Contd. from knowledge sheet 70
aparigrahasthairye janmakathaṅtāsaṁbodhaḥ ॥39॥
अपरिग्रहस्थैर्ये जन्मकथंतासंबोधः ॥३९॥
Being established in non-accumulation, there arises the knowledge of the past and future incarnations.
- Patañjali Yoga Sutra 2.39
Non-acceptance or non-accumulation of objects, or things from people, is aparigraha. When you practice aparigraha and refuse to take anything, whether things, compliments or insults, you acquire the ability to remember your previous lifetimes. The memory of previous lifetimes brings enormous strength in the present moment. It brings clarity, purposefulness to your actions and happiness. When a person wants more and more, then he is obsessed with fear. He does not know the eternal value of life. Life has been there for ages and will continue for ages to come.
Non-accumulating simply means confidence in one's existence. Confidence is in one's ability. Knowledge of one's Self. If you know how to bake bread, then you will not go on baking and storing it for a year. It will become stale and inedible. You will bake fresh bread whenever you want to. In China, there is a proverb: "What you give, you gain more. Whatever you scatter, you will have it all. You lose what you hold on to." When you scatter it all, it all comes to you. Everything is yours all over again.
A person who is very afraid of himself and has no idea of his strength is very stingy. A stingy person is very selfish and hoards and accumulates. My dear, you are going to depart from this planet very soon. Another 20, 30, or 40 years is not much, the time is not far away. You are going to die and come back again. How clean have you kept your mind? How free have you kept your heart? How sincere have you been in your actions? Reflect on these questions. The memory of your past lives has an important role to play in your life, strengthening you and helping you to not commit the same mistakes that you have made before. How will that knowledge come to you? By not taking in more garbage into yourself. By practicing aparigraha.
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(This is part of a series of knowledge sheets based on Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's commentaries on Patanjali Yoga Sutras.)
