The Yoga Practice of Ahimsa (non-violence)

 

 

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

      I have often written articles attempting to dispel the obdurate popular notion that yoga=asanas (postures.)  This false notion has been perpetrated by a number of so-called “yoga” teachers.  For instance Bikram Yoga seems to be nothing more than a series of postures practiced in a sweaty environment.  It does have some value; even this fractured fraud helps people to relieve stress.  However it isn’t real yoga.

      Yoga refers to any number of methods for reuniting our individual selves, jivatman, with the Universal Self, Paramatman.  Or as Shankara put it, "To be free from bondage the wise person must practice discrimination between One-Self and the ego-self. By that alone you will become full of joy, recognizing Self as Pure Being, Consciousness and Bliss." Of course, these are just referential terms.  We can think of yoga as a means of de-hypnosis.  It is a way of overcoming the illusion that we are separate “skin-encapsulated egos.” 

      Staying at the Bihar School of Yoga ashram we learned the importance of Karma Yoga.  On its most basic level this means paying attention and observing one’s thoughts and actions objectively while engaged in daily activities.  As Swami Satyananda taught, "...When you do anything, from taking a bath to sweeping the floor to earning your living, try not to think of when it will be finished. Enjoy every action that you do at the time that you do it. Try to enjoy the fact that you exist and that an expression of your existence is in your every action."

      Ahimsa or nonviolence is an integral aspect of yoga practice.  The practice of ahimsa is not just in terms of behavior.  We can refrain from violent behavior and still harbor anger, resentment, jealousy, etc.  In this case we are only causing stress within our own systems.  Even when we are able to refrain from acting out anger for instance, we reveal it in our body language and we feel it as our body unleashes a flood of angry hormones.  To truly practice ahimsa we have to become aware of and detach ourselves from angry thoughts and beliefs.  We have to let go of thoughts that tell us that we are separate from others – that we are not each equal parts of one greater being which we might call God.

      Ultimately Yoga is the practice of being Love.