Aparigraha — Non-possessiveness and the Knowledge of Past Lives
Aparigraha (non-grasping, non-possessiveness) is the fifth Yama — releasing all tendency to accumulate, hoard, or cling to people, things, and experiences — and its extraordinary fruit is the illumination of past and future lives.
Sutra 2.39 states the fruit of Aparigraha: 'aparigraha sthairye janma kathamta sambodhah' — when one is established in non-grasping, knowledge of the how and why of rebirth arises. The connection between non-possessiveness and knowledge of past lives is not obvious until one understands that it is precisely the grasping for experience (including the grasping for continuation of this particular life) that creates the seeds of future rebirth. When all grasping is released, consciousness becomes transparent to its own history. On a practical level, Aparigraha is the practice of experiencing life fully without holding on — allowing each experience to arise, be fully felt, and pass without leaving a residue of craving. This is the same insight that underlies mindfulness practice: full presence without grasping.
When one is established in non-possessiveness, knowledge of the how and why of existence arises.
Buddhist teacher Ajahn Chah's entire teaching can be summarized as Aparigraha: 'If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will have complete peace.' This direct transmission of the fruit of Aparigraha confirms Patanjali's teaching across traditions.
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
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- What the Yoga Sutras say about envy and comparison
Aparigraha is letting each experience be fully felt and then pass without residue (2.39). It dissolves the hoarding instinct that makes another person's gain register as your loss. The fruit the sutra actually names — knowledge of the how and why of birth — is far stranger than that practical benefit.