Ahimsa, Empathy and the Meaning
We Make
by Manorama
Beginning of Service
As a child, I took
in many stray animals. Leaving food in dishes and playing with
them whenever they came near. I recall having the same feeling
for impoverished children. This feeling of
empathy was brought forward in me particularly late at
night as infomercials from the Save the Children organization tickered on. The montage of
images displaying malnourished, disenfranchised children, pulled on
me heavily. The next day, I’d ask my mother how I could
help them and though she didn’t have much money, she
always comforted me and sought ways to support my
concern. Her kindness regarding my feelings validated
me. Being seen by her gave me strength. And from that strength, I was able to
extend even more understanding to others.
The Meaning We Make
According to the dictionary:
‘Empathy is the ability
to understand and share another’s feelings.’
Sometimes Yogis offer us support by
going into our confusion with us, into our suffering, but they don’t
make the same meaning. It
seems people often think that going into another’s
suffering could possibly make that specific suffering their own, as
though it may stick to them. They seem to feel that they
will be harmed, but actually that’s not the case. By
extending authentic ahimsa, kindness
and understanding, we not only offer healing to others, we also experience
healing ourselves.
When we are willing to see
others fully, we reaffirm our desire and readiness to be seen. We
also build intimacy between that person and our self. Being empathetic
and understanding towards others is also a practice for being
compassionate towards our selves. As we practice, we learn how to go into
our own pain and one-day lead ourselves out.
The yogi offers
healing through understanding, he/she
walks alongside us in the darkness, studying the
meaning we made and then works to help us see a new
meaning.
New meaning here means seeing from a
yogic perspective, one that
shows us how to grow through the experience. As
Yogis do this, they help us dissipate our sufferings and
ultimately dissolve them.
‘I Just Can’t Relate’
Last year a
friend said something funny to me. She said, “Ya know, I
just can’t relate.” Though she said it quickly and without much thought, the words
themselves struck me as strange. A yogi spends his/her life
studying the union. Said another way, a yogi stays close
to interconnectivity. So, the idea of ‘I just can’t relate’ would
not occur to a yogi because that is their very training, to come
into relationship with all. How can a
yogi-in-training remain connected if he/she fears sharing in the
feelings of those they contact? From this perspective,
empathy is a tool for greater harmony and fluidity.
Exploration of Ahimsa
Ahimsa means being grounded in
reality and seeing clearly from that place. It is often
translated as non-violence. Violence can only happen when
we perceive otherness.
So ahimsa, as a yogic
principle, means being grounded in oneness where there is
no sense of other and therefore no possibility
of inflicting violence. Ahimsa is not only the
recognition that we are all interrelated and interconnected, but
it is actually living within that reality and extending out from it.
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra
2.35 says:
ahimsa-pratishthayam tat-sannidhau
vaira-tyagah,
Translation:
“When the yogi is firmly
established in physical, mental, vocal and spiritual non-violence, ahimsa, there is abandonment of enmity by those who are
in his or her presence.” (PYS 2.35, transl. by Shri Brahmananda
Sarasvati)
The sutra teaches that the
more we ground in understanding, the more we are a conduit for kindness and
compassion.
When we express empathy and
kindness to those around us we reveal our depth
of yogic understanding, and show through our
actions that we stand firmly on the ground of yogic
reality.
Ahimsa, non-violence, is the first
step of Lord Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga Path. This path is a road that
the yogi-in-training follows to experience the freedom, known as
union. Placing ahimsa as the first rung on the ladder,
is Patanjali’s way of saying that ahimsa is a foundational
character element that must be developed within the
individual for him/her to be able to fully live in the light of
yoga, the unified field.
Copyright 2012 Manorama,
Luminous Shabda/Sanskrit Studies
