Gautam Sachdeva

Guest Blog – On Discipline, or Niyama by Vishal Roy

What is discipline?

We often understand discipline as the habit of performing certain activities at a fixed time, every day. But while contemplating this, I began to feel that discipline, or Niyama, may be pointing towards something much deeper than simply being punctual.

Santosh Ma often reminds us to do our practice on time. She explains that keeping the right time helps align the body and mind, and that such regularity also creates a certain receptivity to the guidance and help of higher masters.

I have been reflecting on this, not only in the context of spiritual practice but also in everyday life. A simple understanding began to emerge: even if a person brings just a few daily activities into a fixed rhythm, it can trigger small but significant changes in the rest of life.

Life as a Rubik’s Cube

I began to see our lives somewhat like a disarranged Rubik’s Cube. We may not know how to bring every side into order at once. But when one side, or even one row, falls into place, it creates a movement that gradually influences the rest of the cube.

Something similar seems to happen within us.

When I started consciously doing certain things at a fixed time (exercise, daily puja and other simple activities), I noticed that it was not only that particular activity becoming regular. Slowly, a greater sense of order began to appear in other areas of life as well.

It made me wonder whether discipline is less about controlling life and more about creating an inner rhythm.

Ṛta: The Cosmic Order

If we look at nature, we see rhythm everywhere. The movement of the planets, the rising and setting of the sun, the changing seasons, the tides, the cycles of life: all appear to function within an underlying order. In the Hindu tradition, this cosmic order is beautifully reflected in the idea of Ṛta, the principle of harmony and order underlying existence.

Perhaps what we call Niyama at the individual level is, in some small way, an attempt to bring ourselves into greater harmony with that larger order. The macrocosm has its rhythm, and the microcosm carries its own reflection of that rhythm.

Our Rhythm Is Not Everyone’s Rhythm

This also helped me understand something else. Discipline does not mean imposing our idea of order on everyone around us.

Trying to force someone else, even our own family members, to follow our idea of discipline can create resistance, conflict and painful experiences. What appears to us as disorder may not be disorder for another person.

I have seen individuals and families who never seemed to do things “on time” by society’s standards, yet they appeared remarkably balanced and harmonious. Perhaps what others considered late, unstructured or disorderly was simply their own rhythm, and they were perfectly aligned with it.

This has made me more cautious about judging another person’s way of living. The purpose of discipline cannot be to make everyone follow the same timetable. It has to begin within oneself.

Begin With Something Small

For someone who feels life is becoming scattered, the answer need not be a dramatic transformation. It can begin with something very small.

Wake up at a certain time.
Exercise at a certain time.
Perform your puja at a certain time.
Sit for your practice at a certain time.
Complete one responsibility consciously and regularly.

And then observe. Not just whether the task was completed, but what is changing within you because of the regularity.

Perhaps, slowly, the mind begins to settle. The body begins to recognise a rhythm. Actions become less random. Attention becomes more stable. And gradually, one small area of life begins to influence another.

This is why I now feel that discipline, understood correctly, is not rigidity. It is not control. It is not judging others. And it is certainly not about creating a perfect external life. Rather, it can become a way of bringing Sthirta, stability, into our own being.

A Subtle Danger

We should not mistake an orderly schedule for spiritual growth. A person can have a perfectly organised day and still be deeply restless within. Likewise, someone may live by an unconventional rhythm and yet possess great inner balance.

So perhaps the real measure of Niyama is not how perfectly we follow a clock, but whether our discipline gradually makes us more stable, more aware, less reactive, less controlling, and more aligned within.

As in the Macrocosm, So in the Microcosm

For me, this simple understanding has given new meaning to what Ma has often said:

“As in macrocosm, so in microcosm.”

The order we see outside may be pointing towards an order that has to be discovered within. The journey of discipline may begin with something as ordinary as doing one small thing on time, but its real destination is much deeper:

from regularity to rhythm,
from rhythm to stability,
from stability to awareness,
and from awareness to inner balance.

Maybe that is where Niyama truly becomes a part of spiritual development.

Jai Gurudev.

Disclaimer: These reflections are based entirely on my own understanding and experience as a spiritual seeker. They may differ from what is described elsewhere, and I do not claim them to be the Truth. For feedback or comments, please write to roysafari@gmail.com

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