Beauty of Living with Peace through Non-Violence

By Gurudev Shree Chitrabhanuji

Believe it or not, mankind faces severe crisis in almost every corner of the world because of violence in so many places and in so many ways. Peace and harmony are in danger. Life is plagued with inhumane torture, with senseless death, and with mutilated killings. In this time of turmoil and crisis, the answer is ahimsa, non-violence.

As a photograph has a two-way process: a negative and a positive, non-violence also is expressed in two aspects: to do and not to do, commission and omission. The first aspect is karuna : a commitment to loving compassion, a feeling of equality with all life. And the second us ahimsa : not to harm, not to kill. There is no room for violence (himsa) when we are filled with love. Love is understanding.

Basis of Violence : Violence starts with oneself. Being harmful, we first harm ourselves because the negative vibrations of hate, anger and resentment poison our well-being. In this state, negative vibrations are being collected and stored in the brain. From the brain, these negative vibrations go in to the mind. Once the mind is permeated with these negativities, the mind is not capable to mind its business. Without discerning senses, these vibrations automatically enter our being. Here, even our consciousness is also tainted with violent, poisoning vibrations. So, the person is now possessed with it, and a possessed person is not able to listen to even his/her own voice. This process of movement from the brain to consciousness shows how we are conditioned and coloured with negative habits and harm ourselves with violence. The person who is ready to change the habit of the mind, the tendency of the mind, has to feel ahimsa, non-violence.

These conditions can persist and when unchecked, a lifetime can pass. After many years of unchecked, non-vigilant lives, one becomes A-G-E-D with Anger, Greed, Ego, Deceit. These are also forms of violence. We have choices, and the consequences of non-attentive choices fossilize us and make us incapable of development. To make the right choice requires awareness of ahimsa.

Negatives In Comparisons : Without knowing the process of vigilance, we will, in ignorance, compare everything and everyone; and in so doing we do not attend to the deeper meaning of life. For many, comparison is natural because the mind is trained to compare, but if we stop to think and probe deeper, truth may dawn upon us that each is different and unique. Even in twins, each is unique.

Why do religious groups fight ? By comparing, they concentrate on superficiality and not on the essence of the religion. The learning from a teacher can be true in its time but it also can be a learning opportunity at other times, if each generation interprets the words in the context of the time, space and culture that is present for them. Karuna, loving compassion, inspires us to transcend the comparative and competitive attitude of the mind.

Those who impose their beliefs on others, expecting others to accept their truth, are nurturing a subtle seed of violence which in time will grow into a tree of even more small seeds and then more trees as a vicious cycle of violence. And as long as one is other-oriented, one has given his remote control to someone else.

When walls of other-ness are dropped, we see the sacred beauty of life in ourselves and we see that sacred beauty in others, We do not see that person as a man or woman or a person from a certain sect or religion. All these obstacles are removed. Unless we see beyond barriers, there won't be peace in us or in the world. We may talk about peace but inside we go on creating separation. Some say, "My religion is best; it is the only true religion. And, if you don't start to practice my religion, you will go to hell." Such dogmatism and bigotry is also a form of violence. When we practice ahimsa, we try to understand what others are saying, what they are conveying, what they are feeling. We listen beyond the words. We may not agree but we respect their right to say.

Ahimsa in Introspection : Ahimsa tends to be understood only as "Don't do". this or that to others, animals and living beings. This is one meaning but it is secondary. The first meaning is "Don't hurt yourself with jealousy, hate and resentment. 

Ahimsa is a subtle thing. It cannot be grasped unless we go deep into ourselves, and to achive this, we meditate. There , we discover the sacred beauty of life. Until we have that experience, we may use the word 'ahimsa' but it will only be lip service. 

To practice ahimsa, one has to remove the veil of ignorance about oneself. One has to experience life within. That deep experience of life does not come from the outside ; it dawns inside. And we reminded that denial of Self (atma) is an invisible form of violence.

When ahimsa is practiced in a vision of inner perspective, we perceive the relevancy of all life in meaningful inter-relationships among all living beings, leading to understanding and ahimsa.

Ahimsa is another name for healthy human feelings. Just as in the sunlight, darkness cannot remain, so also anger, greed ego and deceit cannot linger in healthy human feelings. Once we have the experience of this vision, we are committed to practice ahimsa in trinity of mind, word and action. In this new vigilance, we are awake and every night before we rest, we review our day and ask, "Did I harm myself? Did I in judging put down anyone ? Have I contributed to human divisions: cultural, racial, intellectual, religious, physical, or others? Did I place one person above another? Did I allow my reticence to contribute to violence ?"

Beauty of Ahimsa : Once we start practicing ahimsa, our life becomes an inspiration. Wherever we go, our eyes beam with compassion, our feeling vibrate with care, our words flow with live, and our actions 'speak' Reverence for Life. People will be changed, not by our words but by what they see, hear and feel.

When we experience the sacred beauty of life, we experience peace. We inspire peace. Then there will be peace. There will be peace.

-----------------------------------------------------

Source : Article From 'Sixth World Jain Conference' (1995) Souvenir

-----------------------------------------------------

Mail to : Ahimsa Foundation
www.jainsamaj.org
R9111