Welcome back to this week’s readings from “The Secret of the Yamas- A Spiritual Guide to Yoga” by John McAfee. This post explores the Yama – Aparigraha [ translates from Sanskrit to English meaning non-attachment]. Quoting directly from McAfee’s text: “…What is this individuality that we are so desperate to perpetuate? Who is the “I” that seeks continuity? What exactly are we attempting to make immortal? Invariably, the answer to these questions is the “I” of the past, the “I” created in memory by the process of thinking. It is the fragment of thought that divides the world into Me and Not-Me, Mine and Not-Mine. It is the ego. The ego craves immortality, and it is the ego that creates our prisons of continuity through the mechanisms of attachment…”
I used to always wonder why McAfee’s book only dealt with just the 5 Yamas and did not also include the 5 Niyamas…but I am finally getting it…there’s more than enough to contemplate here. I will say I have read this little book at least 20 times now and I still am learning about myself and how difficult it is to “fix” these mechanisms of change onto my being. Best wishes for your practice for living more consciously. Namaste
omlinkblog 
This post is a reading from the 6th chapter of McAfee’s book “The Secret of the Yamas- A Spiritual Guide to Yoga” . In this chapter McAfee talks about the Yama of Aparigraha. It translates to absence of greed, or to grasp onto or to be attached. It talks about the possible meaning of this Yama including letting things go in the physical or spiritual world. It says that we cannot become non-attachment into our lives because it will resurface, and we will become proud from our lack of attachment. It also says any attempt to create non-attachment will further strengthen the source of attachment.
Something that I found interesting in this reading is the question of why we are attached to anything at all. The reading says that we like attachment for the continuity, and how we feel secure in the fragile construction in our everyday existence. I thought it was a little bit shocking but true when the reading said that continuity is just us hoping to grasp onto the continuation of ourselves. How we rarely ever think about death and personal mortality, and we cling to the belief of afterlife or immortality.
A source that I think relates to this reading is a video of a Ted talk by Christian Jarret titled Why are we so attached to our things? It talked about how our sense of ownership starts very early in our life. It basically supports the idea that we value items more significantly after we own it. It also says that we connect sense of self, and the things we consider ours. These feelings were demonstrated as early as when a baby became recognizably upset when something they considered to be their own was taken away from them. This video supports the ideas of this reading, but with a more psychological approach.
Nicole Laing
Yoga Spring 2020
(Wednesday 8:30-11:50)
Well stated and supported OM
In this audio clip John McAfee was teaching about non-attachment. He says that I’d we want to not be attached we have to be indifferent to the things go around us. But that if we try to force the non-attachment to happen we ironically will develop an attachment to the idea that we are pursuing non-attachment. People develop attachments because they like having continuity in their lives. But spontaneity is more of a natural flow than continuity.
I would 100% consider myself something that at times can have a big problem with attachment. As a preteen I even had my father stage an “intervention” to purge my belongings because he was afraid I was becoming a hoarder. In retrospect I agree with him to a degree, at the time I was holding on to things that were pretty much garbage or junk bc for one reason or another I was attached to them, usually claiming they’d be used for an art project at some point in the future. This got to the point where there was no longer space for me to sleep in my bedroom. Since them I’ve slowly been learning that sometimes I need to let go or certain possessions and that life will go on without them and I’ll survive.
This idea of non-attachment reminded me of the trend of living a minimalist lifestyle, as well as the criticisms towards said lifestyle. Particularly that it’s a rich people thing because less fortunate people are believed to cherish their possessions more, or because rich people are easily able to replace the things they had previously gotten rid of if they need it again.
https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/design/love-decluttering-and-minimalism-youre-probably-rich-and-showing-off-20170327-gv73n0
Your writing shows you have put a lot of thought towards this Yama, and I’m sure you will continue to evolve more so, Namaste 🙏🏽
Non attachment, can be the idea of more. We have to recognize that non-attachment doesn’t need to take over reality. If we give away all of our attachments we will become proud in the lack of attachments and cultivating an attitude. We cling to love, religions, and materialistic things, as well as our identities.
Any idea to get rid of attachment will only increase the level of attachment until we can find the root of the feeling of attachment and cause itself. Why are we attached to anything at all? Regularity is something most people relate with comfort. The identification of this will show us what continuity is really about. We can hope that the individual personality might also continue within the removal of continuity because it has no real place, but continuity is the root of attachment. The ego creates immortality and continuity of attachment, as long as the ego functions, attachment will exist.
I believe attachments exist because of continuity. We live in a world of materialistic things and a world that revolves around money and power, although we live in a democracy, the more power an individual has, the more attachments exist, not to say that people with power can’t be free of attachment, but take the president for example, he has so many responsibilities and with that comes attachments, fame, and attachment to society. The president relies on the election and votes to be in power, which in turn he holds rallies and promotes himself to create attachments so he will gain votes.
Namaste 🙏🏽
Brian Halliday
The desire for attachment will never leave us. As it was stated in the book, even if we get rid of all of our possessions and attachment to them, we will still have attachment to our non-attachment and could potentially build our ego up in a destructive way. Attachment is a natural thing that we all go through but its how we act on it and what are attachments are too is what defines us.
I think It is important to have attachments, but attachment to things that we actually find important rather than objects that could be harmful to ourselves. Being attached to something we love like music, a sport, our jobs, a loved one (in a healthy way of course) is what defines us as people. However, if we are attached to these things in a bad way, say because of money, that’s where things become dangerous. I find being too attached to something inanimate and physical can be dangerous. If we do that, we will never be satisfied because like McAfee stated in the book, they don’t last forever and we will always be searching for more. Attachments are important, but they have to be healthy and something that doesn’t damage our ego, emotions or our well-being.
Namaste 🙏🏽
This clip focuses the Yama called Aparigraha, which translates to non-attachment. McAfee discusses the root of attachment, which he believes to be our craving for continuity and the perception of control within our self-constructed worlds. Through this intense craving, we even cling onto beliefs that make us feel more secure in our hopes of continuing on after death. Our own personal egos are the fuel for such cravings and therefore, our attachments.
This Yama is very interesting to me, and I resonate strongly with the idea that we are desperate for continuity. I often find myself clinging to labels about who I am or who I am supposed to be, mainly because of a need for control which is most definitely rooted in ego. I often find myself basing my identity around certain social constructions or material things. Attaching myself to such things is not a healthy way to live, and I think it will be very beneficial of me to keep this Yama in mind from now on.
(https://www.ekhartyoga.com/articles/philosophy/aparigraha-practising-non-attachment) This source talks more about Aparigraha and goes a bit more in depth about another aspect of the Yama, which concerns actions. The source states that, according to this Yama, one should focus on the present action, rather than the results of that action. This is another way to practice non-attachment, as it teaches one the importance of being in the moment and not getting caught up in or needlessly attached to the anxieties of the future.
– Sofia Gandolfo
Namaste 🙏🏽