“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”
~ Gandhi
Good morning friends. Sending out warm wishes to anyone in the path of winter storm Boreas, aptly named by The Weather Channel. Boreas is derived from the Greek god of “The cold north wind and bringer of winter”. Sounds like perfect weather to stay indoors and watch football !!
So this morning, as I ran down my Facebook scroll, it seems my feed was filled with dead animals: Elephants electrocuted by illegal electric fences. Deer and fox hunts. Turkeys on dinner tables.
These images always leave a sadness in my heart. Remembering that it takes 3 positives to outway every 1 negative, I spent my morning meditation thinking about the yogic vow of Ahimsa.
Ahimsa is the ancient Sanskrit term usually translated as, and possibly the model for, ‘nonviolence.’
However, its meaning goes much beyond that. Ahimsa is derived from the Sanskrit verb root san, which means to kill. The prefix a- is a negation. So a-himsa means literally “lacking any desire to kill,” which is perhaps the central theme upon which Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist morality is built.
The spiritual aspirant says: “I shall not cause any pain or suffering to anyone, I shall not cause any unnecessary sorrow to any person, and therefore, my speech will be soft and peace-giving. My actions will be such as will be conducive to the good of others, to the benefit and happiness of others, and not the contrary. And my mind also will always think well of others. It will be thoughts full of goodwill, peace, affection, love, friendliness, brotherhood, oneness, unity, sympathy and kindness.”
Ahimsa: The highest law. The very essence of human nature.
May we strive towards this ideal. During this time of Thanksgiving, may Ahimsa be alive and well in our hearts and in our actions.
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A Hindu Parable of Ahimsa:
In the traditional lore of India there is a story about an old Hindu monk, who was sitting on the bank of a river silently repeating his mantra.
Nearby a scorpion fell from a tree into the river, and the Monk, seeing it struggling in the water, bent over and pulled it out. He placed the scorpion back in the tree, but as he did so, the creature bit him on the hand.
He paid no heed to the bite, but went on repeating his mantra.
A little while later, the scorpion again fell into the water. As before, the monk pulled him out and set him back in the tree and again was bitten. This little drama was repeated several times, and each time the Monk rescued the scorpion, he received a bite.
It happened that a villager, ignorant of the ways of holy men, had come to the river for water and had seen the whole affair. Unable to contain himself any longer, the villager told the Monk with some vexation:
“Swamiji, I have seen you save that foolish scorpion several times now and each time he has bitten you. Why not let the rascal go?”
“Brother,” replied the Monk. “the fellow cannot help himself. It is his nature to bite.”
“Agreed,” answered the villager. “But knowing this, why don’t you avoid him?”
“Ah, Brother,” replied the monk, “You see, I cannot help myself either. I am a human being; it is my nature to save.”
Source: http://mettacenter.org/definitions/gloss-concepts/ahimsa/
