What is ahimsa and how to practice it

 Ahimsa which is also referred to as non violence was introduced by the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi. Ahimsa is the art of living. It helps a person to live a peaceful life. 

Ahimsa is the ethics of not harming any creature. The principle of ahimsa is very relevant in today's world; which is experiencing violence in the form of terrorism and other conflicts.  In such times the values espoused by Mahatma Gandhi can guide our world towards a better future. Violence is not the only way to show your power. If we take the example of Mahatma Gandhi and his supporters who followed the principle of ahimsa to gain independence we can understand the power of ahimsa.  We are taught that people must be punished for hurting others or they will do it again. If we do not act, we are weak; we are allowing people to take advantage of us. We apply this same philosophy to ourselves, we feel guilty for having unkind thoughts, or we deny when we are angry or afraid. We have created a society that punishes itself under the pretense of control and order. How the world would change if instead of judging, we gave love to those in fear, including ourselves. Ahimsa in words ,action ,thoughts can lead to a better life as said by Mohanji.

Ahimsa in Words-  If we have Ahimsa in words we don’t hurt anybody.

Ahimsa in Action- Non violence in action refers to compassion towards animals; compassion towards all human beings, concerned with the sacredness of all living things and an effort to avoid causing harm to them. An example of ahimsa in action is being a vegetarian because of the importance of animals' lives.

Ahimsa in Thoughts- nowadays gossiping, saying mean words about others has become a part of life instead of that we should include the concept of speaking lovingly and kindly to yourself. Removing the word "should" from your vocabulary can be a great start.

When we lead our lives according to ahimsa, we find the courage to look at why we, in our collective human experience, seek to cause harm. Why do people hurt others?

What we often uncover at the very foundation of harmful actions, words, or thoughts is fear. Why do people hurt others? Because they are afraid of being hurt. Why do people kill others? Because they see them as a threat to their own security. Why do we worry about our children? Because we are terrified of losing.

Ahimsa can be started by a small act of kindness. By bringing change in our attitude and respecting every being can help us to practice ahimsa.

Thank you 

Swasti Gupta, India