Ahimsa

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.—Plato

I grew up watching Mork & Mindy, and enjoyed watching many of Robin Williams’s movies. When I learned of his death, my heart sank into a spiral of “whys”. Though I didn’t personally know him, it still hurt to recognize the depth of his pain. Viewing the many tributes, I understand that he was an extraordinarily generous and kind person.  Though I have no direct connection him, I feel very connected to his soul. 

Ahimsa is Sanskrit for non-harming. It is the first yama, or restraint, in Patanjali’s Eight-fold Path of Yoga. I believe it is the most important, and the other yamas and niyamas (observances) follow it because it must come first. Ahimsa is non-judgment, non-violence, compassion and kindness. It is to be merciful.

If we have Ahimsa first for the self, then it naturally extends to others. This has been my the challenge, as I have received the opposite message in the past. In meditation, I connect to my true self. When I look within, I find a profound sense of peace and wholeness. I carry this connection throughout my day, in all activities and interactions. Sometimes I lose this connection. As my practice deepens, I can recognize when that happens and find it again more and more quickly.

I have used judgments as shortcuts to the truth. Though my intentions were not to harm, the results were most often harmful, to me and to whom I was judging. This is not new information, but this knowledge would be habitually cast aside when old beliefs are triggered. As I connect within to my true self, these triggers become less effective, until there is no emotional charge at all.

The truth is that each person has this profound wholeness within them. Some people may be more connected to their true self than others.  Some people may be deeply attached to beliefs that separate them from their true self. Some people may suffer unimaginable mental or physical pain that blocks their connection. There is no shortcut to understand what anyone’s personal experience is. That is why judgment does not work.

What does work is Ahimsa. Non-harming. When we lead with that intention, when we look at each person with compassion, things begin to change. People begin to change. When we connect in kindness, we are free to soften our judgments and beliefs of separation. If we begin with Ahimsa, what follows has the opportunity to become more fruitful.

Robin Williams’s life and his death has affected much of the world. Surely he will be portrayed as a part of our cultural history. The greater truth of this person is the same truth that dwells within each of us, within our deepest knowing. We are each connected in this divine mystery.