Introduction to the Yamas and Niyamas
Author: Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami
Description: Cybertalk: Bodhinatha gives his introduction to the Yamas and niyamas, the Hindu Code of Conduct. He explains that a simple look at what it means to be a Hindu is to become a better person, to improve our behavior and become more spiritual. The goal is to control the animal instincts that are part of our human make up. Controlling anger is central to this, an important step on the spiritual path. The yamas and niyamas are the do's and don't's of becoming a better human being. They make up steps one and two of Patanjali's eight-limbed Ashtanga Yoga, an important foundation required for stable higher consciousness. Bodhinatha then spoke of our responses to life. When we are mistreated, our first reaction is to retaliate. But a spiritual person works toward the goal of nonretaliation, toward forgiveness and even learning to forget wrongs done to us. We do this by regarding all experiences as created from within ourselves, or another way to say that is that we are the creator of our own karma, not someone else.
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