I have covered 3 aspects of Yama in my earlier posts - Satya or truthfulness, Ahimsa or Non violence and Brahmacharya - the awareness of higher reality. Today, I take up another aspect of Yama - Astheya or non-stealing.
Though many of us know what stealing means, we generally tend to look at stealing as taking someone's object only. Let's expand the definition to include not just physical objects, but also time, thoughts, energy, emotions and ideas. How many of us have not forcibly taken someone's time, ideas emotions etc.? So most of us are thieves of something or the other, however harmless it may seem. Just because a cop will not arrest me for stealing someone's time, does not mean that I am not a thief. We read an article of value, but do not think to thank the author, we go to a place of worship and partake of the food and do not give anything back in return, we bug someone to help us with ideas and when that idea clicks, we do not remember the person. We depend on someone to solve our emotional or loneliness issues, but ignore them when we are fine. All these are examples, where we have taken something of value from someone and did not pay for it. So, from a spiritual standpoint, it is an act of stealing.
Why should one not steal? Well, from the grossest perspective, it is illegal and can land one in jail. From a slightly higher perspective, the moral perspective, as taught in almost all religions, one should not take someone else's property, whatever be it. Since we are all spiritual students, let's explore this from a higher plane. Why does one steal? Obviously, it is to get something which I cannot normally get. But, at a more basic level, why is there a need for an object? It is to fill a void in our life and we hope that the object we are seeking will fill that void. Next, why the void at all? We are in reality the Supreme Bliss and still are seeking a measly object to be happy? That's because we are overcome by ignorance about our true self and by identifying ourselves with the puny body/mind/intellect, we try to be happy by finding different objects. When one object does not satisfy us, we move to the next object. When we want an object and cannot get it by normal means, either we become frustrated or in extreme situations indulge in stealing that object.
Let us explore another concept of spirituality to nail the futility of stealing. The other day, as I was browsing, I got a strange message asking me to click on a site. I clicked and it took me to Bank of X site and strangely, I was in somebody's account. Seeing a huge balance, I was tempted to move some money from here to my personal bank account. Telling myself it was not right, but still overcome by momentary greed, I moved some money into my account and exited. I went into my account and noticed the large amount credited and was happy. I was so happy that I started laughing and shouting. That's when my wife tapped me and told me to wake up!!
Now, in the dream, who was the person browsing? it was Me. Who created the message about the bank account? Me !. Whose account was I into ? An account I had created in my mind! Whose account did I transfer from and into? I transferred money from an account in my mind to another account in my mind. So, who stole what from whom?? As ludicrous as this seems, when one steals, this is exactly what happens. As mentioned earlier, the only reality is Brahman. This means there is no second at all and any multiplicity we see is only due to ignorance. When the only reality is Brahman, what am I stealing and what from whom?
I will let readers mull over this !
Please buy and read any of these books:
My Humble Understanding Of Spirituality
Attain Infinite Bliss - A Spiritual Guide
The Spirit of Spirituality
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