Niyamas: Self-Discipline (Tapas)

Our next Niyama is Tapas or Self-Discipline.  So, this is basically...the hard part.  We often have great intentions, great ideas (think - New Year's Resolutions), but then we get busy, distracted, let our negative inner voices (that's stupid, you can't do that, no one cares) win...or we just plain get exhausted by life and lose our gumption.

From the Yoga Sutras (2:43) -  Kayendriya-siddhir ashuddhi-kshayat tapasah or "Through committed discipline we remove impurities and strengthen our personal power."

Say it slowly - "through committed discipline...we remove impurities...and strengthen...our personal...power."   I LOVE this.

Tapas translates as "to purify" or "to burn" through heat.  Think of a really awesome workout or hike you did, where you pushed yourself and burned through, feeling like a superhero on the other side.  Or think of a time you did this at work, through a big, impactful project or during a personal, creative endeavour - burning through with the results beyond what you ever imagined.

Tapas is about the LONG TERM.  The short term will almost be guaranteed to be uncomfortable, vulnerable or downright painful.  This takes balance - we want a healthy edge to strengthen ourselves and push ourselves outside comfort boundaries, but we don't want to push so far that we fall off the metaphorical (or perhaps literal) cliff and injure ourselves (physically, spiritually, mentally, etc.).

So, how do we begin tapas?  Make a goal.  This can be physical health, emotional health, spiritual health, mental health or it can be anything.   Make the goal.  Write it down.  Say it out loud.  Then, start planning the smaller steps to get there.  Steps that may even seem questionable to include.  Include them.  This is about the focus on one small decision/action at at time.

The example I will give is one my own.  During the past month with classes ending, I've started setting aside time each day for self-study, the jnana path (which we'll discuss more next niyama!).  I've been reading and reflecting on several books and scriptures each day, writing down what speaks to me, what makes me think and reflect.  I sit in the knowledge, meditate on it, and use it as a foundation for daily prayer. 

Now, this kind of scripture/text reading is something I've participated in before, in isolated bursts of spiritual good intention, but not usually consistently as a daily practice. 

What...a...difference...as a daily...practice.  When you make it a discipline.  When you make the choice to take a half hour for self-study instead of reality TV or Facebook scrolling.  Consider this:

"Self-respect is the root of discipline.  Our sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself." - Abraham Joshua Heschel, Jewish Theologian/Philosopher

Whenever I pick up the phone and begin to mindlessly scroll, I can look to this bit of wisdom - it's good sometimes to say no to the short term in order to cultivate long term nourishment.  This is a small act of discipline that can make a huge affect in the long run.

I recently read this verse from the Hebrew Bible:  "His word burns in my heart like a fire...It's like a fire in my bones."  (Jeremiah 20:9)  This resonates with me so much right now - this thirst for knowledge and connection, this JOY and gratitude for this practice, I feel it like a fire burning.  My love for God and for this spiritual practice is like a fire in my bones. And like Jeremiah goes on to say, I can't shut it out!  I don't want to.

Namaste, Amen, and see you in a couple of weeks for our next Niyama!

Niyamas: Santosha (Contentment)

Santosha is about feeling at peace - feeling truly happy in this moment.  This is our second Niyama.

I have been in a passionate immersion lately where I am devouring every single spiritual/religious book I can get my hands on - Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Yogic, you name it.  This is something I do all the time by the nature of my profession as an academic who teaches religion. 

However, this has been different - because it's propelled fully by my heart, not just academic knowledge.  I'm fascinated by the similarities of Jesus' teachings and Buddha's, of Biblical texts and Zen teachings.  I feel ravenous, thirsty for understanding and knowledge.  But, in my heart, I am feeling unusually content - that despite this overwhelming desire to know, know, know through spiritual study, I feel, somehow, surprisingly, that I am exactly where I am supposed to be in this journey.  I certainly don't always feel this way.  But, I do right now, so I am reveling in that space, that quiet stillness, that joy and gratitude of contentment.

I attended a Sunday morning Tibetan Buddhist teaching yesterday.  The focus was on (as always in Buddhism :), impermanence.  "This too shall pass."  Most of our sorrow, worry, anxiety are caused by our illusions (maya) in thinking that we can hold onto things - further, our illusion that they are permanent.  The truth of reality is:  Everything changes.  Contentment is not just the realization of this constant flux, but embracing it.  The wonderful Tibetan monk, who I just love, described the "demons" we struggle against - demons of ego, illusion, greed, clinging, etc.  While these often get turned into manifested beings/evil forces in many religions, I am more drawn to think of them as colorful descriptions of affliction. I also immensely enjoy the way the monk pronounces it: "Daa-mon" like Matt Damon, so much so, that every time he said it, I began silently thinking, "the Matt Damon of ignorance, the Matt Damon of clinging, etc."

Patanjali (author of the Yoga Sutras, the first established canon of Yoga writings) said that if we accept where we are RIGHT NOW, in this moment, and second, understand things WILL CHANGE, then we will find true joy.

One of my favorite authors is Anne Lamott.  She says prayers often take three forms:  Help, Thanks, and Wow.     The thanks is the focus here with santosha.  Gratitude.  Look around.  Be here.  Take it in.  Breathe in.  Breathe out.  Say, "Thank you."