The Beauty of Letting Go

This week's podcast dives into the yama (abstinence) of aparigraha (non-greed; non-covetousness).

"When non-greed is confirmed, a thorough illumination of the how and why of one's birth comes."- Yoga Sutras 2:39

When we stop striving to achieve certain experiences, states of being, or material items, we become established in non-greed. Non-greed is essentially to have gratitude for all that IS here with us currently, without longing or hanging onto what isn't there. This can apply to material items, relationships and power struggles. The more we become capable of letting go of needing to have something, even answers about our purpose in life, the answers arrive on their own accord.

Life takes it's natural course towards our spiritual destination. There is no need to rush the process or search for answers. Rather if we become patient and humble, the answers and our higher purpose become apparent. Basically,
"illumination of how and why one's birth" refers to understanding why we are here on this Earth, Self knowledge (knowledge of the Divine embodied within) and seeing clearly our highest purpose (dharma).

If we allow greed (desires) to rule our lives, our desires end up robbing us of our internal peace and our purpose becomes muddled with chasing external experiences to be ok. The more desires drive us, the more unsatisfied we are when those desires are not being fulfilled. When we step into a heart space of non-greed, we no longer covet certain experiences and no longer require those experiences to justify our self-worth or validate our happiness.

To let go of coveting (experiences, people, things) is to simultaneously be able to embrace the freedom that comes along with not allowing our desires to determine our happiness. To become established in non-greed, we must also establish ourselves in the attitude of gratitude.

When we become truly grateful for all that we currently have, we can then also let go of needing certain fleeting 'securities' and therefore become self-sustaining. Meaning, our joy is generated from within and shared outwardly with the world, rather than needing the world to generate a false sense of joy that leaves when the outer stimulation is no longer present.

Non-greed = gratitude, acceptance, letting go of attachments to certain outcomes....

Special outro music at the end of the podcast is called 'Trust' (feat. Mitch Brady) and is produced by DJ Karishtan. It is available for download via iTunes and Spotify.