AHIMSA

Ahimsa means "nonviolence" or "do no harm" -- this extends to not killing animals for food or fur, not spreading mean gossip about another person, and to treat your neighbor as you would like to be treated. Non violence also includes how you treat yourself -- be kind to yourself. If your yoga practice is not what you had hoped today, dont be down on yourself. Just try again tomorrow.

Martin Luther King learned of Ahimsa through reading about Mahatma Gandhi and his peaceful movement to liberate India from British rule, and through the principles of non-violence, Dr. King led peaceful demonstrations for the civil rights movement in America.

"Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.

Literally speaking, ahimsa means non-violence towards life but it has much higher meaning. It means that you may not offend anybody; you may not harbor uncharitable thought, even in connection with those whom you consider your enemies. To one who follows this doctrine, there are no enemies. A man who believes in the efficacy of this doctrine finds in the ultimate stage, when he is about to reach the goal, the whole world at his feet. If you express your love—ahimsa—in such a manner that it impresses itself indelibly upon your so-called enemy, he must return that love.

This doctrine tells us that we may guard the honor of those under our charge by delivering our own lives into the hands of the man who would commit the sacrilege. And that requires far greater courage than delivering of blows.

Ahimsa or non-injury, of course, implies non-killing. But, non-injury is not merely non-killing. In its comprehensive meaning, ahimsa or non-injury means entire abstinence from causing any pain or harm to another living being, either by thought, word, or deed. Non-injury requires a harmless mind, mouth, and hand. " - Mahatma Gandhi