The law of sacrifice is at once the law of self-restraint whose canon is known as the Yamas in the ethics of Yoga. Yama or self-restraint is a process of self-subdual, a restraint of the passions in the form of lust, greed, hatred and anger and a non-acceptance of possessions more than one actually needs for the maintenance of one's psycho-physical individuality. This is the subject dealt in great detail by the scriptures on Yoga. And this is a pre-eminent rule in the life of a student who wishes to achieve any success in meditation. The law of treating others as ends-in-themselves is sufficient explanation of what Yama or self-restraint means in the life of a progressing aspirant on the spiritual path.

Heat and cold, hunger and thirst, and sleep are biological pressures and needs which cannot be easily overlooked, and 'the devil has to be paid its due'. Here again, excess or shortage is undesirable and the rule of moderation here to be followed is well stated in the 6th chapter of the Bhagavadgita. Neither luxury nor starvation is to be the principle to be adopted. The rule again is the maintenance of a balance of attitude and attention to the degree of reality in which one finds oneself at any given moment of life. The hedonistic urges and aesthetic sense, which should be usually regarded as-normal to human nature, are often debarred by ascetic teachers of spirituality from having anything to do with spiritual life or even the good life. But, here again, the criterion is the finding out of the stage in which the mind of the seeker is, and it is this standard that can judge whether something is necessary or not. It is not always easy for oneself to judge one's needs, for one can easily go to excesses or do a wrong reading of oneself due to a clouded understanding or, very often, due to personal weaknesses or partiality in favour of oneself. Arts, such as sculpture, painting and music are not bad in themselves and they can very well become channels of sublimation and elevation of emotion when properly handled, at least in the earlier stages of the spiritual ascent. Too much of rigorism is bad, and this is a rule in anything, and, we should say, as bad as too much of slackness. It is easy to glut or starve one-self, but not so easy to eat moderately; easy to be talking always or not to talk at all, but not easy to speak moderate words. The urges of the aesthetic sense can also be expressed usefully through literary pursuits. Intensive reading of spiritual poetry or philosophical prose, a perusal of sublime portions and instructive passages from Shakespeare or Milton, from Valmiki or Vyasa, is indeed paying even to seeker of truth.

Seekers are sometimes apathetic towards their body, the 'brother ass', as saint Francis of Assisi used to call it. Nevertheless, it is a good beast of burden, and if it is not to be there, who is to bear the burden of life? Living in extreme cold without proper clothing, eating carelessly and cutting down of sleep to the extreme may damage one's health, instead of helping to achieve the end of spiritual enlightenment for which these austerities are embarked upon as means. In all these adventures of the higher life, direct instruction from a Guru or teacher is necessary. No student can regard himself to be so advanced as not to need any instruction or guidance at all. Humility is the hall-mark of even those who are about to stumble into the ocean of Reality. There is no harm in effacing oneself. The danger is only in self-affirmation.

The religious atmosphere in which one is brought up from one's childhood gives a strong colour to one's feelings, naturally. The Hindu, Buddhist and Jain; the Christian, Muslim, and the like, all are obviously brought up under the influence of special and peculiar religious notions which bear an impact upon their personal and social life. They have their own modes of rituals, fasts and observances, each one of which has an element of good in it and can be pursued with advantage when taken as an honest means of self-purification and self-evolution. But differences in religious ideologies should never interfere with the spiritual universality of human aspiration. This is a basic truth which most religionists are likely to forget. Religions which preach the oneness of God and the brotherhood of humanity are also not infrequently sponsors and protagonists of religious wars, and this is the extent to which fanaticism can go, a total mis-representation of that which is to lift man to the cosmic spiritual ideal. Religious rituals are a great help in Sadhana, and faiths in religious customs are good palliatives of human emotion. But these act also as double-edged swords, which can cut both the ways when brandished by untrained hands. Religious rituals have also an aesthetic value; they are an art in themselves, like sculpture or painting. But, what the seeker has to avoid vigilantly is bigotry or fanaticism in any of his pursuits or attitudes.

Study of spiritual texts is a great help as a preparation for the meditational attitude. The Upanishads, the Bhagavadgita, the Sermon on the Mount from the New Testament, the Dharmapada, and similar apt selections from the religious lore of the different religions may be taken as text-books for daily Svadhyaya or sacred study. Such a study is an aid in giving freedom to the mind within the delimited ambit of sublime thoughts recorded in these scriptures. In fact this is a kind of meditation it itself, generally speaking. Japa or repeated recitation of a Mantra or formula, a concept or an idea, is again a direct aid to meditation. Japa of a Mantra, regularly performed daily, stirs new unknown power in oneself. Those of the novices in the practice who cannot take exclusively to meditation should resort alternately, or in a circle, to Japa, study and meditation, so that the mind may not be tired of monotony in the practice. The study and the chanting may be loud, mellow or silent as the case may be, in accordance with the constitution and psychological needs of the student concerned. A particular method called Kirtana and Bhajana, which is mode of musical recitation and singing of divine Names as well as the glories of God in various ways, is exceedingly helpful as a method in purifying and sublimating emotion and lifting it to an ardent devotion to God. This is precisely the method of Bhakti Yoga or the Yoga of Divine Devotion.

The location or the habitat of the student of Yoga intending to practise meditation should be as far as possible isolated from the places of noise and hectic activity such as cities, factories, business centres, etc. This is something which is too clear a prerequisite to need any explanatory comment. The Svetasvatara Upanishad and the Bhagavadgita have said something very salient and to the point in respect of choosing the place and atmosphere for meditation. Peaks of mountains, sides of vast reservoirs of waters, mellifluous expanses of breezy scenery are all regarded as conducive to evoking a meditative mood in the aspirant. Holy places of pilgrimage sanctified by the presence of saints and sages, past and present, atmospheres of ancient temples and churches and places of religious adoration contribute to the rise of sublime feelings in a Sadhaka.

Prayer and worship act as suitable preliminaries to concentration of mind. These have various forms such as the Puja in Hinduism, the Mass in Christianity and the Namaz in Islam. Every religious faith has its own form of prayer and worship, which is an outward form of an inner feeling of dedication of oneself to the Divine Ideal. While prayer is a personal and private exposing of oneself wholly to the inflow of Divine Grace, a secret surrender of the soul to the glory and greatness of the Almighty, worship is an external gesture in acts and symbols of this inner dedication of self. Karma or sanctified works and duties, Upasana or holy worship and contemplation and Jnana or wisdom of God are regarded as stages in the spiritual ascent to the Supreme Realisation.

A word of caution may be added here in regard to the proportion that is to be maintained in the pursuit of the aims of human existence, called the Purusharthas, Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, and the practice of the four Yogas, Karma, Bhakti, Yoga and Jnana. Spiritual aspirants are prone to lay emphasis excessively on Moksha or the Final Salvation, among the Purusharthas, to the exclusion and even detriment of the other three, viz., Dharma or the moral rule, Artha or economic value and Karma or emotional satisfaction. An over-emphasis here is deleterious to the integral growth of the individual towards perfection. What evolves spiritually is the whole person and not merely a side, an aspect or faculty of the individual. Too much stress on the Moksha aspect of spiritual life often makes one careless towards the values of the world, which not infrequently take a revenge upon the seeker when they detect a proper opportunity in his life. A balanced moral sense, as long as one lives in the world, a sense which should apply not only to others but also to one's own personality, a due sense of values to one's real material needs, a careful participation in the joys of life and a proportionate deep yearning for union with God should be well blended, not as a composite fabric, but a homogeneous compound of a well-balanced life of divinised humanity. A similar care has to be taken in proportioning one's attitude in respect of the four Yogas which represent the disciplining of the conative, emotional, volitional, and rational aspects of human nature. Undue emphasis on one or a few alone among these will set up similar unpleasant reactions. As the growth of the plant of life through the Purusharthas has to be harmonious, so is the tending of it through the four Yogas into the vigorous tree of life to be balanced and proportioned, so that it may yield the precious fruit of God-vision and perfection in the Absolute.