Training in Nonviolence

Author(s): Mahapragna Acharya
Publisher: Anuvrat Global Organization

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Training for the Transformation of the Heart
this training it is impossible to transform a human heart. It is not possible for ahimsa to succeed in life without training. A person said, "When a war breaks out it is futile to think that ahimsa can save us. What will a nonviolent person do in times of war?" I said, “A nonviolent person never fails nor does ahimsa. What fails is actually the absence of effort. When did we impart training in ahimsa? The truth is that so far we have made no effort in this direction. If someone undergoes training in ahimsa, he develops the power to do something. He never fails whose consciousness of dying is awakened and fear of death disappears at a level of war or at any level of conflict in life. The root cause of failure is one's attachment to life and fear of death. An individual who clings to life and is afraid to die is always unsuccessful. In war such individuals always fail. Only that individual who has overcome attachment to life and has conquered the terror of death can become nonviolent (ahimsak) and such nonviolent person can never fail.
Does a soldier who goes to war carry with him a guarantee of life? When he goes, it is abundantly clear in his mind that death is most probable but if he escapes death, it will be a great thing. He is always conscious of the fact that he may die at anytime. If he remains alive, it is his luck. Why does it happen so? Why does he fight? He who fights with the weapons of mass destruction does so because he has been trained in that art of warfare. The process of training continues from the day he joins the army till the entire span of his life. Every day practice and lessons in theory go on continuously. Nonviolent persons can also fight a war with a sense of utmost fearlessness if they could receive training in nonviolence just half of the training imparted in violence. But today there is neither a provision of training for ahimsa, nor are nonviolent persons being trained for that matter. They believe that ahimsa is their birthright. Since violence is imposed on society, training becomes imperative only in that case. It is a fallacy that ahimsa doesn't require any kind of training. In the absence of training truth is not succeeding, celibacy and nonpossessiveness are proving to be ineffective. It can be said that all the truths of life, realities of life are coming to nothing because no efforts are being made for imparting training in those values. There are three constituent components of training:
1. Inculcation of faith 2. Knowledge of the means or ways
3. Practice Inculcation of faith
A man can never be successful in his objective, if he has not inculcated faith in what he is doing. The first condition of success is the creation of faith. We succeed only in the task in which we have developed faith. On the contrary if we fail to develop faith in a particular task we undertake, we will never succeed. The first symptom of failure is the absence of faith. Knowledge of the means or ways
The second component of training is the knowledge of the ways or means. It is also an essential ingredient of success. If one has faith but is unaware of the knowledge of the ways and means through which the goal can be attained, one
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