From Swami Sivananda's chapter on Ahimsa

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>From Swami Sivananda's chapter on Ahimsa

 

"Bliss Divine".

 

AHIMSA

 

By

 

SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA

 

Introduction

Meaning of Ahimsa

Subtle Forms of Himsa

Ahimsa, a Quality of the Strong

Gradational Practice of Ahimsa

Benefits of the Practice of Ahimsa

The Power of Ahimsa

Limitations to the Practice of Ahimsa

A Universal Vow

 

INTRODUCTION

 

In the regeneration and divinisation of man, the first step is to

eliminate his beastly nature. The

predominant trait in beasts is cruelty. Therefore, wise sages

prescribe Ahimsa (non-injury). This is

the most effective master-method to counteract and eradicate

completely the brutal, cruel

Pasu-Svabhava (bestial nature) in man.

 

Practice of Ahimsa develops love. Ahimsa is another name for

truth or love. Ahimsa is universal

love. It is pure love. It is divine Prem. Where there is love,

there you will find Ahimsa. Where there

is Ahimsa, there you will find love and selfless service. They

all go together.

 

The one message of all saints and prophets of all times and

climes, is the message of love, of

Ahimsa, of selfless service. Ahimsa is the noblest and best of

traits that are found expressed in the

daily life and activities of perfected souls. Ahimsa is the one

means, not only to attain Salvation, but

also to enjoy uninterrupted peace and bliss. Man attains peace by

injuring no living creature.

 

There is one religion - the religion of love, of peace. There is

one message, the message of Ahimsa.

Ahimsa is a supreme duty of man.

 

Ahimsa, or refraining from causing pain to any living creature,

is a distinctive quality emphasized by

Indian ethics. Ahimsa or non-violence has been the central

doctrine of Indian culture from the

earliest days of its history. Ahimsa is a great spiritual force.

 

MEANING OF AHIMSA

 

Ahimsa or non-injury, of course, implies non-killing. But,

non-injury is not merely non-killing. In its

comprehensive meaning, Ahimsa or non-injury means entire

abstinence from causing any pain or

harm whatsoever to any living creature, either by thought, word,

or deed. Non-injury requires a

harmless mind, mouth, and hand.

 

Ahimsa is not mere negative non-injury. It is positive, cosmic

love. It is the development of a mental

attitude in which hatred is replaced by love. Ahimsa is true

sacrifice. Ahimsa is forgiveness. Ahimsa

is Sakti (power). Ahimsa is true strength.

 

SUBTLE FORMS OF HIMSA

 

Only the ordinary people think that Ahimsa is not to hurt any

living being physically. This is but the

gross form of Ahimsa. The vow of Ahimsa is broken even by showing

contempt towards another

man, by entertaining unreasonable dislike for or prejudice

towards anybody, by frowning at another

man, by hating another man, by abusing another man, by speaking

ill of others, by backbiting or

vilifying, by harbouring thoughts of hatred, by uttering lies, or

by ruining another man in any way

whatsoever.

 

All harsh and rude speech is Himsa (violence or injury). Using

harsh words to beggars, servants or

inferiors is Himsa. Wounding the feelings of others by gesture,

expression, tone of voice and unkind

words is also Himsa. Slighting or showing deliberate discourtesy

to a person before others is wanton

Himsa. To approve of another's harsh actions is indirect Himsa.

To fail to relieve another's pain, or

even to neglect to go to the person in distress is a sort of

Himsa. It is the sin of omission. Avoid

strictly all forms of harshness, direct or indirect, positive or

negative, immediate or delayed. Practice

Ahimsa in its purest form and become divine. Ahimsa and Divinity

are one.

 

AHIMSA, A QUALITY OF THE STRONG

 

If you practice Ahimsa, you should put with insults, rebukes,

criticisms and assaults also. You should

never retaliate nor wish to offend anybody even under extreme

provocation. You should not

entertain any evil thought against anybody. You should not

harbour anger. You should not curse.

You should be prepared to lose joyfully even your life in the

cause of Truth. The Ultimate Truth can

be attained only through Ahimsa.

 

Ahimsa is the acme of bravery. Ahimsa is not possible without

fearlessness. Non-violence cannot be

practiced by weak persons. Ahimsa cannot be practiced by a man

who is terribly afraid of death

and has no power of resistance and endurance. It is a shield, not

of the effeminate, but of the potent.

Ahimsa is a quality of the strong. It is a weapon of the strong.

When a man beats you with a stick,

you should not entertain any thought of retaliation or any unkind

feeling towards the tormentor.

Ahimsa is the perfection of forgiveness.

 

Remember the noble actions of great sages of yore. Jayadeva, the

author of Gita-Govinda, gave

large and rich present to his enemies who cut of his hands, and

obtained Mukti (liberation) for them

through his sincere prayers. He said: "O my lord! Thou hast given

Mukti to Thy enemies, Ravana

and Kamsa. Why canst Thou not give Mukti to my enemies now ?" A

saint or a sage possesses a

magnanimous heart.

 

Pavahari Baba carried the bag of vessels and followed the thief

saying: "O Thief Narayana! I never

knew that You visited my cottage. Pray accept these things." The

thief was quite astonished. He left

off his evil habit from that very second and became a disciple of

Pavahari Baba.

 

Remember the noble actions of saints like Jayadeva and Pavahari

Baba, you will have to follow their

principles and ideals.

 

GRADATIONAL PRACTICE OF AHIMSA

 

When thoughts of revenge and hatred arise in the mind, try to

control the physical body and speech

first. Do not utter evil and harsh words. Do not censure. Do not

try to injure others. If you succeed

in this by practice for some months, the negative thoughts of

revenge, having no scope for

manifesting outside, will die by themselves. It is extremely

difficult to control such thoughts from the

very beginning without having recourse to control of the body and

speech first.

 

First control your physical body. When a man beats you, keep

quiet. Suppress your feelings. Follow

the instructions of Jesus Christ in his Sermon On The Mount: "If

a man beats you on one cheek,

turn to him the other cheek also. If a man takes away your coat,

give him your shirt also." This is

very difficult in the beginning. The old Samskaras (impressions)

of revenge, of "a tooth for a tooth",

"tit for tat", "an eye for an eye", and "paying in the same coin"

will all force you to retaliate. But you

will have to wait cooly. Reflect and meditate. Do Vichara or

right enquiry. The mind will become

calm. The opponent who was very furious will also become calm,

because he does not get any

opposition from your side. He gets astonished and terrified also,

because you stand like a sage. By

and by, you will gain immense strength. Keep the ideal before

you. Try to get at it, though with

faltering steps at first. Have a clear-cut mental image of Ahimsa

and its immeasurable advantages.

 

After controlling the body, control your speech. Make a strong

determination, "I will not speak any

harsh word to anybody from today". You may fail a hundred times.

What does it matter ? You will

slowly gain strength. Check the impulse of speech. Observe Mouna

(silence). Practice Kshama or

forgiveness. Say within yourself: "He is a baby-soul. He is

ignorant, that is why he has done it. Let

me excuse him this time. What do I gain by abusing him in return

?" Slowly give up Abhimana

(ego-centred attachment). Abhimana is the root-cause of human

sufferings.

 

Finally go to the thoughts and check the thought of injuring.

Never even think of injuring anyone.

One Self dwells in all. All are manifestations of One God. By

injuring another, you injure your own

Self. By serving another, you serve your own Self. Love all.

Serve all. Hate none. Insult none. Injure

none in thought, word and deed. Try to behold your own Self in

all beings. This will promote

Ahimsa.

 

BENEFITS OF THE PRACTICE OF AHIMSA

 

If you are established in Ahimsa, you have attained all virtues.

Ahimsa is the pivot. All virtues revolve

around Ahimsa. Just as all footprints are accommodated in those

of the elephant, so also do all

religious and ethical rules become merged in the great vow of

Ahimsa.

 

Ahimsa is soul-force. Hate melts in the presence of love. Hate

dissolves in the presence of Ahimsa.

There is no power greater than Ahimsa. The practice of Ahimsa

develops will-power to a

considerable degree. The practice of Ahimsa will make you

fearless. He who practices Ahimsa with

real faith, can move the whole world, can tame wild animals, can

win the hearts of all, and can

subdue his enemies. He can do and undo things. The power of

Ahimsa is infinitely more wonderful

and subtler than electricity or magnetism.

 

The law of Ahimsa is as much exact and precise as the law of

gravitation or cohesion. You must

know the correct way to apply it intelligently and with

scientific accuracy. If you are able to apply it

with exactitude and precision, you can work wonders. You can

command the elements and Nature

also.

 

THE POWER OF AHIMSA

 

The power of Ahimsa is greater than the power of the intellect.

It is easy to develop the intellect, but

it is difficult to purify and develop the heart. The practice of

Ahimsa develops the heart in a

wonderful manner.

 

He who practices Ahimsa develops strong will-power. In his

presence, enmity ceases. In his

presence, cobra and frog, cow and tiger, cat and rat, wolf and

lamb, will all live together in terms of

intimate friendship. In his presence, all hostilities are given

up. The term 'hostilities are given up'

means that all beings - men, animals, birds and poisonous

creatures will approach the practitioner

without fear and do no harm to him. Their hostile nature

disappears in them in his presence. The rat

and the cat, the snake and the mongoose, and other beings that

are enemies of each other by nature,

give up their hostile feelings in the presence of the Yogi who is

established in Ahimsa. Lions and

tigers can never do any harm to such a Yogi. Such a Yogi can give

definite orders to lion and tigers.

They will obey. This is Bhuta-Siddhi (mastery over the elements)

obtainable by the practice of

Ahimsa. The practice of Ahimsa will eventually culminate in the

realization of unity and oneness of

life, or Advaitic (non-dual) Consciousness. The Yogi then enjoys

the highest peace, bliss and

immortality.

 

LIMITATIONS TO THE PRACTICE OF AHIMSA

 

Absolute Ahimsa is impossible. It is not possible to the most

conscientious Sannyasin or monk. To

practice that, you must avoid killing countless creatures while

walking, sitting, eating, breathing,

sleeping and drinking. You cannot find a single non-injurer in

the world. You have to destroy life in

order to live. It is physically impossible for you to obey the

law of non-destruction of life, because

the phagocytes of your blood also are destroying millions of

dangerous intrusive spirilla, bacteria and

germs.

 

According to one school of thought, if by the murder of a dacoit

many lives are saved, it is not

considered as Himsa. Ahimsa and Himsa are relative terms. Some

say that one can defend oneself

with instruments and use a little violence also when one is in

danger; this is not considered to be

Himsa. Westerners generally destroy their dear horses and dogs

when they are in acute agony and

when there is no way of relieving their sufferings. They wish

that the soul should be immediately

freed from the physical body. Motive is the chief factor that

underlies everything.

 

A renunciate or monk should not defend himself and use violence

even when his life is in jeopardy.

To an ordinary man, Ahimsa should be the aim, but he will not

fall from this principle if, out of sheer

necessity and with no selfish aim, he takes recourse to Himsa

occasionally. One should not give

leniency to the mind in this respect. If you are lenient, the

mind will always take the best advantage

of you and goad you to do acts of violence. Give a rogue an inch,

he will take an ell: the mind at

once adapts this policy, if you give a long rope for its

movement.

 

Ahimsa is never a policy. It is a sublime virtue. It is the

fundamental quality of seekers after Truth.

No Self-realization is possible without Ahimsa. It is through the

practice of Ahimsa alone that you

can cognize and reach the Supreme Self or Brahman. Those with

whom it is a policy may fail many a

time. They will be tempted to do violent acts also. On the

contrary, those who strictly adhere to the

vow of Ahimsa as a sacred creed or fundamentals cannon of Yoga,

can never be duped into

violence.

 

A UNIVERSAL VOW

 

Ahimsa is a Mahavratam or "great universal vow". It should be

practiced by all people of all

countries. It does not concern the Hindus or Indians alone.

Whoever wishes to realize the Truth

must practice Ahimsa. You may encounter any amount of

difficulties; you may sustain any amount of

losses, but you must not give up the practice of Ahimsa. Trial

and difficulties are bound to come in

your way to test your strength. You should stand adamant. Then

alone will your efforts be crowned

with sanguine success.

 

There is a hidden power in Ahimsa which protects its

practitioners. The invisible hand of God gives

protection. There is no fear. What can pistols and swords do ?

 

Even now there are people who do not give the least pain to any

living creature. They carry sugar

and rice for distribution to ants in their holes. They do not use

lights at night for fear of killing the

small insects. They are very careful while walking in the

streets, as they do not wish to trample upon

small insects.

 

Blessed are these men. They will soon see God as they have very

soft hearts.

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