Foundations of Yoga, Part 2: Ahimsa (Safe)

 Foundations of Yoga, Part 2: Ahimsa (Safe)

Yoga

Ahimsa's "Ahimsa does not mean at all and at any time harm any living person." Shankara elaborates on this, saying that ahimsa is "powerless and safe to injure anyone." This could include verbal or emotional harm as well as obvious physical harm, for Shankara goes on to say: "Ahimsa must be performed on every facet of body, speech, and mind." We find this principle laid down by Jesus when he says that anger directed at someone is a means of death (Matthew 5: 21,22), and in the statement of the Beloved Disciple that hatred is also murder. (1 John 3:15) Even the simplest understanding of the law of karma, the law of sowing and reaping (Galatians 6: 7), enables us to see the deadly effects of murder. As Vyasa explains: "A murderer snatches a victim's soul, tortures him with a gun, and then kills him. Because he has been robbed of another spirit, the foundations of his life, living or non-living, become Because he caused pain, he also suffers .... when every moment he longs for death, for punishment as pain must work itself out, when he longs for death. "Ahimsa is translated in many ways — expected because Sanskrit is a language full of many meanings of one word. But basically ahimsa does not cause any damage to anything that exists, including sub-species. (Ahimsa is rarely considered for plant and mineral health, but the senseless destruction of such a life would be a violation of ahimsa, in part because it would ultimately have a negative impact on animal health.) And as Vyasa quickly said, all other self-control and ceremonies-yama and niyama-are very much focused on ahimsa, because it involves preventing harm to ourselves and others through bad action or neglect of good deeds. "Some niyama and yamas are connected with this, and are only intended to bring this to its climax, only to make this complete [ie, ahimsa]. They are only taught as ways to remove this purity. For so it is said: he can only do so, if he ends up doing the wrong thing as a result of deception, when he releases the ahimsa in his innocence. ' "And Shankara explains that Vyasa is referring to frauds" based on violence and violence. " Ahimsa implies complete abstinence from any kind of injury by action, speech, or thought. Violence, and, verbally and physically, must end. And this includes any kind of angry or dangerous damage or material misuse. Ahimsa is an attitude in which non-injury will continue naturally. "Ahimsa actually defines the state and behavior of all living beings on the basis of the acceptance of the oneness of life," said modern commentator Taimni. Shankara notes that in view of ahimsa and others "the cause of evil deeds becomes ineffective." The ego itself becomes “harmless” by being placed in a state of inactivity. And meditation eliminates it completely. However, until such an internal condition is detected, we must work backwards from the outside to the inside, and avoid all acts of injury. In fact, we cannot live for a moment without damaging countless things. Our simple act of breathing kills many living things, as well as every step we take. To maintain its health the body constantly fights harmful germs, bacteria and viruses. So in the final sense the state of ahimsa can be seen entirely psychologically. However, we are obliged to do as little damage as possible in our external life. In his autobiography, Paramhansa Yogananda reports that his boss, Swami Yukteswar Giri, said ahimsa had no desire to harm. Although it has many symptoms, the aspiring yogi should see that the preservation of ahimsa should include not eating too much meat in any way or distance. Although this story is rarely lost in all the comments about Yoga Sutras I have read, the practice of non-injury in relation to yoga itself is important. That is, a yogi must not do anything in the mind, voice, or event that harms his body, mind or spirit. This requires a lot of prohibition, especially not eating meat (including fish and eggs), alcohol, nicotine, or any other mind-altering substance, including caffeine. On the other hand, it requires that any physical, mental, and spiritual benefits be taken away, since their omission is also a form of self-harm, as is the preservation of any yama or niyamas. It is not easy to be a yogi. Next: Satya (truth, honesty)