Five commitments make up the second limb of yoga. Self-control prevents bad seeds; the commitments plant good ones. These then actually create our success in the six other practices to come.

Keeping clean means striving all day to see that the world and all those around us are sacred. It also means not cluttering up our day with busyness, the craving for countless shallow interactions with others, and piles of completely meaningless junk lying around the temple of our home.

Contentment is not wanting the things that we don't have and enjoying the things that we do have. Yogis never complain about whatever food or place they may happen to get.

But contentment doesn't apply to our spiritual progress. We must be committed to finishing whatever hard work we need to, if it means taking ourselves and others forever out of pain. Regular study, in the old days, meant learning and memorizing the great books at the feet of a true Master. Our relationship with this Master is the greatest commitment of all, for without it we can never drink of the living water passed down from heart to heart, over thousands of generations of teachers and their students.