The Yamas : Asteya

Contemplation

What can you steal?

As we reflect together on Asteya, consider everything that you use that exists outside of your physical body.

In the Yoga Sutras, as translated and commented upon by Sri Swami Satchidananda, we “steal from nature” every time we even take a breath:

But that doesn’t mean we should stop breathing and die. Instead, we should receive each breath with reverence and use it to serve others; then we are not stealing. If we accept it and don’t give anything in return, we are thieves.

The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali
Sri Swami Satchidananda

So, we aren’t stealing if we “pay” for it. If we offer something in return. Patañjali also says that the only way to have “all wealth” is to live in a state of perfect nonstealing.

Another way of stealing things is by not letting others use them… If you have fifty garments in your closet and your neighbor doesn’t have even one, you are stealing your neighbor’s usage.

The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali
Sri Swami Satchidananda

Something tells me, he is not describing material things, but maybe I’m wrong. What do you think?

Meditation

Asteya — nonstealing — is a really beautiful way to think about gratitude. For me, at least, we are to “pay” for every thing that we use, from food to clothes to breath to footsteps to physical wellbeing! The only thing that we really OWN, we are told, is our innermost essence, whether you call it soul, spirit, “me-ness” … because that is the only thing that is eternal. Literally everything else is temporary. 

In this brief meditation prompt, I introduce the meditation mantra “so-ham.” Thinking “so” on the inhale and “ham” on the exhale. These sounds are meant to mimic that actual sound of the breath, but they also provide a specific point of focus for the mind. When the mind wanders, you just come back to the syllables. You’ll find that the syllables first merge into each other so that “soham” becomes “hamso” becomes “sohamsohamsohamsohamso…” And then they drop away altogether, and you’re left with the space “between” the thoughts. At least for a moment. 

This ancient ajapa japa practice which traces all the way back to the Bhagavad Gita, yoga’s most-ancient text: “Apana is absorbed in prana (by some), and prana in apana by others. By restraining the courses of prana and apana, the yogi is wholly occupied in the pranayama.” All that really means is that the inhales and exhales merge into one continuous breath, allowing the yogi to attain the highest level of meditation (samadhi). 

So, with that in mind, how do you pay, especially for ineffable things? Gratitude, perhaps? Acts of service? Being mindful not to waste anything? 

Lots of guidance and inspiration taken from Prana and Pranayama by Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati. 

Practice

In our Vinyasa practice, we focus on breath. On linking breath and movement. How can we ”pay” for the blessing of our physical practice? By fully inhabiting every single breath. By investigating our physical experience and taking nothing for granted. Sri Satchidanda writes, “The richest person is the one with a cold mind, free of tension and anxiety.”

We are not going to change the whole world, but we can change ourselves and feel free as birds. We can be serene even in the midst of calamities and, by our serenity, make others feel more tranquil.

The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali
Sri Swami Satchidananda