The tenet of non-stealing can be found among the eight limbs of yoga, the guidelines for living outlined by Patanjali. In Sanskrit, non-stealing is referred to as asteya and it encompasses more than just not taking someone else's stuff. It's also about the value of non-material possessions like time and energy.
A perfect society would have no individual holders of material possessions and would instead pool all available resources. As a group, we'd support one another and pool our resources to improve the world. Of course, this is not a perfect world in which we reside. It's only natural that we would like credit for our efforts.
The yogic ideal of non-stealing can be understood as the recognition that nothing really belongs to any of us. As such, we owe the planet our utmost deference as visitors. To rephrase, it's more important to work toward a life of peace and harmony with our neighbours than it is to win any particular contest. The spirit suffers when we compete for dominance, authority, wealth, or a larger share of the pie.
It's not bad to have wants, and there are things we absolutely require. To put it another way: when we take from others to enrich ourselves, we pit ourselves against nature. This action is also contrary to asteya.
The concept of theft that underlies Asteya's prohibition is much broader than the typical understanding of theft. Theft from a neighbor's house is obviously wrong. Yet there are covert and cunning ways for us to steal as well. Actually, we can even rob ourselves.
Everything stolen erodes us spiritually.
Techniques for Asteya Observance
Asteya can be practised by reflecting on one's motivations in social interactions. Do you make an effort to connect with others, or do you just talk about yourself? Rather than lifting others up, do you bring them down with your negativity and anger? Feelings and happiness can be stolen.
As yogis, we work on building walls to keep out those who would take our happiness, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms. Understanding the impact we have on others and actively seeking to elevate one another is what it means to practise asteya.
It's easy to revert to negative habits that have negative effects on you and those around you. Asteya refers to the practise of quickly distancing oneself from harmful actions. Do not continue acting in a "downer" manner if you become aware of it. It may help to recognise the anxiety or worry that is motivating your actions.
To uphold the asteya code of conduct means to take personal responsibility for one's actions. As well, we must maintain our moral compass and forge ahead with courage, even when the odds are stacked against us. There are lots of decent people who don't get paid much or get any kind of recognition because of how hard they work. In contrast, there are those who put in an equal amount of effort but wind up with more wealth than they know what to do with.
Subtle forms of theft include envy of those who have more and a belief that we are entitled to more resources than we actually require. The secret to a happy life is letting go of jealousy and materialism. So long, or asteya.
True cause of Asteya.
The belief that, "I'm not good enough...."
Having no faith in one's own ability to provide for oneself is a major contributor to the desire to steal. A desire, want, or greed develops the moment we experience a lack. When we don't have what we want, we start to feel empty and start looking for ways to fill that void.
One's inability to believe in one's own ability to provide for oneself is a primary cause of the desire to steal.
Feelings of deficiency, inadequacy, want, and incompleteness.... What it comes down to is a general sense of dissatisfaction. Yoga is a Sanskrit word that means "to yoke," "unite," "connect," or "essentially to become "whole," and by engaging in all aspects of the practise, both on and off the mat, we can come to a place of inner peace and contentment where we recognise that we have everything we need.
Asteya in yoga practice
Do you overdo it in training out of an irrational worry that you won't improve? Halfway through class, even the most well-intentioned among us may start to feel pressured to focus on how a posture'should' look rather than how it actually makes them feel.
Focusing on going just a little bit further than necessary to achieve a posture not only prevents us from developing a sustainable and natural practise, but also prevents us from appreciating the posture and ourselves for how they currently stand.
There's no need to beat ourselves up if certain asanas are out of reach right now, so long as we're willing to be flexible and accepting of where we are in our practise at any given time. Our level of practise is never measured by the number of difficult postures we can perform, but by the depth of attention we give each one.
Interrupting a classmate when they're trying to focus
It's common to be running late for our favourite yoga class on those days when it feels like we haven't stopped moving from one activity to the next. Once inside, you've entered a holy space; for some, this is the only place where they can relax.
There may be a shorter route to class, but if we rush in with our shopping bags, throw the mat down, and kick off our shoes, we really do steal someone else's chance to fully focus on their breath....
Asteya outside of the yoga class
Hoarding….
Many of us have amassed a surplus of clothes and books that may never be worn or read. Could you possibly be familiar with this?
When we buy more than we need, it's often because we're trying to consciously or unconsciously "fill a gap" in our lives. Even though we know that having more material possessions won't fulfil our deepest needs, we keep buying them anyway. Gandhi once said, "mankind's greed and craving for artificial needs is also stealing," and it is precisely these needs that lead to the accumulation of clutter all around us. However, the more stuff we have, the more stuff we tend to think we need.
According to Sivananda, "desire and want" are what motivate us to go to great lengths to achieve our goals. We deprive others of opportunities to have what they actually need by hoarding things we don't need.
Review your collection of possessions and ask yourself if they could be put to better use by someone else. Why do you have eight purses and twenty-three shoes? Do you find yourself spending money on groceries every week that you never end up eating?
If we start releasing things we don't use or need, we make room in our lives for the things we do. Those things could be material goods, life experiences, or even just a general feeling of well-being.
You should not cheat yourself out of the chance to enjoy life as it is.
There is a wide range of feelings and sensations available to us in every moment, but we typically only hold on to the ones that we find aesthetically pleasing. Even if the experience is positive in and of itself, clinging to it out of attachment to pleasure will only lead to more pain and suffering, or dukkha. This is the raga facet of clinging too tightly to positive emotions and experiences.
The opposite of this is dvesa, which can be translated as "aversion," most often to pain or suffering. Dvesa describes the emotion we experience when we actively suppress a negative mental or physical experience. We get stuck in an endless cycle of wanting and desiring when we chase after things that never give us anything but temporary pleasure.
There's always a part of us that fears the worst, even when we're happy, because that's when we're most vulnerable. By focusing solely on positive emotions, we miss out on experiencing the full range of human experience.
When we face our deepest fears, we gain the strength to face our greatest joys; when we allow ourselves to feel every emotion, we are complete. To be clear, neither "good" nor "bad" is required for any given circumstance; rather, "it just is" and if we dare to enter the parts we fear, we open ourselves up to the fullest possible experience of life in the present.