Ahimsa: Non-Violence
A friend is working her way through yoga teacher training. It’s intense and time consuming and I admire her commitment to it. She told me that in class, they were talking about the Sanskrit word ahimsa. In English, ahimsa is thought of as non-violence or the act of not hurting any being including ourselves — do no harm.
Non-violence includes more than just avoiding physical harm — it means not harming others through our thoughts, speech, and actions, too.
For my fellow word-nerds: in Sanskrit, ahimsa’s meaning comes from the prefix ‘a’ (meaning “not”) and the root word ‘himsa’ (meaning “to cause pain”, “violence”, or “injury”).
Two things stand out to me about ahimsa:
My friend told me her training group discussed the way we sometimes harm others without meaning to — when our intentions are good, but our efforts send the wrong message. She said, “For example, in our eagerness to help someone, we might help too much, giving them the impression that we think they’re incapable.” I’ve done this as a parent, sometimes because it’s easier and faster to do things myself or, because of a variety of circumstances, I’ve felt the need to protect my children (from who knows what), and so I over-help. I’m working on it.
The part of the definition, “including ourselves.” How often does our negative self-talk run away with us, reinforcing deeply held harmful beliefs that we are not good enough, not worthy, not capable or kind? To practice ahimsa means to cut yourself some slack, to be kind to yourself in the way you would be kind to a friend. This is, as you know, hard.
I read somewhere that ahimsa involves both restraint and practice — restraint from doing or saying the violent, hurtful thing and the active practice of kindness, compassion, and empathy.
I like the word and the concept. I’m grateful to my friend Becky for sharing it with me.
Here’s to a little more ahimsa in a world that’s increasingly violent and harmful, that’s lacking in so much kindness, compassion, and empathy.
xo,
Beth
Note: The concept of ahimsa shows up in many traditions — in Christianity it looks like “Do unto others,” the Quakers’ entire theology is based on non-violence. I am always interested in learning about new ways to practice kindness, compassion, and empathy because I believe these are the only things that will get us through life. ❤️