Nonviolence

Nonviolence is the supreme law of life.

Hindu Proverb

The Sanskrit word for nonviolence is ahimsa: 

a - means "not" or "without": himsa is violence.

This may sound negative, but in Sanskrit a word

constructed in this way stands for a state both

perfect and positive. Ahimsa implies that when 

every trace of violence is removed from the mind,

what is left is our natural state of consciousness: pure love.

Unfortunately, that love has been buried under layer 

upon layer of ill will and selfish conditioning.

To have love bubble up to the surface of our life, 

all we have to do is systematically remove all those layers.

There are three kinds of violence: one, through our deeds;

two, through our words; and three, through our thoughts.

Most of what we call violence is in the form of action,

and it is with our actions that nonviolence, naturally begins.

But as long as our minds harbor violent thoughts,

that incipient violence will find its way somehow into 

our speech and behavior. 

The root of violence is in the world of thoughts,

and that is why training the mind is so important.

Eknath Easwaran