more on ahimsa

ahimsa in the words of one of yoga's greatest living Masters

I saw a quote by Amma, Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani, from Ananda Ashram in Pondicherry, on the occasion of her 70th birthday. She said that: Ahimsa involves protecting oneness against unconsciousness, the one and only enemy.

being conscious is one of yoga's gifts

Becoming conscious is one of Yoga's treasures. With a yogic attitude and consistent yoga sadhana, the inner consciousness will grow. We start to develop an awareness of life, of what is 'right' and what is 'wrong'. With this a stronger sense of one's self begins also to become stronger. We start to 'walk our path', fall more into line with our destiny. We develop our voice to learn to talk with truth.

We move into not only a sense of our own one-ness, but also the sense & sensation of being one with all, even if we are not going to be/do what 'all' are doing. We begin to feel the deep essence of ourselves, and of others, whilst connections between ourself and others become more real.

There is another aspect to this oneness. It's at a Higher level of consciousness, in an area of our being that we can find and develop. This Higher consciousness can only be maintained if a person is true to walking a spiritual path, true to being a good person, true to living, as best as is possible, ahimsa, non-violence. Because this Higher consciousness exists in that realm of ahimsa.

the benefit of developing our identity

But, we start of course, at the level of the everyday awareness, which is called ahamkara, the sense of identity which we can and do, identify with. This ahamkara is such a strong part of our make-up, and, as such, needs nurturing just as much as a deeper spiritual aspect. With ahamkara, we can develop our conscience. Which in turn guides us. Our conscience is close to our heart, it develops the heart's emotions, helps purify the karmas, and is one of the keys to being present in our Higher Consciousness.

Higher Consciousness leads us to one-ness