Asteya

Definition

Asteya is the practice of not taking what does not belong to us. Beyond material theft, it includes not taking others’ time, energy, ideas, or credit. It is the third yama in Patañjali’s system.

Etymology

The term is composed of a- (negative prefix) + steya (theft), derived from the root stā (to take, to appropriate). Asteya literally means “non-stealing” or “absence of the inclination to steal.”

Context in the Yoga Sutras

Patañjali introduces asteya in Sutra II.30. Sutra II.37 describes its fruit: asteya-pratiṣṭhāyāṃ sarva-ratna-upasthānam — “When asteya is firmly established, all wealth presents itself to the practitioner.” This paradox indicates that one who stops pursuing what belongs to others finds unexpected abundance.

Commentators interpret this as liberation from a scarcity mentality. When we stop feeling that we lack something, we discover that we have enough.

Practical Application

Subtle forms of stealing:

• Systematically arriving late (stealing time)
• Monopolizing conversations (stealing attention)
• Taking credit for others’ ideas without acknowledgment
• Demanding more than fair in exchanges
• Withholding information that others need

At work:

• Charging for work not done
• Using company resources for personal purposes
• Claiming team achievements as one’s own

In relationships:

• Extracting emotional support without reciprocity
• Invading the other’s personal space or privacy
• Projecting one’s own expectations without respecting the other’s autonomy

In consumption:

• Consider the impact of consuming more than necessary
• Recognize how certain products involve the exploitation of others

Relationship with Yoga Practice

In āsana practice, asteya manifests as respect for one’s own rhythm. Not “stealing” postures for which the body is not prepared, forcing what does not belong to the present moment. Danilo Hernández notes that impatience in yoga is a subtle form of violated asteya: we want to take results that do not yet belong to us.

The Bihar School of Yoga expands the concept: asteya includes not stealing one’s own peace of mind. Every time the mind obsesses over what it doesn’t have, it practices a form of inner theft, subtracting attention from the present moment.

In meditation, asteya means not clinging to past experiences or anticipating future ones. Each session is what it is, without comparison or expectation.