In yoga
there are things we should abstain from. We call these the Yamas. They are not
so much rules for living life as suggestion on how to live a more peaceful existence.
The first Yama is to abstain from violence. It has been suggested that if we practiced
just this one Yama we probably would not need to focus on the other four Yamas.
If we could remove violent thoughts, abusive
words, insulting statements, angry speech, bad advice and any kind of physical abuse
to either ourselves or someone or something else, we probably would not need to
focus too heavily on abstaining from untruthfulness, stealing, lack of self-control
and greed; the other four yamas
Without violence
truth would prevail. Stealing would disappear as stealing is always a violation.
Celibacy which actually means to have control over your emotions and actions
would be easy to achieve, and there would be no place for greed. Greed, lack of
self-control, coveting and lying all result from some level of violence.
If violence
were to disappear from the human equation there would be no need for war. We would
preserve the environment and all humans would live together without a thought,
word, or action that would create harm. Non harm is the fundamental underlying
principle of yoga. It is also the underlying principle of respect, kindness and
decency.
If there is
one thing we should all focus on when it comes to healing the world it is removing
violence. Watch and choose your thoughts, words and actions carefully. In this
you will begin to remove violence at its core. Because the potential to be
violent exit within each and every one of us. The only way to remove it is to become
aware and then actively seek to do no harm.
Remove violence
and the rest of the Yamas, truthfulness, non-stealing, celibacy and non-greed
will be easy to achieve. I think this is a good argument for practicing
non-violence.
Doctor Lynn
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