What is Yoga? | Your Instructors | Note from Robin | Featured Articles | Archived Notes

Ahimsa / A Call for Peace - April 2003

Out beyond ideas of wrong-doing & right-doing
there is a field
I'll meet you there
-RUMI

After a weekend of sloppy rain and a belly-ache, I awaken to the sun, a promise of Spring adorned in golden light. My husband's job of 19 years, and the onset of war are now yesterday's news. A close friend is floating in the bliss of her newborn daughter. My sister-in law is counting down the minutes to the arrival of my new niece or nephew. So many lives are shattering in this very moment while other's are just beginning. I watch and listen, breathing it in, feeling overwhelmed, restless with the paradox.

As I sit with students, some who are beset with anxiety of the unknown, I feel my own sense of groundlessness. Even more so, I'm aware of the way in which the world events are a reflection of some inner struggle within me to be right, to gain latitude, to dominate and control. As much I criticize the politicians, I recognize parts of myself in their fatalistic repartee.

Ahimsa is a term in sanskrit that refers to non-harming or nonviolating self or others. The sutra, or aphorism on ahimsa, states that in the presence of one who is solidly established in friendliness, violence and hostility dissipate. We can point fingers at dictators and democracy gone awry, but who among us can claim to be completely free of the battle scars of aggression? How established are we in a sense of peace and equanimity? What would our inner world look like if it was blown up on the big screen for all to preview?

This is a time of reckoning not just with the world, but with ourselves. The soldiers in Iraq have a mission, and our mission at home is no less weighty. War is not new news. The Bhagavad Gita, one of the most ancient yoga texts takes place on a battlefield. The counsel given to the great warrior, Arjuna is really no different than the counsel of our own hearts: The time to act is now. There is no other time. If we want a peaceful world, we need to cultivate the skills to live consciously in relationship with every other living thing, engendering confidence and trust. It is not enough to want things to be different, we must be willing to change; to courageously wage war against our own habitual patterns which drive us to act aggressively and lose touch with our essential tenderness.

Out my office window the magnolia tree teases me, it's lusty blossoms about to unfurl a decadent display of lavender cups. I snuggle my cat, scratch the white smudge on her chest and take refuge in the comfort of her purr. Like the sun, they remind me that there is more going on than the bleak, global forecast. Both the light and the dark are accessible, it's all a matter of where I set my attention. I remind myself to cherish these moments of beauty, joy and comfort, not as an excuse for complacency, but as a source of inspiration to continue to learn the true meaning of peace, here in the sanctuary of my own heart and home.

Blessings,

The Yoga Barn, Inc.
Robin Rothenberg, Certified Yoga Instructor
660 NW Gilman Blvd., Suite C6, Issaquah, WA  98027
Studios located in both Issaquah and Fall City
Phone: 425.427.0038  -  Fax: 425.427.0613
E-mail: info@yogabarn.com  -  Web: www.yogabarn.com

Copyright © 1997 - 2007, The Yoga Barn, Inc. All rights reserved.