The hand with a wheel on the palm symbolizes the Jain Vow of Ahimsa, meaning non-violence. The word in the middle is “ahimsa.” The wheel represents the dharmacakra, to halt the cycle of reincarnation through relentless pursuit of truth.
When nonviolence in speech, thought, and action is established, one’s aggressive nature is relinquished and others abandon hostility in one’s presence. — Yoga Sutras
“The first yama — ahimsa, or nonharming, which asks us to embrace nonviolence at the level of speech, thought, and action — is a profound and radical concept that is truly the cornerstone of yoga as a way of life.”
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Well darkness has a hunger that’s insatiable, and lightness has a call that’s hard to hear. — Indigo Girls
“”Lightness has a call that’s hard to hear,” but each time we choose to hear it, the call becomes a little clearer. We spend our days badgered by voices that tell us to judge others {and ourselves – Donna}, fear others, harm others, or harm ourselves. But we are not obligated to listen to those voices, or even to take responsibility for them. They may be where we come from, but they are not where we are going. There is another voice, a voice that shines. Ahimsa is the practice of listening to that voice of lightness, cultivating that voice, trusting the voice, acting upon that voice.” — Rolf Gates, Meditations from the Mat
2 Responses
[…] Ahimsa: abstinence from injury, harmlessness, the not causing of pain to any living creature in thought, word, or deed at any time. Satya: truthfulness, word and thought in conformity with the facts. Asteya: non-stealing, non-coveting, non-entering into debt. Brahmacharya: divine conduct, continence, celibate when single, faithful when married. Aparigraha: absence of avariciousness, non-appropriation of things not one’s own. […]
[…] yoga practice is a nonviolent one. Each aspect of this path teaches us ahimsa, or nonharming, in our dealings with ourselves and others. Pranayama is a profound step in this […]