Friday, April 30, 2004
"It is a strange vagary of human character that when one is the victim of injustice, he promptly raises a hue and cry against the dispensers of law, but when he is the cause of injustice to another, he often exonerates himself and puts the blame on the victim.
Living with Kundalini: The Autobiography of Gopi Krishna, Shambala Publications, Boston, 1993
This month I have been looking at the concept of Ahimsa.
John Friend's Anusara website defines it like this:
"Ahimsa (Non-harming): Loving kindness to others, not blocking or obstructing the flow of Nature, compassion, mercy, gentleness. Non-violence."
Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, commenting on Pantanjali's Yoga Aphorisms, write "We are to live so that no harm or pain is caused by our thoughts, words or deeds to any other human being. In a positive sense, this means that we must cultivate love for all, and try to see the one Atman within everybody. We must think of ourselves as
the servants of mankind, and be ready to put ourselves at the disposal of those who need us. It does not mean, however, that we should lend ourselves to the evil purposes of others, helping them to commit crimes; for such purposes would be in opposition to the purposes of yama. The truly helpful man is like a public trolly car, available to all who care to use it, but traveling, nevertheless, along a fixed route to its destination."
--How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Pantanjali. Vedanta Press, Hollywood, 1971.
My own most recent and vivid ahimsa experience involved a violation of several of the yamas at once, in expressing in letters, desire for intimacy with a friend so intense that it shocked and hurt her deeply. It is only in the last few days that my presence has ceased to be a source of visible discomfort for her. I made a semi-public confession in church and have apologized to her. I owe this person eternal gratitude for the spiritual awakening she triggered in me and hold my friendship available to her without regard to time, place, or condition.
Living with Kundalini: The Autobiography of Gopi Krishna, Shambala Publications, Boston, 1993
This month I have been looking at the concept of Ahimsa.
John Friend's Anusara website defines it like this:
"Ahimsa (Non-harming): Loving kindness to others, not blocking or obstructing the flow of Nature, compassion, mercy, gentleness. Non-violence."
Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, commenting on Pantanjali's Yoga Aphorisms, write "We are to live so that no harm or pain is caused by our thoughts, words or deeds to any other human being. In a positive sense, this means that we must cultivate love for all, and try to see the one Atman within everybody. We must think of ourselves as
the servants of mankind, and be ready to put ourselves at the disposal of those who need us. It does not mean, however, that we should lend ourselves to the evil purposes of others, helping them to commit crimes; for such purposes would be in opposition to the purposes of yama. The truly helpful man is like a public trolly car, available to all who care to use it, but traveling, nevertheless, along a fixed route to its destination."
--How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Pantanjali. Vedanta Press, Hollywood, 1971.
My own most recent and vivid ahimsa experience involved a violation of several of the yamas at once, in expressing in letters, desire for intimacy with a friend so intense that it shocked and hurt her deeply. It is only in the last few days that my presence has ceased to be a source of visible discomfort for her. I made a semi-public confession in church and have apologized to her. I owe this person eternal gratitude for the spiritual awakening she triggered in me and hold my friendship available to her without regard to time, place, or condition.
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