Mahatma Gandhi on AHIMSA (non-violence)

Here are some of Mahatma Gandhi’s aphorisms about AHIMSA or non-violence:

• It is one of the highest principles of the world, which no power on earth can destroy.
• It’s the biggest ideal.
• Meant for the brave one, never for the coward.
• It’s the greatest force known.
• The highest form of religion (spirituality) was defined by a negation: non-violence.
• It is an attribute of the brave. Cowardice and non-violence never “go” together, just like water and fire.
• It is the pinnacle of KSHATRIYA DHARMA (DHARMA of the caste of kings, nobles and warriors) because it represents the culmination of courage/boldness.
• It is the attribute of the soul and therefore must be practiced by everyone, in all situations/events of life.
• His principle is aggrieved by every evil thought, by exaggerated haste, by lying, by hatred, by wishing harm to anyone.
• It requires strength and courage to endure trials without the desire for revenge, so that we can receive “blows” without retaliating back.
• It was preached to man when he was in the fullness of his power and was able to look his opponents directly in the face.
• It’s science. The word “failure” has no place in the vocabulary of science.
• It highlights our own flaws and minimizes those of the opponent. She looks at the mote in our eye as a beam and the beam in the opponent’s eye as a straw.

Below, some other aphorisms about non-violence, which, although they do not belong to Ghandi, are also very valuable :

• Tmust be put ahead of everything when practiced. Only then does it become irresistible.
• Tmust express himself through acts of selfless help towards others.
• Nu tolerates the idea of giving free food to a healthy person who has not worked for it in an honest way.
• My errors were mistakes in appreciating people, not in appreciating the true nature of truth and non-violence , or in applying them.
• All my experiences in the practice of non-violence have taught me that it, put into practice, means a hard work (common labour) with the body.
• A proponent of non-violence always prays for ultimate liberation from the slavery of the body.
• Whatever powers people have, they are entirely due to non-violence, no matter how imperfect or defective they may be.
• The proponent of non-violence cannot subscribe to the utilitarian formula (the greatest good for most). He will fight for the greatest good of all and die in an attempt to realize this ideal.
• The woman is much more apt than the man to carry out explorations and to perform bold actions in non-violence.
• No power on earth can subdue you when you are armed with the sword of non-violence. It ennobles both the victor and the loser.
• The follower of non-violence has only one fear, and this is of GOD.
• The advocate of non-violence must cultivate the habit of continuous toil, vigilance without rest, incessant self-control.
• The scriptures of Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism are full of the teaching of non-violence.

Abheda Yoga is an authentic yoga school that aims to embody non-violence in its deepest form, right in the middle of life.