Satya (Truth)

Day 23

  • When the practitioner is firmly established in the practice of the truth, his words become so potent that whatever he says comes to realization. (Rolf Gates/B. K. S. Iyengar)
  • As truthfulness (satya) is achieved, the fruits of actions naturally result according to the will of the Yogi. (SwamiJ)
  • For one established in truth, the result fits the action. (Bouanchaud)
  • To one established in truthfulness, actions and their results become subservient. (Swami Satchidananda)
  • (satya pratisthayam kriya phala ashrayatvam)

Yoga Sutras2.36

This precept is based on the understanding that honest communication and action form the bedrock of any healthy relationship, community, or government, and that deliberate deception, exaggerations, and mistruths harm others. One of the best ways we can develop this capacity is to practice right speech. This means that when we say something, we are sure of its truth. If we were to follow this precept with commitment, many of us would have a great deal less to say each day. A large part of our everyday comments and conversations are not based upon what we know to be true but are based on our imagination suppositions, erroneous conclusions, and sometimes out and out exaggerations. Gossip is probably the worst form of this miscommunication. Commitment to the truth isn't always easy, but with practice, it's a great deal less complicated and ultimately less painful than avoidance and self-deception. Proper communication allows us to deal with immediate concerns, taking care of little matters before they become big ones. One way we can know we are living the truth is that while our choices may not be easy, at the end of the day we feel at peace with ourselves.

Donna Farhi, Yoga Mind, Body & Spirit

The first yama, ahimsa, concerns love, and the second, satya, concerns truth. Satya gives us our first experience of a paradox in yoga. We begin the practice of satya with considerable will and attention as we work hard to speak the truth and to live the truths. Every conversation, every mundane activity invites our scrutiny: are we being truthful in thought, word, and deed? Over time, though, the successful application of will and attention actually strips us of our need for both. Initially we experience satya as having to do with concrete events and words. Either we kept a commitment or we did not. Either we spoke truthfully or we did not. Little by little we notice and then drop, our old habits of embellishment, obfuscation, minimization, self-aggrandizement, omission, rationalization, and exaggeration. The process calls on all our powers of self-control; we bring our will to bear on the practice of being truthful in all things. At first, then, satya is practiced from the outside in. Eventually, however, we become fully established in the practice of the truth – so much so that we begin to live satya from the inside out. As the layers of falsehood fall away, an intimacy develops with our own truth. Ultimately our truth becomes all there is. Truth becomes our essence and our reality, our deepest desire, and the air that we breathe.

Rolf Gates, Meditations from the Mat