Ahimsa
NON VIOLENCE ……… IS The essence of Right CONDUCT – it tells U to stop violating the natural laws of existence !
“your struggle and suffering is but your own doing it’s your delusion that others you can harm it’s but yourself….. that is being harmed”
A fundamental belief – ahimsā paramo dharmaḥ (Non Violence is the ultimate form of dharma practice) is conceived as the essence of Spiritual practices. However, this core principle has to be understood and experienced deeply. Ahimsa is much more than the very act by which a person directly or indirectly supports killing or injury of other living beings. Yes, harming others is an act of violence which creates a karmic bondage. Although this form of violence has to be avoided, there is another form of Hinsa(violence) which needs greater attention.
True ‘Ahimsa’…..
It is broadly accepted that the language and terms used by the ancient masters had deeper esoteric meanings. The term ‘Ahimsa’ means much more than just the idea of practicing physical non-violence. It refers to a more subtle and more damaging form of violence – the violence which results in the harm or damage to one’s own virtues and potentials.
It is stated that our behaviour is a direct manifestation of our virtues. If our virtues are healthy, our behaviour is healthy. Our desires, actions, thoughts stem from the activity of our virtues. Thus, all kinds of physical acts of violence in fact, originate from a disturbed virtue. The act is just the result, not the cause of violence.
The violence to one’s virtues is solely at the discretion of the individual. Nature has empowered him with a will and the intentions therefrom. If one’s intentions are corrupted, one’s actions are corrupted. A corrupt action in turn distorts one’s intentions – a vicious cycle ensues.
Our enlightened masters have shown the way to break free from this vicious cycle by adopting a non-violence discipline in one’s life. The seeker is advised to choose the ‘satvik’ (which aligns to ‘sat’ or fundamental laws of nature) form of living, which helps balance one’s intentions and in turn neutralise the very cause of karma.
The practice of Ahimsa results in the practitioner being bestowed with the boons of ‘Lakshmi’ – the symbol of wealth and prosperity in both the material and spiritual world!
The practice of spirituality is much more than an outwardly ritualistic practice. Our efforts have to touch our soul energies and purify them. A simple analogy can help understand this higher form of spiritual practice. We eat gross food to nourish ourselves. But, we forget that we have an intrinsic ability to derive nourishment from air, the sun and other electromagnetic sources. And further, we have our very own infinite source of Pranic energy which we need to tap for our divine nourishment. We need to digesting and assimilate gross and subtle forms of food.…
Esoterically, Ahimsa also refers to the ability to assimilate our gross and subtle experiences into knowledge! Only with such an approach can we experience the universal forces governing our life, digest them and utilise them for truly purposeful living. Understanding the role of nonviolence in our lives is the first step towards spiritual transcendence – the first step towards freeing ourselves from the bondages of karma and manifesting our eternal divine form of existence!
