Asteya Monster
The poets of old say that time is fleeting like a shooting star that bursts across the sky, sharing light and wonder then fading fast into the distance. Our time is brief and yet still, we can make the most of this beautiful dream called life. Our shooting stars deserve to shine as bright as we can make them. Yet, making the most of life requires grit and an unyielding determination to not doubt oneself even in the face of the most trying of circumstances. In yoga, there are five yamas which guide our actions with others, ourselves and the world at large. One of these yamas is asteya which literally translates as "non-stealing". So how does asteya apply to making the most out of life?
I first wondered about the meaning of this mystical yama when I started my yoga practice nearly ten years ago. It seems absurd after all, that asteya would even apply to most of us. I think to myself 'I don't steal - stealing means taking from a store or robbing a bank'. And yes, by that definition, it would be correct to say that most of us aren't thieves. However, we are thieves in a much more sinister and subtle manner because we steal from ourselves and others with our thoughts and energy. Crazy, right?!
Well, I'll give you an example of asteya which you may not have considered. This example involves stealing from yourself with replaying negative thoughts in your head. Negative thoughts might include worrying about if you look polished and presentable enough to impress in public or whether what you might have said could have been off-putting to someone because they didn't smile enough while you were talking. Perhaps just one of these worrying seeds of thought plants itself and for ten or twenty minutes you get lost in space thinking about it over and over again, letting the wheels of the monkey mind spin you into a deep hole of doubt and self-chaos. The toll taken is your time. In what seems like moments, you rob yourself of positive energy and time by hyper-dwelling on insignificant, some might say petty matters of superficiality. And yet, each and every one of us has been down the rabbit hole of negative thought. Perhaps you are so familiar with the rabbit hole that you don't even notice that you often live there and perhaps don't even realize the regularity of your visits to this prison. You are in a prison and the prison guard is the asteya monster of old. He has haunted us for years.
Asteya also involves stealing of energy from others. When we take too much of someone's time by over-talking in a one-sided conversation then we may be robbing others of their energy in listening to us (assuming that the conversation isn't balanced and reciprocal with both sides supporting and listening to one another). Asking too many favors of someone and not returning them is another example of stealing from others. If you've been on the receiving end of someone stealing your energy, it may feel a bit like the dementors in Harry Potter feeding off of your vital soul energy. Well maybe not quite that intense, but you get the point. Instead of feeling nourished, you walk away feeling exhausted from the exchange.
A debatable subject of asteya in the modern age is our constant use of electronics and social media. I tend to personally view social media as a necessary evil. In so many ways social media allows us to connect positively to one another, to bridge distances, share new ideas and expand our collective social consciousness. That said however, when we feel the need to capture every moment of life as a catalogue of artificial achievement for our egos to display to others, then, we have to ask ourselves if social media is robbing us of being in the present moment? Maybe yes, maybe no. To be fair, a lot depends on the degree of moderation and power that we give to this double-edged sword. The need to look out upon the vast sea of experiences of others in our lives and to draw comparison to our own experiences, no matter how big or how small, may leave a sense of emptiness. Being constantly connected to our devices may also rob us of emotional, physical and mental energy that would perhaps be better utilized for more significant matters of life. If a gnawing sense of emptiness is present when you plug in, then the asteya monster may be at work. Just be weary that he doesn't get you...
So back to the matter at large: living a life where you neither steal nor are stolen from. That is a difficult objective to achieve. But if we turn our awareness to the moments when stealing might be happening, then perhaps we can better preserve our energy and that of others. Perhaps we can use that energy to live fuller, brighter lives filled with purpose, engagement, and contentment. Battle on dragon warriors! Together we will slay the asteya monster!