Yamas as Universal Ethical Law — Not Limited by Class, Country, Time, or Circumstance
Patanjali uniquely defines the Yamas as 'Mahavratam' — Great Vows — not limited by any social, cultural, or circumstantial qualification, making them absolute ethical universals applicable to every human being without exception.
Sutra 2.31 distinguishes the Yamas from the Niyamas with a crucial phrase: 'jati desha kala samaya anavacchinnah sarvabhauma mahavratam' — not limited by type of birth, place, time, or circumstance; universal; the great vow. The Niyamas are personal observances that may vary in expression by individual circumstance. The Yamas are universal ethical laws: there is no life circumstance, cultural context, or personal justification that makes violence, lying, stealing, sexual incontinence, or possessiveness appropriate for the person on the spiritual path. This makes the Yoga Sutras' ethics categorical in a way that anticipates Kant's categorical imperative — some actions are simply wrong regardless of consequences or context.
These are not limited by birth, place, time, or circumstance. They are the universal great vow.
Philosopher Immanuel Kant's categorical imperative — 'Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law' — is the closest Western philosophical analog to Patanjali's Mahavratam, both insisting on the unconditioned universality of ethical action.
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali