Aparigraha: Having only what we need gives us everything we require
In my time of study in yoga I can definitely say that there has been no greater moment of relevance, as well as opportunity for understanding, of the Yamas and the Niyamas - the guidelines of interaction with self and others (yoga sutra II:30 and II:32). When suffering is high, there is a type of combustion process happening within each individual as we are squeezed to see ‘what is it that I truly believe in’. Particularly when it relates to things being taken away from us that we have gotten used to having, be it a job, possessions, a loved one or even a certain routine. In these moments there is the great reveal of ourselves, we get to meet ourselves afresh; we can see where we are weak and where we are strong.
In the turbulence of the last few weeks, the world has been in the grip of panic - some of the greatest panic coming from those people and places who have the most superficial of things to lose ie the countries and the individuals with the most ‘stuff’. Distilled down, the most precious thing that we all have to lose is life itself and this does not discriminate. Those with wealth will without question have better access to better health care, better support systems but also a deepened false construct of invincibility, which leads to the the depth of mental vulnerability we’re currently experiencing when the facade of those ‘securities’ is revealed.
Having too much stuff, makes people fragile. So much energy expended on the care and the concern of things, that at the end of the day, will not and do not assist us in crossing the ocean of suffering. Over-consumption is time taken away from the deeper more important reflections of life. In a life that covets materialism, an entire lifetime can pass and death can arrive before any of the meaningful work of a human adventure has even begun. This is the teaching of yoga sutra II:39 - a person who is not greedy will be secure. When we are not saturated with stuff to take care of, we have time to think deeply - this sutra is not about living in poverty, the teaching is to distinguish what it is we truly need from what it is we simply think we need, leaving more time to not only reflect on the basic fundamental questions of life but also leaving more for others.
Aparigraha is the moving further and further away from materialism, it means ‘hands off’, not taking what we do not need. A life poised in protection atop a mountain of toilet paper, canned food or money in our me and mine mentality, is a life wasted.