Yama and Niyama, if practiced truthfully and fully, become mahavrata or great commitments that transcend time, space, and situations. Further, the entire environment around the person becomes charged with these virtues and hostility is not seen in his/her presence. In the recent past, we have many examples of people who practiced satya and ahimsa and this fact (absence of hostility) was observed in their vicinity. Thus, there is immediate outcome of Yama and Niyama practices.
However, the ultimate goal of practicing yoga is to achieve transcendence and to break this cyclic existence. Dharana, dhyana, and samadhi are the three states that prepare one toward this transcendental goal. These three together is called Samyama (sam meaning total and yama meaning to control). “So Samyama means complete mastery over the psychic process or complete control of mental concentration.”