Ahimsa
This is a hot topic in the
yoga world.
Ahimsa is translated as
“non-harming” or “the avoidance of violence”.
I don’t think I’ve seen or heard any other translation. The controversy in yoga has been in
translation of the translation. Some are
very black and white in how they see and apply while many of us live in a
vibrant but grey world in the middle.
And since yoga is much about finding the middle, this is where I reside.
I began teaching yoga in
2003. My first 200 hour teacher training
was very general. It covered an array of
styles, philosophy and techniques. It
did not give me an answer to the question people kept asking me “what kind of
yoga do you teach?” At the time I felt unsure of myself as a solo teacher. My response was to take workshops, trainings
and read books from every school and style I could find. I wanted to find my yoga “family”. Haha.
I was the little bird from Doctor Suess “Are You My Mother?”
One of the books I read was
Jivanmukti Yoga by the creators of Jivanmukti Yoga Sharon Gannon and David
Life. I was loving the start of this
extremely well written publication and then I read the chapter on Ahimsa and my
mind was blown. They claim that if you
are not a vegetarian, you are NOT a yogi.
“Some people, many who profess to be yogis, argue that vegetarianism is
not a healthful diet for everyone. We
agree that vegetarianism is not for everybody; it is only for those who desire
happiness and peace.” They go on to say
“yoga is not for everyone”. I disagree;
I believe that yoga is for everyone! I
felt and feel that this was an incredibly extreme and harmful view. But, that’s my opinion. For some people this black and white
thinking may be just what they need.
With a few million devout
followers still in India, Jainism is one of the oldest surviving religions in
the world. (you can read about them at http://www.ejainism.com/whatisjainism.html) Jainism teaches that the way to liberation and
bliss is to live a life of harmlessness and renunciation. Jains have what I have seen as the most austere
approach to ahimsa. While I see it as
harsh and ascetic, I also see a beautiful devotion in their way of deciphering
and living these teachings.
As I have said in previous
post I am all about cherry picking, which is the art of being open minded and
applying the best or most desirable.
Not all teachings from thousands of years ago apply to my life in
2015. (Are you still wearing that
polyester leisure suit?) I have seen photos of Jain nuns wearing gauze over
their faces to prevent them from accidentally inhaling and therefore killing
flying insects. This just doesn’t fit
my lifestyle OR my view point. I don’t
think what works for one necessarily works for another.
I am not going to take this
into a discussion of what people should or should not include in their
diet. You can google “humans herbivore,
omnivore or carnivore”. I guarantee you
will find countless articles on why humans SHOULD or SHOULDN’T be one of these
groups. I don’t believe it’s that
simple. The Jains and Jivanmuktis might
find me crazy but I don’t think what we eat will reflect in our state of
enlightenment or bliss. I will concede
that wasteful or careless treatment of any food product can be seen as violent
and therefore harmful to not only our society but to our conscience. I believe that our ability to think beyond
ourselves and make careful and caring choices will make a difference.
Ahimsa goes so far beyond
meat or no meat in our diet.
Like all the Yamas, Ahimsa
applies to actions, words and thoughts.
Actions are generally easy to
recognize. Words and thoughts are super key to our state of being. How
sweet would it be if we never had mean or negative thoughts?! As humans when we see or hear something, it
seems to be stuck in our minds forever.
So it is normal for thoughts we don’t enjoy to pop up into our
minds.
How we deal with this is the
beginning of peace.
This could go on forever. For now, I let this go. Please let me hear your kind and considerate reflections.
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