Ahimsa: Not Hurting Others By Thought, Word Or
Deed
Author: Dada Vedaprajinananda

Ahimsa is the first of the moral principles that form the basis
of yoga. It means not to hurt others by thought, word or deed.
It sounds simple enough, but through the ages there have been
different interpretations of Ahimsa and even today there are a
lot of questions about the application of this yogic principle.
Let's take a look at a definition of Ahimsa that is suitable for
the 21st Century.

We shouldn't hurt others, but what does this mean? Does
"others" refer to other human beings only, or does it also mean
other living beings. In the past, followers of an extreme
interpretation of Ahimsa did not even want to plow their land,
because they didn't want to kill a worm or other small living
beings. In the same vein, some people wore face masks so that
they would not kill tiny creatures when they took a breath of
air. If this version of Ahimsa was widely adopted, then humans
would hardly be able to exist.

Later on the idea of not causing pain was restricted to humans
only, and the slaughter of animals was considered to be OK.
However, no animal voluntarily gives up its life to come onto
our dinner table, and they do suffer when they are slaughtered.
In today's world, in which the idea that animals do indeed have
rights is starting to be recognized, the best approach is to
choose our food wisely and to consider whether it is really
necessary to take the life of an animal in order to sustain our
own lives.

In the 20th Century Ahimsa came to be associated with
non-violence and to the total non application force in
intra-human relations. But here too, the application of Ahimsa
becomes difficult if it is followed rigidly and without
discriminating intellect. If someone strikes you, do you have a
right to resist and defend yourself? If another country invades
your country, does your country have the right to resist the
attack? Clearly, a totally non-violent response in these
extreme conditions would not be in your best interests or in
the best interests of humanity at large. A sensible approach
here is not go out of your way to fight with others or inflict
pain, but when faced with an attack to defend yourself.

Taking harsh or disciplinary measures against attackers or
criminals is not against Ahimsa because the intention is not to
harm someone but to defend or protect individuals and society.
Thus, it is not forceful action itself that is outside of
Ahimsa, but it is forceful action with the deliberate intention
to cause pain for no reason at all.

There is an old Indian folk tale that illustrates the proper
approach to living in the world and following the principle of
non-harming or Ahimsa.

Once there was a village that was being tormented by an
extremely unpleasant snake. Whenever anyone went near the
snake, the snake would bite that person. One day a yogi came to
the village and the leaders of the village requested the yogi to
do something about the troublesome snake.

The yogi looked around and found the snake. The yogi was highly
developed and could communicate with the snake. He told the
snake not to bite any of the villagers from then on. The yogi
came back to the villagers and said that they shouldn't worry
about the snake any longer.

At first the villagers didn't believe that the yogi had really
done anything. But when they approached the snake, he did not
rear up and threaten an attack. Gradually the boys of the
village became bold and went very close to the snake and were
not attacked. Then they grabbed the snake by the tail and swung
him around, and the snake did nothing. They hurled the snake
against some rocks, and tormented him. Still the snake did
nothing.

A few weeks later the yogi returned and wanted to know how
things were going in the village. The village chiefs said that
all was well and that no one had been bitten by the snake since
the last visit of the yogi. The yogi then went to see how the
snake was doing, and found the poor creature near death. The
yogi asked what had happened and the snake said that he was
following instructions and not biting the villagers, but that
it had all gone very bad for him as the boys took advantage of
his completely passive response.

The yogi looked at the snake and said "I told you not bite, but
I didn't tell you not to hiss."


About The Author: Dada Vedaprajinananda is a senior yoga
teacher with the Ananda Marga spiritual movement
http://www.anandamarga.org . He is also a musician and author
and you can read and hear his work at his websites:
http://www.dadaveda.com and http://www.myspace.com/dadaveda