Universal Brotherhood And Goodwill
As we grow up, we are taught to discriminate. We are taught to see the differences between us and others. We are taught to label people as our opponents or our friends, our superiors or inferiors. We are also taught to label ourselves.
All this creates duality—us and them, superior and inferior, friend or foe. Millions are killed in the name of religion, millions in the name of the nation, millions in the name of caste, millions in the name of the color, and millions in the name of gender.
The truth is that everything is one, a cosmic unity. Nonviolence emerges from this awareness.
The divine is not far from us. It is within us. It is our innermost consciousness. The divine and the individual are not two separate things. They are one and the same. That's why the Upanishads have said, athato Brahma jijnasah: "You are that." In other words, you and the divine are one.
When you look at a tree, if you know that the tree is just a manifestation of the whole existence, you will be able to see it in a different light. You will see that it is not something separate from yourself, but an expression of your own consciousness -- just like your body or your mind. This understanding helps to bring about harmony in life and harmony in society.
Yoga emphasizes that we are not isolated beings but rather a part of the whole universe. The more we are able to relate to ourselves, others, and the world on this level, the more peaceful our lives and relationships become.
The yoga system was originally created as a way to help people live in harmony with all of creation. Many yoga techniques are designed to help us become more aware of our individual potential and the unique talents and abilities that make each of us special. By learning to appreciate who we are and what we have to offer others, we can come to see ourselves in a new light, which in turn leads us to experience true happiness for ourselves and for those around us.
This is why yoga teaches that any harm done to another person is ultimately done to yourself. If you harm someone else, you will inevitably face the same pain at some point. Yoga teaches us that if you really want to be happy, you must refrain from harming others.
The subject of nonviolence is a very vast and complex one, but if we want to be able to apply nonviolence in our lives, we must first understand what it means.
Nonviolence is not just a method of achieving our political or economic objectives. It is much more than that. Nonviolence is a way of life. It is the answer to all the problems that plague human society. Nonviolence is the law of life.
Nonviolent means never using force to counterforce, never returning hate with hate, never using violence to counter violence; on the contrary, it means to love, sympathy, and service coupled with sacrifice and suffering in order to bring about a change for good in the opponent.
Nonviolence is tolerance and understanding coupled with self-suffering amidst danger and adversity. It requires more strength than violence. It requires more humanity than brutality.
Nonviolence is based on the firm belief that human beings are inherently good and therefore capable of rectifying their wrongs without resorting to force or violence.
It holds that evil can be conquered only by a good, that hatred can be dispelled only by love, and that darkness can be dissipated only by light. We have no right either to hate others in return or to take revenge on them.
Sarve bhavantu sukhinah. (May everyone be happy.)Sarve santu niramayah. (May all be free from enmity.) Sarve bhadraani pashyantu makutam bhavadbhih. (May we all see auspiciousness everywhere.) Om shanti, shanti, shanti. (Om peace, peace, peace.)
This mantra is recited as a prayer for peace by over one billion Hindus and Buddhists around the world. It is an invocation of universal brotherhood and goodwill.
The idea that we are all one is very difficult to grasp, and the illusion of individuality is so strong that it prevents us from seeing the truth.
Our bodies may appear to be separate, but they are actually extensions of the cosmos. Our bodies are composed of matter created long ago in the fiery furnaces of distant stars. We are made of stardust.
The same atoms that make up our bodies were once part of the bodies of dinosaurs or other animals. The same atoms that make up our bodies will someday be part of a human body or even a tree or plant. Nothing is lost in the universe; everything is merely transformed from one form into another.
The ultimate goal is to be one with the cosmos and experience oneness. The experience of oneness is the peak of human experience. It is the ultimate experience of love and peace, joy and bliss. It is beyond our comprehension.
We cannot describe it because words are limited, but we can endeavor to experience oneness directly through meditation.
When the mind has transcended all limitations of time, space, and causation, it becomes still and silent, like a clear lake in which even the ripples caused by stones thrown into it earlier have disappeared. Such a lake is filled with pure water, untainted by any impurities or pollutants, and this is what happens to your mind when you reach this state - you become filled with pure love, compassion, joy, and bliss.
As Heraclitus said, "You could not step twice into the same river, for other waters are continually flowing on." The river of life flows on and takes with it all that we have been, all that we have done, and all that we have become, but we do not die because life continues on.
Rather than being something to fear, death can be viewed as merely another transformation for both ourselves and our loved ones.
Life is cyclical; death is cyclical. We are all one.
We love you dearly.
We are here with you.
We are your family of light.
A'HO
Aurora Ray
Ambassador of the Galactic Federation
Copyright 2023 Aurora Ray. All rights reserved.
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