Aparigraha

Aparigraha, the fifth of the classical restraints, is usually translated as non-possessiveness or non-hoarding: the discipline of not accumulating beyond genuine need, and of holding what one does possess without clutching it.

The teaching is subtler than simple austerity. The problem it addresses is not possession itself but the grasping relationship to possession - the anxiety of acquiring, protecting, and expanding what is held. A person of few belongings can grasp them tightly; a person of many can hold them lightly. Aparigraha concerns the grip, not the inventory.

Classical commentaries extend the principle beyond objects to opinions, roles, and even spiritual attainments, all of which can be hoarded and clutched. The practice in every domain is the same: acquiring what is needed, using what is acquired, and releasing the rest before it begins to own its owner.

From the Editors' Desk, Shastra Digest.