Latest News from Linda Madani - January 2010

Dear all,

At the beginning of this new decade, the year 2010, I have been reflecting upon the principle of Ahimsa (non violence), the first of the moral principles of the yoga sutras. Non violence in the yoga sutras means not to harm others by thought; word or action. It can big a stumbling block when one embraces a spiritual path and want to live a yogic life. I sometime meet people in my healing practice that take this principle a bit too far. It is possible to be compassionate while maintaining our convictions and integrity and protecting our self and others.

Let me share with you this wonderful story about ahimsa taken from the Vedas:

A wondering monk came across a huge and frightening snake that was terrorizing the people of a village. The monk approached the snake and taught the snake about the principles of ahimsa. The next year when the monk came back for his yearly visit of the village, he found the snake dying, completely skinny, beaten, and starving. The monk asked the snake what had happened. The snake replied that it had dutifully followed the teachings of the monk by following the principles of ahimsa and had stopped frightening the villagers. Now that the snake was no longer frightening, the children threw rocks and poked at the snake with sticks. The beast was too fearful to leave its hiding pit even to hunt for food. "The monk responded, ‘I indeed asked you to stop biting but never I told you to stop hissing'"

There is no doubt that being on a spiritual journey requires from us to be kind and compassionate. However, non violence has to be extended to oneself. Sometimes during the course of our lives, we will need to defend ourselves. Being a victim is not being spiritual. Not having boundaries is not being spiritual. Sometimes we need to hiss to push our boundaries or to defend our rights or even ourselves. It's like in every thing, one need to find to right balance. It is never all white or black.

Wishing you a wonderful year 2010!

In peace and light,

Linda Madani

about the location

To view a map how to get the sanctuary, click here...