Ahimsa

अहिंसा

ahimsã (Sanskrit: अहिंसा, "non-harming") is derived from the root hims, "to strike". Himsã is injury or harm. A-himsã is the opposite of this, non harming. ahimsã means abstaining from causing harm or injury. It is gentleness and non-injury, whether physical, mental or emotional. It is good to know that nonviolence speaks only to the most extreme forms of forceful wrongdoing, while ahimsã goes much deeper to prohibit even the subtle abuse and the simple hurt.

Ahimsã manifests in various ways. Mahatma Gandhi used ahimsa as a powerful weapon against the British to drive them out of India and to achieve independence. Even Martin Luther King junior, after a trip to India, adopted nonviolence as the hallmark of his civil rights movement in America. Ahimsa is the basis for the vegetarianism within Hinduism and many Hindus even though they may not be vegetarian will not enter a temple or perform puja wearing leather.

The Principle of ahimsã

The principle of ahimsa can directly by derived from the concept of the modes of matter (three gunas) It arises from the mode of goodness, (sattva guna). Ahimsa is also tied into the principle to karma. Treat the universe in a less harmful way and the universe will treat you accordingly. Many followers of ahimsa apply the principle of non harming well beyond just being vegetarian or not wearing leather, but also to not even thinking or speaking in a harmful manner. The Jain religion, which is a sister tradition to Hinduism, in particular, has made ahimsa the very cornerstone of its faith. Mahavira is the founder of Jainism and one of the greatest teachers of ahimsa.

Bhagavad Gita and ahimsã

It is interesting to note that in the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna seemingly evokes the principle of ahimsa to avoid fighting a terrible war that he knew would destroy the world as he knew it, and yet, Krishna, as God, wanted Arjuna to rise above what he feels and extolled him to adopt an even higher principle, yoga, and fight the war as a yogi. In the end Arjuna accepted Krishna’s position and fought a devastating war where, according to the Mahabharata, millions of people were killed. Mahatma Gandhi, on the other hand, regularly studied the Gita and held it in highest esteem. The relationship between ahimsa and the Bhagavad Gita is a fascinating study in contradiction and has been a great problem for Hinduism from the earliest of times. Did Arjuna truly evoke the principle of ahimsa?

Swami Vivekananda notes that Gita is a bouquet composed of the beautiful flowers of spiritual truths collected from the Upanishads (core teachings of the Vedanta philosophy). Although the Gita deals with several core philosophies of the Hindu religion, the part on spotlight here is Krishna’s advice to Arjuna that he should act. As a warrior, he has to fight for the righteous cause but Arjuna is grief struck, looking at his own kith and kin on the enemy lines. Krishna advocates Arjuna to fight as that is his dharma.

So if a war is fought for a right reason, is that war justified? Does the Gita then directly contradict the principle of Ahimsa?Ahimsa means abstaining from causing harm or injury. War is one of the worst forms of inflicting harm and Krishna advocates Arjuna to fight.