
It begins with a thought.
This morning, in the newspaper, I read that 147 students had been massacred in Kenya by group of terrorists. I wondered What caused such a huge agitation in a human being, that resulted in this unprecedented violent action.
I posted recently a message of Ahimsa, taught by Mahavir and then pursued by Gandhiji.
To understand Ahimsa, we first need to understand the anatomy of ‘himsa’ or violence. My observations about anatomy of violence –
1. Level 1 – Thinking violence – When I think something negative about another. The source of negative thinking can either be jealousy, or in defending your space or defending your beliefs.
2. Level 2 – Building support for the violent thought – I expresses this negativity about another person/beliefs in the confines of my personal space, i.e., my close friends. My mind wants to garner support of my thinking and beliefs.
3. Level 3 – Verbal violence – Here I express my negative feeling (jealousy or conflict) to the person in an ‘indirect’ manner (sarcasm). If I have courage and sufficient power, I use direct Verbal Violence.
4. Level 4 – Physical Violence – My mind suggests to my physical body to act. The intensity of the act can be
a. Just a small slap (like one uses on his child).
b. Hit with some strong tool – like a punch or with a stick, with intention to create significant physical hurt (what happens in street fight).
c. Kill the other person.
What happened yesterday in Kenya is highest order of violence in the hierarchy of violence. But any violence starts from level 1, i.e., Thinking violence. That is the place where we can control the process. This process can be controlled at an individual level whenever a negative thought arises in your mind. This requires Self awareness of the ‘Hurt cuboid’ which I shared in earlier posts.
The violence is like a viral infection. It spreads with the same intensity as any viral infection. It can have impact on personal relationships, family relationships, workplace relationships, community relationship or political relationship.
Source of violence is only – MY MIND.
The journey of Ahimsa start from JUST ME.