Ahimsa 3 - Non-Violence / Non-Injury Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon

Ahimsa is pure love,
A strong promise,
A bet with oneself,
A willful decision!
To strictly adhere to the promise,
To live a life of non-violence,
To abstain from any kind of injury,
To any living being!

To comprehend Ahimsa
Fully and wholeheartedly,
One must constantly reflect on
Its values and effects!
If Ahimsa is sublime love,
It could touch the heart of the enemies too.
The knot of hatred melting
Into amity and cordiality!

Congenial atmosphere,
Supplied with a fertile manure,
Added by the vital element
Called Love
It flourishes!
It does not take much time
For this plant to grow into a beautiful tree
With scented petals and tasty fruits!

Contrarily, lest the negative desire,
Be allowed to grow,
With ingredients of anger and envy,
Without ever attempting its subjugation,
It produces the fruit of hatred!
Hatred is a juicy plump fruit,
That grows on the tree of greed,
With a tangy taste of violence!

The flavour of violence firmly embedded,
Becomes stormy and evil,
Dark and degrading!
From a state of pondering violence,
It graduates to a state of potent violence,
Like an injured leopard,
Leaping into violent action,
To catch its prey!

The path of Ahimsa makes its way,
Only through a purified mind
Or a complete transformation!
A mind heading towards violent force,
Pouncing into evil actions,
Illogical,
Uncontrollable,
Can never tread the path of Ahimsa!

To attain the condition of a pure mind,
One needs to sieve and filter,
And shed all gross elements.
It's like scraping a rusted metal
Till all the dross is removed.
The calm mind is now ready,
To march forward towards its goal,
The goal of realising one's own true nature!