How Are Yoga and Peace Connected?
Answer: Ahimsa - “Non-Harming, Non-Violence”
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Pada 2, sutra 35) speak of Ahimsa in this way:
“Ahimsa Pratistayam tat sannidhu vaira tyagah”
- Jivamukti translation: We cease to encounter hostility by practicing non-harming and non-violence
- Alternative translation: When a person is established in non-violence, those in his/her vicinity cease to feel hostility
There are several interpretations of what this means:
1. “Ahimsa refers to non-violence in thought and word, as well as in deed. Violence in speech or action is almost always preceded by violent thoughts, and violent thoughts have serious repercussions on the mind and on the body. They should be avoided if only for that reason. On the positive side, careful cultivation of ahimsa leads to spontaneous, all encompassing love. One begins to see the unity in all creation and thus progresses to the goal of self realization…We are not talking about Peace as in the absence of war, but a peace that permeates all parts of life…it fuses our mind, actions and speech, keeping us balanced and harmonized – it illuminates our life.” – Swami Rama
2. “The main teaching of yoga is that man’s most innermost nature is divine, but that he is unaware of this and mistakes himself for his body and intellect, both of which exist within the realm of matter and therefore are subject to decay and death. All of man’s misery is a consequence of this false identification. Yoga leads one to the direct experience of his inner Self, his true identity. With this realization, comes liberation from all human perfections.” – Swami Rama
3. “Yoga, and the Peace it creates, has the ability to banish human conflicts and the horror of war and bring about peace and understanding on earth….Having felt the inner peace that yoga reveals, one feels the desire for peace externally…peace in neighborhoods, nations and between races.” – Paramahansa Yogananda
4. Mark Whitwell, in Yoga of Heart, speaks of it this way; “Our living organism has been abused by a social mind that believes it to be separate from god and nature…to be a yogi, all it takes is to see and embrace your own reality – the natural intelligence that is you.” He goes on to say, “Even in climates of war, animosity and terror, an alternative exists. An understanding that all are connected to each other and to Source. By creating communities with common values, and developing conscious awareness, false barriers are removed and individual change can occur.”
“When we do our yoga is it simply obvious that we share the same wonder…breath…condition…life – regardless of our national, religious, ethnic identity or our unique culture. We can celebrate our individual identity while feeling the one reality which we all enjoy…Yoga is Hope for Humanity.” – Mark Whitwell
5. Yoga is a practical, systematic science for perfect balance and harmony – by cultivating this in ourselves
a “new world order of love could easily be affected by adoption of even the simplest and most fundamental observances of the yogic discipline.” By taking control of the body and breath, one can provide the ground to achieve tranquility of mind.
This conclusion, that only real change can take effect through through individual change, has been reached by many great thinkers over the years, including Hannah Arendt, who survived the death camps in WWII, and stated, “Deep reflection will bring us face to face with the decisions we make, and turn us away from evil.”
Other contemporary thinkers and philosophers are encouraging us to move toward change from the inside out, including Deepak Chopra, best selling author, MD, and founder of the Alliance for a New Humanity.
“Peace movements have tried three ways for bringing war to an end: the first is Activism (eg, protests and public demonstrations, lobbying, etc. The difficulty of this being that protesters are not heard, they are worn down by frustration and resistance, they are outnumbered by war interests, and their own idealism often turns to anger and violence. The second is Humanitarianism – helping victims of war, bringing kindness and compassionate relief. While this is good, the challenge is that this comes after conflicts have started, that humanitarians are wildly outnumbered by soldiers and war makers and that the humanitarians are vastly under-funded. The third option – Personal Transformation – has never really been tried. The closest we have come is the exhortation to “pray for peace” – but it has never really been attempted on a broad basis. The idea is that you can only end war one person at a time – when you end it in our own heart” – paraphrased from Deepak Chopra’s Peace is the Way