Reflection on the Yamas: Ahimsa

In this first of five short reflections on the yamas given in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, I want to begin with a brief description of what the yamas are. The yamas comprise the first of the eight limbs of the ashtanga yoga of the great Indian sage, Patanjali. They are five in number and they translate to “external, or communal, observances.” The purpose of these reflections is to introduce the yamas in order, and to provide some thoughts on them. As a concluding reflection I plan on bringing these reflections together and discussing them as a whole.

The first yamas is ahimsa. Ahimsa translates to “non-violence.” The most basic description is essentially that one should avoid causing harm to other living beings. This is generally so basic that in the several commentaries on the Yoga Sutras which I own, the commenters don’t go into much depth in regards to meaning and examples. The obvious when giving a passing glance to ahimsa is that one shouldn’t physically hurt something else. However, when there is a deeper meditation on what “causing harm” is, it’s revealed that there are many varied layers that can be explored. Of these layers, I will consider the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. I will examine both other- and self-inflicted violence of each layer. Lastly, I will explore how a unified understanding of the different layers can point towards a way of practicing ahimsa.

Physical

To begin, I will look at the physical level of ahimsa and slowly work my way towards the more subtle layers. The most obvious of the layers, basically we are to avoid inflicting physical pain. This goes beyond human to human violence and combines the kingdoms of plants and animals as well. It would be advised from a yogic perspective that one shouldn’t harm animals, or kill them to eat as well. Likewise, meaninglessly cutting down trees, or pulling off branches, leaves, or flowers, can also be considered violence to plants. 

Beyond the violence done to other human and living beings, is also the violence done to oneself. Self-inflicted physical violence might include over- and under-indulgence in food and drink. Giving other activities priority over getting daily sunlight and engaging in physical activities and exercise can cause emaciation and many other physical ailments. The body that we are given is considered a sacred temple. It is the one place that we will always inhabit while we exist in human form. Lack of attention given to the needs of the body causes pain and suffering within the body which resonates outwards towards how we manifest in life and towards others. When we are in pain, we are easily driven to lashing out.

Emotional

On the emotional level, ahimsa may mean not intentionally hurting someone else’s feelings, just to do so. Avoid manipulation of others, gaslighting, and other forms of taking advantage of others emotionally. Gossiping and spreading rumors behind peoples’ backs, as well as teasing would be forms of emotional violence. Likewise, unnecessary expressions of anger towards others. It isn’t the expression of our own emotions that is the source of violence. However, the over-expression of emotion without becoming aware of that expression and how it’s being expressed to others is a source of violence. Lack of emotional awareness is epidemic in the current society. Working to become more aware of our own and others’ emotions and learning healthy ways of expression helps to eliminate this form of violence.

Self-inflicted emotional violence first and foremost includes not allowing ourselves to consciously feel our emotions. Besides being absent from feeling our own emotions, it can consist in overindulgence of negative emotions, or attachment to trying to feel a particular way. A person can often become too habituated to feeling a specific emotion, or set of emotions–as if becoming comfortable in being emotionally static. This can be negative or positive emotions. We can close ourselves off to registering other emotions that enter into our systems. Frozen in one emotional dimension, we refuse ourselves the knowledge and information that is transmitted through our feeling-life. We cause ourselves violence on the emotional level by barricading the inner openings to this form of self-knowledge.

Mental

Mental violence can include using deceitful and manipulative language to get what you want from others at their detriment. It includes lying to others and potentially withholding information (although withholding information has many layers to it). On the converse, mental violence may come with giving too much information to an individual–more than they can process in a healthy manner. An example of this would be teaching something that a student, or child, isn’t yet mature enough to understand. Mental violence tied to emotional violence could be speaking bluntly, but without tact–not considering how one delivers information to another in a sensitive or emotionally charged situation.

Self-inflicted mental violence is connected with the awareness one has towards one’s thoughts. Continuing to dwell on detrimental thoughts is one way to hurt oneself mentally. Self-inflicted mental violence can include thinking negatively about others, or about a situation. Without action, negative thoughts simply feed negativity within oneself. If there’s no action to dispel the energy from negative thinking, and one simply continues to think the negative thoughts, then that energy just circulates within one’s own mind.

Spiritual

Spiritual violence is most difficult to understand in its manifestations and ramifications. This type of violence is connected with the commandment, “thou shalt not take the Lord’s name in vain.” Lacking an understanding that can separate ego from spirit can cause people to pursue their own interests by using God’s name–as in quoting from the various sacred scriptures–as the reasoning why. Spiritual violence can be connected with using a spiritual scripture to judge another person’s actions.

Self-inflicted spiritual violence might manifest as allowing oneself to fall prey to more lowly habits before giving time to a regular spiritual practice. However, this kind of violence could also manifest as overexertion of spiritual discipline at the detriment of living one’s life and participating in communal activities. If one is too sharp towards oneself regarding their habits, they may miss out on much needed rest and relaxation. 

Uniting Understanding and Practice

Violence comes in many forms. The big question regarding violence is, “how do I know if I am being violent or not?” This question brings out ahimsa as a practice. Just to take ahimsa on the surface level, as a passing thought, without putting any effort into understanding the heart of violence itself is not to implement the teaching. How do I know if I am really being violent? How can I act without violence?

What I have written as different layers and corresponding other- and self-inflicting violence are all simply written explorations. When listing all these types and examples of violence out, it can become overwhelming–like it were impossible to act at all without some sort of violence. A coping mechanism in trying to get around this thought would be to say to oneself, “well I have no intention of harming anyone by saying or doing what I do.” However, intention may not matter when it comes to hurting another. It’s easy to unintentionally elbow somebody, step on their feet, say something that they find hurtful and offensive. Is the attempt to think without any kind of violence within our thoughts impossible?

J. Krishnamurti writes, 

Violence is not merely killing another. It is violence when we use a sharp word, when we make a gesture to brush away a person, when we obey because there is fear. So violence isn’t merely organized butchery in the name of God, in the name of society or country. Violence is much more subtle, much deeper, and we are inquiring ito the very depths of violence.

The important thing to take away from ahimsa, is that our interaction with the life around us and the life within us requires that we participate with deep attention and awareness. Practicing ahimsa teaches us that we can always be more attentive to what we do, say, and think. What we will end up finding is that this is the heart of all of the yamas, and that just sticking to the practice of any one of the yamas can instill in us this need to be present to ourselves and the situations we find ourselves in. When we are aware like this in the moment, then something new can act through us, something transcending our egos.

Becoming aware, entering deeply into the moment of our actions, we can try to see the impulse in ourselves to be violent. That impulse is something so subtle. It may come as that fearful or angry reaction. When we can see it, we create a space between that impulse and what we are. There is something there, but we can begin to act in a way where the priority becomes awareness, sympathy, compassion, and love, rather than self-preservation and remaining inwardly closed. Where we act from can come from a different place, an understanding and compassionate place.