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By Jayaram V
Non-violence is usually understood by most as not-hurting or harming
others or not eating meat. It is a very simplistic and rather
superficial interpretation of non-violence. Non-violence in the
spiritual sense means not having any kind of violence or disturbance
in the mind. It means not disturbing oneself or others in any form.
A non-violent mind is at peace with itself and with others. It does
not disturb others. It does not react to external phenomena, however
distasteful they may be, because it learns to accept and tolerate
the vagaries of the world as part of its spiritual training. This
is the state of yoga, adepts achieve at the end of a very prolonged
spiritual practice and inner transformation. Modifications in any
form mean violence and violence is the way of the Nature, while
peace or absence of modifications is the way of the yogis who have
conquered their nature and learned to stabilize their minds in the
contemplation of their inner Selves (Isvara).
Non-violence is considered the highest virtue or the virtue of
virtues because all virtues said to lead to this state only. You
become non-violent only when you end your desires and attain perfection
or fullness in all respects. In that state you will neither oppress
nor suppress anything or anyone for your gain. You will not hurt
or harm others, not even think of it. You cease to disturb others
as you become fully detached from the world and remain indifferent
to all that happens around you. Thus we can say that sameness, equanimity,
detachment, indifference, humility, surrender, compassion and love
arise from the state of non-violence only.
Since non-violence is so central to liberation and inner
purification, it is the first of the five restraints recommended by the
classical yoga to achieve peace and stability. The idea of non-violence
is also well reflected in the
following verse
from the Bhagavadgita., which declares that God loves those
who do not disturb others. Now you will not disturb others under
two conditions: when you are fully asleep or when you are fully
awake. The former is a state of self-absorption and the latter a
state of wisdom and enlightenment.
"By whom the world is not disturbed and he who is not
disturbed by the world, who is free from joy, impatience, fear and
distress, he is also dear to Me. (Ch.12:15)
From this perspective, the non-violence practiced in politics
is not the same as the non-violence practiced by the yogis in spiritual
life because it aims to achieve political ends by changing and disturbing
the status quo. Through non-violence Gandhi upset the British rule
and in the process also stirred the whole nation into national fervor,
a mental modification (citta-vritti) that does not truly reflect
a non-violent state.
Gandhi tried the impossible by introducing non-violence as a political
weapon to be practiced by people who were basically materialistic
and not trained to be non-violent like the yogis. He practiced non-violence
to free India from the British rule, not for the liberation of the
mind but for the liberation of a country from oppression and exploitation.
In the process he stirred the whole nation into a state of non-cooperation
and passive resistance. From spiritual perspective, these two were
far from the highest virtues of dispassion, surrender and detachment
envisioned in the yoga.
Sadly, Gandhi used a very ancient Indian virtue rather shrewdly
for his political ends with the help of people who were not ready
for it and in the process could not help violating its very purpose,
which is to achieve peace and stability. In the end his methods
brought freedom to the country but at a great cost. The country
that eventually emerged out of his effort was a complete negation
of his values and beliefs. It is a country ravaged by wars, communal
clashes, political instability, poverty, economic disparities, violence
and corruption. And Gandhi himself met with a violent end. The modern
India that emerged after independence has never come to terms with
non-violence except on paper, and once in a while on days like October
2, Gandhi's birth anniversary when the leaders of that country pay
lip service to him with bright and cheerful words and then return
to their violent ways to pursue their selfish ends.
Suggested Further Reading
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