Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:10] Welcome to deep in your yoga practice. I'm Lauren Leduc, the owner and founder of True Love Yoga in Kansas City, Missouri. And in today's episode, I wanted to talk about something that I think about a lot, I think that I wrestle with as well. That is complex, even though it seems simple, and that is such an important part of yoga. So today's episode, we are talking about ahimsa, which means non harm and is the first yama of the eight limbed path of yoga in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. So it is the first ethical principle outlined in the eight limbed path, and it is what we measure the other ethical principles against.
[00:00:52] And I think it seems simple, but with being alive and participating within a complex society and a global society, we are going to have an impact. To participate is to be entangled. And even very mindful choices can involve harm. Think about everything we choose to eat, thinking about driving a car, owning a phone, maybe running a business, or participating within our workplace. Each of these things involves nuance and each of these things does cause harm on one level or another. So the question I tangle with often is what does non harming mean in a world where harm is unavoidable? So this episode isn't about becoming morally pure or about judgment. Instead, it's about ethical awareness and maturity. So today we'll explore ahimsa as a historically complex and evolving principle, as a philosophical tension, not a simple rule, a practice that requires discernment rather than perfection, and a way of living that balances care and action. And so let's get into it. So what is ahimsa? Ahimsa means non harming, and this is non harming in thought, in word and an action.
[00:02:18] And this is cited in the yoga sutras of patanjali in Sutra 235, where it says when one is firmly established in non violence, hostility ceases in their presence. So what we're talking about isn't being nice, it's not about being passive even.
[00:02:38] And it's not about being avoidant either. This is foundational.
[00:02:44] Again, it's the first yama. This is relational, this affects all of our interactions, and it's energetic. This affects the environment within and around us. Ahimsa, and putting ourselves through the lens of it, is this shift in how we relate to ourselves and to life itself. This concept of ahimsa has pre yogic roots. So before Patanjali's yoga Sutras, or what we might call classical yoga, ahimsa was central in shramana traditions, which include Jainism and Buddhism and these traditions heavily influenced the development of yoga. So these movements of Jainism and Buddhism rejected animal sacrifice, which was a big part of the Vedic tradition which dominated before this period. It rejected ritual hierarchy and it externalized religion. They asked, how do we as individuals stop contributing to suffering? So this is where we see ahimsa becoming something that is internalized, that is ethical and that is existential. Particularly in Jainism, we see ahimsa taken to its logical extreme. So this is this very rigorous expression of ahimsa where the core belief is that all beings possess jiva or soul, and that any harm equals karmic entanglement. So that means the more we harm, the more karma we accumulate and we'll have to keep entering the cycle of birth and death and rebirth. So the Jains had different ascetic practices to reduce harm. One being sweeping the ground before walking. So one doesn't step on any insects, one is covering the mouth. And this is to avoid the inhalation or even accidental swallowing of any tiny organisms or microorganisms in the air. This also can include avoiding root vegetables because uprooting them kills the entire organism and destroys numerous microorganisms living in the soil. They're also known to restrict movement by walking carefully, limiting travel in order to avoid stepping on or killing insects or organisms. And this also includes extreme dietary discipline, avoiding any food that causes harm to animals, microorganisms or even plants. So typically it's a strict lacto vegetarian diet which avoids meat, fish, eggs, honey and root vegetables. So Jainism reveals ahimsa as an absolute ethical principle where life itself becomes quite difficult, becomes difficult to interact with the world, to participate in culture, etc, and I'm not saying this out of disrespect, just out of a sense of realism, thinking about trying to live life in this way and be a mother and have a business and interact with others. So the way that Janes lived or live isn't necessarily meant to be copied as yogis, but it does reveal the depth of this principle of ahimsa kind of forces us to ask, is the goal of ahimsa perfection? Or maybe is it awareness through yoga history as well? We see this tension between ascetics who are people who practice severe self discipline, abstaining from material comforts and pleasures, usually for religious or spiritual reasons. Maybe they're monks or hermits or yogis and they are those who choose to practice this radical non harming often, although it can be taken to the extreme and they can harm their own bodies through practices like tapas or austerities. And then on the other hand, we have householders. These are people probably like you and me. They are engaged in life. There's this sense of imperfection because of our life of action and engagement. Most yoga practitioners today are not renunciates. They're embedded within society. We are responsible for families and work. We live within complex systems.
[00:06:55] While we can look at how ahimsa is embodied within an ascetic or within a renunciate, what does it actually look like when you're participating in life and not withdrawing from it? We can look to the Bhagavad Gita for advice, which was also written over a period of time around 2000 years ago. And this is a story where yoga is revealed within the context of this large epic tale, Mahabharata. And in the Bhagavad Gita, there is a battle within a family. And Arjuna, who's the main character, is getting ready to fight against his family for pretty righteous reasons. But he stands on the battlefield frozen because he does not want to fight. The violence feels wrong. He doesn't see his family members as enemies. And we can think of this as ahimsa in an emotional form, but his charioteer and teacher and ultimately God, as revealed in this story. Krishna urges him to act. And he's not saying that violence is good, but he's saying that you must act according to your dharma or your purpose in this life. And that inaction is also a choice that can also cause harm and that avoidance is actually not purity. So some core teachings that come out of this are that you can't escape action.
[00:08:18] So even doing nothing has consequences. That right action matters more than withdrawal. So being ethical doesn't mean avoiding. It's about this engaged sense of discernment. And then it also introduces non attachment, or what we'd call viragia in yoga. And this is acting without clinging to the outcomes of the actions. And when you're acting without clinging to the outcomes, this is called Karma Yoga. So in this we can see that ahimsa is not always something that's passive. It' not gentle always, and it's not avoidant. Sometimes not acting is the greater harm. So the Bhagavad Gita gives us this framework to be able to act in an ethical way. And really what it's asking us to do is to act wisely within complexity. So I think that's a reason why a lot of people at this point in history are really looking to the Bhagavad Gita because we feel compelled to act.
[00:09:18] We live in a global society where we are all connected, we are not renunciating life. So how do we do this as ethically as possible? Let's go back to Patanjali's yoga sutras now, which is giving us another middle path with ahimsa. Patanjali doesn't prescribe extreme asceticism or violent engagement. Instead he offers this middle path of awareness, of restraint, of discernment and of practice. Ahimsa becomes a guiding principle rather than an absolute rule. So let's bring this into our modern reality. In this modern world, harm is embedded in systems. It's in our global supply chains, our technology, labor practices, environmental impact and digital ecosystems. It can be really, really overwhelming and depressing, honestly to think about. And for all of us, we are participants in this, we are beneficiaries often in this. And we also contribute to these systems. And this can create so much guilt and overwhelm and also a sense of paralysis like what decisions do I make, what do I do? Do I make a difference, et cetera. Know that when we are talking about ahimsa and yoga, it's not meant to shame you, to freeze you or to make you pure or perfect. Instead it's to increase awareness and responsibility. We can use our discernment to make the best decisions we possibly can for ourselves and for society in this moment in a way that is realistic and that is helpful. It's important to note too that when we are in this cycle of shame and freeze and kind of striving for a sense of perfection, it can be really detrimental to our nervous systems and to the way we interact with ourselves in this world. When we can't regulate, we might collapse or avoid or numb out. We might participate blindly within these systems or with apathy. So these ethical practices really require capacity and stability as well as a sense of sustainability.
[00:11:29] So if we can't sustain it for a long period of time, we're probably going for something that's a little too extreme. So know that you cannot practice non harming if your system is completely overwhelmed. And knowing that, we can examine, examine what ahimsa does look like today and how to support our own systems so that we can practice it. So ahimsa looks like awareness first. So this is maybe gathering information.
[00:11:56] It is observing, it is noticing impact without immediate judgment. So this is very similar to something like observing your own thoughts in meditation.
[00:12:08] It's very counterproductive to then attack the thoughts. We have to observe them first. And get to know them them? Next, we can then make choices with discernment of reducing harm where we can.
[00:12:23] Are we reducing harm toward ourselves? Is it in the way we consume? Is it in our speech toward ourselves and others? Is it in our relationships? Is it in our environment?
[00:12:36] In our political systems? Is it within our workplaces? Within our families? Within our homes? And we might start small. What are small ways we can start to reduce harm? And how can we roll these into sustainable, profound and impactful habits? Next, we can focus on self ahimsa. Are we getting enough rest? Are we practicing boundaries? Are we creating consistent effort in our lives or abiasa that is sustainable over a long period of time? Or are we burning ourselves out? Are we collapsing? Are we going into this difficult nervous system space that steals sustainable non harm from us? Next, we need to note that boundaries are not violence. So ahimsa can include saying no. It can include protecting your energy.
[00:13:26] It can include taking a stand when it's needed. We don't have to be nice, we don't have to be passive. To practice ahimsa, boundaries are important. Next we need to harness viveka or discernment. We need to basically measure harm. Not all harm is equal and not all situations are simple. So are we able to go through these different steps of awareness, for instance of discernment, and then be able to take appropriate right action Instead of painting everything with a broad brush or seeing everything in black or white, can we hold complexity? Can we hold nuance?
[00:14:10] These are things that yoga asks of us. Something else to note when practicing ahimsa is repair. So harm is going to happen. Oftentimes for those of us who are conscientious, it's going to happen inadvertently. When it happens, can we acknowledge it? Can we learn from it? Can we make adjustments? Can we set our egos aside enough to grow? We can't expect perfection, but we do need to repair when harm happens. Now let's take a moment to talk about ahimsa versus spiritual bypass.
[00:14:45] So avoiding discomfort and reality and bypassing purely to the spiritual know that true ahimsa includes honesty. That means we can't always avoid conflict or suppress the truth. It includes discomfort. When we spiritually bypass, we're often trying to bypass this sense of discomfort. But discomfort is very much a part of being human. And if we want to practice non harming in the most discerning, thoughtful way we can, it's going to include these moments where we mess up, right? And that can be really uncomfortable. And it also includes accountability. So accountability I think is really like the opposite of bypass. It's really taking stock of what has happened, maybe what harm that we have created and assuming some responsibility for it. So as we look at Ahimsa in this complex and modern way, we can know that it's not perfection or purity or passivity. Instead, it is awareness, it is responsibility, it is discernment. And it is an ongoing practice. And an ongoing practice is not perfect. It's not linear. It has its ups and downs. We can try our best, we can be honest with ourselves. We can observe and we can build upon the wisdom we've gained to continue to make sustainable, impactful choices. We can still interact with the world and hopefully create this net positive for good. So you might ask yourself today, where can I reduce harm? Maybe what is one small area where this can happen? Where do I truly feel overwhelmed? And what is one sustainable shift I can make? You don't have to be perfect to be ethical. You just have to be conscious. Thank you so much for joining me today. If you love philosophical discussions, you might be interested in our yoga teacher training programs at True Love Yoga 200 hour for brand new teachers and our 300 hour for teachers who are ready to advance their teaching and practice. We nerd out on philosophy and it is so much fun. So feel free to reach out if you're interested. Om Shanti, Om. Peace.
