Sense of Possibilities
Is a nonviolent world possible?
In a world of civil wars, terrorist attacks, felon presidents elected, populist polarization, human rights violations, hate speech, persecution of minorities, mistreatment of refugees, capitalist exploitation of people and natural resources, unequal distribution of wealth, the industrial slaughter of domestic animals, extinction of species, massive deforestation, mass-destruction weapons – how can anyone be so naive to hold on to the possibility of a nonviolent world?
One possible answer to this realistic question comes from the inventor of nonviolent communication, Marshall B. Rosenberg, who truly has no illusions about the human potential for violence, as he has mediated worldwide in many conflicts.
If we humans have the ingenuity and energy to create high-tech arsenals and security systems, why shouldn’t we be able to use this energy to build a life-serving system? 1
Sense of possibility
Indeed, this realistic position is, as Judith Butler mentions in The Force of Nonviolence, widespread. However, it is not the only one, and even less the ultimate one. On closer inspection, the perspective described above, reveals itself to be conservative. It is not so by the intention of maintaining the status quo, but simply by its unimaginativeness and limitation.
You either see opportunities or you don’t. The impossible is another name for the not-seen. […] The shadow, which lets you see a limited and frightening world full of threats and sinister possibilities, obstructs your view of previously unseen possibilities that you might become aware of if you extended beyond the shadow. Without this expansion, you inevitably have a blinkered vision. 2
The sense of reality, as Robert Musil calls this lack of imagination in contrast to the sense of possibility, in this case, presupposes that there is no probability for collective awareness of nonviolence. However, a transformation of the still prevailing, violence-promoting structures can only be initiated by human beings who are aware of their wolfish conditioning – through fear, feelings of guilt and shame, as well as judgmental language – and who do not allow themselves to be restricted by the prevailing paradigms.
A paradigm is a whole worldview, and it is only limited by what we view as possible. As old ways of looking at things are challenged, our worldview begins to expand. That which was previously considered impossible becomes possible and eventually is experienced as a new dimension of reality. There is the capacity to look within ourselves to examine our belief systems, ask questions, and seek new solutions. 3
Self-realization
In the Advaita-Vedanta tradition, (jiv-)Atman (the individual soul) and Brahman (the world soul and source of all existence) are not separate, they form a non-duality. This means we have potential access to all other living beings through our Self (Jiv-Atman). But most of the time this access is blocked by identifications of the small self (ego). Avidya (lit.: non-wisdom) refers to the identification (Asmita) with thoughts, desires, ideologies, social roles, and other conditionings. By rejecting one limiting paradigm after the other, one illusion after the other, one conditioning after the other, we become permeable to the all-connecting energy of the world soul. Sometimes this happens spontaneously when we empathize with another living being.
According to Marshall B. Rosenberg, nothing less than unconditional love enables us to connect with others when we are truly present and compassionate with them. This is possible even when we have very different worldviews, even when we are on opposite sides of a bloody conflict.
When I empathize in contexts like this, my mind tells me, Forget it, this will never go away, but if I just do everything in my power to connect the two parties, it will eventually happen: It is like a miracle. It’s not me who does that, I can’t heal these wounds […] But the good thing is that we don’t have to do anything ourselves. When we are empathically connected, the divine energy flows through us and does it. I believe we all have this power in us, it is just there, we are not always connected, and access is often blocked. 4
Letting go
Only by letting go of limiting beliefs and emotional thoughts do we arrive at that lightness of existence, which is pure consciousness and bliss. Then we are finally connected to the divine energy that flows through all of us. In this state of connectedness called Sat-Cit-Ananda in the yoga scriptures, we can no longer be controlled, manipulated, exploited, and imprisoned.
The inner emptiness that sets the ego strategies of desire in motion. It becomes noticeable as we can not feel connected with our great self (Atman). As soon as we are in a state of Satcitananda, this feeling of inner emptiness disappears and our desires dissolve on their own, without forcing ourselves ascetically to do so.
Defense of the small self
Above all, the so-called realistic view mentioned in the first paragraph often serves as the best argument to legitimize violence. Finally, we must defend ourselves against the omnipresent violence:
Because violence is already happening, the argument continues, there is no real choice about whether or not to enter violence through one’s action: We are already in the field of violence. […] Violence is happening against us, so we are justified in taking violent actions against those who (a) started the violence and (b) directed it against us. 5
But even if we are already in a force field of violence: How is the cycle of violence supposed to end, if not right now, we are the ones making the conscious decision not to contribute.
The cosmopolitan attitude of Ahimsa
Furthermore, Judith Butler asks the crucial question: Who is this self that we defend in self-defense? Who is included in this self-conception, and who is excluded? Are there people(s), less worthy of our compassion, less grievable? This is exactly why we should conceive Ahimsa as a cosmopolitan attitude. Hence, when we stop identifying with the small self – the nation, religion, ethnicity, race, or class – we are less likely to defend aggressively these extensions of the ego. Rather, we identify with the Self that is inseparable from the World-soul.
The Intention, not to hurt
Ahimsa (Sanskrit: the intention not to hurt), in Patañjali’s eightfold path of yoga, belongs to the Yama, the rules that govern the yogi’s relationship with others. Why, one might ask, is it the intention that matters in the concept of Ahimsa, not the deed, arising from this intention? Indeed, the success or failure of the intended action is not always in the power of the acting subject. In other words, deeds or acts of speech can be considered by others as violations without being intended as such.
Moreover, the assessment of an action or statement is determined by psychological or even cultural factors, that we can not always influence. However, we can have an influence on our intention, as well as on the courage and attention with which we do this action.
Bhava
It is the feeling or intention [or mindset] (that is Bhava) with which an act is done which determines its moral worth. […] On this Bhava […] both, character and the whole outlook on life depend. Therefore, it is sought [by yogis] to render the Bhava pure. 6
Intentions can also be considered from an energetic point of view. Just as emotions have different frequencies of energy that can be felt by others, the intention with which we act can be unconsciously registered by others. This is why the intention matters.
Our feelings and thoughts always affect other persons and affect our relationships, whether these thoughts or feelings are verbalized, expressed, or not. […] Almost everyone is brought up to believe that our thoughts and feelings are private affairs and nobody else’s business, that all minds are separated, and that emotions only happen within the confinement of the body. As we investigate this area, we find that often the set of feelings we hold about another person is mirrored back by their attitude and that, when we change our inner attitude about them, their attitude changes abruptly. Finding out what needs to be cleaned out is simple and easy. Just look at what you would not want others to know about you and begin to surrender it. 7
Potentiation of effects?
But another fact may have led Patañjali to site Ahimsa as the first step on the yoga path. Intentions become reality all too easily when all the mental energy is focused on them. Hence, when s/he develops supernatural powers through concentration and meditation, the temptation to use them to his/her advantage also could grow. For this reason, the yogi should anchor Ahimsa firmly in his/her attitude, before s/he proceeds to higher states.
In addition, hurtful intentions, thoughts, and hurtful actions lead to existential and emotional entanglements. Consequently, these intentions can restrict the yogi’s ability to consciously end the mental changes and fluctuations (Vrtti).
Intentions reveal themselves in action
Certain mental attitudes, such as prejudices, sweeping suspicions, or ressentiment inevitably influence our attitude and lead to corresponding decisions, even if these connections remain hidden at the moment of action. Therefore, T. K. V. Desikachar, in his interpretation of Patañjali’s Yoga Sutras, emphasizes that developing such sensitivity to the effects of violent intentions is a step-by-step process.
It requires effort, […] to find out the causes for wrong views and behaviors, and if we recognize the underlying Kleshas [mental and emotional afflictions] in our mind, our attitudes will change naturally and gradually. The Kleshas will lose their power and influence, and our dealings with the environment and our behavior with others will become clearer and more appropriate. 8
Gradual investigation
In his Interpretation of the Yoga Sutras, therefore, Swami Harirananda Aranya points out, that the perfect realization of Ahimsa also requires concentration and meditation. Only in this way can we recognize, track down, and abandon more subtle forms of violence. Thus, he emphasizes that the eight limbs of Asthanga-Yoga (Sanskrit Astha: eight, Anga: limbs) – Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi – each relate to the other.
In other words, at the beginning, one may have only a vague idea of what the practice of Ahimsa might look like. Thus, by gradually deepening this practice – through Pranayama, the regulation and lengthening of breathing that can change emotional states, through Asanas (yoga postures) that purify the nervous and Nadi-system, through Pratyahara, directing attention inwardly to emotions and sensations or disturbing thoughts that trigger them, through Samyama (the concentrated energy of Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi) that leads us to a deep understanding of the effects of these Kleshas – in short, through all eights steps of the yoga-path the profound practice of nonviolence can be established.
Finally, all disturbing thoughts that could lead to violence will eventually disappear once the yogi has deeply rooted Ahimsa in his consciousness. However, only if these mental reactions do not reappear even when provoked, has one mastered the art of Ahimsa.
Ahimsa as a political term
The sensitization to the more subtle aspects of nonviolence, as described by T.K.V Desikachar and Swami Hariharananda Aranya, initially takes place individually.
However, the attitude described by the term Ahimsa has not only the potential to transform the lives of individuals. Moreover, it can affect the way we live together. Thus, it has political potential. Even though, if a protest movement uses nonviolent means to fight for its goals, each individual must support the nonviolent attitude. Indeed, it often takes only one violent reaction to bring about the escalation of a conflict. Both, radical groups, as well as the state, exploit this fact to discredit nonviolent resistance.
One major challenge faced by those in favor of nonviolence is that violence and nonviolence are disputed terms. In public debates, we see that violence is labile, its semantics appropriated in ways that call to be contested. Demonstrations, encampments, assemblies, boycotts, and strikes are all subject to being called violent, even when they do not see recourse to physical fighting. When states or institutions do this, they seek to rename nonviolent practices as violent, conducting a political war as it were, at the level of public semantics. 9
Marginalia of history
Indeed, an astonishing number of nonviolent revolts have successfully mastered the immense challenge of persuading individuals to adopt an attitude of nonviolence to stand up for the common cause. Nevertheless, for the mass media and historiography, nonviolent movements are usually nothing more than marginal notes or footnotes. On the one hand, they are considered ineffective. On the other hand, the state or state-near media publicly brand them as violent despite their nonviolent appearance.
Ahimsa as a unifying concept?
Although the predominant perception and the representation of the condition of the recent world in the mass media is one of continuous violence, the existence of a hidden undercurrent of nonviolent interventions can not be denied.
Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi was not the first to cultivate this nonviolent resistance. However, he was the one who made the wider public aware of the power of these hidden forces. The term Ahimsa plays an important role in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. Gandhi’s fame resulted from transforming Ahimsa into a political concept that Gandhi called Satyagraha.
Actual relevance
Though many continue to believe that nonviolence is an ineffective instrument against dictatorship and genocide, in the last several decades many democratic initiatives, which are premised on nonviolent militancy and an affirmation of human rights helped to build a global civil society on solid ethical foundations. 10
At a time marked by religious tensions fuelled by right-wing politicians both in India and in Europe, in the United States, and in South America, Ahimsa as a cosmopolitan attitude seems to become very relevant again.
The Shadow is a community project. Everyone can participate in its construction and needs nothing more than the ability to remain unconscious. […] We defend ourselves against our shadow and deny it because we have been thoroughly indoctrinated or we are simply under the hypnosis of social conditioning.11
Emergence of violence
Violence often arises from individual or collective traumatic experiences. To overcome trauma, the traumatized person must first free him or herself from the rigidity of fear. Thus, through a catharsis of the stuck survival reactions s/he can gradually transform his/her interpretation of his/her story.
Each individual has his/her specific way of dealing with experiences of violence. In other words, everyone finds his/her strategies to overcome feelings of helplessness, anger, fear, and grief.
What is true of individual memory is also true of collective memory. As long as we see ourselves as victims, the energy remains blocked and manifests as depression and fear. It turns into self-hatred or revenge, manifests in anger and violent outbursts, or simmers as resentment. Only when we can see the violence we have suffered as irrevocably past can the energies be released. As a result, they express themselves with creativity, spontaneity, and mental clarity.
Finding the language again
Not only has violence an immediate effect, but it also has a sudden, overwhelming impact. Therefore, a violent assault, a traumatic experience, or an aggressive provocation often leaves us speechless. It takes hours or even days to figure out, what we could have replied to after we have been hurt. Hence, finding words to express what has happened is an important step to freeing ourselves from the spell of violence. This can happen in a conversation with a friend or therapist or by describing the emotions triggered by the injury.
Trauma lets people fall silent. […] keeping traumatic experiences to oneself, however, maintain their impact. […] Breaking the silence is the first step in replacing automated reaction patterns with conscious decisions.12
Autorin: Eva Pudill
Estimated reading time: 12 Minutes
