Part of understanding our grief, struggles and pain includes understanding why these things show up in our lives to begin with. It isn’t a way to punish us for something we have done in this life or a past one. You’ve done nothing “wrong.”

Let us pause here though, and consider the notion that we must harvest the fruit before we can enjoy it. Aparigraha however, is not the fruit itself but instead the opportunity to harvest — it’s the ripening of the fruit.

From here, one might wonder where the meaning of “continence” originated and how it got confused with Brahmacharya in the first place. As with many words in English, continence has its roots in Latin, with the original word being “continentia.”

The first three principles may seem fairly obvious to most, but we should also pause to consider the reasons of why. Taking something that you know doesn’t belong to you often has more ramifications beyond material or monetary loss. While it may seem innocuous at first, you have little way of knowing the benefit your ill-gotten gains may have had in the hands of their previous owner.

Satya is generally translated to mean “truthfulness,” but we shouldn’t limit our practice of this principle to simply avoid lying. Being honest or truthful goes well beyond just the words we use. An intentional practice of Sayta means that we strive to be honest in our actions as well.

The first principle of Yama is Ahisma. This can be translated to mean non-harming or non-violence. You would be hard pressed to find any culture throughout history that didn’t have some version of this first principle as part of their belief system. It is most commonly referred to as “the Golden Rule.”

Perhaps you’ve already come to understand, or at least have a vague idea of the mission of Ashtanga Village, but it might also help to guide your process to hear what the seed of our desired growth is.