By Dinesh Nath

Yama and Niyama are the do's and don'ts, or ethical disciplines, which have existed in the human race since the beginning of civilizations. Patanjanli, the father of yoga has very clearly specified these 10 commandments of Sanatana  dharma  or  Hindu  religion for  harmonious human life  but they have nothing to do with the ideas of sin and virtue or good and evil as dictated by some cosmic potentate . They are the first two level of his eight fold yoga system known as Ashtang yoga. The first two levels  are known as Yama (precepts of social discipline) and Niyama (precepts of individual discipline). Yama and Niyama are practical whether one is from the civilizations of the East of the West. By following these practical and relevant precepts, we can create a harmonious human society and  can work toward individual development of the body, mind and soul.  They are the foundation of our practice without which no spiritual progress along the path of yoga can be made. Many pe

Adi Shankara gave road map for the success on the spiritual path. He prescribed four qualifications to gain spiritual wisdom. Once practices with sincerity and surrender, success is ascertained.   1. Viveka (Discrimination) : First qualification to walk on the spiritual path is to have viveka (power of discrimination): Discrimination between what is real and what is unreal. Whatever that changes is unreal and whatever doesn't change is real. 2. Vairagya (Dispassion): The second qualification to gain spiritual wisdom is to have vairagya (dispassion), once the first qualification (ability to discrimination between real and unreal) is gained, dispassion automatically follows it. Dispassions is not droping things in life it is just droping the feverishness to gain or get rid of something. It is simply going beyond craving and aversion. 3. shat Sampatti (Six Wealth): The third qualification to gain spiritual wisdom is to have what is called shat Sampatti (