YAMAS - SATYA
As with AHIMSA this is one of the 5 YAMAS of virtuous restraint which combine to create the first of the 8 limbs of Yoga ... Satya is the act of being truthful.
Sat means; being, reality, root, origin, 'to be'. Ya means; advancing, sustaining. Satya is the practice of supporting reality, being genuine and considerate.
To practice Satya is to remain honest and truthful without prejudice. Patanjali explains in 'The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali' that words do not reflect truth unless they flow from the origin of nonviolence therefore our words should always be considered, honest and never deliberately harmful. This belief sits in harmony with the Buddhist teachings of 'Right Speech'; To converse in 'Right Speech' is to express truths; observations rather than judgments.
Satya encourages us to consider how we communicate. For instance have you ever noticed your own inner dialogue? If you are experiencing something unwanted such as ongoing pain are you mindful that you accept it as permanent or that you choose not to accept it as your permanent truth? To practice Satya you should not assume your experiences are permanent ie 'my neck always hurts therefore it will always hurt and is to be expected from here on in', this is an untruthful unhelpful inner dialogue, a judgment of the future rather than an observation of the present. You do not know how long the pain you are experiencing will last. It does not mean you should deny that your neck hurts - the aim is to learn to acknowledge that it does hurt today right now in the present moment but resist your attachment to it, your judgment of it, do not become it or indeed let it become you. Observation of the present demonstrates a truer, kinder inner dialogue. When you begin to adjust your inner dialogue your outward dialogue will also begin to change, it will become more truthful, more factual.
Words are our most common and most powerful form of communication they can easily bring happiness or harm to their recipient. Cultivate the courage to remain truthful at all times, even when the whole truth is not known to us meaning we need to be completely honest with ourselves and others. This makes us mindful to not create or sustain a lie thus distorting the truth, being untruthful.
Satya teaches us to accept what life brings to us rather than become judgmental and therefore avoiding the error of passing our judgments on to others. It is important to act with compassion when there is need for response, to interact with a situation rather than swiftly identifying with your immediate emotional response, this is not to say you should deny your true feelings but that practicing Satya in communication makes you authentic in word and thought, as you are abstaining from speaking in haste. To converse in this way give yourself a moment - a breath or two to compose a nonviolent response. Choosing your words carefully with consideration of their effects avoids you jumping into a hurried and often harsh reaction responding without compassion, the very opposite of Satya.
It is said
that our toughest times bring us wisdom for it is our response that becomes our character this guides us to welcome the
less comfortable events in our lives responding appropriately, truthfully and compassionately rather than purely emotionally to allow us to gain knowledge and
growth. When sadness or happiness
knock on your door welcome them in and treat both like an honoured guest. It is important that when we do not like something we are honest and do not lie but also that we show kindness to all in our aversion.
We can bring Satya into our Yoga practice and into all aspects of our lives, listening, being truthful to ourselves and sharing this with others.
Om Namaste
We can bring Satya into our Yoga practice and into all aspects of our lives, listening, being truthful to ourselves and sharing this with others.
| "Just
as a flower gives out its fragrance to whomsoever approaches or uses it,
so love from within us radiates towards everybody and manifests as
spontaneous service."
Swami Ramdas
|
