2.37 Results of fairness and generosity (asteya)

2.37 For the person established in fairness and generosity (asteya), prosperity unfolds effortlessly.

In present times, consumerism is a major engine of economic activity in many countries. It’s quite common to see advertisements, movies, and other media advancing the notion that a person’s worth and social standing are closely related to their patterns of consumption. In such an environment, and given the growing economic disparities around the world, it may not come as a surprise that those who do not have what is so highly valued in society will try to do whatever they can to access the goods and resources that seem so important in our world. As a result of the deep influence of money in all sectors of contemporary life, it seems like many of us dedicate significant amounts of time to focusing our attention and energy on money: how to make it, how to keep it, and how to invest it. It has been suggested that because such large numbers of people dedicate so much time focused on money that money has become an idol or god and that (unconsciously) people are meditating on money and on the lack of it. A typical marketing approach is to tell you that there is something wrong with you if you do not have X product or experience. That is followed by the “call to action” you must undertake to buy it and therefore feel complete or whole. Even when you know the strategy, hearing time and time again that you are lacking something may end up becoming a message you internalize.

Do you see the world as a place of scarcity?
Or do you see the world as a place of abundance?
Does this view feed a tendency towards feeling lack or generosity?
How do you see yourself in relation to the world of material comforts?
How much of your time do you invest meditating on money?
How does that compare to the amount of time you spend cultivating genuine relationships with yourself and with others?
Does what you own own you?
How do you know that what you have is truly yours?
Do you cling to what you have?
How do you cultivate fairness and generosity towards yourself?
What does it take to extend that generosity to others?
How do you determine that something is fair?
Are those decisions biased or unbiased?
What is your definition of prosperity?

As usual, one more way of exploring the meaning of this sutra is by chanting it.
You can choose to chant it in its traditional form with some of the words coming together:

2.37 asteyapratiṣṭhāyāṃ sarvaratnopasthānam
अस्तेयप्रतिष्ठायां सर्वरत्नोपस्थानम् ॥३७॥

Another option is to chant each word in the sutra individually:

• asteya
• pratiṣṭhāyāṃ
• sarva
• ratna
• upasthānam

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