What is Nonviolence?
"Ahimsa is not the crude thing it has been made to appear. Not to hurt any living thing is no doubt a part of ahimsa. But it is its least expression. The principle of ahimsa is hurt by every evil thought, by undue haste, by lying, by hatred, by wishing ill to anybody. It is also violated by our holding on to what the world needs."
- Gandhi
We’ll start with the basic question: What is nonviolence? But the question doesn’t turn out to be simple. It’s profound and far-reaching.
When people hear the word “nonviolence,” they often simply think it refers to the absence of violence. This raises the question: Is the absence of violence even possible? And while the absence of physical violence is certainly a part of nonviolence, it is much more than that.
The word "nonviolence" is a translation of the Sanskrit word ahimsa, which roughly translates into English as the force unleashed when the desire to harm is overcome. And what a word it is, so we’ve given it a LOT of thought, as some of its meaning does get lost in translation. Nonviolence is a power that is released when we overcome the destructive force within emotions like fear, anger, or hatred (and it’s so powerful that we’ll devote two lessons to its transformative effects). We all experience these destructive drives, and we always have a choice as to what we do with that anger or fear. The good news is that since we all experience these emotions, and we all have a choice, we also ALL have the capacity for nonviolence!
So rather than being the absence of something (violence), nonviolence is a positive force—it is the presence of love-in-action. Nonviolence is active, not passive, and it requires an immense amount of courage to practice effectively.
Nonviolence is also any kind of action in which you have the well-being of the other person in mind, even if you have to push back against what they’re saying or doing. By virtue of our being human, by our ability to overcome these destructive drives and gaining control of our minds, each one of us has the power to tap into this unlimited potential.
Finally, it’s perhaps implied by the very nature of offering and taking a nonviolence course, but it bears stating explicitly: nonviolence can be learned. Each one of us has the capacity to learn the history, science, theory, and practice of nonviolence. So that’s what we’ll start to do with this course. In fact, we’ve already started :-).
10 Key Principles of Nonviolence
1. Fight injustice, not people.
The people aren’t the problem—the problem is the problem. Try to approach conflict by solving the problem rather than attacking or blaming others.
2. Seek win-win solutions.
Emphasize building long-term relationships over short-term “victories.” Let go of needing to be “right” all the time and try to get the bigger picture. Conflict makes us feel that in order for me to “win,” you have to lose. That is a delusion. In nonviolence we do not seek to be winners, or rise over others; we seek to learn and to make things better for everyone. The point is not to “win,” but to build relationships. Basic human needs are universal. At the heart of every conflict, a “win-win” solution is possible.
3. Respect everyone, including yourself.
Humiliation—making fun of someone—should never be used as a tool. Everyone deserves respect.
4. Nonviolence will always improve things down the line.
Violence, of any kind, will always make things worse. Nonviolence always “works,” but not always in the ways we would imagine, whereas violence never works in the long run because it always leads to further violence.
5. The means are as important, if not more so, than the ends.
We do not have control over the final results of our actions. But we do have responsibility for the means we use, including our feelings and the state of our mind. If we want a positive, constructive result, we need to use positive, constructive means (as opposed to negative, destructive, violent means). Nonviolence will always produce a good result at some point down the road, even though we may not quite see the connection. Violent means never lead to positive, constructive ends.
“Over the last few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek. So I have tried to make it clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends. But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or even more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends.”- Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
6. Each of us has a piece of the truth; none of us has the whole truth.
Be prepared to listen to other people's truths.
7. Persuade, don't coerce.
In nonviolence, we never want to use force if we can avoid it. Since our efforts are based around trying to make things better for everyone, we use persuasion to help our opponent see the win-win solution.
8. Use discrimination.
Never sacrifice your principles, but be ready to change tactics or compromise on details. Don’t cling to symbols. Be constructive wherever possible and obstructive only when necessary.
9. Realize interconnectedness.
These principles come from, and help to sustain, a belief that all life is an interconnected whole and that any problem can be solved once its real nature is understood. In other words, once we understand our real needs we will find that they are not in competition with anyone else’s. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said: “I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. And you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be.”
10. Nonviolence starts with you.
We’ll explore this further in a few lessons, when we look at Person Power. For now, you can start with this lesson's exercise, below.
To truly understand nonviolence, you need to practice it.
For this lesson's practice, try to be aware of ahimsa at the level of your thoughts. See if you can notice when you may have ill will towards someone, and see if you can convert those thoughts into love-in-action by reminding yourself that your well-being and that of the other person are intimately connected. If you don’t already have one, a daily meditation practice will help you be much more aware of your thoughts.