2.37 pratisthayam sarva ratna upasthanam

When non-stealing (asteya) is established all jewels, or treasures, present themselves, or are available to the Yogi.

The third Yama (the first step in Yoga) is Asteya, or non-stealing. Clearly if you are a good person you do not steal from others, but what defines stealing? If you use a quote you have heard as your own, would this be classified as stealing? If you stay at a friends place a little longer than you were made to feel welcome, would you see this as stealing? There are all different definitions of stealing, and by checking back in with our previous Yama, Satya (truthfulness) we may see that we have stolen peoples idea’s, time or even work in the past. This doesn’t make us a bad person, simply an opportunity to live and learn. With correct dedication we learn over time that we do not need to take anything from others, as all is within us and within the Universe.

In the age of technology it is all too easy to steal the ideas of others from the world wide web. We find ourselves scouring through the many, many articles and information which is laid out at our fingertips. We see something that grabs us, speaks to us, and we devour it, hungry with knowledge. We then find ourselves passing this on to those around us, sharing the knowledge and quoting the author as if the word was gospel. But how do we even know what we read is the truth? Do we take the time to check the references, make sure the person who wrote the article was educated on what was being discussed? I know I sure as hell don’t! We trust it as fact, take on the knowledge, and it then becomes part of our belief system. Now there is a fine line between being completely naive and utterly cynical and I try not to lean too far to either side as in my mind naivety is connected to youth and cynisism to old age, so I like to remain somewhere in the middle. But think about this for a moment, if you are going to take on new knowledge, and allow it to become part of your essence, part of your believe system, then wouldn’t you like to know that this knowledge is truth, and that it’s source is being honest around where they gained this information?

The practice of Asteya may be taken as far as you are ready to take it, like everything else you read online, you may say “I have never stolen anything from anyone, so I am practicing Asteya.” Simple. Or you may say “I will take note of where I gather my things from. These things being both material and non-material, such as information, conversations with friends, time with people, education, and even how and when I contact people.”

Take what you will from this post, most certainly not gospel it is simply meant for contemplation, and just a little something to think about (these last words borrowed from my teacher, Dena Kingsberg).

With peace, Alicia xxx