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CHITRABHANIJI: PEACE THROUGH NON-VIOLENCE
secondary. The first meaning is "Don't hurt yourself' with jealousy, hate and resentment.
Ahimsā, is a subtle thing. It cannot be grasped unless we go deep into ourselves, and to achieve 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 practise 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 are reminded that denial of Self (ātmā) is an invisible form of violence.
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When ahimsa is practised 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 ahimsā.
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 feeling. Once we have the experience of this vision, we are committed to practise 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 Ahimsā
Once we start practising ahimsā, our life becomes an inspiration. Wherever we go, our eyes beam with compassion, our feelings vibrate with care, our words flow with love, 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.
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