“Ahimso Paramo Dharmah”. Non violence is the highest human endeavor.
Let us ponder on this non-violence that is praised in the scriptures as the
pinnacle of human attitude and action. This ahimsa ia not just in action as
most people think, it is also in thoughts and words. Non violence is an
attitude before it translates into human action. In order for the attitude of
non-violence to take root in our psyche, we need some level of purity that
promotes this expansive feeling in us. One has to expand beyond the limited “me
and mine” to include others human and
other beings in our body.
Only through this expansion one feels the pain of others, as pain to self. Thus they avoid causing pain
to themselves as a result of causing pain to others. This is “Bhoota Daya” of
Buddha, called Compassion. Compassion is a combination of two words COM +
PASSION meaning connected expansion. This compassion that reflects in non-violence
stems from our spiritual heart (Atman), not from the mind. This spiritual heart
is called “Hridaya” meaning Hri = expansive: Daya = compassion. Expansive
compassion is HRIDAYA and attitude of ahimsa emanate from it.
This means that it emanates from our core of being, the
spiritual heart, the Atman. This is what
happened to Siddhartha when he encountered the wounded Swan, faced with the
sick, aged and confronted with death. This was what transformed limited Siddhartha
into expansive Buddha that we still cherish.
Each one of us has this expansion potential in us. We have
the Danava tendencies on one hand that derives pleasure on hurting others,
feeling happy when others are in pain and Manava tendencies of feeling others
pain and Devata tendencies of helping others with no expectation of any returns.
It is for us to promote what we want to. Our progressive path should vanquish
Danava in us ,resurrect Manava in us and promote Devatas in us to reach our
destination of Divinity.
Compassion and ahimsa is the state of full expansion of human
potential. When this fully manifest in us we become angels walking on two legs
and will be a blessing on earth. The
obstacles for this expansion are the layers of arishadvargas (kama, krodha,
lobha, moha, mada and matsaryas) that cover the Hridaya (Atman). Our task as
humans is to flush in good expansive qualities of sathya, dharma, santhi, prema,
ahimsa and thyaga and purge the six
enemies that restrict and constrict us. Then our spontaneous inherent nature
that is compassion, the attitude of non-violence develops.
Truth in
action is Dharma
Truth as an
emotion is Prema
Truth as an
experience is Santhi
Truth as
understanding is Ahimsa
Truth as an
expression is Thyaga
This is what Gandhiji practiced and preached and dedicated his
life to. He called his biography as “My experiments with Truth”. His discovery
is Ahimsa that emanated from his experiments with truth. Let each one of us try
to dedicate ourselves on this Gandhi Vardhanthi, to our own experiments with
truth and discover AHIMSA in us. The greatest tribute we can give to Mahatma is
to make our lives the message of Mahatma. Let Mahatma lives through each one of
us.
Sab Ko Sanmathi Te Bhagavan
Loka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu
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