The "hand symbol" above, right, is an adaptation of the original Jain symbol depicting a wheel inside the palm and the word Ahimsa contained within it.
In the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions, the principle of nonviolence and compassion toward all living things; it is considered one of five great virtues of man; its origin is from the Sanskrit language: from a ‘non-, without’ + hiṃsā ‘violence’
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi promoted Ahimsa in his life and in his life's service. He applied Ahimsa to all arenas of life. He said, "Ahimsa is in Hinduism, it is in Christianity as well as in Islam... Nonviolence is common to all religions, but it has found the highest expression and application in Hinduism (I do not regard Jainism or Buddhism as separate from Hinduism)."
Ahimsa tends to include the following loving lifestyle practices and leads to an overall more peaceful life:
Practicing vegetarianism and even greater, veganism in both food and clothing choices
Refraining from hunting and fishing whether to kill or to wound and release
Eliminating the caging of animals and visiting animals in zoos (animal sanctuaries for the wounded would not apply here)
Treating pets with love and respect, and creating structure within ourselves and for our pets so we may engender their obedience
Refusing to patronize companies that practice cruelty toward animals
Taking in abandoned pets in shelters; consider adopting an aging pet who is more likely to be passed by.
Taking loving care of our own bodies with high frequency exercise such as yoga, martial arts, distance meditative walking; see our blog post of June 10, 2016 for one such simple exercise.
Espousing moderation in what we take into our bodies such as quantities of food, alcohol, sugar, fats, drugs, tobacco
Meditating daily for at least a short period of time being sure to include some form of prayer before or after
Creating a home environment of peace and order that will support nonviolent tendencies within us (See blog post of June 27.)
Gently rejecting negative and destructive self-talk realizing this is the ego talking and not us and that exactly the opposite is true about ourselves; this is practicing non-violent thinking.
Enriching our attitudes towards life by reading uplifting, inspiring books; see list in column 2, right. For a healthier approach to physical vitality and skincare, check out our book, Energetic Skincare, Naturally, replete with all kinds of well researched info. on time-honored techniques for healthy living.
Slowing down if we tend to rush through life; getting present to life
Recycling all that we don't use including clothing, furniture, tools; recycling food scraps
Buying organic and vegan
Walking or riding a bicycle whenever possible
Cutting way back on our consumption of paper, plastic and synthetic products
Becoming more acutely aware of our individual carbon footprint overall and how to reduce it
#ahimsa #nonviolence #peace #holistic #consciousness #holistic #organic #vegan #buddhism #skincare #Swiss #sustainability
Some Titles You May Want to Dive Into for a More Peaceful Loving Life:
The Official Ahimsa Dog Training Manual: A Practical, Force-Free Guide to Problem Solving and Manners by Grisha Stewart
Living Ahimsa Diet: Nourishing Love & Life by Maya Tiwari
Gandhi: An Autobiography - The Story of My Experiments With Truth by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Mahadev H. Desai
Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words by Peace Pilgrim
The Dalai Lama's Little Book of Compassion by the Dalai Lama
Personality Development by Swami Vivekananda
All PHYTO5® Swiss-made skincare products are crafted in the spirit of Ahimsa. Animals are not tested and the highest good of the planet is at the core of all our manufacturing practices.