One of the most widely discussed topics in religion is the topic of non-violence, Ahimsa. For someone following the yogic path, as myself, the Yoga sutras themselves are not very specific on what non-violence really consists; therefore, I think it could be useful to clarify this topic from the lenses of psychology.
Most of what I’m about to say comes from the book “The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness” by Eric Fromm.
(Great book. Highly recommended to anyone wanting to understand violence and the world in which we live in.)
Here is my explanation:
When it comes down to aggression, there’s a distinction between two types of aggression:
- Malignant aggression.
Being aggressive just for the sake of being so, for the sake of domination, control, fun or even destruction. To this category of aggression belong all the sadistic, controlling and necrophilous characters. History if so full of them (dictators, warmonger, etc.). Jails are full of them (criminals). Mental institutions are also full of them.
People are NOT born with this type of aggression. These patterns are learned throughout life in the way that one is raised within a family and/or society. They are means to compensate from the lack of genuine love, and these do so by providing some sort of “compensative pleasure.” This pseudo-pleasure is, ultimately, unworthy and anti-ethical to human development and flourishing, of self and of others. Some of these means to pseudo-pleasure are more drastic than others, as in the necrophilous character that seeks pure destruction and death for no rational apparent reason. The sadistic character, in turn, seeks control and domination which provide him or her material pleasures. This pseudo-pleasures need to be “cleansed,” go through a process of “morality laundry,” leading to pseudo-rationalizations — or self-deceptive rationalizations — such as “if I, or we, don’t do it, somebody else would,” or what is to say “it is better to commit injustice than to suffer it” (which is, basically, anti-Socatrism). On the surface, these seem to have logical sense, a materialistic sense: avoidance of pain and pursuit of pleasure; but do they really make sense? Could it be possible that “it is better to suffer injustice than to commit it”? Could it be possible that there exist goods that are not material goods, perhaps emotional, psychical, spiritual goods? (Enough of this discourse for now).
What matters to us now is that, because we are not born with them, but they are learned, they can also be UN-learned! (more of this later).
- Reactive defensive aggression.
This one is when our fight or flight mechanism is activated, and we are 100% entitled to this form of aggression. It is superfluous that I recommend this to you or anybody, because it comes to us as an automatic reflex. We are all born with it. Also, there’s no ill-intent behind the aggression. The goal is not to cause harm, but to invalidate the irrational behavior of the apparent opponent. (as every martial art has made it its philosophy of only acting in self-defense).
Thus, Ahimsa or non-violence must be understood in this way: non-violence consists in “restraining from malignant aggression.” It does NOT mean one should do nothing in the face of aggression.
Dissecting malignant aggression.
Let’s focus on malignant aggression for a moment. There are 3 levels in which a person can be malignantly aggressive:
- In action. Causing (or attempting to cause) physical damage to others or to oneself.
- In word. In the form of verbal abuse.
- In thought. In the form of violent thoughts towards others or oneself, often experienced as being angry.
Restraining oneself from physical violence is not enough. One is urged to overcome malignant aggression in word and thought as well. The reasons are simple: when one is angry, in thought or in word only, one is, in reality, 1 or 2 steps removed from actual physical violence. Oftentimes, all that is required are the right triggers so that violence becomes manifested in behavior; and we say that the person is driven, loses control of himself or herself, or that the person becomes possessed by his or her irrational drives.
Not being under control of oneself at all times makes one vulnerable in the following ways:
- Vulnerable in committing an act that one will regret later.
- Vulnerable against somebody who will exercise defensive aggression against oneself (facing the palm).
- Vulnerable of being manipulated and driven to wars, revolutions, crimes, etc., fueled by anger and hate (orchestrated mass-scale violence as history has shown us multiple times).
How to eradicate malignant aggression in oneself as prescribed by yoga?
The good news is that since these traits are learned, they can also be unlearned. It will require work and patience, but in general, this is the way to do it:
- Practice the restriction of Ahimsa and do not commit violent acts, at least physically.
- For the violent words and thoughts that come to the mind, the work consists in tracing down their root cause, to uncover the unconscious wounds that fuel them. We do this through meditation. By understanding in what way they compensate for the lack of genuine love, in what way they may generate “pleasure” (pseudo-pleasure) and in what way they avoid the pain of encountering the real feelings underneath the anger: feelings of powerlessness, fear and weakness; in doing that, one is half-way healed from them.
- Let the root cause (the fear, the weakness, vulnerability) speak to you as well. If there’s fear or insecurity, think about the opposite: “what would make me feel safe and secure?” Discover in which ways you’re attempting to feel safe and secure (is it pursuing money, fame, status?) and ask yourself is they really make you feel safe, definitely. Go down the rabbit hole of our human condition, the fear of death, powerlessness and isolation, and whether ordinary means pursued by society are enough to remedy them. What would be the best way to feel the opposite, that is, sure about yourself, about life. Are there any other extra-ordinary means to remedy those fears? May it be the case that forming loving human bonds is the real source of human strength as a species? Wouldn’t happiness be a collective pursuit rather than individual? Wouldn’t being a friend imply “giving” in one way or another? What is best in you that you can give to others, your friends?
- What follows is a necessary process of learning and experimentation in the real world, in the changes one makes to one’s environment, one’s relationships and one’s habits based on love, friendliness, and strength. In time and with practice, Ahimsa stops being a restriction and becomes an integrated part of the personality.
Once one is living a full life, full of love, strength and joy, there’s really not a room for enmity, anger or resentment. The pleasures of love easily override the previous pseudo-pleasures while the discipline and the work one puts into love is so much more bearable, meaningful, and rewarding than the previous feelings of powerlessness and weakness. What follows is a natural feeling of magnanimity.
So, how does one fight against hate and evil in the world?
This is a valid question, because evil and hate exists in the world.
Here, it is important to remember that one cannot fight fire with fire in the same way that one cannot fight hate with hate, evil with evil. This is illogical. Even if one is lucky in defeating one’s perceived enemy in the same ways of the enemy, with hate, evil and injustice, then, congratulations, one simply becomes like the enemy!
What good does it do? Anger is anger everywhere just like fire is fire everywhere, no matter the person or the cause it fights for. Anger fosters more anger, it blurs the mind and makes one stupid. In this way, the enemy and the hateful ways of the enemy remain. Nothing is been truly accomplished. This has happened multiple times in history and we, as a species, don’t understand that yet.
Therefore, before one thinks about joining any fights for any cause, whether that is political, religious, ideological of any sort, or even “spiritual” wars, one must keep present that, at the end of the day, it is all about the underlying unconscious factors that drive behavior. If the whole enterprise is full of anger or resentment, that’s probably not the right cause (unless, of course, you want to keep fueling the fire of anger).
Instead, this is what one is entitled to do, and how a person can effectively and legitimately fight against evil: one is only entitled to fostering love and becoming better at self-defense. One is entitled to live a life rooted in strength while practicing Ahimsa. One can also convert the apparent enemy into a friend, otherwise, what would be the meaning of “love thy enemy”?
Remember, the enemy is rooted in feelings of powerlessness and weakness, therefore, he needs to control, to dominate, even to destroy others the moment there’s a perceived threat to his interests. Nevertheless, the enemy is still rooted in weakness.
The only way such an enemy can overpower a loving person that knows how to self-defend is in the numbers, in the technology used, or in the surprise factor. If that is the case, it is better to suffer injustice, even martyrdom, rather than committing the injustice, and thus, becoming the enemy oneself. (Socrates).
If the above has not happened yet and while there’s life, it is in one’s power to live a life full of love, joy and strength, and instead of fostering enemies, one fosters more friends. One builds families, relationships and communities that grow together stronger day after day.
In other words, the work consists in converting people from their old dysfunctional habits to join the cause of love, happiness and joy, helping people discover their own strengths and overcome the negative feelings of powerlessness, fear and weakness.
For the truly enlightened person, everybody is a friend, even the enemy that does not know what he does, and for that reason suffers and makes others suffer. As long as there’s life there’s also hope of rehabilitation.
In the end, Ahimsa becomes so ingrained in the personality that there’s no need of external laws, and it does not feel like a restriction anymore.
This is a secret I have learned: it is not the Law that is wrong. What is wrong is the person that needs to go into conflict against the Law in order to discover the real meaning of the Law. Through what initially feels like a restriction one is inevitably forced to face the root causes of the “illness” while in meditation (the safe and controlled environment), before one intents to solve them in real life (trial and error).
That’s why we practice Ahimsa in yoga.
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Oscar G Najarro 
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