Essential reading for anyone interested in philosophy, spirituality or yoga, this book examines the concept of ethics within the context of the yogic world-view: their practical, psychological and social implications in the historical as well as modern setting. The author proposes that Yama-Niyama are designed to create the mental balance, clarity and perception necessary for the expansion of empathy and therefore consciousness which is the essence of spiritual meditation. Recognizing the relativity of our daily experiences yet based in certain essential archetypical truths, they are a means to produce an integrated personality on the individual level and the foundations of a healthy society collectively. Yama-Niyama are an ethical formulation which work to challenge ones individual limitations and preconceptions, producing a continuous process of mental expansion and deepening awareness of what is means to be human.
