brahman. Here the sādhaka through Īśwarapraṇidhāna acquires his indriyas, manas, buddhi and mahattattva gradually and finally attains the paramātmā.^[32] Thus, the Katḥopaniṣad ascertains that Īśvarapraṇidhāna undoubtedly leads to the union with the Paramātmā. This is mentioned in the Gīta also.

The Chāndogyopaniṣad also insists on Īśwarapraṇidhāna as upāsana. Here many ṛsis like Aṅgira, Bṛhaspati etc. regard ‘om ‘the udgīta’ as prāṇa^[33] and it is said that those who meditate upon it definitely will attain the realization.

Thus it is stated:

āgatā havai kāmānāṃ bhavati ya etadevaṃ | vidvānakṣaramudgīthāmupāsta ityadhyātmam || ^[34]

The same point is enumerated in the Praśnopaniṣad. It says that the Īśvaropāsana through omkāra (including the three mātras) enables the sādhaka to attain Brahmaloka or Paramātmā.^[35]

Besides these the Upaniṣads like Śvetaśvatara also hints at Īśvarapraṇidhāna.^[36] It says that by meditation on omkāra the sādhaka can perceive the manifestation of the Ātman in the body. Thus the upaniṣad regards Īśvarapraṇidhāna as the most important way to attain Brahmasākṣātkāra because it leads the yogi easily to samādhi.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Yogasūtra II. 32.

[2]:

Manusmṛti V.30

[3]:

Ibid V.31

[4]:

Ken. U. IV.8

[5]:

Praśna-upaniṣad I.2

[6]:

Mun.U. I.1.8

[7]:

Tai. Up.III.2

[8]:

Muṇḍakabrahmaṇa-upaniṣad I.1.9

[9]:

Ibid.II.1.10

[10]:

Chāndogya-upaniṣad III.18.3.6

[11]:

Sve.U.II.15

[12]:

Ibid 6.21

[13]:

Atharvaveda III.5.19

[14]:

Yogasūtra-vyāsabhāṣya II.1

[15]:

Tai. U. I.9

[16]:

Ibid. I.11

[17]:

Chāndogya-upaniṣad VIII.15.1

[18]:

Ibid VI.1.1.2

[19]:

Śuk . U. II.3, Aks.U.8.9

[20]:

Yogasūtra-vyāsabhāṣya II.32

[21]:

Bhagavadgīta IX. 27

[22]:

Īśa. U.16,17

[23]:

Bhagavadgīta X.11

[24]:

Ken. U. IV. 5

[25]:

Kaṭha-upaniṣad I.2.23

[26]:

Muṇḍakabrahmaṇa-upaniṣad III-2.3

[27]:

Yogasūtra-vyāsabhāṣya I-23

[28]:

Kaṭha-upaniṣad I.2.10

[29]:

Ibid. I.2.16,17

[30]:

Mun. U. I-1

[31]:

Tai.U.1.8

[32]:

Kaṭha-upaniṣad 3.13

[33]:

Chāndogya-upaniṣad I. 2: 11, 12, 13

[34]:

Ibid, I.2.11, 12, 13

[35]:

Praśna-upaniṣad V.5.47

[36]:

Sve.U.I.13