For
subscribers of Sanatana Dharma, all acts are guided by dharma. Dharma is the
eternal and inherent nature of reality, regarded in Hinduism as a cosmic law
underlying right behaviour and social order.
Hindu
ethical values come from individual interpretation of the nature of reality and
educate the Dharma subscribers to understand wrong and right.
The
guidelines of Hinduism are best noted in the Yoga Sutra of Sage Patanjali. It
provides the Hindu with a succinct arrangement of principles that correspond to
numerous sources of Dharmic scripture and teachings and are viewed as the
foundations for dharmic behaviours.
Of
the principles, there are ten to be noted. These are called yamas and niyamas.
Five are yamas or guidelines for social behaviour and five are niyamas, or
principles for behaviour behavior.
The
five yamas are:
ㅤㅤ•
Ahimsa (non-harming or non-violence in thought, word and deed)
ㅤㅤ•
Satya (truthfulness)
ㅤㅤ•
Asteya (non-stealing)
ㅤㅤ•
Brahmacharya (celibacy or ‘right use of energy’)
ㅤㅤ•
Aparigraha (non-greed or non-hoarding)
The
five niyamas are:
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Saucha (cleanliness)
ㅤㅤ•
Santosha (contentment)
ㅤㅤ•
Tapas (discipline, austerity or ‘burning enthusiasm)
ㅤㅤ•
Svadhyaya (the study of the self and of the texts)
ㅤㅤ•
Isvara Pranidhana (surrender to a higher being, or contemplation of a
higher power)
References
Adele,
Deborah, and Laura Jennings. The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring yoga's ethical
practice. Duluth, MN: On-Word Bound Books, 2009.
Hariharananda,
Swami Aranya. Yoga philosophy of Patanjali: Containing his yoga aphorisms with
Vyasa's commentary in Sanskrit and a translation with annotations including
many suggestions for the practice of yoga. SUNY Press, 1983.
Biagi,
Laura. "REPORTS ON YAMAS AND NIYAMAS." Unpublished manuscript. Print.
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