Non-Violence for all Living Beings

We talked about a philosophical, spiritual, and religious principle shared across many cultures. The Golden Rule forges an attitude rooted in nonviolence. Treat others the way you want to be treated. When you remember that you are All That Is, this attitude becomes common sense.

In Sanskrit, the sacred language of Hinduism, there is a word used to express this tenet called “Ahimsa”. It is a fundamental practice in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Janism.

Ahimsa translates to “nonviolence toward all living things”. The word points to a multidimensional concept, inspired by the principle that all living beings have the spark of divine spiritual energy. Everything in the universe shares the same spark of divine spiritual energy. It is our true essential nature, the string that connects every-single-thing, and binds us into Oneness. Therefore, to hurt anything is to hurt oneself. (1)

The principle of nonviolence is well known in Christianity. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ says “in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets”. (Mathew 7:12)

There are dozens of verses in the new and old testament dealing with peace and nonviolence. “Blessed are the peacemakers, they will be called sons of God (Mathew 5:9), “Love your enemies; bless those who persecute you” (Luke: 6:27), and “Try to do what leads to peace” (Romans 14:19) (2)

Most people think “do onto others as you would have them do to you” only refers to human relationships. We can infer it includes animals and plants too.

We find nonviolent precepts in the ten commandments passed from God, to the Jewish people, back at Mount Sinai. We remember “you shall not kill”, and “you shall not steal”. There was no fine print below stating “these commandments only apply to inter-human relationships”.

The Arabic word “Islam” shares the same root as the word “salaam”, which means peace. Peace is only possible in the absence of violence. There is no peace in killing, or stealing another being’s life, regardless of whether they are human, animal, or plant.

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