Nonviolence should be practised not only in deeds but also in speech and thoughts
If we look through the pages of history we find stories of war and conquest. At some point in time, a nation may be the conqueror and then a century later it can be the conquered. lands and wealth change hands many a time. Wars have been fought over territory, riches, religion and political ideology. The causes of each conflict may differ but they all involve loss of life and immeasurable pain and suffering.
Periodically, great philosophers or thinkers come along to clearly express how precious and sacred life is. They try to spread the message to their contemporaries that power, possession and pride are not worth risking even one human life. We have examples of Mahatma Gandhi in East and Dr Martin luther King Jr in the West, who preached the gospel of nonviolence. By using nonviolent methods, Gandhi led India to Independence and Dr King helped move America closer to its vision of equal rights for all.
Every life form has a purpose
This entire creation has been made by God. Every living creature whether mammal or insect is part of His handiwork. Although the lives of the tiniest forms of creation seem insignificant to us, there is a definite divine purpose for every form of life. Each life form is animated by a soul. Every being in creation is travelling on a journey back to God, the source from where it came. In this voyage, souls are moving from one life to another, aspiring to receive the human form. The human body is considered the highest in all creation. It is the only one which has the faculty to rise above this physical world and return to God. We are most fortunate that we have received a human birth. It is our golden opportunity to realise God. While endowed with the human body we have two responsibilities. One is to our own self. We should take advantage of this priceless gift and utilise our life for knowing ourselves and realising God. Second, we should also be of service to God’s other creations. We need to realise that the souls embodied in various species are all passing through tremendous suffering. The lower species of life reside in bodies in which their only concern is survival. The purpose of their lives is to eat, protect themselves and reproduce. We need to have compassion for all forms of life.
Need for nonviolence
There are several reasons why those following the spiritual path need to cultivate nonviolence. One reason revolves around the law of karma. This law states that for every action there is a reaction. Whatever we do is credited or debited to our karmic account. If we cause injury to any living creature, we must pay for that deed in kind. Most people live in ignorance of this law. The karmic law is inexorable. Those following the spiritual path refrain from any violent acts. If we want to reduce our karmic debt so that we can return to God, we must develop nonviolence. We should try to extend to all humanity and all creation the same feelings of love that we have for our near and dear ones.
Nonviolence has several aspects. It involves non-injury in thought, word and deed. There are many shades of nonviolence that we do not even think about. We know that we should not kill anyone or hit anyone. We may be able to develop control over ourselves so that we do not physically harm anyone but we are quite careless when it comes to nonviolence in word and thought. let us analyse these two habits and find ways of overcoming our failings.
Violence in word can be blatant. We know we should not call anyone names that would hurt their feelings. But how many times a day do we say things that injure someone’s feelings to boost our own egoIJ If we listen to ourselves throughout the day, we will find that when others make a mistake we imply that they are stupid or foolish. When others reply incorrectly we make them feel embarrassed or inferior. Most of our violent words result from our trying to boost our own pride and make ourselves look superior. But in the process we hurt so many people’s feelings. It is only when we engage in deep introspection that we realise how many times a day we think ill of others. Many of us have the habit of wishing harm to others. We may not actually perform any deed but we may wish for a person to experience ill fate. Some people wish that some harm would come to others or that they have an accident. Some wish that others would lose their wealth or possessions. Sometimes we hope that someone else will fail at a goal he or she is trying to achieve in the belief that we will have a better chance of achieving it. If we are jealous of others, we wish that they have bad luck and that we have good luck. Once we are aware of this habit, we can put a stop to such thoughts the moment that they arise. The cure for this failure is to think of everyone as one big family. We seldom find ourselves wishing bad luck to our close family members such as our spouses, our parents and our children. If we can extend the love we have for our family to all creation, it will help us in overcoming this negative tendency of wishing harm to others.
Focus on spiritual journey
The passing panorama of life is filled with many people and problems. If we let our mind get caught up in becoming a running commentator on every other person’s words and deeds, we are nothing more than a tape recorder replaying every event. Our every breath is precious. If we waste this life, who knows what will become of us in the nextIJ We should worry about our own salvation. We should be concerned with our own spiritual progress. let others do as they will. let others say what they wish. We should remain centered and focussed on our own spiritual journey to God. We have not been hired by God as critics of everyone else. let God be the judge of each person. We should be the judge of ourselves.
courtesy Inner and Outer Peace Through Meditation by Rajinder Singh