Five Restraints — Non-Harm, Truth, Non-Stealing, Moderation, Non-Grasping
The five restraints toward others are: non-harm, truthfulness, non-stealing, moderation, and non-grasping.
Do I talk of inner practice while neglecting these five foundations of how I treat others?
📝Reflection
Yama means "restraint, discipline." Patañjali lays the first brick of a calm mind not in meditation but in ethics. Foremost of the five is a-hiṁsā — the negation of hiṁsā (harm), non-harming in body, speech, and mind. It is followed by satya (truthfulness), a-steya (non-stealing), brahmacarya (moderation), and a-parigraha (not clutching more than needed). Why do these come before meditation? Because a mind that harms and deceives others can never grow still. Outer ethics is the foundation of inner peace.
🌱Apply It Today
Choose one of the five to keep today — for instance, 'today I harm no one with my words.'
This verse is read as universal humanistic wisdom, not religion — no faith is promoted, and the reflection is 100% original ONGO content.
