1. _Uposhana_ (उपोषणं); Abstinence. 2. _Mitásana_ (मिताशनं); Temperance. 3. _Ásrama_ (आश्रमः); Sheltered abodes. 4. _Visráma_ (बिश्रामः) Rest and repose from labor. 5. _Avarodha_ (अबरोधः); Self confinement in closets. 6. _Asanam_ (अशनं); _Subsistence on light food._ Beside these there are many vices called _Apáyas_ or _dóshas_ (अपायादोषाः) which are obstacles to meditation, and which we omit on account of their prolixity. VII. NATURE OF THE SOUL. Now as the end and aim of _Yoga_ is the emancipation of the Soul, it is necessary to give some account of the nature of the soul (_átmatatwa_) as far as it was known to the sages of India, and formed the primary subject of inquiry with the wise men of every country according to the sayings; “_Gnothe seauton_,” “_Nosce teipsum_,” “Know thyself”, “_Khodra bedan_,” and Arabic “_Taalam Nafsaka_,” आत्मानु सन्धीयताम् &c. “The word Atman,” says Max Müller, “which in the Veda occurs as often as “_twan_,” meant life, particularly animal life” (Vide Rig Veda I. 63, 8.) _Atmá_ in the sense of _self_ occurs also in the Rig Veda (I. 162. 20), in the passage मात्वा-तपत् प्रिय आत्मापियन्तं. It is also found to be used in the higher sense of soul in the verse सूर्य्यो आत्मा जगतस्तष्टूषश्च “The sun is the soul of all that moves and rests (R. I. 115. 1). The highest soul is called _paramátman_ (परमात्मा) of which all other souls partake, from which all reality in this created world emanates, and into which every thing will return.” _Atman_ originally meant air as the Greek _atmos_, Gothic _ahma_, Zend _tmánam_, Sanscrit त्मानं and आत्मानं, Cuniform _adam_, Persian _dam_, whence we derive Sans. अहं Hindi हम् Uria and Prakrit अमू and Bengali आमि, मुइ &c. The Greek and Latin _ego_ and German _ich_ are all derived from the same source. The Romance _je_ and Hindi _ji_ are corruptions of Sanskrit जीब meaning life and spirit. Again the Páli अत्ता and the Prakrit आप्पा is from the Sanscrit आत्मा, which is आप् in Hindi, आपन in Bengali and अप्पन in Uria &c. The Persian “_man_” is evidently the _Sátman_ by elision of the initial syllable. These meanings of _átman_ = the self and _ego_ form the basis of the knowledge of the Divine soul both of the Hindu as of any other people, who from the consciousness of their own selves rise to that of the Supreme. Thus says Max Müller on the subject, “A Hindu speaking of himself आत्मन् spoke also, though unconsciously of the soul of the universe परमात्मन्, and to know himself, was to him to know both his own self and the Universal soul, or to know himself in the Divine self.” We give below the different lights in which the Divine soul was viewed by the different schools of Hindu philosophy, and adopted accordingly in their respective modes of Yoga meditation. The Upanishads called it Brahma of eternal and infinite wisdom नित्यं ज्ञानमनन्तं ब्रह्म । The Vedantists;—A Being full of intelligence and blissfulness सच्चिदानन्द स्वरूपं ।