Asteya - The Third Yama of the Eight Limbs of Yoga
The third yama (social restraint) is asteya, sutra 2.37: Asteya pratisthayam sarva ratna upasthanam of Patañjali’s Yoga Sutras. When translated, this sutra means: when someone is completely established in non-stealing, everything precious is; or, when someone is completely established in non-stealing, all things precious come near. In practical terms, it means not stealing.
Do not take what is not yours. Obviously this applies to material objects, but it does not stop there. The deeper meaning with asteya is to not steal ideas, value, time, credit, experiences, and so on. These are examples of things which are not yours. There is a certain amount of satya (honesty) and ahimsa (non-harming) intertwined with asteya.
When people believe you are trustworthy, they will let you in because they feel safe, and they will show you what is precious to them and share it with you. If you can be trusted to not take, steal, ruin, but rather to honor and respect what is valuable, then other people will open up to you, show you, and share with you.
As with the previous yamas, you impact the behavior of others; other people’s actions change because of your actions. As result of your internal Yoga practice, your behavior manifests change in the external world around you.
To be honest, the English word “behavior” doesn’t fully encompass the meaning here. Something may start as a behavior you adopt from practicing the Eight Limbs of Yoga, but over time and with refinement, it becomes more of a “feel” than a behavior.
For example, Imagine you’re at a party. You’re feeling good and happy; everything is fine. Then, someone sits next to you. All of a sudden you feel anxious and unsettled. When you decide to get up and move to the other side of the room, you no longer feel that anxiety.
That “feel” is transferred. It’s more than a behavior; it’s an energy. Other people “feel” you. “You are your name-card,” as Krishnamacahrya would say.
The yamas are telling us that if we do our work, then other people will respond to that work. This doesn’t mean to do the work so that other people will respond; but rather, it means that we will see other people are responding to the internal work we are doing; when we see this, that is an indication that our work is progressing. The more our Yogic practices are cultivated, the more we will see it in how people interact with us, and in the world around us.
Philosophically speaking, there is an idea that the mind is a lousy master but a wonderful servant. The goal of Yoga is to change the quality of our system (to be very balanced or sattvic) to the point where we have control, or immense influence, over the mind. When this happens, we can basically change the way the world around us is structured. Through our own practice, materiality changes.
Bringing this back to asteya, when other people feel that you are not going to take their possessions, credit, ideas, opportunities, or otherwise — when others feel you are trustworthy — they share the things that are precious to them with you.
When you are “completely established in non-stealing,” everything precious will come to you, and you create a sense of safety for those around you.
A note for context: My perspective is based in the Viniyoga/Desikachar lineage. Viniyoga is a traditional Indian lineage of Yoga taught by TKV Desikachar, who was the son of Krishnamacharya. My teacher, Chase Bossart, was a 20+ year private student of Mr. Desikachar. I have studied this text with Chase, word for Sanskrit word, for over three years. Stay tuned to learn more about each of the five yamas, as well as the rest of the Eight Limbs in my upcoming blog articles.
Namaste,
Kelly