To heal mind,better to focus on...which yama and niyama?

[orlando]

Namaste all.

I have suffered a serious mental illness since I was about 14 o 15 years old.

The "psico-medicines"(of course prescribed by professionals people) and the practice of Krishna Consciuosness still help me very much in calm my mind.

Some years ago Sarabhanga(who no longer come to HDF) told me to practice with patience and determination the yama and niyama.

I noticed that this really help.

Now my question:in order to calm my mind should I focus only on 5 yama and 5 niyama described in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra or on all 10 yama and 10 niyama that you can see at http://veda.wikidot.com/yama-niyama ?

Please note that I don't want to do anything ante-thetical or incompatible with my chosen path: gaudiya-vaishnavism.

Regards,
Orlando.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam Orlando: In my opinion, whether you see it as 5 or 10 is more or less irrelevant. I think the 10 arose as a clarification, or further categorisation of the 5, but it could well have been the other way around. The key would be to put them into practise, and that would start with yama, then nyama. I think if one did that in and of itself, he'd be well established on the path. Not all of them are all that easy.

Best wishes.

Aum Namasivaya

[orlando]

Namaste


Not all of them are all that easy.


And not all of them are compatible with my chosen path,at least not in the way they are explained.

For example in the sixth niyama Swami Subramuni says:
Avoid secondary texts that preach violence. Revere and study the revealed scriptures, the Vedas and Agamas.

Since I did read much of his writings,I know for sure that he means smriti like Bhagavad-Gita and Bhagavata Purana,that are very important to me as gaudiya-vaishnava.

P.S: I know that it is a his writing because at the end of http://veda.wikidot.com/yama-niyama you may read "Courtesy to Himalayan Academy".

[Eastern Mind]

And not all of them are compatible with my chosen path,at least not in the way they are explained.


Vannakkam: But of course. That's why we have intelligence and discrimination. :) Not everything I do is compatible with what my wife wants me to do either.

There are several, if not many translations, so just pick one that is suitable to you. But quite frankly, after reading the other thread, I'm not sure if I understand why you're researching the Yoga Sutras if you don't believe they're workable in the Kali Yuga.

Aum Namasivaya

[Sahasranama]

Namaste



And not all of them are compatible with my chosen path,at least not in the way they are explained.

For example in the sixth niyama Swami Subramuni says:
Avoid secondary texts that preach violence. Revere and study the revealed scriptures, the Vedas and Agamas.

Since I did read much of his writings,I know for sure that he means smriti like Bhagavad-Gita and Bhagavata Purana,that are very important to me as gaudiya-vaishnava.

P.S: I know that it is a his writing because at the end of http://veda.wikidot.com/yama-niyama you may read "Courtesy to Himalayan Academy".

The Bhagavad Gita does not preach violence. It needs to be understood in the context of the Mahabharata. Krishna had gone out of his way to prevent war, but in the end the war was unavoidable and it was the duty of the pandavas to fight a dharmic war. This pseudo swami would let Hindus get slaughtered in Halal fashion by Islamic terrorists and think that he was preaching ahimsa. This is more aligned to Jaina views of ahimsa. The Jainas would also say that Krishna was going to suffer in hell for eons based on his actions in the Mahabharata. It is better not to listen to these pakhandis.

[orlando]

Namaste.


But quite frankly, after reading the other thread, I'm not sure if I understand why you're researching the Yoga Sutras if you don't believe they're workable in the Kali Yuga.

1)I said that Raja-yoga is not suitable.I didn't say that it can't work at all.

2)I am interested in practice of Yama,Niyama and-if possibile-asana and pranayama for obtaining peace of mind,non spiritual realization.

3)The knowledge of Yoga-sutra can do no harm.

4)I want to be sure about the true meaning of the five yama and five niyama.

I hope you now understand why I am interested about Yoga-sutra:)


The Jainas would also say that Krishna was going to suffer in hell for eons based on his actions in the Mahabharata. It is better not to listen to these pakhandis.

As vaishnava I do not have listen at all the ones who offend Lord Krishna and His devotes:mad:

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~


namasté orlando


should I focus only on 5 yama and 5 niyama described in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra or on all 10 yama and 10 niyama that you can see at http://veda.wikidot.com/yama-niyama ?

Please note that yama and niyama are complimentary to each other... one supports the other. That is the brilliance of the design. They are not in discrete packets, but smoothly ~spill~ into each other. Yet that said, the root all yama-s and niyama-s are watered and nurtured by the expansion of samādhi. Many miss this finer point.

praṇām

[c.smith]

Hari Om!

Please remember that, IMHO, that they cannot all be practiced by a novice "all at once" but must be understood, treasured, and weaned in to.

In terms of pranayam, what do the Vaishnavas practice in this regard? This is in regard to your statement that you wish to practice. Didn't know that H.K.'s practiced such but may stand to be corrected. Please, learned members, advise here.

Jai Jai Gurudev!

[orlando]

Namaste c.smith


Please remember that, IMHO, that they cannot all be practiced by a novice "all at once" but must be understood, treasured, and weaned in to.

I am not sure if you are talking about only yama and yama or about all 8 limbs of Astanta-yoga.

By the way decided to focus on 5 yama and 5 niyama described in Patanjali's Yoga-sutra: http://veda.wikidot.com/ashtanga-yoga

Since in the past I already read Yoga-sutra and some commentary,I am more o less aware of their meaning.


In terms of pranayam, what do the Vaishnavas practice in this regard? This is in regard to your statement that you wish to practice. Didn't know that H.K.'s practiced such but may stand to be corrected.

I believe that you didn't follow the thread from the beginning.

Now please read the following words of mine:

I am interested in practice of Yama,Niyama and-if possibile-asana and pranayama for obtaining peace of mind,non spiritual realization.

My spiritual path will always be only Krishna Consciuosness.

In order to understand my need,I suggest you to read the very first post(of mine) of this thread.

By the way,nothing prohibits Hare Krishnas to learn and practice asana and pranayama.

For that matter,KC don't tell us to practice martial arts but it neither prohibits us.
In fact there are HKs who are good martial artists.

[c.smith]

Perhaps I've misstated - all can be practiced together but need not be taken on all at once by a beginner.

Am sorry that you feel that I did not read the entire thread as you are incorrect in you assumption. It seems our POV's differ slightly. No harm intended. Another learning experience on this end.

[Sahasranama]

I am assuming you are asking this question, because you feel that at the moment you cannot practice all yamas and niyamas. In that case, focus on tapas, svadhyaya and ishvara pranidhana. This is what Patanjali calls kriya yoga.

None of the yamas and niyamas are in contradiction with (gaudiya) vaishnavism. Just don't read about them from dubious sources like Himalayan academy.

To give an example of what you can do in alignment with your Vaishnava path.

tapas = follow ekadashi vrata with complete fasting
svadhyaya = do japa of the Maha mantra (Hare Krishna Mantra) and study the scriptures
Ishvara Pranidhana = worship and meditate on Krishna

[orlando]

Namaste all!


Am sorry that you feel that I did not read the entire thread as you are incorrect in you assumption.

In this case I apologise:)

@Sahasranama thank you very much for your suggestion!


I am assuming you are asking this question, because you feel that at the moment you cannot practice all yamas and niyamas.

No,the matter was that I was not sure if follow them as described in the Yoga-sutra or as described in the writing of Himalayan Acadamy,that is really a double source considering what Subramuni says about Bhagavad-Gita and Purana:D


tapas = follow ekadashi vrata with complete fasting

I am not able to follow a complete fasting,so I decided that I will eat just fruit(and maybe-before going to bed-also milk) for Ekadashi.

By the way now I feel ready to follow all the yama(includind Brahmacharya) and niyama as described here: http://veda.wikidot.com/ashtanga-yoga

However thank you very much for your advice about align yama and niyama with my vaishnava path!;)

Regards,
Orlando.

[Sahasranama]

I don't understand why the founder of Himalayan Academy has an axe to grind with the Bhagavad Gita. It is quite sad that he had to stoop that low.

You can also read the conversation between Kapila Muni and Devahuti in the Srimad Bhagavatam about Sankhya and Ashtanga yoga.

Read this commentary on the yoga sutra, it is written by a devotee of Krishna, but he is not dogmatic about Vaishnavism. It is also a good source for other Hindus.

The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary (http://www.amazon.com/The-Yoga-Sutras-Pata%C3%B1jali-Translation/dp/0865477361/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353922960&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=edwint+bryant)

[orlando]

Namaste Yajvan.

Reveread elder,could you please elaborate the following?


Please note that yama and niyama are complimentary to each other... one supports the other. That is the brilliance of the design. They are not in discrete packets, but smoothly ~spill~ into each other.

Pranama,
Orlando.