One who has removed violence from one’s feelings, thoughts, words and deeds will naturally be peaceful and will emanate subtle waves of peace
The story of the Mahabharata represents the struggle that takes place on the battlefield of every thinking man or woman’s mind when desires, expectations and vices try to get the better of the innate virtues of the soul. Under these circumstances, the Holy Gita tells us how we can win these inner battles and emerge as better human beings, free from all bondages.
In Mahabharata, non-violence has been described as the highest duty of an individual. However, in real life, most people think that it is not feasible to be totally nonviolent. Is it so? However, looking at the situation of the world that we live in today, one factor that can be considered as the biggest cause of our downfall from an exalted stage of a divine being, is violence in all its forms. Hence, when we decide to be non-violent in every situation, it influences our speech and behaviour. A person who wishes to be nonviolent will not do anything that may get him into a situation involving violence, whether it is emotional, verbal or, in an extreme case, physical violence. Such a person is likely to be affable, humble, patient, tolerant, considerate and loving.
When such a person’s speech and behaviour are marked by the above qualities, they will not offend or hurt anyone or create any feelings in others that may lead them to be aggressive towards this person. The result of all this will be harmonious relations with others in which there is no scope for violence.
However, a person who believes that one may need to use force sometimes, even if only in self-defence, and therefore carries a weapon, may feel emboldened to act aggressively at times. Such behaviour is obviously not going to win him/her any friends, and will only feed his/her insecurity and aggression. One may argue that even if we are nice to everyone, someone may try to harm us due to a vested interest or evil intentions. Being good, they say, is no guarantee of having good done to the self. Then what? It is here that subtle forces come into play. We must understand that a person who has removed violence from his feelings, thoughts, words and deeds will naturally be peaceful and hence subtle waves of peace emanate from such persons and influence the atmosphere and people around him.
The proof of this phenomenon can be found in places of worship. Even in a busy area of a city, the inside of a temple, mosque, gurudwara or church is an oasis of calm. These places soothe the mind and provide respite from the hustle and bustle outside. The atmosphere in these places is such because the people who go there create positive, holy or peaceful thoughts while they are there. At the least they avoid having negative or mundane thoughts. Hence, in actual sense, it is human thoughts that create the atmosphere or vibration of a place. That is why there is tension in the air in places where people tend to be tense, angry, irritated or frustrated.
It should be understood that when we interact with others, it is the subtle energy we radiate that has the biggest influence on their behaviour towards us. Ever wondered why our sweet words and smiles fail to convince someone for whom we harbour not very good feelings from within? That’s because they are catching the negative vibrations going out from us, not our words.
A calm person always carries an aura of peace around him. This influences even those who may have negative feelings for him. And this influence extends to all creatures and even the elements of nature. This is described in the life stories of holy men and women, as to how would-be assassins had a change of heart on coming near them; how wild animals calmed down in their presence; and how the elements of nature came to their aid. Thus, a person who has quietened his or her mind and intellect can calm down even those with violent intentions. Here one needs to mention the inviolable law of action and reaction, or the law of karma. Sometimes, violence suffered by one may be a result of one’s karmic accounts, whether of the present birth or earlier ones. But even in such a case a violent reaction on one’s part will only add to one’s karmic bondage. If we understand this fact and face a violent situation calmly, our karmic burden will soon be finished and the violent situation will subside.
