Saṁtoṣa is the second niyama or “happiness as inner attitude”. The word itself is derived from two roots: our favorite “sam” (the prefix co-, associated, together) and, “tush” (inner satisfaction or happiness). So saṁtoṣa loosely translates to – being associated or being together with our own inner happiness.

This sensation or feeling of happiness or contentment comes from within, and we most of the times either cannot feel it, or hush it altogether. Our innate nature, rishis say, is to be happy (ānanda, as in Sat-Chit-ānanda). That is the nature of the “self”. But the self’s twin, the frontal-I, distracts us from that. The whole exercise is to lengthen the time we resonate with those internal “contented” mental states. Basically, we overestimate what we need, and underestimate what we have.

Interruptions come from local conditioning, and focusing on the wrong thing – both contribute to the state of wanting. Aparigraha is the first one, and focusing on Results-only-from-Actions is the second one. We spoke about both already, but let’s look at them through the “niyama”-lens.

1. Yama 5 – aparigraha

Going back to the rhetorical questions at the end of the last one, what yogis would do when they find a bag full of valuables on an isolated street – they probably wouldn’t touch it…. At the least because of the unknown karmic residue associated with that wealth, as discussed in Tenet 2 of Karma Yoga. Contentment is that enabler. It is that X-factor that allows one to understand and follow the universal order – the ṛta. Once we understand that universal order, our intentions and actions line up. It is this knowledge of universal order that we lack – it’s like playing in a game without knowing all the rules!

That leads to…

2. Experience is the true result – Karma Yoga (Tenet 4)

The thought chain here is: our minds focus on the results and keep finding shortfalls, leading to another set of actions. We simply do not appreciate the “experience“ part enough. Per yogis, the ability to experience is the greatest of all evolutionary accomplishments. To be able to experience anything… It’s like we are playing volley with the world. You serve something, through an action, and the universe returns in a certain way; you respond, the universe returns… Action is the very implement through which we experience the creation. The rest are just details. We follow this formula for a while, as an infant. Then we slowly shift the emphasis towards Result – so much so that we ignore the Experience part.

What’s there to be so gung-ho about Experience? Yogis suggest that the very fact that one consciously experiences the surroundings, including the fellow-humans, or one can see or hear another person is the real miracle here. We run races to win, while yogis want us to appreciate and understand the very ability to participate in the race. There are a series of “miracles” that have to happen in a precise sequence for us to be doing what we are doing. “Experience it” includes all that. _/\_

For a even simpler “experience” example, if we take two magnets and separate them by any distance, how are they communicating their presence to each other? Both magnets experience each other’s presence, even at a distance. What’s between them? This line of contemplation is what eventually led them to the concept of Brahman. We will talk about “Brahman” in more detail later, but it is this “medium” which cannot be burnt by fire, drenched by water or cleaved by a weapon that Krishna describes to Arjuna, and goddess Uma details to Indra in Kena Upanishad. Apparently, we are made of the same stuff too! That’s how modern physicists back into Vedanta, but again, this contemplation is not just for modern physicists, nor is it the only approach. Human interactions and experiences are a zillion times more complex. This is what Yogis want us to appreciate. Intentions and actions that performed from that state of mind will automatically be clean.

Is that the right answer? Yogis ask us to contemplate on it and draw our own conclusions. Most importantly, it is this contemplation that will put us on the right path. They ask us to deepen our analysis, just like our breath.

The universe has bestowed us with a lot already. What we call success and failure, good and bad, is probably a minuscule fraction of that. For another data point, as discussed earlier in Neurological Basis of Memories, what we call “my memories” and base all judgments on, is a small ~1% of our total memories; 99% of our memories come pre-printed! The point? Know all your memories, inside out. Focus on the 99%, and the underlying experience, and contentment follows. Let the rest <1% fall where they may.

A significant part of our problems come from not knowing the flow of the universe – ŗta. More often than not, we try to swim against that flow. This (right) information or knowledge of ŗta can come from several sources, but tapas and svādhyāya are two key practices or inner attitudes. We will cover yogis’ take on that next.