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Marcus J Freed
Ethics of the Yogis
Part 3: Non-stealing/Asetya
“Do not steal [ tignov ]”
Exodus 20:13
“Do not steal [ tingovu ]”
Leviticus 19:11
“All wealth comes to one who is established in non-stealing [ Asetya ]”
Yoga Sutras 2:37
Theft comes easy
Forgive me Rabbi, for I have sinned. I invited a not-so-good friend for dinner when I knew they would be busy, because I didn't really want to host them anyway. I borrowed some CD's from a friend and then copied all of the excellent music. I even spent time asking a salesman plenty of details about a new kitchen suite when I was intending to buy my new kitchen from another shop.
The Torah
All of these are forms of theft according to Jewish law, albeit of different kinds. There are two initial prohibitions mentioned in the Torah, and the commentator Rashi explains that the first refers to stealing things of monetary value [i] , while the second refers to kidnapping [ii] . A third category is discussed in the Talmud [iii] , where you ‘steal the mind' of somebody, allowing them to think one thing when actually you are doing something else. In Rabbinic Hebrew this principle is known as Geneivat Da'at and refers to the examples of inviting somebody when you know they are busy. This also explains my guilt when I knowingly waste the time of a salesman when actually I just wanted to get information from them without paying for it.
The Sutras
The yogic principle of Asetya, the third in the series of Yamas, means ‘non-stealing' and is clearly outlined in the sutras with a promise that abundant wealth will follow if you adhere to it. Sri K Pattabhi Jois, father of the contemporary Ashtanga movement, explains that asetya begins with not stealing material property but extends to not cheating people with ‘sweet words' or achieving selfish ends when pretending to be truthful [iv] .
Stealing on the mat
This week's challenge for the Jewish yogi is to practice Asetya/Lo Tingov on the yoga mat and to consider how we might carry on this practice outside of the studio. The yoga teacher Reema Datta [v] explained that we can be stealing on the yoga mat when we try to get ourselves into a position that we know is not really ‘ours', and our body is just not ready for.
Paying with Pain
Reema's comment is fascinating in the light of Maimonides' Laws of Stealing, where he outlines the punishments for stealing which range from returning the object you have stolen along with a penalty payment of up to four or five times its value [vi] . Perhaps this principle can be experienced on a physical level, when we try to ‘steal' an asana [physical yoga position] and end up with an injury that can last for weeks or even months. In this yogic reading of Maimonides, the injury is the penalty payment.
The yoga sutras make a wonderful promise of abundance and I'm sure the Rabbis would agree that spiritual wealth is available to everyone who refrains from stealing. I'm going to see if I can tap into this next time I attend a yoga class, and I'll just double-check that I've paid for my class on the way in.
Shalom
Marcus J Freed
London, August 2006.
[i] Exodus 20:13
[ii] Rashi on Leviticus 19:11
[iii] Babylonian Talmud, Chullin 94a-b
[iv] p.7, Yoga Mala (North Point Press: New York, 2002) by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.
[v] Reema's family have been practicing Yoga for several generations and she is the co-founder of The Usha Yoga Foundation, which brings Yoga to rural communities. http://www.ushayoga.org/
[vi] Sefer Nezikim, Hilchot Ganeva, 1:5-6