
2.35 Ahimsā pratishthyāyām tat samnidhau vaira tyāgahIn the presence of one firmly established in ahimsa, all violence and hostilities cease to existThis has always been one of my favorite teachings from the Yoga Sutras. “Himsa” means to hurt, to cause harm, or violence. When you add “a” in front of a Sanskrit word, it negates it and changes it to the opposing meaning. So if himsa is to hurt then ahimsa is the opposite: to bring healing, to bring light, to create peaceThe yogis teach that the world around us is a direct reflection of the world that exists within us. So if we’d like to create a world of peace around us, it starts by creating a world of inner peace within. So when we create a world of ahimsa within us: allow our thoughts, language, and action to align with ahimsa, treat ourselves with the quality of ahimsa, then the world of inner peace within can expand to a world of inner peace all around us. As so many wise teachers have said throughout the ages, it all starts with yo…