Ahimsa (Non-Violence), Patanjali's Yamas And Niyamas

This is a short piece introducing the first of Patanjali's Yamas and Niyamas, Ahimsa (Non-violence). It is short for a current online course on all ten of the Yamas and Niyamas. Later I will be releasing a full-length talk and meditation on this same principle.

Transcript

The first violence that happens within us is always the violence against ourself.

And there are many forms of violence,

Of course.

There is the self-critical thought we tell ourselves.

There are the ways in which we don't care for ourselves properly in sleep,

In food,

In lifestyle choices.

There are the relationship dynamics that we allow ourselves to be harmed by.

We return to nonviolence as our practice because it is so central to the dispelling of our egoic strategies.

So much of our ego is based in aggression,

Based in a desire to eliminate,

A desire to resist,

A desire to fight.

And this all implies a core of violence that is central to egoic life.

So to become nonviolent,

To practice nonviolent,

Is in a sense a reversal of the strategy of ego.

To insist upon nonviolence,

Non-aggression,

To instead inhabit courage and strength and boldness without aggression is an act that runs counter to the very essence of our ego.

In it our ego comes undone.

And from this undoing,

All the precious qualities of love,

Of compassion,

Of peacefulness,

Of understanding,

Of wisdom,

Illumination,

All of these arise from that nonviolent space.

So to practice nonviolence is not simply to relinquish your outer wars,

But also the inner wars.

In doing so,

All the virtues of good appear in our life.

Finally,

We see that we can get a good life,

We can have a beautiful life without fighting for it.

And when this lesson is learned,

Our way of nonviolence is natural and deeply desired.

Reviews

Thank you! So very interesting!!! Listened thru twice!

Loved this

Masterful encapsulation of ahimsa! Thank you, Adi. Really glad I found this and you. Wonderful reminder to help me live my yoga in every moment. 🙏❤️

That’s a beautiful perspective. It is interesting how the theory of, fighting for, is so encouraged vs flowing with.
Thank you for the reminder of a different way to be and grow. 😎🙏

This is soothing guidance. So very valuable for all to witness. Thank you Adì for spreading the message.