Ahimsa as a Way of Life

Ahimsa is a one of the ten living principles of yoga known as the Yamas and Niyamas. These principles are expounded upon by the Sage Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras. Ahimsa is the first of the five Yamas which are values or “right” actions to be taken in the world. The word ahimsa means “lack of injustice or cruelty.” It is the state that exists when all violence in the heart and mind have subsided. Ahimsa is compassion.

It is thought that ahimsa is not something that we strive for or have to acquire, but is something that is always present, intrinsic in us, that only needs to be uncovered. When one practices ahimsa, or nonviolence, one refrains from causing distress in thought, word, or deed to any living being, including ourselves.

One of my very wise teachers says, however, that there are edges to our compassion. I fancy that notion. In my mind there is a dynamic between the compassion we have for the world and the compassion we show to ourselves. The edges are moving and shifting all the time. Sometimes we pull the edges of our compassion in closer to ourselves when we need to focus on us. Other times, the edges of our compassion extend out much farther into the world. There is a balancing that is performed in the act of finding the true and restorative edges of compassion.

If we dive more deeply into ahimsa, we begin to understand that ahimsa is not the same as apathy or inaction. If we experience injustice or experience anger, it doesn’t mean that we don’t feel it or act on it. What ahimsa does mean is that we practice not holding onto anger and hatred within ourselves while we take appropriate action. When we do act from a place of ahimsa, we respond from a place of equanimity and not from an impulsive, reactive explosion of unconscious emotion. Ahimsa then becomes a lifetime practice!

May our actions be to the benefit of all beings.

#ahimsa #yamas