Ahimsa and our planet: will we be a blessing or a curse?
This month I was asked to have a theme to offer more information to students who come to Thursday’s Vinyasa class at Yoga Six. My manager recommended the Yamas and Niyamas, or the first two limbs of the 8 limbed yoga path as described in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. I thought it would be a great opportunity to reconsider them. They’re one of the first things you learn in teacher training- yoga basics.
The “Yamas” are ethical observations towards others that help us align ourselves with the yogic path. (The Yamas and Niyamas: Exploring Yoga’s Ethical Practice by Deborah Adele) I’ve heard them described as morals, but while morality is more of a Western concept of right and wrong, ethics are more of an evaluation of considering the cause and effect of our actions. Morals appear to be more black and white, allowing lots of room for judgement and sanctimony- both qualities that separate us from others and even divide us. Western religions speak of morality and we have all seen the divisions some of these start morals cause in our own country.
I think of ethics as part of an expanding consciousness, or awareness of how our actions affect other living beings. Ethical observations thus leave more of a grey area and compassion towards those with less expanded consciousness. I also think this is where the paradox or grey area of the Eastern wisdom traditions can be seen as what is right for me might not feel right for you. The same experience for one can result in an entirely different perspective or experience for another. (The Yamas and Niyamas: Exploring Yoga’s Ethical Practice by Deborah Adele)
The first yama of five mentioned by Patanjali is “Ahimsa” in Sanskrit. Many scholars have interpreted this to mean no harm or compassion for all living beings. It asks us to consider the effect our choices have on other living beings. (Adele)
At no time has the observation of ahimsa or doing no harm to other living beings been more important as we face the ultimate challenge to sustain human existence on earth. We are intimately and essentially connected to all life and until we acknowledge this deep connection and act to stop harming our earth mother, we will continue to let others destroy it. If you don’t believe me, David Attenborough just came out with his latest documentary called A Life on Our Planet. Attenborough, age 93 calls this work his witness statement to the need to act now before it is too late.
What can we do? We can simply make a commitment to our planet with our most cherished societal value- our money. We can offer our society’s ultimate prize, as consistent support to those whose consciousness has long ago awakened and who have been fighting for all life on this planet for decades.
Last night I had the great pleasure to engage with two amazing people who have dedicated their lives to save our plant from the ravages of our own greed and ignorance that we are somehow both above and separate from our natural world. Mark Dubois has been a champion of our earth since the 1970’s and has literally risked his life to protect it. His organization, Friends of the River has been working to educate people and connect those among us with the least opportunities to nature. www.friendsoftheriver.org
Claire Dubois runs Tree Sisters (www.treesisters.org) and fights to empower woman and restore balance in our world by planting trees. Claire works to restore balance in our natural environment and prevent further destruction to which is critical to our human survival and champions woman as their continued subjugation around the world are the critical link to values of creation, restoration and peace.
Many of us were raised with formal religion. While I don’t find the religion of my origin compelling to my beliefs now, one of the greatest powers I witnessed in organized religion is the concept of putting our money where our values lie in the form of tithing. All organized religious organizations ask you to commit significant financial support to perpetuating their values.
What if we transitioned this concept of financially committing our money into or urgent need to restore our planet and insure human survival? In religious organizations, everyone is asked to give of what they can even though in Hebrew tithe means “ten” (or ten percent). Dave Ramsey, a famous financial advisor and author says, “… when it comes to tithing, it’s more of a spiritual discussion than a financial discussion. Because tithing isn’t about the money—it’s about the heart. It's living with the attitude that we’re blessed to be a blessing.”
One of my favorite ways to think of Ahimsa or non-harm comes from the psychologist Kelly Flanagan. He sums up our ethics to others as being one of two things: either we can choose to be a blessing or a curse. I love this because we all have so many choices every day. And as Mark Dubois said last night “every cent we spend is a choice”.
Our choices express our values and determine where our energy flows. Certainly our daily expenses are all blessings or curses to our planet, but so are our savings. Will your investments be a blessing or a curse? Did you know you don’t have to choose between a return on your investments and our planet? My husband Piet works for UBS Financial who just made it their mission to be the world leader in sustainable investing. And there are no compromises to those who invest because these profitable companies invest in our future are booming as proven by my own IRA which has been sustainable for years.
Yoga is a practice of action that asks us to live in reality. I’m not going to grovel in my mistakes, in my years of eating commercially raised meat or excessive use of our precious water. I’m going to let go of the illusion that things could have been any different and take action in my current awareness. I’m committed to ahimsa or non-harm in all the ways my consciousness opens it to me. I’d love for you to join me on this journey and hope I can also support you in expanding our compassion for this beautiful planet that hangs in the balance of our choice: to be a blessing or a curse.
I’ll be donating ten percent of my class earnings to planting trees and I can’t wait until my forest melts into yours on a planet where our kids have a future.
Namaste!
