Non violence (Ahimsa) and Spiritual Awareness

1. The definition of ahimsa is: to maintain the awareness to not hurt any living being, even in the slightest degree, through your mind, speech and actions.
2. "Face all violence with non-violence." If someone uses the weapon of violence, you should use the 'weapon' of non-violence against him. Only this approach will lead to happiness. Violence only stops with non-violence.
3. On the one hand people pray to the Lord while on the other, they continue to hurt the very beings within which the Lord resides. 
4. To cause someone mental distress, to hurt him, cheat, betray or steal from him is all raudradhyan (adverse internal meditation that hurts others), the consequence of which will be a life in hell.
5. Ahimsa means to not have a single negative thought about anyone, not even for one's own enemies. A non-violent person will even think about the physical well-being and salvation of his own enemy.
6. Kashaya is the ultimate violence and that is why the Lord has said that first and foremost, one should not have any kashaya. This type of violence is called self-violence or intent-violence (bhaav-himsa).
7. There is no greater violence than the kashaya done against other human beings. Show me anyone that does not do this. Those who do no kashaya at home practice true ahimsa.
8. If a person were to resolve in his mind that under no circumstances does he want to kill any life-form, then he will not be instrumental in causing the death of any life-form.
9. Protecting life from fear (Abhaydaan) is the highest charity of all.
10. Only the one, who is absolutely non-violent himself, can show others the true nature of violence. Such a being is eternally established as the Self. These are the Tirthankaras and the Gnanis.

1. The Lord resides in every living being. If you hurt any living being you will incur liability for the hurt and violence that you cause.
2. Do you not occasionally fast as a means of penance? In that penance, do you not tolerate the pangs of hunger? Then why not accept the bedbug's bites as a form of penance? This penance presents itself directly to you. It is the basis for liberation - Moksha. Why must you create your own kind of penance? Why not suffer the penance that presents itself naturally? Naturally occurring penance is the cause of liberation, whereas self-created penance is the cause of worldly life.
3. People have ruined everything. On the one hand they are obsessive about observing ahimsa towards life-forms in the root crops and yet at the same time they do kashayas. This is like making a profit of three rupees on the one hand and a loss of ten million rupees on the other! People are adamant about trivial issues, but they commit endless violence through their kashayas. The greatest violence in the world is kashaya. There is more sin in kashayas than in killing a life- form.
4. As long as you believe that, 'I am picking this flower and I am committing violence' then the laws of violence will bind you. The same laws also bind the people who do not have this awareness. It is only when you attain the realization of your real Self that violence will not affect you under any circumstance.

Problem: I sometimes end up hurting people in my office. I have no control over my speech. My relationship with my collegues have spoilt. What should I do? How should I correct it?                 

Dadashri: Every morning before leaving home, you should recite the inner intent, 'I do not want to hurt any living being, even in the slightest degree, through my thoughts, speech and conduct'. Repeat this five times. Having done this, if you do end up hurting someone anyway, you must take note of it and repent for the mistake.

Result: Slowly the relationships will improve and your speech will also be pleasant towards others.

If a non-violent person shot an arrow at someone, his victim would not bleed. In contrast, a violent man would cause the person to bleed, even if he threw a flower at him. Neither the arrow nor the flower is itself 'effective', but it is the intent behind the act that is 'effective'. This is why my constant intent is that no one should be hurt in the slightest manner by my speech, my thoughts and my conduct. And my words and speech flows from this very intent. It is not the arrow, nor the flower, nor anything else for that matter that yields an effect, it is the intent that yields an effect.

Akram Vignan states that a person should not even use his thoughts as a weapon. So how can anyone use any other weapons? How can I wield any weapon against other life-forms when I have never once resorted to using even my thoughts as a weapon against the smallest of life-forms? Sometimes I tend to speak a little harshly, but such harshness is like the subtle difference between raw and refined silk. Such speech comes out only rarely. I have never used my speech as a weapon nor have I ever used my thoughts in that way.

I have never used my mind as a weapon against even the smallest of life-forms. Even if I was stung by a scorpion, I would not raise any weapon against it. By stinging me, the scorpion would be fulfilling its obligation, without which there would be no liberation for me. I can assure you that I have not used my mind as a weapon against any living being. Although it is the nature of the mind to retaliate, I assure you that I have not used it in this way.