Asteya - harmony between merit and appropriation

अस्तेयप्रतिष्ठायां सर्वरत्नोपस्थानम् ॥३७॥
asteya-pratiṣṭhāyāṁ sarvaratn-opasthānam ||37||
Once non-stealing (asteya) has been permanently established, all riches will be available.

Asteya is the third yama and generally translated and summarised as 'non-stealing', 'non-coveting' or 'non-hoarding'. Honesty is central to the concept of asteya (अस्तेय), a term derived from the Sanskrit root 'steya' – to steal, with the prefix 'a' indicating practice of the opposite. In yoga tradition, asteya is more than a commandment along the lines of "thou shall not steal". It describes the mindful exploration of the process of appropriation, of acquisition of material and non-material goods. This is followed by an investigation of our needs and motives to possess something which is further discussed in the fifth yama aparigraha.

Stealing is the appropriation or withholding of something from others without a moral right to do so. We gain the fundamental rights of acquisition and ownership by work and merits such as invention and authorship.

How can asteya be applied to our modern society? Let us first look at examples of unjust appropriation. Today, perhaps the most common act of withholding something from others is tax evasion, the refusal to share personal wealth with the society that helped to create it by providing the basic infrastructure, education, security, and other resources. Another example receiving increasing attention and debate in today's information society is the theft of ideas in the form plagiarism and copyright infringement. Plagiarism is the appropriation of somebody's language, thoughts, or ideas, without crediting the owner of the original work.

A more complex application of asteya in today's consumer world is the use and misuse of credit. The very nature of credit or debt is that we have not yet earned what we appropriate or consume. Taking up a credit can be a necessity for investing into future growth, helping to build the foundations of a business enterprise, or a public infrastructure project likely to result into tangible dividends which will repay the original investment. However, credit is often being misused by individuals and institutions to afford a lifestyle and spending behavior that is unmerited. Many nation states take up ever increasing mountains of debts to pay for unsustainable budgets and entitlements to please their electorate. Living in debt causes suffering expressed in numerous forms of stress and the need to satisfy the demands of our creditors. Debt is thereby significantly limiting personal freedom and undermining independence. As can be observed in current sovereign debt crises across the world, the results are the emergence of powerful financial institutions which strip individuals and countries of their sovereign rights and dictate the political agenda.

Asteya is as much about the quality of taking as it is about the nature of accepting. The willingness or even desire to accept something not merited by one's effort and work can have similar consequences. We become indebted to individuals and institutions by accepting something that we have not yet earned. It is not easy to draw a line between a present, promotional gift, bribery, and corruption. In each case the individual becomes indebted to a varying degree; from taking a more positive stance towards the giver and a desire to exchange favours, an intended corruption of one's judgement, down to explicitly misusing one's name, position and powers to advance the briber's agenda. How is our free and impartial judgement impacted by participating in customer loyalty programs, discounted vouchers, and other freebies? A recent meme on the Internet states “If you are not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold”.

The unmerited acceptance of goods is not only promoted in consumerism but also found in welfare states in the form of misuse of social securities. The destructive psychological impact of longterm living on unemployment entitlements is well documented and highlighting perhaps the most important consequence of acceptance of unmerited favors; a decline of self esteem.

In conclusion, asteya is at the core of independence, self respect and dignity. This is not to say that we should never take up a credit, accept a present, or sign up to a free service. Even the Dalai Lama is signed up with Twitter and accepts countless gifts. However, the Dalai Lama uses social media to freely give, and he redistributes all gifts to those in need. In order to maintain our integrity both as an individual and a society, we must be mindful of the connection between earning, appropriating and accepting.

Asteya is harmony between merit and appropriation

Satya - harmony with fact and motives

सत्यप्रतिष्थायं क्रियाफलाश्रयत्वम् ॥३६॥
satya-pratiṣthāyaṁ kriyā-phala-āśrayatvam ||36||
Once a state of truth (satya) has been established, each statement will form the basis for a truthful result.

Satya is the second yama and generally translated and summarised as 'non-lying' or 'benevolent truth'. Truthfulness is central to the concept of satya (सत्य), a term derived from the Sanskrit root 'sat' - truth; being. In yoga tradition, satya is more than a commandment along the lines of "thou shall not lie". First of all, it describes the mindful exploration of facts, followed by an honest investigation of our motives to either hide or communicate them.

A lie is not just the act of telling something untrue. More often then not, lying involves the art of either concealing embarrassing facts, or the exaggeration of facts to make ourselves look better in the eyes of others, or even ourselves. Lying can also involve long and contrived accounts with the aim to justify our mistakes and blame others. Sometimes, lying can be as simple as the use of habitual phrases, such as "I love you", in order to avoid further engagement or a confrontation.

Satya can be seen as an exercise in transparency, and it starts with questioning our motives. Try and understand how and when you lie, to yourself, and to others. Only self analysis of our motives to communicate in given circumstances in a particular way will allow us to be truthful.

Satya demands more then the simple adherences to facts. It is also important to question our motives in telling the truth. When taken together with the other four yamas, is clear that it is not always ethically right to speak truth. Compulsive truth telling, as simple and perhaps compelling as such fundamental concept is, can have harmful consequences. Speaking truth can be an act of aggression, for example by exposing private secrets and thereby harming relationships. Finally, even the right speech can be inappropriate under the wrong circumstances, and make you look self righteous, or simply not trustworthy.

Siddhartha Gautama perhaps best qualified satya by emphasizing that truthfulness means not telling lies, not talking about others in a way that can result in disharmony among people, and not speaking harshly or carelessly for the sake of making an impression on others. Along these lines, the application of satya has been summarised in the "the four gates of speech", which follow four simple questions:
1) Is what I want to say the truth?
2) Is it necessary to say, i.e, is it benevolent?
3) Is this the right moment and place to say it?
4) Can it be said in a positive and kind way?
If not, it is best to remain in silence.

Truthfulness requires a high degree of self-understanding, attentiveness to present circumstances, and emotional intelligence. Arguably, satya can be said to be less about speaking than about cultivating silence. Instead of speaking, we should exercise the art of listening, of looking beyond the concepts we try to express in words and the images that we mistake as reality.

Satya is harmony with fact and motives applied to speech

Ahimsa - harmony with life and society

अहिंसाप्रतिष्ठायं तत्सन्निधौ वैरत्याघः ॥३५॥
ahiṁsā-pratiṣṭhāyaṁ tat-sannidhau vairatyāghaḥ ||35||
Once a condition of non-violence (ahimsa) has been established, all enmity will be abandoned in your environment.

Ahimsa is the first yama and traditionally translated and summarised as as 'non-violence'. The avoidance of harm and violence is central to the concept of  ahimsa (अहिंसा), a term that is derived from the Sanskrit root hims – to strike; and/or hinsa - injury or harm, with the prefix a indicating practice of the opposite.

It would be a limitation to equate ahimsa with "thou shall not kill". In yoga philosophy, a more complete translation is to refrain from causing pain to any living being, including yourself. This pain can be inflicted either physically, or by speech, or by thought. Thoughts can play a significant role in what you say and how you act. And as stated elsewhere, "in the beginning was the word".

How is this concept of not afflicting injury to others or ourselves lived in our modern world? Simply contemplate on what is required to live in harmony with nature and society. Think of and engage with others positively, create a positive working and living environment. Be open and kind to your family. Refrain from excerting pressure on your fellow beings by managing your expectations. Contemplate on the things you create, support, or simply consume and make sure they are free of cruelty and exploitation. What about your clothes and shoes? Make sure they have not been produced in sweatshops and that the production processes have not polluted the environment. What about the entertainment you choose? There can be a lot of psychological and sexual exploitation in magazines, a lot of gossiping in the television series, a lot of violence in video games, all of which we support by watching and playing.

Ahimsa applied to food will require a good understanding and critical assessment of the sources, processes, and means of transport of what ends up on our plates. Ahimsa is sometimes used to argue for a vegetarian diet. Arguably, a vegetarian diet is often inflicting less harm than the consumption of meat, but this is not always the case. Farmland for growing crops is created by replacing wilderness and destroying all the life dependent on it. Farmland needs to be maintained by irrigation, often exploiting rivers and groundwater resources, and by the application of pesticides, with potentially far reaching impacts on other ecosystems. In many areas, farming is simply not sustainable and can cause desalination, erosion, dust storms and climate change. Even organic vegetarian goods can be transported a long way, by ship, rail and on roads - burning fossil fuels, polluting oceans and the atmosphere. Fresh vegetables are often cooled for weeks in storage facilities, requiring energy. Processed food, in particular vegetarian as opposed to vegan products, often contain animal proteins, fats and sugars from egg and milk. While it is fairly easy to buy free-range and organic eggs and milk, it is generally impossible to trace components such as milk solids, lactose, egg white etc. to their source and thereby ensure that the domesticated animals lived a species-appropriate life.

In contrast, indigenous societies who are intimately connected with their land such as the Aborigines in Australia rely on sustainable fishing and hunting for their main intake of proteins and fat. Arguably, their impact on the land and its life in general is less than the clearing that preceded farming and grazing. Furthermore, shooting of feral animals or those species advantaged by human activity such as rabbits, pigs, goats, camels, and some species of kangaroos, are critical to limit further harm to native wildlife. Not eating this meat would be wasteful. Finally, we also need to look at traditional herding societies such as the Bedouins in the Middle East, or the Mongolians in Central Asia, who settle areas unsuitable for farming but perfectly adept for grazing livestock. Having said that, a yogic diet considers more aspects than ahimsa, in particular the three gunas and shaucha discussed elsewhere.

Ahimsa is a truly universal principle in that is also concerned with you. It is perhaps the most difficult aspect of ahimsa to prevent harming yourself by your thoughts, words, and actions. This continuos exercise could also be summarised as "yogic life".

In conclusion, ahimsa is harmony with life achieved through mindful action. Living ahimsa is not about following a dogma or a commandment, but about developing a fine sense of the impact of one's daily actions. Ahimsa is about living in harmony with one's current social and natural environment, and with oneself. The following four yamas - satya, asteya, brahmacharya, and aparigraha - explore particular universal aspects of ahimsa in more detail, while the five niyamas - shaucha, santosha, tapas, svadhyaya, ishvarapranidhana.

Mahatma Ghandi demonstrating ahimsa in action;

Yama - universal concepts of interaction and attitude

अहिंसासत्यास्तेय ब्रह्मचर्यापरिग्रहाः यमाः ॥३०॥
ahiṁsā-satya-asteya brahmacarya-aparigrahāḥ yamāḥ

The first five limbs of yoga deal with concepts of universal nature and are summarised under the header of yama. Yama can be interpreted as the prerequisite for a harmonious and sustainable growth of society and life in general. They are traditionally described as codes of conduct of the individual with the external world.

The first three - ahimsa, satya and asteya - each describe what is required to achieve and maintain a harmonious environment for life and society to prosper.

The following two - brahmacharya and aparigraha - deal with attitudes of selflessness and compassion towards fellow beings, and modesty when utilizing material resources.

Taken together, the principles of yama are guidelines to minimize the potential for conflict. Only with a mindful attitude of consideration and modesty can the best environment for personal advancement be achieved, the prerequisites of which are further detailed in the five concepts of summarised in niyama.

Yama - universal concepts of interaction and attitude 

Yoga - growing 16 limbs of one body

Modern yoga is strongly influenced by the revival of the Yoga Sutras, a 200 BCE-400 CE compilation of aphorisms attributed to Patanjali. The Yoga Sutras provide the rationale and philosophical foundation for an integrated yoga practice based on 16 concepts. These are to be developed in conjunction, grown together, which is why they are also described as limbs of a single body (ānga).

The first ten limbs are traditionally summarised into two groups of five, Yama (यम) and Niyama (नियम), which outline a yogic code of conduct and personal observances, respectively.

1) Ahimsa (अहिंसा), the avoidance of harm and violence. The term is derived from the Sanskrit root hims – to strike; and/or hinsa - injury or harm, with the prefix a indicating practice of the opposite.

2) Satya (सत्य), benevolent truth. Satya is derived from the Sanskrit root sat - truth, correct

3) Asteya (अस्तेय), refraining from acquiring what is not rightfully one's own. The Sanskrit term is derived from root steya – to steal, with the prefix a indicating practice of the opposite.

4) Brahmacharya (ब्रह्मचर्य), spiritual advancement by education and training, traditionally combined with adopting a lifestyle of controlling one's sensual and material desires. Brahmacharya is a composite noun derived from the Sanskrit words Brahman - the absolute, and Charya - to follow.

5) Aparigraha (अपरिग्रह), non-appropriation and absence of greed. The term is derived from the Sanskrit root Parigraha – to claim, reach out for, with the prefix a indicating practice of the opposite.

6) Shaucha (शौच), cleanliness of mind and body. In Sanskrit Shaucha translates to purity.

7) Santosha (संतोष), contentment and accomodation in a given situation.The term is derived from the Sanskrit noun Saṃtoṣa - contentment, satisfaction.

8) Tapas (तपस्), discipline and austerity on the path towards one's goals. The literal translation of the Sanskrit term refers to heat.

9) Svādhyāya (स्वाध्याय), practise of introspection and critical self-reflection. Svādhyāya is a compound term from Sanskrit Sva (स्व) - one's own, and Adhyaya (अध्याय) - reading, lesson, lecture.

10) Ishvarapranidhana (ईश्वर प्रणिधान), acting without striving for the fruits of one's actions. Ishvarapranidhana is a compound term from Sanskrit with Ishvara (ईश्वर) translating to life force, supreme, absolute, and Pranidhana (प्रणिधान) meaning to surrender to, letting go.

11) Asana (आसन), body postures that result in a steadfast mind for an extended period of time. The Sanskrit word refers to sitting down and has been specified by Patanjali as a seated position that is firm, but relaxed for meditation. A large number of dynamic asanas have been developed over the centuries, in particular in the more recent decades.

12) Pranayama (प्राणायाम), extension of vital energy through excercises in breath control. Pranayama is a compound term from Sanskrit with Prana (प्राण) from the root prā - to fill, referring to vital energy, breath of life, and Ayama (ायाम) - expansion, extension.

13) Pratyahara (प्रत्याहार), withdrawal of senses from external phenomena in order to internalise one's consciousness. Pratyahara is a compound term of three Sanskrit words with Prati - in response to, opposed to; A - towards, near; and Hr - to bring back.

The last three limbs are grouped together in Samyama (संयम), from the Sanskrit word saṃ-yama—holding together, tying up, integrating. Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi describe the various states of absorption in an object of meditation.

14) Dharana (धारणा), single-pointed concentration and focus of the mind, actively avoiding other thoughts. The meditator is aware of her- or himself, the act of concentrating, as well as the object of concentration.  The term Dharana is based on the Sanskrit verbal root dhri - to hold, maintain, resolve.

15) Dhyana (ध्यान), uninterrupted contemplation on the object of meditation, where only a general consciousness of being and the object of concentration coexist. Dhyana is based on the Sanskrit root dhyai - to contemplate, meditate, think.

16) Samadhi (समाधि), blissful non-dualistic state of consciousness between subject and object of meditation. Samadhi is a compound term of the Sanskrit words Samā - even, equilibrium; and Dhi - intellect.

In order to grow wings in yoga all 16 limbs need to be grown together

Gunas - universal modus operandi

The term guna is derived from Sanskrit गुण and literally refers to a 'string' or 'single thread'. In yoga philosophy, the concept of gunas is used to describe the quality, tendency, or an operational principle of matter and behavior.

The Samkhya philosophy, one of the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy, differentiates three gunas of universal importance which are most commonly applied to yogic practice: sattva guna, rajas guna, and tamas guna. Balancing the three gunas is an important step towards making more controlled and sustainable progress towards any goal.

1) Sattva from Sanskrit सत्त्व literally describes 'existence', or 'reality', but is also translated as 'purity'. Nature is generally ascribed with being sattvic, as is any action with no attachment to the result, i.e. when mind, speech and actions synchronize.

2) Rajas from Sanskrit रजस् describes 'action', 'energy', and 'motion', and is attributed to be the force behind creation and evolution. If dominant, rajas can lead to excitement and passion.

3) Tamas from Sanskrit तमस् on the other hand describes 'darkness' and 'inertia'. As the force that provides resistance to change it is crucial in terms of conservation. If dominant, it can lead to lethargy and indifference.

No value judgement per se is entailed in the concept of gunas since all three are indivisible and mutually qualifying. The concept can be applied to yogic practice in many ways, such as in the selection and sequencing of asanas, as well as choosing the most appropriate diet.

Balancing the three gunas is an important step towards making more controlled and sustainable progress towards any goal.

Avidya - tinted window to the world

Clear perception of reality or the 'true nature' in any situation is an important goal in yoga practice. The ancient Yoga Sutras by Patanjali which form the theoretical basis of many modern forms of yoga discuss this point under the topic of avidya, the Sanskrit word अविद्या which translates to 'ignorance' or 'delusion'. Avidya is the opposite of vidya 'knowledge' and describes the misunderstanding and misperception of the nature of things, including ourselves.

Yoga philosophy assumes that there is an absolute reality behind the ever changing phenomena we observe. However, our perspective is limited not only by our human senses and intellect, but in addition by an individual veil of four types:

1) Asmita is translated as 'individuality' or 'egoism'. Asmita refers to how we see the world depending on who we think we are. At any given point this can be a range of limited and sometimes distorted perspectives such as the roles we choose or are given in terms of gender, nationality, within our family and professional lifes.

2) Raga is translated as 'attraction' or 'addiction'. What we hold dear, including past experiences, can cloud our view. Raga, as defined in the Yoga Sutras, does not refer to the act of enjoyment or pleasure as such, but the desire of the mind to repeat the very experience.

3) Dvesha is the opposite to raga and is translated as 'aversion'. Negative past experiences can be recalled in our memory and result in negative emotions such as anger, anxiety and stress. These emotions are then associated with similar objects and situations and limit your openness of approach to a new situation.

4) Abinivesha is the final veil of delusion and is translated as 'fear'. It is fear of loss of identity and continuation of life itself that often colours and constrains our vision by insisting on remaining within the identities that we have created for ourselves, including a limited set of ideologies and individual Weltanschauungen.

In yoga practice we aim to witness and thereby limit thought patterns that blind us from the true nature of things and ourselves.