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Continuing with the Yamas or restraints, the next one on the list is Sathya or Truth. This works on so many levels and is very fascinating. The immediate thing that comes to  mind about this yama is speaking truth. And Truth is invariably associated with speech. It is said that if a person speaks nothing but the truth for 12 continuous years, he will develop "Vak Siddhi", or the power that makes whatever he utters come true. It came as quite a revelation what I realized how easy and how often I end up speaking non truth -like giving excuses for covering up my short comings, for not having done the things that I didn't do or didn't want to do, covering up some truths lest others may feel bad and so on. The main culprit however, are the made up excuses and false reasons. They are given without even pausing for a moment to reflect that, what is being said is not actually true! Even for very simple instances like, not wanting to go somewhere and giving poor h...

There are many things / activities that are touted not just as an activity, but as a lifestyle by itself. Like, "running life style", or "Page 3 lifestyle" or the "corporate life style", to name a few. But all these lifestyles have an unwritten code of rules that one has to adhere to, so that they can fit in and function well. I can't be a runner if I don't adhere to the basic discipline of strengthening my body. I can't be a socialite if I don't understand and play with the social etiquettes and power politics. But when we say yoga as a life style, it comes with a well defined, codified set of ethics that one must follow to call himself / herself a true yogi. They are the first two limbs of the 8 limbs or "ashtanga" of yoga, codified by Saint Patanjali . The restraints and observances, or the don'ts and dos or the Yamas and Niyamas. Complementing each other and strengthening each other, they set very high standards f...

Peace, peace and peace. It prevails all over. Within and without. Serene and quite, the mind is like a still lake. A few thoughts ripple out now and then, like how a gentle breeze makes the water move beautifully and silently. With this quietude, it is very easy to see the completeness in oneself. The utter sense of fulfilment and perfection. The clarity that nothing is needed, nothing is to be accomplished, nothing to  possess, nothing to prove, nothing to achieve and nothing at all to be done is suddenly so obvious. As the body stills, the breath calms down. With the breath in peace, the thought flow reduces to a trickle. As the thought flow reduces to a trickle, the mind -which is nothing but a bundle of thoughts -almost ceases to exist. And with that, "I" -the compulsive urge to exist as an individual, an independent entity, slowly dissolves into the universal oneness. And when the oneness is felt, realization of one's own completeness becomes very very ob...