My Defence On Non-Violence And Peace – Ahimsa

by Carl Collins Ogunshola Oshodi

There is a philosophy which I have devoted my time to defend until the life in me is exhausted in the true identity with things and in my final reunion with perfection, which the soul strives for. Humanity is a moving mass, and the soul of man is part of indivisibility with the eternal scheme of things. These are the reasons why the soul and the body are usually in their conflict to secure itself in goodness in the plain of all material influences. The soul is not of this world, it belong not to this plane of existence.

Be it as it may, if you practice Ahimsa, you should put up with insults, rebukes, criticisms and assaults also. You should never retaliate nor wish to offend anybody even under extreme provocation. You should not entertain any evil thought against anybody. You should not harbour anger. You should not curse. You should be prepared to lose joyfully even your life in the cause of Truth. The Ultimate Truth can be attained only through Ahimsa.

Let me talk a particular subjects which will enhance our peace and rest of mind, and in today’s edifices, man needs peace in order to survive the test of this harsh time. Man is in the state of self realization.

Ahimsa is a Sanskrit term which translates roughly into non-injury to living beings or dynamic harmlessness. Ahimsa tends to evoke images of monks wearing cloths over their faces to avoid breathing microscopic beings and sweeping the insects off the path in front of them as they walk so they won’t accidentally crush one under their feet, this way of life can be looked beyond in our 21st century towards conflict resolution. if we must succeed therefore, we must perceive humanity as an important part of God. Humanity must be secured beyond all things; we must entertain all faces in the light of peace and non-violence. To stop terrorism, and other international and national threat, Ahimsa must be thrust into our heart and conscience in order to formulate a policy of peace, and solidarity alone. If we must be radical, ahimsa ought to be conceived so that, arrogance may not dominate us; so that peace will be transmuted into our soul-being hence ensuing the disappearance of our soul flux.
In the practical sense of Ahimsa, it evolves the crude state of it empiricism, it therefore means that Ahimsa is the acme of bravery. Ahimsa is not possible without fearlessness. Non-violence cannot be practiced by weak persons. Ahimsa cannot be practiced by a man who is terribly afraid of death and has no power of resistance and endurance. It is a shield, not of the effeminate, but of the potent. Ahimsa is a quality of the strong. It is a weapon of the strong. When a man beats you with a stick, you should not entertain any thought of retaliation or any unkind feeling towards the tormentor. Ahimsa is the perfection of forgiveness.

In peace there is a dynamics, and ahimsa follow sway, non-injury is not merely non-killing. In its comprehensive meaning, Ahimsa or non-injury means entire abstinence from causing any pain or harm whatsoever to any living creature, either by thought, word, or deed. Non-injury requires a harmless mind, mouth, and hand. We must enforce our brain force in bringing out world peace, we can end terror is ahimsa becomes the paramount method towards conflict resolution…our ability to listen and compliment genuinely on the situations of other nations, brings into motion the practical purpose of Ahimsa. Ahimsa is not mere negative non-injury.

Ahimsa and Non-violence are together positive and cosmic love. It is the development of a mental attitude in which hatred is replaced by love. Ahimsa is true sacrifice. Ahimsa is forgiveness and it is the strength of our true divinity with the God-person. With Ahimsa, we can break all supernatural follies, and triumph the hold of karma in our lives; we will therefore live beyond time and space. Though we may live, but peace and non-violence becomes the source of our living, strength and survival. Although my approach to non-violence and peace using Ahimsa may be different from the techniques of Gandhi, Martin Luther, Marcus Garvey, Mandela Brutus Ghali, and a host of others, yet it resembles in isolation and randomly to those of Martin, Garvey and Mohandas Mahatma Gandhi. My approach has been inspired by the words of these great men in their resolve to bringing about world peace, and an end to terror. Haven know that the world itself is a commutation of terror, hence my path in my approach to non-violence and peace, using the 21st strategic Ahimsa.

One cannot easily live in today’s world without causing some harm to other beings – but that does not mean we shouldn’t try to keep it to a minimum. There are some relatively easy steps you can take to reduce the suffering in your wake, and this is being a bonafide student of peace in the monastery of Ahimsa, here you will be taught the essential principles of world peace. The easiest step in avoiding being the cause of unnecessary suffering is to stop killing others to satisfy your ego difference, you must look beyond the human physique into the heart of God, in reality, and we have forgotten that mankind is animal plus God, this makes Man. You certainly don’t need to be aggressive to define your role in the society or the world order you belong, even in silence and serene calmness you can become a great beam of light of hope, peace and non-violence in the world to those who have circumscribed to terror and violence in the world.

In the world today there is regeneration, and this is through our global solidarity to the world order, an importance one cannot under-estimate, it must be so defined that, all society, trade, economics, environmental, ecological and religious co-efficient is geared to the actualization of our role in the scheme of things. In the regeneration and divinisation of man, the first step is to eliminate his beastly nature. The predominant trait in beasts is cruelty, terrorism, economic imperialism, war and high nuclear accrual by nations at the egoist urge of gratifying their animal existence. Their influence are therefore imperative on the lives of other men…To defend you from this influence, one must resort to Peace in totality. This is the most effective master-method to counteract and eradicate completely the brutal, cruel nature of ungodliness in men.

But don’t stop there! You could take it a step further and avoid consuming any products that are effectively stolen from other people through economic sanctions, and global political interplay. A vegan lifestyle is one that avoids meat, dairy, honey, leather, beeswax, etc; wherefore to strive in non-violence and peace, we must avoid those attributes that will bring us close to excesses in our behaves, our relationship with people must be determined and principled, we must see man as an extensive entity of God. You don’t even have to stop there! You can become a fruitarian and avoid plant foods that involve killing the plant, this in hypothetical sense is altogether view the lives of men like the rose flowers in your garden, like the Pet you treasure most, Humanity should be experimented upon with love, because God and all that makes our life meaningful emanates from love and the sequences of Ahimsa. You can also stop supporting other industries that thrive biological weapons of mass destruction of any kind, and must preach with strong-hope global peace and non-violence.

Practice of Ahimsa develops love. Ahimsa is another name for truth or love. Ahimsa is universal love. It is pure love. It is divine Prem. Where there is love, there you will find Ahimsa. Where there is Ahimsa, there you will find love and selfless service. They all go together. To believe in Ahimsa is like the two edged sword, it helps you along with you humor of non-violence to counteract terror, war, violence and poverty.

In Sri Swami Sivananda’s article on Ahimsa, h

e was so critical with peace first, but in its later conclusion; it was seen that he talked from the angle of non-violence of the 21st, of the inner-self. The only message I found best in expressing myself in this essay is those of love, of Ahimsa, of selfless service. These are the noblest and best of traits that are found expressed in the daily life and activities of perfected souls. Ahimsa and co. are the one means, not only to attain Salvation, but also to enjoy uninterrupted peace and bliss. Man attains peace by injuring no living creature or engaging himself and his immediate environment in warfare, or any form of terrorist act, such as genocide, economic sanction (being the worst necessary evil) and international politiquing. All these brew hatred, which is not a category used in measuring Ahimsa and Love.

To be self-less is itself Ahimsa, to be of true service towards peace and non-violence has no competitor in the ensuring global unity, brotherhood and peace. There is one religion – the religion of love, of peace. It is only through Ahimsa man can discover his true duty in this ever-changing world. Refraining from causing pain to humanity through all the vices and antics i have mentioned, is a distinctive quality emphasized by the ethics of a great soul-force. Ahimsa or non-violence has been a great spiritual force, behind conflict resolution, only its true student could possess this force and energy vortex.

APPLY AHIMSA (PEACE) TO CONTROL THE ANIMAL SELF.

In the Crude state when thoughts of revenge and hatred arise in the mind, try to control the physical body and speech first. Do not utter evil and harsh words. Do not censure. Do not try to injure others. If you succeed in this by practice for some months, the negative thoughts of revenge, having no scope for manifesting outside, will die by themselves. It is extremely difficult to control such thoughts from the very beginning without having recourse to control of the body and speech first.

First control your physical body. When a man beats you, keep quiet. Suppress your feelings. Follow the instructions of Jesus Christ in his Sermon OnThe Mount: “If a man beats you on one cheek, turn to him the other cheek also. If a man takes away your coat, give him your shirt also.” This is very difficult in the beginning. The old impressions of revenge, of “a tooth for a tooth”, “tit for tat”, “an eye for an eye”, and “paying in the same coin” will all force you to retaliate. But you will have to wait cooly. Reflect and meditate.

Learn to use your repose and calm in decide what to do in bright intellect, in order for your sense impression not be misguided. The mind will become calm. The opponent who was very furious will also become calm, because he does not get any opposition from your side. He gets astonished and terrified also, because you stand like a sage. By and by, you will gain immense strength. Keep the ideal before you. Try to get at it, though with faltering steps at first. Have a clear-cut mental image of Ahimsa and its immeasurable advantages.

After controlling the body, control your speech. Make a strong determination, “I will not speak any harsh word to anybody from today”. You may fail a hundred times. What does it matter? You will slowly gain strength. Check the impulse of speech. Observe temporal silence. Practice forgiveness and reconciliation. Say within yourself: “He is a baby-soul. He is ignorant, that is why he has done it. Let me excuse him this time. What do I gain by abusing him in return?” Slowly give up ego-centred attachment. Arrogance and distorted impulse is the root-cause of human sufferings. If you practice non-violence, all things become possible in your eyes, and your spirit man is aggravated from the realm of nothingness into the heart of nothingness, and you will see your own Self in all beings.

VIOLENCE AND WAR.

Only the ordinary people think that Ahimsa is not to hurt any living being physically. This is but the gross form of Ahimsa. The vow of Ahimsa is broken even by showing contempt towards another man, by entertaining unreasonable dislike for or prejudice towards anybody, by frowning at another man, by hating another man, by abusing another man, by speaking ill of others, by backbiting or vilifying, by harbouring thoughts of hatred, by uttering lies, or by ruining another man in any way whatsoever.

All harsh and rude speech is Himsa (violence or injury). Using harsh words to beggars, servants or inferiors is Himsa. Wounding the feelings of others by gesture, expression, tone of voice and unkind words is also Himsa. Slighting or showing deliberate discourtesy to a person before others is wanton Himsa. To approve of another’s harsh actions is indirect Himsa. To fail to relieve another’s pain, or even to neglect to go to the person in distress is a sort of Himsa. It is the sin of omission. Avoid strictly all forms of harshness, direct or indirect, positive or negative, immediate or delayed. Practice Ahimsa in its purest form and become divine. Ahimsa and Divinity are one.

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3 comments

collinsoshodi@yahoo.com January 31, 2008 - 7:10 am

Hello Mr. Roy, Thank you for the rating, it was indeed appreciated. I very much will love talking to you insofar that a Nigerian now embrace Ahimsa in its crude state. I thank you once again. My Personal Email is : collinsoshodi@yahoo.com

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rchikwem@yahoo.com December 20, 2007 - 1:00 am

Pls can you forward me your personal email. Thanks

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dunbraye Pere Gbafade November 18, 2007 - 9:39 am

It is an interesting piece of art, well done.

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