Asteya

In the Yoga-Sutras you'll find aphorism II.37:

asteya-pratisthayam sarva-ratna-upasthanam

For those who have no inclination to steal, the truly precious is at hand.

Through March we reflected on Asteya throughout our practice (in yogasana and outside of it.) Here are some of our teacher and student reflections on the topic.

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At Starbucks after a boisterous greeting from me customers will often say, "I'll have what you're having!" I usually respond uniformly with a laugh or a smile or a "how about a grande non fat two equal latte? I know how much you like those!" The other day, though, I responded in a more lengthy perhaps overly serious tone. I told one customer, " I am in this state of exuberance right now as the result of my life experiences, nurturing, environment and of course my genes!" Basically I told them that it was impossible to have what I was having.

Of course, there are many times when I compare myself to others. I might tell myself that so and so is a better yoga teacher than me or such and such has a nice pair of shoes and all I have are these silly yellow boots! These are moments of stealing.

The act of asteya, non-stealing, are moments when I recognize what I have without comparison of or desire for what anybody else owns or does. With practice, like anything else, it becomes easier and eventually (I hope) automatic.
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In Yoga practice, and maybe in life it might be illuminating to determine what we truly value, and to discover how we steal from this. For example, on the mat I might determine that I value ease in breathing, only to find that my ego has pushed me farther into a pose than my easeful breathing can sustain. Off the mat, I may value connection, only to find that my fear of not being enough has undermined the ability to connect as an equal with another.

I think it is different to practice non-stealing from the point of view of ordinary consciousness than from expanded (Being/ Brahman/ Atman) consciousness. In ordinary consciousness I might follow Asteya, or any of the Yamas, because it is a moral precept and I want to see myself as a good person. I can tell myself I am complete and don't need to steal anything, and it might make sense cognitively, but I don't really feel and believe it. I still feel lacking.

In contrast, I suspect that the Yamas (and Niyamas) are qualities that an enlightened person embodies, naturally, as an extension of their ease and completeness in Being. When one truly moves from a place of Wholeness, then one feels complete. If one feels no lack, then to steal would serve no purpose.

I recently had an experience that felt like stepping out of ordinary consciousness into something more Whole. I was guided in a process of transforming a longstanding negative belief about myself into an appreciation of a beautiful Value that this belief protected. The process of transformation worked on the level of body, mind, and spirit. When I left, I felt able to operate in the world for some time in a way that felt Whole. Most strikingly, it was not colored by the usual stories about what I lack.

While I was not lacking, I did not need to take anything from anyone. I did not need reassurance to make myself feel better about myself. For a number of hours afterwards, I felt as if I were moving from Being- a very free, very relaxed state. For that short time, I felt able to make choices based on what I truly valued versus choices based on fear, i.e., trying to make up for what I have been trained by my culture to see as deficiencies.

Based on that experience, for which I have so much gratitude, I yearn to touch again this sense of wholeness from which I believe the spirit of the Yamas and Niyamas flow effortlessly.

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Why are the yamas important to us as yogis? As people and as a society, the importance is clear, keep society functioning smoothly, keep people from violating the boundaries of others, etc.... but as yogis, what makes them pertinent to our practice? What do they have to do with a handstand and shoulder alignment? I've been reading "Light On Life" by BKS Iyengar and his explanations of the yamas and niyamas are wonderful. He elegantly describes the connection between yoga practice on and off the mat and why the yamas, as a discipline, are a necessary part of our journey toward freedom. He makes a wonderful case for how living your yoga in the tiny, myriad choices of daily life do as much or more than yogasana in bringing us into alignment with our true nature, our eternal selves.

In the words of Iyengar, "This striving for self-culture (living the yamas) is the onset of true religiousness and the cessation of religion as a denomination or rigid pattern of belief. Spirituality is not playacting at being holy but the inner passion and urge for self-realization and the need to find the ultimate purpose of existence....Yama is the cultivation of the positive within us, not merely a suppression of what we consider to be its diabolical opposite."

So this brings me to the yama of "asteya" (nonstealing). I have been thinking of this one alot this year as I have been living in Mexico's poorest state of Chiapas. Living in a different culture among people who on the whole live with much less "Stuff" than Americans, has provided me with a different perspective on asteya. It has really made me start to think that when 20% of the world's population consumes 80% of the world's resources, there is a problem (and in the U.S., we make up a large portion of that 20%). When I make the choice to consume more than I really need, I am impacting the lives of others and stealing resources which should be more equitably distributed. In Mexico, I have visited the homes of people who live with almost nothing, dirt floors, no modern appliances, no indoor plumbing, not to mention the lack of designer couches, curtains, and coffee tables. What strikes me most about the people I have met here, has been their joyful approach to life despite harsh conditions and freedom from attachment to "Stuff". Do they see me, an American, and think of me as a thief, stealing their most precious natural resources, petroleum, fertile land, water? I don't think so, or if they do, they're too polite to say. So I have no one to be accountable to but myself. My acquaintances in Mexico will never know if I buy 5 new yoga tops this year or spend peanuts for the coffee grown on their land through their hard labor, but that is where the self-restraint comes in....I will know. I will know that my choices to consume more than my fair share is impacting someone else across the globe. I will know that each purchase of "feel good" items increases my attachment to my "Stuff" and the immediate gratification it brings and makes me less free.

I am hoping to bring back this newfound freedom to the States and stay disciplined in making those small, mindful choices to practice asteya daily in how I consume resources. I am hoping to continue to be mindful of how I can cultivate more generosity in my actions. So that rather than "denying" myself those cute new yoga pants, I perceive the choice to consume less as a spiritual action meant to leave the world with more.
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When I think of Asteya, it is quite simple. If you are REALLY honest when attaining things the right way, you will not live in fear or guilt. Its about having a clean heart.

On truth

I've been trying to practice the yama of satya while breaking up with my boyfriend of one year. It ain't easy. I find myself trying to remember (based on ahimsa) that if a truth is unpleasant, not to speak it. It's rendering me silent most of the time right now...while he is asking "why? why? why?" over and over again.

We both know it is over. That truth we can both agree on. But the rest of it...well, who's to say what the truth is?

He asks, "Why don't you want to be friends?" "You want the truth?" It's because I find him to be arrogant and annoying. Spending time with him is a frustrating experience that leaves me defensive and closed-off, and I don't want to waste my precious time in such unpleasant company. If that's the truth, it's certainly not pleasant.

But is it the truth that he is "annoying and arrogant?" Maybe it's simply my perspective. My mind can run circles on this all day long.

It's a dicey business, practicing satya in a relationship. Perhaps the key is that satya means not "truth" but rather "Truth." The capital "T" that says it all, a big "Truth" that obliterates the little "me" in a relationship. The "Truth" that is unconcerned with the muck I wade through in murky relationships. The "Truth" that has nothing to do with personal annoyances and differing perspectives. The One Truth that washes all of that away.