than I am in fact myself capable of, then I am posing; I am acting hyp
ocritically. So at each stage of our lives, we do our best with yamas, the
external moralities, but it is only through refining the self that we really
improve the quality of this morality. One hopes that at later stages of
one's life, although one has striven all one's life to tell the truth or not
to be possessive of other people's property or not to steal, there will be
deeper and subtler meanings to these moral principles, which reveal
themselves as we progress. They will be more refined within us. So, for
example, when we're young, stealing might mean actually stealing
something from a shop. Whereas when we're older, we might refrain
even from saying a harsh word that might steal somebody's reputation
from them because if you destroy somebody's reputation, you're
stealing from them. So there are different levels of subtlety, and it is
only through finding ourselves that we actually become worthy of the
expression of the higher levels of morality. It's not something where we
can punch above our weight. We have got to be up to the weight.
Similarly, we cannot impose our truth on others, and we must al
ways make sure that our actions do not do violence to others. Let me
give you a mundane example. If I give up chocolate for a year, it is an
austerity practiced on myself, a harshness that may lead to better
health. If I force my whole family to abandon chocolate for a year, it
is a violence practiced on them and is more likely to lead to family re
sentment and strife than to harmony, whatever the beneficial effect on
their health. Once again, example is all, and when example expresses
truth, it has the power to transform others.
Non-stealing, or not misappropriating what rightly belongs to
others (asteya), is the third yama. As children, we learn not to take or
steal others toys, but non-stealing has many other implications. Oo we
not steal when we consume more than our share? Is it not stl'aling that
a small portion of the world's population consuml's thl' vast majority
of its resources? And as I suggested just bcforl', thl'n' an· t'Vl'll .�uhtll·r
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