July 2011 Blog Posts (8)

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A princely sage looked down on me

And whispered his philosophy

With sparkling eyes, so caring and true

His words of wisdom pierced right through

This rebellious mind of mine

That isn’t quite as good and kind

As I’d aspired myself to be

He saw beyond my dignity

To the heart and soul of me

He pointed toward the common good

The selfless act of brotherhood

He sang a song – the sound of peace

The breath of God…

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     But it appears clearly that on the way, there is no simple ready for use recipe for following Ahimsa … neither is there for any other of the Yamas or Niyamas. As shown in these few pages, the assessment of Ahimsa is eminently situational : and it is not only the external actions, but also the motivation, the “spiritual level” of those involved etc. that have to be taken into consideration. Ahimsa is but a guideline, the polar star guiding us on our spiritual journey. It sets a direction…

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We find similar situations in our relationships with others. We see ourselves as separate entities and the others as “others”. And we start to play all kinds of games with them. Here also we can distinguish different kinds of Himsa based on our different trappings in the “I”. If we are so caught up in our problems, in our projects, or in our self admiration, we may not even be aware of others. We may keep on bumping into people on the streets. We may step on their toes. We can do this… Continue

Do we really evaluate each time to what extent the mosquito is a threat to us, to what extent we may be able to give him some of our blood or not etc ?? Similarly in a first phase, we may also just allow people to scold us unjustly. We may thus learn that it is actually possible to be the one who disarms in a given situation and that this attitude may actually permit to pacify many situations that would stay “toxic” if we kept on trying to find the one to blame or to prove our respective…

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-       I am a great Samurai, a great warrior, undefeated in combat, and I think I can say the greatest swordsman the world has ever seen.

-       What ?? You are a Samurai ?? Have you seen what you look like ?? You are dirty, uncalmed. You look ridiculous. And what’s this thing pending on your side ?? Is that supposed to be a sword ?? Hahaha … Ridiculous !!!

After a few more of these comments, the Samurai could not take it anymore. He drew his sword and was about to lower it…

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As an advocate for peace and non-violence, I was thinking about the fact that I am also a martial artist. In an effort to fully realize the impact this has on my life in my determination to place Ahimsa beyond all else, I decided to discern what part the martial virtues play in this regard. I came across the following dialogue: 

     Ahimsa, non-violence, is the first of the Yamas. It is referred to as the Mother of all virtues and is the base for all the subsequent Yamas and…

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"Regardless of where it is, the results are all the same."

 

War is war and nobody wins

Not ever

It just keeps on and on and on . . .

"If" they come back, they come back damaged

It is always good to fight the "good fight", but you need to know what it's for

What's it for

Freedom, liberty,…

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