Santosha ( skt. संतोष ''saṃtoṣa'') literally means "contentment, satisfaction". It is also an ethical concept in Indian philosophy, particularly

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

, where it is included as one of the

Niyama The Niyamas ( sa, नियम, translit=Niyama) are positive duties or observances. In Indian traditions, particularly Yoga, niyamas and their complement, Yamas, are recommended activities and habits for healthy living, spiritual enlightenmen ...

s by

Patanjali Patanjali ( sa, पतञ्जलि, Patañjali), also called Gonardiya or Gonikaputra, was a Hindu author, mystic and philosopher. Very little is known about him, and while no one knows exactly when he lived; from analysis of his works it i ...

Definition

''Santosha'', sometimes spelled ''Santosa'', is a portmanteau in Sanskrit, derived from ''Saṃ-''

prefix A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Adding it to the beginning of one word changes it into another word. For example, when the prefix ''un-'' is added to the word ''happy'', it creates the word ''unhappy''. Particul ...

(सं-, सम्-) and ''Tosha'' (तोष (from root √तुष्, √tuṣ)). SaM-, means "completely", "altogether" or "entirely", and ''Tosha'' (from the root √tus), "contentment", "satisfaction", "acceptance", "being comfortable". Combined, the word ''Santosha'' means "completely content with, or satisfied with, accepting and comfortable". Other words based on the root ''Tuṣht'' (तुष्टः), such as Santusht (सन्तुष्ट) and Tushayati (तुष्यति) are synonymous with ''Santosha'', and found in ancient and medieval era Indian texts. IsaacsNora Isaacs (2014), The Little Book of Yoga, Chronicle, , page 154 translates ''Santosha'' as “contentment, accepting one's circumstances”. Woods describes it as the lack of ''Trsna'' (तृष्णा, craving) and desiring that which is necessary for one's life, while translating verse II.42 and II.32 of Yoga Sutrās, respectively. Others define it as an attitude of contentment, one of understanding and accepting oneself and one's environment and circumstances as they are, a spiritual state necessary for optimism and effort to change the future. Bhatta clarifies ''Santosha'' as inner contentment, a state of inner peace. Yoga Darshana, which includes commentary of Rishi

Vyasa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...

on Patanjali's Yogasutra, defines contentment as the inner state where, "exists a joyful and satisfied mind regardless of one's environment, whether one meets with pleasure or pain, profit or loss, fame or contempt, success or failure, sympathy or hatred".

Alain Daniélou Alain Daniélou (4 October 1907 – 27 January 1994) was a French historian, Indologist, intellectual, musicologist, translator, writer, and notable Western convert to and expert on the Shaivite sect of Hinduism. In 1991 he was awarded the ...

(1991), Yoga: Mastering the Secrets of Matter and the Universe, , page 36

Discussion

''Santosha'' as a

is discussed in Indian texts at various levels - intent, inner state and its expression. As intent, Santosha is doing one's best and accepting the results of one's efforts. As inner state, it is contentment that combines with and works with other virtues such as

Asteya ''Achourya'' (Sanskrit: अचौर्यः, IAST: Acauryaḥ ) or ''Asteya'' (Sanskrit: अस्तेय; IAST: ''asteya'') is the Sanskrit term for "non-stealing". It is a virtue in Hinduism . The practice of ''asteya'' demands that one mu ...

(non-coveting, non-stealing),

Aparigraha Non-possession (aparigraha ( sa, अपरिग्रह)) is a philosophy that holds that no one or anything possesses anything. ln Jainism, aparigraha is the virtue of non-possessiveness, non-grasping or non-greediness.Arti Dhand (2002), The d ...

(non-hoarding, non-possessiveness) and ''Daya'' (compassion for others). As outward expression, Santosha is the observed "serenity", of being “totally satisfied, not desiring anything other than the fundamental".Claude Maréchal (1984)
La integración
Granollers: Viniyoga, in Traducción y comentario de los aforismos sobre el Yoga Sûtra de Patanjali, En La integración. Libro I. Barcelona Maréchal states that ''Santosha'' is rooted in the desire to avoid anything negative to self, to others, to all living beings and to nature. It is not the state of abandonment or being without any needs, rather the state of neither taking too much nor taking less than what one needs, one of contended optimism. It is the habit of being able to accept circumstances one finds self in, without being upset, of accepting oneself, and of equanimity with others who are balancing their own needs as they share what they have. ''Santosha'' is also abstaining from taking and consuming something to excess, even if its appearance makes it tempting. Maréchal states, that in cases the environment is one where one is forced to listen to a painful speech or someone's anger, ''Santosha'' is the serenity of accepting it completely as an instructive and constructive message, understanding the other, then detaching oneself and patiently seeking reform and change in one's environment. Śankarâchârya, of the

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, ...

school of Hinduism, in verses 521-548 of the text

Vivekachudamani The ''Vivekachudamani'' (; IAST: ) is an introductory treatise within the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism, traditionally attributed to Adi Shankara of the eighth century, though this attribution has been questioned and mostly rejected by ...

(''The Crest-Jewel of Wisdom''), states that ''Santosha'' is a necessary virtue because it frees a human being from the compulsions of all bondage, manipulation and fears, whereafter he can "dwell according to his will", do what he thinks is right, pursue his own calling wherever, whenever and however he wants. Johnston translates Śankarâchârya view on ''Santosha'' as the inner state where, "things neither distress him nor elate him much, nor is he attached to or repelled by them; in his own Self he ever joys, the Self is his rejoicing; altogether contented by the essence of uninterrupted bliss; with Santosha (contentment), he knows his Self – the Eternal, he is free from bondage, he is delighted no matter what, his life is victory; he moves where fancy leads him, unconstrained; he sleeps by the river-bank or the wood, his couch is the world; he moves in paths where the beaten road has ended; he then is one delighting in the supreme Eternal".Śankarâchârya (Translated by Charles Johnston), ''Vivekachudamani'' or The Crest-Jewel of Wisdom, Freedom Religion Press, ; For original sanskrit, se
Vivekachudamani
For one version of a free online translation of these verses by Adi Shankara, see

wikisource Wikisource is an online digital library of free-content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole and the name for each instance of that project (each instance usually re ...

Literature

''Santosha'' is a broadly discussed virtue in over thirty five ancient and medieval era texts of Hinduism.SV Bharti (2001), Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: With the Exposition of Vyasa, Motilal Banarsidas, , Appendix I, pages 680-691 Most of these are in Sanskrit, but some are in regional Indian languages. As a few examples, ''Santosha'' is discussed as an important virtue and ethical concept in verses 2.1.39 through 2.1.48 of Purana

Samhita Saṃhitā literally means "put together, joined, union", a "collection", and "a methodically, rule-based combination of text or verses".Yoga Yajnavalkya, and in verses 1.53 through 1.66 of Vasishtha Samhita. In some texts, such as Trishikhi Brahmana

Upanishad The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...

and Sutrās, synonymous concepts and words such as ''Santusti'' (सन्तुष्टि) and ''Akama'' (अकाम, non-desire, non-neediness) are used, calling it as a virtue that represents "affection for the Supreme Reality".

Samkhya Karika The Samkhyakarika ( sa, सांख्यकारिका, ) is the earliest surviving text of the Samkhya school of Indian philosophy.Gerald James Larson (1998), Classical Sāṃkhya: An Interpretation of Its History and Meaning, Motilal Banar ...

, in its section on ethics and the effect of virtues and vices on a human being, states contentment is achieved in nine categories, four of which are external and five internal to him. Yoga Vashista describes the path to ''Santosha'' as follows, In the Indian Epic

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...

, the virtue of ''Santosha'' is discussed in many books. For example, in Shanti Parva (the Book of Peace),

Mythology

The

Vishnu Purana The Vishnu Purana ( IAST:, sa, विष्णुपुराण) is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism. It is an important Pancharatra text in the Vaishnavism literature corpus. The manusc ...

recites a myth that includes ''Santosha'' as a progeny of ''Tushti'' and ''Dharma'', and it is loaded with symbolism. The myth is as follows,

The desire paradox

Scholars have questioned whether contentment (''Santosha'') is equal to having the "desire to be without desire", and if so, is it a paradox in itself? This question is of interest to both Hinduism and Buddhism. Herman states that there is a difference between the mindless pursuit of "craving" and mindful pursuit of "needs". The former is of concern to Indian philosophies, while for latter they acknowledge and encourage the proper pursuit of "needs". Craving is an intense, ever-expansive compulsion to hoarding material possessions, an addiction for something or someone, and a state where the person accumulates the target of his greed or lust while ignoring

dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

. Contentment is the opposite state, free from cravings that create bondage and dependence, an understanding of the minimum he needs and alternate ways to meet those needs, thus liberated to do whatever he wants and what feels right, proper, meaningful to him. Proper and simultaneous pursuit of dharma, artha and kama is respected in Hindu texts. For example, in Book 9, the

Shalya Parva The Shalya Parva ( sa, शल्य पर्व), or ''the Book of Shalya,'' is the ninth of eighteen books of the Indian epic Mahabharata. Shalya Parva traditionally has 4 parts and 65 chapters.Ganguli, K.M. (1883-1896)Shalya Parva in ''The Maha ...

of the Epic Mahabharata, the proper and simultaneous pursuit of

artha ''Artha'' (; sa, अर्थ; Tamil: ''poruḷ'' / ''பொருள்'') is one of the four aims of human life in Indian philosophy.James Lochtefeld (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Rosen Publishing, New York, , pp 55–56 ...

(wealth, profit, means of livelihood),

(righteousness, morality, ethics) and kama (love, pleasure, emotional contentment) is recommended, In cases where there is conflict between Artha, Kama and Dharma, Vatsyayana states Artha precedes Kama, while Dharma precedes both Kama and Artha.Vatsyayana, Translated by The Hindu Kama Shastra Society (1925)
The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana
page 8

Definition

Discussion

Literature

Mythology

The desire paradox

References

Further reading