Abstract
Personal discord, anxiety, and suffering are all too often viewed as resulting from a lack of choice. These feelings may be exacerbated by the contemporary notion of sacrifice as actively giving up that which brings pleasure and nourishment. How then, do we recognize choice, both passive and active? How does our understanding of sacrifice inform choice? Examining Vedic and pre-Vedic philosophy and practices, including yoga and the concept of ahiṃsā (nonviolence), facilitates not only an exploration of choice, but of the understanding of sacrifice; noting that we can choose to sacrifice that which no longer serves us. The sacrificial act is then transformed into a practice of self-reflection, active choice, and self-nourishment, creating an internal cycle of positive peace.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Avalon, A. (Woodroffe, Sir John). (1974). The serpent power: The secrets of tantric and shaktic yoga (Revised ed.). New York: Dover Publications.
Bharati, S. V. (2003). Unpublished lectures. Rishikesh: Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama.
Campbell, J. (1986). The inner reaches of outer space: Metaphor as myth and religion. Novato: New World Library.
Calasso, R. (1998). Ka: Stories of the mind and gods of India. New York: Vintage International.
Danielou, A. (1997). The myths and gods of India: The classical work on Hindu polytheism from the Princeton Bolligen series. Rochester: Inner Traditions International.
Danielou, A. (2003). Shiva and the primordial tradition: From the tantras to the science of dreams. Rochester: Inner Traditions International.
Easwaran, E. (1987). The Upanishads. Berkeley: Nilgiri Press.
Easwaran, E. (2004). Bhagavad Gita (E. Eswaran, Trans.). Boston: Shambhala.
Feuerstein, G. (1989). The yoga-sutra of Patañjali: A new translation and commentary. Rochester: Inner Traditions International.
Hanson, M. (2010). Ahiṃsā and awareness: Core principles overlooked in yoga therapy. International Journal of Yoga Therapy, 20(1), 80–82.
Hillman, J. (1979). The dream and the underworld. New York: Harper & Row.
Kinsley, D. (1997). Tantric visions of the divine feminine: The ten mahavidyas. Berkley: State University of New York Press.
Lutgendorf, P. (2007). Hanumān’s tale: The messages of a divine monkey. New York: Oxford University Press.
Misc (Upanishads). (1914). Thirty minor Upanishads (K. N. Aiyar, Trans.). Madras: Vasanta Press. https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/2108
Muller-Ortega, P. E. (1989). The triadic heart of Siva: Kaula tantricism of abhinavagupta in the non-dual Sahivism of Kashmir. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Oguibénine, B. (1998). Essays on Vedic and Indo-European culture. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Roberts, M. B. (Writer), & Dahl, J. (Director). (April, 2015). The reckoning [Television series episode]. In R. D. Moore (Producer), Outlander. Culver City: Sony Pictures Television.
Saraswati, S. S. (2001). Hanumān Pujā. Napa: Devi Mandir.
Satapathy, B. (2016). Ahiṃsā: An analytical study on the basis of commentaries of Yoga Sutra. Yoga Mīmāṃs, 48(1&2), 42–46.
Shastri, S. (2004). Unpublished lectures. Rishikesh: Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama.
Subramuniyaswami, S. (1997). Dancing with Siva: Hinduism’s contemporary catechism (5th ed.). Kapaa: Himalayan Academy.
Svoboda, R. (1986). Aghora: At the left hand of god. Las Vegas: Brotherhood of Life.
Svoboda, R. (2006). Cultivating prāṇāyāma. Seattle: Samadhi Yoga Studio.
Tiwari, P. (2011). The practice of prāṇāyāma. Monroe: Ananda Ashram.
Tull, H. W. (1996). The killing that is not killing: Men, cattle, and the origins of non-violence (“ahiṃsā”) in the vedic sacrifice. Indo-Irandian Journal, 39(3), 223–244.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Bastet, T. (2022). The Nature of Reflective Choice and Nonviolence as a Personal Practice of Yoga. In: Standish, K., Devere, H., Suazo, A., Rafferty, R. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Positive Peace. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0969-5_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0969-5_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-16-0968-8
Online ISBN: 978-981-16-0969-5
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences