Ahimsa: The Greatest Form Of Self-Love
April 19th, 2006, 10:00 pm by Priya Florence Shah
Filed under Articles, Personal Growth, My Life, Self Help, Experiences, Attitude, Spirituality, India, Self-Improvement, Thoughts
When Mahatma Gandhi gave us his philosophy of non-violence, or ahimsa, I believe he was preaching the highest form of self-love.
Self-love not only means accepting myself the way I am, warts and all. It also means never tolerating anything - even from myself - that harms or disempowers me in any way.
In the things that I will not tolerate, I include violence. It’s easy to perceive violence from an external source. It’s much harder to detect the internal violence we wreak on ourselves all the time.
We harm ourselves everyday by tolerating -
- The negative thoughts we think
- The unhealthy diet and lifestyle we live
- The limiting beliefs we harbour
- The unethical actions we take
To me, ahimsa means loving and respecting myself so that I accept nothing less than being my best self.
Every time I give in to my fears, cheat on my diet, tell a lie, lose faith in myself, blame and judge myself, or do anything to harm my body or mind, I am hurting myself.
Every time I allow myself to be less than I am capable of being, I am committing an act of violence on myself.
It’s not easy, as Gandhi himself noted, for us human beings to be our best selves all the time. And by being my best self, I don’t mean being perfect. I’m only human, after all.
The important thing is to be aware of my goal at all times. To pick myself up, correct my course and continue on my way every time I take a fall.
Non-violence applies not only to actions that affect others, but also to those that affect me.
It means I will only put into my mouth foods that nurture my body, only harbour thoughts that nurture my mind, only be in a relationship that nurtures my emotions.
It also includes rising above my fears and giving up excuses about why I can’t reach my highest goals of physical, emotional and spiritual mastery.
If it seems like a stretch of the imagination to equate self-mastery with non-violence, remember that when you truly love yourself, you won’t tolerate anything that will harm you.
Don’t use ahimsa as a noun, but as a verb. It’s a process and a way of life that requires a lot of self-discipline. But I believe it’s worth it.
Because the philosophy of ahimsa, when applied to myself, is the greatest form of self-love there is.
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Ahimsa: The Greatest Form Of Self-Love said,
February 19th, 2010, 8:35 pm
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Arun Chitnis said,
June 2nd, 2010, 8:25 am
The teachings of Mahatma Gandhi have contemporary relevance in today’s business environment, as well. In a company where Gandhian principles underlie a workforce’s perception of work, social ethics, moral discipline and human relations, nothing much can go wrong. In fact, India does have many organizations with work cultures that reflect the essence of Gandhi’s teachings. Multinational corporations hoping to leverage India’s booming business potential are well advised to understand them.
Compassion and diplomacy have their place even in the hardest situations of corporate life. Guided by Mahatma Gandhi’s principles, the art of negotiation assumes almost magical hues. To illustrate – we know that Gandhi boycotted foreign goods not only to defy the British, but also to boost to the local Indian economy by promoting the use of Khadi and other indigenous products. However, his philosophies shone through when he traveled to the affected Lancashire mills and spend time will the mill workers on his next British trip. True to his principles, he explained to them why he was doing what he was doing - and his gesture won the day.
By making himself accountable in this way, Gandhi practically demonstrated the very essence of corporate social responsibility. In fact, CSR in India saw its beginning in the Gandhian concept of holding companies through a trust instead of by individuals. Today, his concept of Ahimsa – or non-violence – still has the power to transform even the worst of boardroom conflicts into cooperation. Contrary to certain Western schools of thought, Ahimsa in business negotiation and conflict resolution is far from passive and submissive. In fact, it is a most courageous route. This baseline Gandhian concept of Ahimsa, from which all his philosophy sprang, requires one to be serious, to accept reality and to be ready to make sacrifices.
Gandhism is not an obsolete social concept – it remains a revolutionary tool in an increasingly mercenary business environment. Some of the best corporate institutions in India, such as Tata, were inspired by the Gandhian philosophy. All of us can adopt and harness its power. After all, when we speak of globalization, we are speaking of integration – not fragmentation. And integration is what Gandhi was all about.