Asteya: Non-Stealing, Transformation, and Gratitude

In previous weeks, we discussed the first two yamas from the first branch of yogic philosophy. Ahimsa (non-violence) and satya (truthfulness). This week, we continue the discussion of the gems of the yamas and niyamas with the third yama: asteya or non-stealing.

Asteya guides us to live ethically with integrity and gratitude (Adele, 2008). In his translation of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, Satchidananda (2012) translates asteya from Sanskrit to English as "To one established in non-stealing, all wealth comes."

Further, Satchidananda in his commentary, provides an awesome example of what non-stealing means. In order to live, we must take from the world around us. That is, we have to take just to breathe. We take the air in. The air doesn't belong to us, it belongs to nature, how do we turn the stealing of air into a non-stealing action?

Satchidananda encourages us to receive the breath with "reverence and use it to serve others." If we do something and give nothing in return, that is stealing. That is, it is okay to take as needed, but we must make meaningful action out of that. The action of receiving breath and using it for ourselves and others leads to gratitude. Be grateful for the air around us. Treasure the air we breathe in and out as it supports all life on this planet.

In our personal lives, if we live in fear or with the lies we tell ourselves, we look outside ourselves. That leads us toward a penchant to take what is not ours and give nothing in return. Sometimes we will see what is lacking and we want to steal that from outside ourselves. First find the gratitude for what is. (Consider what you already have, good and bad. Be content with what is, and then, perhaps improve on that. The things that are lacking will somehow fill themselves in as you are more and more filled with gratitude.

Asteya as Transformation

Asteya is a transformational practice. As Adele (2009) states, "We steal from others, we steal from the earth, we steal from the future, and we steal from ourselves. We steal from our own opportunity to grow ourselves into the person who has a right to have the life they want." So by non-stealing it transforms us into someone who contributes to the earth, the future, and ourselves.

The act of stealing goes beyond the physical, material manifestations. For example, stealing time. from yourself, stealing time from others. Time is an intangible created by humans, but you can steal time from others by being late to an appointment. Procrastination is a time-stealing behavior. You steal time from yourself. By doing the thing, or even taking a small step towards that thing, helps us to transform our behavior into non-stealing behavior.

Asteya as Gratitude

Some translate asteya as gratitude. That is, non-stealing leads to gratitude. If we take the proactive approach to non-stealing, it is with gratitude for whichever is there taking the lead. By being cognizant of those actions that we practice become stealing, the thing that replaces stealing is gratitude.

Non-stealing transforms the focus to what we have, rather than what we don't. Having gratitude welcomes more good into our lives. Instead of seeing the cup as half-empty; it’s overflowing, and we make the choice to not take from ourselves in this moment, but rather to be joyful now instead of think that joy will come in a future. Make the decision to be happy and joyful right now. Have gratitude for what is there rather than what is not there (Seiberling, 2018).

Upcoming Classes

Yoga nidra classes continue online at 7:30 ET Monday nights. Tonight's class will focus on asteya.

New Classes

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Yoga for Organizations

Using yoga and meditation techniques, I am available to support an organization's institutional mission and values tailored to the needs of employees. Meditation and yogic exercise have been shown to promote wellness that boosts employee morale, effectiveness, and productivity (Sheelu, Garg, & Rastogi, 2022). If you know someone who may be interested in setting up a meditation or yoga class for a retreat or as a regular amenity in their organization please forward this link to them.

"The body cannot live without the mind." The Matrix (1999). The Wachowskis

References:

Adele, D. (2009). The yamas & niyamas: exploring yoga's ethical practice. On-Word Bound Books. Kindle Edition.

Satchidananda, S. (2012), The yoga sutras of Patanjali, Buckingham, VA: Satchidananda Ashram-Yogaville. (p. 125).

Seiberling, C. (2018). Yoga's yamas and niyamas 10 principles for peace & purpose. Kindle Edition.