I changed the name from rules to guidelines. The reason for calling it rules, is because in my opinion, doing yoga is like going into battle where one is constantly battling ones sanskaras. In other words, in order to win this battle, certain rules must be followed.
If one reads any scriptures regarding Yoga and this is again repeatedly stated in the Bhagavada Gita that in order to make progress, the disciple must follow certain rules.
1)In the Gita, it states those who eat, sleep, work and have recreational activities in moderation will succeed.
2) A yogi should not speak too much and isolation is preferable
3) Ramkrishna Paramhansa said that a physician or lawyer will not achieve liberatation or Moksha in that birth.
4) Vivekananda said that if you are in a bad mood just go and stay in your own room instead of spreading the bad vibrations to the rest of the world.
5) Mother said that moods are the most infective thing in the world, more infective than even a viral infection or cold
6) Why did they only allow certain people in the temple in the past?
7) Vivekananda recomended and all other books in Yoga state that one should have one owns private space which he or she uses regularly to meditate
8 ) In Mahayoga Vigyana it goes into great detail about the rules and even goes to the extent that if you want to truly achieve salvation, you should not even eat food outside your own place or house. If you do this,then you give away half of your spiritual endeavour to the person where you ate. On the brighter side, one should always try to feed a great saint, so you can collect the fruits of his works!
9) Gurudev has said that while preparing food, one should constantly chant the name of God and great saints
10) Gurudev told me that one should never eat at a place where someone has died and has gone to lower or darker subtle worlds. He then said, almost every house in the world, there is someone who has died and gone to the darker subtle worlds.
Anyway, these are just general day to day living conditions for rapid spiritual progress. They sound harsh, but what is the reason! The reason for all of them is prana. In all of our interactions, the one universal “transaction” is the prana. A spiritualized prana can take us within and to the higher chakras like agna chakra and give us liberation. However, we constantly fail in our efforts. Why is it? This is due to the negative pull to the outside world. This negative pull to the outside world comes from an impure and unhealthy diet (including meat, fish, eggs, stale food, spicy food, etc).
When we talk it is not only words that are exchanged but also prana is exchanged! This complex interplay of prana, and if one is less developed, we are unable to withstand the negative effects of the other persons prana. Don Miguel Ruiz, the author of the four agreements, when he died and was watching this world from above, describes seeing this constant exchange of prana between people when they talked etc. This is why it is ordained that if you want to make spiritual progress only stay in the company of those who are strong in Yoga (satsanga) and do not interact with those who do not have faith.
So in order to prevent this outword pull constantly exerted by the world (on the spiritualized prana), one should talk less, prefer isolation, eat healthy, stay in good company, have ones own place of regular meditation, go to places where this spiritualized prana can assist you in going deeper in meditations (hence certain temples, Siddha pithas etc).
A few more points.
1) In the exchange of prana, there is a subtle exchange of certain karmas too. Be careful when you practice spiritual healing because the karmas and moods of the other person will affect you unless you know how to rejuvenate yourself
2) A spiritualized prana is the same as an awakened shakti or awakening of the kundalini. It requires a living Guru. If you do not have a living Guru, it would be impossible to see or experience this. We will roam in the world of theory but not actually see the interplay of prana. (like Don Miguel Ruiz saw it literally)
3) This is why Ramkrishna said a physician cannot achieve moksha because of the intense interplay of prana. Having said that, one of his foremost disciple was a physician, and he did get liberated. (More on it at a later time). His name was Nag Mahashaya
4) When money is donated to charity or given to a saint, we give away our Karma (slowly) and receive spiritualized prana from them. This of course would only happen if the person is a true saint. On the other hand, taking money, we are slowly incurring a debt and compiling a mass of prana that pulls us down. This is why Ramkrishna said, lawyers cannot achieve moksha. Having said that, Vishnutirthji Maharaja was an attorney and achieved the highest!
5) When I was in medical school, I asked my resident psychiatrist, how can I know if a patient is really bipolar. He said, it is very easy. If while talking with the patient you feel very elated, you know this patient is in the manic phase of the bipolar. Same thing applies to someone depressed. The mood catches us and affects us.
6) This is why one should chant the name of God and think of God especially while cooking so the food we eat has the positive spiritual vibrations
7) Lastly, when one reaches a very high stage, one not only sees the effects of prana with the above, but suddenly begins to see that even if you think of someone you exchange the prana. Knowing this, the disciple finally gives everything up and only surrenders to God constantly. As it is said in the Gita, Sarva Dharman paritajya mamekam sharnam vraja, meaning Arjuna give everything up (all dharma – the word dharma refers to the properties of the mind,intellect, senses, body etc) and come only to me (me as stated by Krishna bhagwana refers to his highest self when established in the divine. The same Divine that Jesus called I and my Father are one etc. He is the nameless and we have given him a name, He is everything and yet we seek for him everywhere).
Bhavin