Yama.
Yama is the god of death whose first recorded appearance is in the Vedas of early Hinduism in India. He is one of the most ancient mythological beings, and in one form or another has also been found all over Eurasia. He is known as Yima by Zoroastrians, Jimmu in Japanese legend, and Ymir in Norse legend.
In Hinduism, Yama is the god of death. He is a Lokapala and an Aditya. In art, he is depicted with with green skin, red clothes and riding a buffalo. He holds a loop of rope in his left hand with which he pulls the soul from the corpse.
In Vedic belief, Yama (twin) refers to the first mortal to die, and having discovered a way to the other world, he is the guide of the dead. He is the son of Surya (Sun) and twin brother of Yami, traditionally the first human pair in Hindu mythology. Later, he was deified and worshiped as a son of Vivasvat and Saranya. He is one of the Ashta-Dikpalas, representing the south. He reports to Lord Shiva the Destroyer, an aspect of Trimurti (Hinduism's triune Godhead). Three hymns in the Rig Veda Book 10 are addressed to him (hymn 10, 14, 135).
The Yamas are codified as "the restraints" in numerous scriptures including the Shandilya and Varuha Upanishads, Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Gorakshanatha, the Tirumantiram of Tirumular and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. All the above texts list ten yamas, with the exception of Patanjali's work, which lists only five. They comprise the "shall-nots" in our dealings with the external world.
The ten traditional yamas are:
Ahimsa: abstinence from injury, harmlessness, the not causing of pain to any living creature in thought, word, or deed at any time. This is the "main" Yama. The other nine are there in support of its accomplishment.
Satya: truthfulness, word and thought in conformity with the facts.
Asteya: non-stealing, non-coveting, non-entering into debt.
Brahmacharya: divine conduct, continence, celibate when single, faithful when married.
Kshama: patience, releasing time, functioning in the now.
Dhriti: steadfastness, overcoming non-perseverance, fear, and indecision; seeing each task through to completion.
Daya: compassion; conquering callous, cruel and insensitive feelings toward all beings.
Arjava: honesty, straightforwardness, renouncing deception and wrongdoing.
Mitahara: moderate appetite, neither eating too much nor to little; nor consuming meat, fish, shellfish, fowl or eggs.
Shaucha: purity, avoidance of impurity in body, mind and speech. (Note: Patanjali's Yoga Sutras list Shaucha as the first of the Niyamas.)
In Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Yamas are the first limb of the eight limbs of Raja Yoga.
They are found in the Sadhana Pada Verse 30 as:
Ahimsa
Satya
Asteya
Brahmacharya
Aparigraha: absence of avariciousness, non-appropriation of things not one's own.
Yoga
La Philosophie hindoue et le Yoga darshana
Littéralement Yoga veut dire « attelage » (dérivant du verbe sanskrit YUJ-) En sens strict on peut dire que le Yoga est la recherche d’un lien d’union avec l’absolu.
Le Yoga est une des six voies (darshanas) de la philosophie vedique-hindoue, et il fait référence spécifique au Raja Yoga, le chemin de la méditation pour un Brahman. Les six darshanas sont : 1. Nyâya, 2. Vaisheshika, 3. Sâmkya, 4. Yoga (Raya yoga), 5. Mîmâmsâ (purva mîmâmsâ) et 6. Vedânta (uttara-mîmâmsâ). Tous ces voies ont pour seul but la libération, couramment entendue comme la délivrance du cycle des renaissances fondant l'âme dans la conscience absolue ou Dieu. Toutes les darshanas ont leur place dans la Bhagavad Gita, le poème épique par excellence de l’Inde.
Quand on parle du yoga on évoque généralement le Hatha-yoga, qui est une association des postures physiques (âsanas) et de la maîtrise de la respiration : prânâyâma. Pourtant le Hatha yoga n’est que une forme préparatoire pour les étapes supérieures du Yoga. Autres formes du yoga connues en occident sont le Karma-Yoga (yoga de l’action désintéressée), le Raja-Yoga (qui prend sa source dans les aphorismes de Patañjali), le Kundalini-yoga (une forme de yoga tantrique fondé sur la maîtrise de l’énergie), le Bhakti-Yoga (yoga mystique et spirituel), le Jñana-Yoga (voie de la connaissance métaphysique). Avec l’arrivée à l’ouest en 1983 de Swami Vivekananda, un fort interet par la pensée transcendantale du Yoga s’est éveillé et plusieurs autres « maitres » ont poursuivi le chemin de l’enseignement du yoga en occident.
La philosophie du Yoga a été influencée par le Bouddhisme (comme d’ailleurs les autres 5 darshanas de la philosophie de l’Inde). Mais il ne préconise pas de dogmatisme mais il incite au pratiquant de rejoindre son propre chemin, dépendant de sa personnalité et ses tendances. Celui qui prend le chemin du Yoga est appelé un Yogi pour un homme et une Yogini pour une femme.
