What about Asteya?
By Clayton Horton
Continuing on our Yoga Sutras article series, Clayton Horton - a global yogi based between San Francisco and the Philippines, discusses the third of the Yamas – Asteya, or ‘non-stealing’.
I admit, when I was eight or nine years old, I used to steal fishing equipment from our neighborhood department store. It was exciting. As I got older, I realized that such activity was dangerous, not smart, and not nice.
Even though someone may have told you previously that stealing is bad behaviour and bad karma, there comes a time when an individual sees the light and begins to understand the Golden Rule, “do unto others as you would have others do unto you”.
In the development of a yogic practitioner, there comes a time when the decision is made to begin to untie knots instead of create them. The practice of yoga is very much the untying of knots in the body and mind. This untying is a way of living in which we let go of attachments, our suffering and unhealthy habits.
I will never forget the time when a woman I knew was in a teacher training program in San Francisco. The students were beginning to study the Yamas and Niyamas. When learning these ethical “dos and dont’s”, I remember her getting upset when she realized that to pursue her future in yoga, she was going to have to let go of her shoplifting habit.
Ok, so you are a good boy or girl now and you have learned not to steal. Very good. But watch yourself because there are a plethora of ways in which we steal energy from others – often in an unconscious way.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “don’t let them steal your smile”? Sometimes someone will make a negative comment or use a tone of voice towards another person to put them down because they are suffering or jealous of the elation, success or well being of the other.
Oftentimes “needy” individuals can steal energy by creating a melodrama to draw attention and energy to themselves. Another way that this occurs is when someone acts “aloof”, goes into hiding or withholds information to attract more energy and attention. This subtle form of stealing can be exhausting, especially if both parties are not aware of the energy game that is being played.
Asteya pratishthayam sarvaratna upasthanam, Patanjalim sutra ii: 37, states that upon being well established in non-stealing, there occurs the attainment of all prosperity. Often commentaries will say that when Asteya is well practiced, heaps of gems will fall before the yogi. The point to be made is that there is enough for everyone if we all share. Don’t take what is not yours, and you will get all you deserve and require. Asteya, as well as many other Patanjalim yamas, resonate with the simple rule, which I call yoga’s number one rule, “be nice”.
This article was first published on Clayton Hotron’s blog, in March 2011.
