Nonviolence is non injury towards all living creatures. It is non injury towards all beings at every possible level. Ahimsa or nonviolence should be practised at all levels, at the levels of thought and speech and also at physical level. Ahimsa is said to be the greatest dharma. When there is violence at home and society, the nation is disturbed. Progress and prosperity slow down when ahimsa is not followed. Dislike turns into anger and hatred and these change into verbal and physical abuse at individual, home and society level. This in turn leads to vengefulness, fear and misuse of power which ultimately corrupts the peace and progress of the society and world.
The definition of ahimsa is relative. It depends on the circumstances and motive. A knife used in vengeance is violence. A knife wielded by surgeon to cut off some unhealthy flesh is ahimsa. It is seva or service. Where the motive is to hurt or cause pain – it is violence. Where it is to take care, nurture or serve- it is ahimsa or non violence. To be deliberately abusive to another is violence. But a mother shouting at her child to stop it from rushing into danger is ahimsa. To speak a truth in order to deliberately cause grief or pain to the other person is violence. To speak a white lie in order to save another from danger is ahimsa.
If ahimsa means not to use weapons or violence how we do defend ourselves? Read this very illuminating story:
A mighty serpent lived at the edge of the forest. It had a scary appearance and was long and strong. It had a fierce hiss. If anyone passed by, it would strike out at them and bite them. The people in the surrounding areas were terrified of it. Once a sage passed by that area. The serpent was very impressed seeing the radiance and peace on the face of the sage. It touched the feet of the sage and sought blessings. The sage remarked that if the serpent wanted to have peaceful live it should give up violence. It should not bite people and harm or kill them. The sage blessed the serpent and left. From that day it made a strong resolve not to bite or kill anyone.
After some days the villagers noticed that the serpent had stopped hissing. It lay peaceful in the sunlight when people passed by without hissing or biting. Soon a few school going children came closer to observe it. They saw that it did not react at all. This news spread in the village. Then one day a group of children threw some stones at the serpent and hit it. The serpent did not hiss or strike back. The children became bolder and pelted it with lots of stones and nearly killed it. The serpent managed to crawl into its hole and hide for its life. It lay there for many days, hurt and bleeding and with no food as it could not go out hunting. The serpent lay there dying and the same sage passed by. He saw the condition of the serpent and was horrified. When he touched it with love, the serpent was revived. He asked the serpent: Why are you in such a terrible state? The serpent replied: O great one, I was following your orders. You told me not to be violent. When I became peaceful I was attacked in this manner by the villagers and was nearly killed. How can I be peaceful and yet follow ahimsa? Please teach me. The sage replied: Hiss. I never told you not to hiss!
Like the serpent we must be peaceful at heart but we must learn to hiss when others have violent intention towards us. Seeing our hiss they will maintain distance.
Violence comes when there is a feeling of difference between one and another. We do not have feelings of violence towards those who are truly ours. A mother will not have violent feelings towards her child. Only when we are truly established in the spiritual path and feel the love of God within us, we will be able to give up violence. When we see all creation as reflection of God, there will be no violence in society or nation. Only a man of God can live in peace without even hissing.
