EssaysEssays III
Tablet Five
Five Observing Commandments (Yama)
6- Non-violence (Ahimsa): <1>Not violating the Daharma.
a. <2>Non-injury, not inflicting pain on others, etc., are Daharmas themselves. They are not the true meaning of "Ahimsa." Also sometimes to inflict pain or injury is the only way to cure the disease.
b. <3>"Not fighting" is not the meaning of Ahimsa. Fighting to establish the righteousness is not against Ahimsa, nor is fighting against aggressors or in self-defense.
c. <4>The Commandment "Honor thy father and thy mother" is one of the Laws (Daharmas) of the universe. After the Father (Lord God) and spiritual teacher, the parents are the highest to honor. <5>However, to honor does not mean to follow them if they are not walking with the Lord.
d. <6>And the Commandment, "Thou shalt not murder" which is a great violence of the Laws of the Lord, is covered under this Commandment.
7- Truthfulness, With Discriminating Mind: <7>To guide all thought, speech, and action with the spirit of welfare.
a. <8>Even truthfulness can be of three kinds, like everything else. It can be from ignorance, passion, or knowledge.
b. <9>Only truthfulness from knowledge is acceptable.
c. <10>Untruthfulness for selfish desires is not a part of this commandment. That is in the category of discrimination of truthfulness from passion, and that is sin.
8- Not to Steal (Non-stealing, physically, mentally, or spiritually): <11>Do not take things which belong to others, by thought, by taking (action), or by preventing them from doing their duties or possessing things which belong to them.
a. <12>Non-stealing physically: Not to take what rightfully belongs to others.
b. <13>Mentally: Not to take other people's ideas or realizations as one's own.
c. <14>Spiritually: Not to prevent someone from doing his duties.
d. <15>The Commandment, "Thou shalt not steal" of the Ten Commandments is a part of this Commandment.
9- Non-indulgence: <16>Not to indulge in the enjoyment of such amenities and comforts as are superficial to the preservation of life.
a. <17>The physical wealth on the earth is limited. If one indulges in the use of this physical wealth, others will be deprived even of their basic necessities.
b. <18>Also the person who indulges will become dull-minded and lazy, and this creates misery and unhappiness in that person.
c. <19>So indulgence is bad for society, the world, and the individual.
d. <20>To give charity and help to others with our excess will cure these problems on an individual and societal level.
10- Attach to God: <21>To keep the mind immersed in the ideation of God, to remain attached to God, and to accept Him as the only Refuge, the only King, and His Laws as the only Laws.
a. <22>This is the only approvable attachment. Any other attachment without ideation on Him will prevent the person from reaching Pure Consciousness. To be attached to Him is the only way to overcome the Maya.
b. <23>By following this Commandment the other four observing Commandments can be met perfectly. It is the most important of the observing Commandments.
c. <24>To see Him in everything and everything in Him, so love all things because everything is a part of Him and be attached to them because of Him.
Five Actional Commandments (Niyama)
11- Internal and External Cleanliness: <25>To maintain purity and cleanliness of mind, body, and environment.
a. <26>The Soul becomes unclean faster than the mind, and the mind faster than the body.
b. <27>To think about God all the time is like being spiritually in the shower of His Grace all the time.
c. <28>To do impure actions, not follow the Daharma, or do harm to others will affect our own Souls more than the victim.
d. <29>The Commandments, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (to rest and contemplate God), "Thou shalt not commit adultery," "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," and "Do not desire anything which rightfully belongs to him," and also other Commandments, are all related to this Commandment and are for purification.
12- Contentment and Mental Ease: <30>To remain in a state of mental equilibrium and contentment.
a. <31>To be surrendered to any situation and keep the mind at ease, and to ideate that all things happening in our lives are for our own good as lessons and experiences to further our progress.
b. <32>To be able to contemplate the situation without acting unwisely (jumping into the situation), and to decide with an equilibrated mind and clear vision.
c. <33>To be in a meditative mood all the time.
13- Satsang, Service, and Meditation: <34>To attain true Satsang (when people talk only about God, the universe, and His Will), to practice penance in the service of others (as being done for the Lord, in creating Communities of Light), to sincerely meditate and/or do The Reminder at least twice a day.
a. <35>True Satsang is when the conversation is centered on God.
b. <36>Service is from knowledge when it is done for a person who really needs it, with no expectation for return. Any expectation for return of a service done makes it a business (passion). Service done when it is not needed is service from ignorance.
c. <37>Meditation is the fastest way to develop spiritual understandings.
14- Understanding God and His Laws through the Scriptures and history: <38>To clearly understand the underlying meaning of the Scriptures and discourses of spirituality.
a. <39>To understand The Greatest Sign and the relationship of different Scriptures with it.
b. <40>To understand the symbolic meanings behind the Scriptures' symbols.
c. <41>To become professional in discussing and understanding their relationships.
d. <42>Sabbath (Saturday) is a day for reading and contemplating the Scriptures.
15- To Be(come) Divine: <43>To strive to become perfect in our actions as God is, to ideate that He does the Divine Actions through us, and to become a perfect instrument for His Will to be done, until able to radiate His Divine Universal Truth through ourselves.
a. <44>To be(come) the same as the Father, to strive to be(come) perfect in our natures and actions as God is.
b. <45>To keep the mind immersed in the ideation of God while engaging in actions (to ideate that God works through us by using our bodies for Divine actions), <46>until able to radiate His Universal Truth through ourselves, and become a perfect instrument for Him to do His Will.
c. <47>"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). This achievement is the goal of life and the result of following the Fifteen Commandments and the Eternal Divine Path.