Friday, January 13, 2012

Mahasivratri: The Night of the Yogi/Yogini ~ World Yoga Day


Once a year, a powerful time vortex presents itself for us to attain enlightenment with ease.



This is the day/night of Mahasivratri. For a yogi/ni, Mahasivratri is the “Day/Night of Yoga”, the time to transcend, transform, evolve and attain liberation. Mahasivratri has been observed as the single most important vortex of time by the yogis and householders in India for thousands of years. Based on the planetary alignment with earth and the lunar cycle, this vortex of time holds the objectives of yoga as being the Spirit having the human experience; as being ‘liberated’ from the limits of the mind and as having the grace of Source in our daily realities. This year of 2012, Mahasivratri falls on Feb 20th.

In practical realities, Mahasivratri offers:

- An ideal time to detox the body
- The time to ‘detox’ the mind as in letting go of the past and karmic imprints of limitations
- To create an intent of resolution and a supreme prayer
- An inspiration to awaken the yogi within
- A potent time to break free from the stagnancy of life to enable us to evolve into a life more attuned to our higher purpose with ease
- To awaken to the joyfulness of “Being” a person of higher consciousness and thereby imbibing all the qualities of higher consciousness as in abundance, harmony, love and wisdom

In the Western world it is truly beautiful to witness the growth of yoga as a practice, as an exercise and as a lifestyle itself.

A drop of honey will lead to the honey pot. Practicing yoga does naturally provide benefits of health and less stress, but beyond it all is the experience of gravitating towards Source expressed in words such as “Freedom”, “Oneness”, “Blissful”, “Inspired”, “In the Now” etc. When we go deeper into the science of yoga to understand yoga as a journey through consciousness, we realize that words such as ‘liberation’ and ‘enlightenment’ are not distant concepts but an amazing experience we can have in our daily realities. Observing Mahasivratri does ease us into awakening the potential underlying objectives within yoga.
The worship of Lord Siva (Lord Shiva as in North India) is essentially advaita, which means: awakening to the Oneness of Source as in whom we are and as in everything we perceive. Si is the Spirit that we are. Va is the Goddess, that of experience. SiVa is the awakening experience to be the vast void that holds all the universes. This awakening is related to the experience of being the Spirit – the vast Soul that is beyond our “I” identification, SiVa. This is the root understanding to Lord Siva, the male and female within each of us. Likewise, “yogi” refers to the feminine counterpart yogini as well.
In the spiritual depth of India, most yogis who undergo deep tapas, (meditative penance), seldom coming out for months all together, take a break from their meditative state on this one day. These Sages come out to bless humanity during this period of Mahasivratri. For one on the path of yoga, this is the night to experience and actually be the Eternal Yogi.
This day of Mahasivratri is calculated based on the lunar calendar when our consciousness easily condenses into divine awareness during this period. From the yogic perspective, the moon directly influences the mind and our consciousness.
Each month, the new moon and full moon energies changes to its own uniqueness as the Earth rotates around the Sun in its oval shaped orbit through the year. Each day of the moon cycle holds a specific nature and in the mystical traditions of yoga, each day is attributed to a specific Goddess that holds a unique facet of energy based on the moon phase. Each full moon and new moon period holds a specific vortex of energy. New moons hold the consciousness of Lord Siva, the Spirit experience and full moons hold the awareness and the mind, the energies of Lord Vishnu. Every month, there is one Sivratri – a potent time to meditate and worship deeply and once a year, the grand Mahasivratri (maha means great) near the new moon period.
Mahasivratri and Turiya: One of the key observations during the night of Mahasivratri is to stay awake all night. In reality, it is not about being a weekend warrior staying up all night singing, chanting and dancing, but about training ourselves to go beyond the mind and its sleep pattern through meditative practice. At the time vortex of Mahasivratri, we are able to experience the ‘sleepless sleep’ state with less effort.
The many objectives of yoga from the original intent of the Sages unravel with the experience of Turiya and the grace of Mahasivratri.
  1. When we unite the limited mind with Source, we ‘yoke’ the unlimited potential to expand human realities to its mastery as an artist while painting.
  2. When we realize that we are the Infinite Spirit dwelling in the body as the “I Am” experience, we are able to attain the highest perspective of realities that surround us and attain the radiance of blissful being.
  3. Upon realizing that our body is a shrine that houses our Soul, well-being as good health flows naturally with us.
  4. Upon climbing above the mind as Spirit having the human experience, we realize the oneness of humanity, oneness of all the living and ourselves as the Oneness that is many. We awaken to the potent angelic nature of realization to be compassionate.
  5. We are blessed with the attainment of higher consciousness that is causal in abundance, love, inspiration and fulfillment to all our aspirations.
  6. We awaken to the wisdom of karma, dharma and our highest purpose on planet earth. We become the angelic beings recreating heaven here on earth.

When we utilize yoga as a tool to consciousness, we realize that the journey is beyond the mind and the natural states of consciousness that is sleep, being awake and dreaming.

For a yogi/ni, to climb above the mind’s rooftop is to enter a realm of higher consciousness that is called “Turiya”. The Sages describe Turiya as the “sleepless sleep”. Most of us touch the state of Turiya with and without awareness as when doing the most joyful, inspired thing that we are passionate about. At this moment, we are most divinely aligned.
Any saint or holy man and woman in any religion or culture have the ability to bless reality through words and intent. This is because they are in touch with the higher conscious mind that is in union with Source, the mind state of Turiya. In deeper meditation, as we journey through the states of being awake, dreaming and sleeping, we realize each facet of the mind in levels of consciousness. The yogis dive beneath these layers within to go beyond the mind, the thought patterns and karmic imprints to the state of Turiya, the state of sleepless sleep. In the state of Turiya, the yogis climb into timelessness to intensify the “I Am” experience. In Mahasivratri, the key to celebrating Lord Siva is by staying awake all night long to experience the yogic state of the mind, the Turiya. This higher conscious state of Turiya is the hidden experience that we are to be blessed with during Mahasivratri when staying awake through the night singing, meditating or chanting.
For more info on observances of Mahasivratri here. www.WorldYogaDay.co

Part I: The Secrets Within Yoga.


The gift of grace is having a daily disciple to attain higher consciousness, health, abundance and love called “Yogam” inTamil.

Yoga naturally yields all attributes of yogam. These are precious moments for humanity as higher consciousness is now a reality that is of these moments. Yoga as in the Western sense does spearhead this awakening even if it is considered a simple exercise for health benefits and fashion instead of a spiritual discipline – as the taste of a drop of honey will eventually lead to the honey pot of higher consciousness.
The Siddhar wisdom is potent when applied to the yoga practice as the body is an effective tool to work the mind towards the inner core of realization. By yoga we refer to ‘hatha’ yoga as practiced in the West – the physical postures and the inner journey through this form of yoga as a sequence of postures. We recommend utilizing the traditional Sun Salutation sequence to experience the teachings below. Ideally, the Sun Salutation by itself is sufficient to attain the core consciousness, the objective of our yogic practice. Nandhi wishes to offer insights of Kalangi Kundalini Yoga, the yoga of the Sages.
1. Yoga is a Journey through Breath & Consciousness. “Ha” and “Tha” of ‘hatha yoga’ means the entwining of Sun and Moon energies of our breath. Hatha yoga is in reality the journey of consciousness through breath. The right breath is the Sun and the left breath is the Moon. The Sages call these two breath streams the inner rivers through which we ride through awareness. By being aware of our breath as in its Sun and Moon energy, we are able to utilize the natural currents within breath through our yoga. To swim along with the predominant breath and to stimulate the Sun breath and the Moon breath equally enables us to swim along with the inner currents of the mind and consciousness. To know breath and the Source of breath is to know life, death and the immortal Spirit. Harnessing breath, we awaken to the wisdom of being Spirit.
2. Awakening Energies of Gratitude: Our consciousness begins from each cell that owes its existence to our parents – Father and Mother. This initial step of awakening body consciousness is by acknowledging of our Father and Mother in gratitude. Through the first round of Sun Salutation, utilize the asana sequence of the left to visualize and express gratitude to your Mother – the moon breath. Likewise, utilize the sequence of the right to visualize and express gratitude to your Father – the sun breath. By acknowledging our Father and Mother (as in thought, dedication and gratitude) who are the seeds of our own creation as the body we possess, we shift our body consciousness field of energy. When we are thankful and grateful to our parent’s unconditional love from the moment of our birth, we are able to vitalize every cell of our body to that of wellbeing. When the first layer – that of body consciousness is woken up, our inner journey has begins with the gratitude as intent. Gratitude and coming to terms with body consciousness paves way to “Now” from where of yoga practice begins blessed.
3. Activate the Root Chakra & Invoke Lord Ganesh’s Blessings: Lord Ganesh, the essence of the root chakra, is invoked in the beginning of all endeavors to enable success. The success of the inner journey, Kundalini awakening and higher consciousness relates to the strength and power of the root chakra. The Root Chakra activated through yoga holds key to wellbeing of the body in physical realities and in the spiritual essence, a strong foundation of harmony for awakening Mother Kundalini. The root chakra (the muladhara) needs be activated through the bandha (the inner lock, called the mulabandha), visualization and mantra. The muladhara is where the Inner Lamp is. To light this inner lamp through our daily yoga not only awakens the Kundalini energy but also takes us through our inner journey safely, as blessings of Ganesh. In practice, the mulabandha that awakens the root chakra fires is easily activated through the Sun Salutation process.
4. Invoke Our Guru’s Through Yoga. When we understand breath as a tool to consciousness, we realize the space beyond breath as infinite wisdom, the Guru. In yoga, as we journey through consciousness and states beyond the mind, the awareness beyond the mind is the Guru that continues to guide us. Each thought carries energy and thoughts of our Guru as in physical or spiritual form does carry expanded energy of wisdom. When we invoke Christ or Babaji or our personal Guru’s to guide us through our yogic journey, we are guided through a higher wisdom connection that is fulfilling, nourishing as the next level of consciousness. The Guru Consciousness is from the awareness of the chakra above the navel called by the yogis, the Guru Chakra (not described in any text books or intellectual teachings of yoga). Tapping into this energy field just above the navel, we possess vast unlimited energy even as we awaken to primal wisdom of higher consciousness. Yogis activate this energy field above the navel, the Guru Chakra to climb above consciousness that gives the freedom to be beyond hunger, heat/cold and sleep/tiredness. When we realize that the Guru is Kundalini and the Kundalini is a state of consciousness, we are the Guru.
5. Yoga With Mantra Is Effective: The mind and thoughts are vibrations. Mantras are vibration inducing resonance that shifts and transforms the mind in its frequency to generate thoughts that are more aligned to the energy within the mantra – through breath. When we recite mantras through our yogic sequences, our breath entwines with the mantra to unravel the higher energies of consciousness within the mantra. Each chakra is an energy center in within ourselves that blesses our reality in its blossoming through the mantras, breath and our awareness- allowing us to kindle and ride Mother Kundalini. Awakening our inner fire, the Kundalini, we utilize our daily yoga to transform ourselves. Riding on Kundalini as a state of consciousness while going through the sequences of yoga, we evolve from human to angelic. When we do yoga simply as a physical exercise without awareness of the sacredness of breath, we are more likely to injure our body and not receive the amazing and beautiful benefits of real yoga.
6. The Special Universal Cave- Third Eye: All rituals and disciplines finally lead to the supreme state of being still – the attainment of vibrant stillness of meditation. This vibrant stillness within is in finding our center. Doing yoga, we awaken the inner fires of the Kundalini that we experience as surging joy and bliss that leads to vibrant stillness. This surge of bliss initially is like a nuclear explosion rushing above the crown chakra.  A yogi directs the explosive energies of the crown chakra towards the Third Eye to harmonize this inner fire with focus. This Third Eye focus takes us to the seat of the Universe – the magical space that is the meeting point of Source and our human. Awakening the vast energies within ourselves through breath, asana and the mantra grace, we climb above to the seat of consciousness, the Third Eye. The Third Eye is the experience of conscious-samadhi, the state of awareness while being absorbed in meditative oneness. In bringing all the focus through the Third Eye, we deploy the Kundalini energies of bliss, the wisdom and supernormal strength in our physical realities as in its grand manifestations. The objective of yoga is the attainment of being the Spirit having the human experience or in practical terms, to be able to bring Source energy into the physical realities.

Mastery of Consciousness.


As consciousness grows, so does our ability to think clearly from harmony, bring focus to priorities and create the power of intensity within intent.

These are certainly amazing and exciting moments we share together. With tools of consciousness such as meditation, yoga, tai-chi and all other inward-rewarding-conscious activities becoming ‘popular,’ so is our collective consciousness expanding faster than ever before. So what does this mean for each of us reflected as the realities we unfold?
Consciousness and its mastery is attuned to the word “Siddha.” The Siddhars are the Sages journeying beyond enlightenment, the mystics of the yoga tradition. From the Siddhars, the masters of consciousness, the insights of consciousness are the ultimate tool to transform our human limitations to Angelic Beings.

Photo: Painting of Ancient Lineage of Meditative Depth by Nandhi.
1. Consciousness is Empowered Realities:
As consciousness grows, so does our ability to think clearly from harmony, bring focus to priorities and create the power of intensity within intent. Manifestation of any desire is through the strength of passion, focus and sustenance of the underlying intent. Those of higher consciousness hold the empowerment to manifest with ease as a natural divine gift as they utilize the thinking process effectively.
However, greater than even the gift of extraordinary focus is the ability to see from outside the box. Conscious beings like Einstein attribute the ability to conceptualize beyond their mind to unraveling of greater truth.
Quote from Nandhi’s upcoming book, Be The Prophet, “In the entwining of joy, focus and surrender is genius that springs from our heart as the most perfect ‘music.’ Joy is Mother Kundalini’s sacred fire; focus is the mind’s fixation to source as in bhakti (divine love); and surrender is the vastness of void that accompanies the knowing. The subtle essence of heart’s music is wisdom, the poetry of the Now.”
2. Consciousness is Abundant:
The Siddhar saying goes as, “Lord Siva’s favorite disciple is Goddess Laxmi and Goddess Laxmi’s favorite God of worship is Lord Siva.” This means, when we are detached (as in being Spirit), abundance of that we are detached to comes to us in ease. Likewise, when we are abundant (as in grace of Goddess Laxmi), we are detached. It is sad to see many spiritual beings be suffering from poverty and actually swear by poverty. This poverty could be attributed to the vows of poverty they took of past births and their present attitude towards abundance.
An oil lamp used on the altars of most households has inscriptions of Goddess Laxmi over it. The reason is that when our lamp is alight, we manifest a solution to any of our need. So when a yogi sits in a cave to meditate and his body needs food, someone will bring the yogi food.
When Gautama Buddha was born, the astrologers saw from his birth horoscope that he was a highly realized soul- so they named him Siddhartha, i.e., In Sanskrit, Siddhartha means one who is a Siddha, a conscious being or a master of consciousness. It was only natural that such an elevated being should have been born in the midst of plenty, as in a royal family. Where consciousness is, abundance always is. Where collective consciousness is, the nation prospers.
3. Consciousness is Freedom:
All poets, philosophers and writers throughout ages find one common aspiration as the most mentioned- it is freedom. This freedom is that to be happy, blissful and be the immense Spirit of infinite consciousness. The original role of any spiritual teaching is freedom to “Be.”
Unfortunately, religion, belief systems and cults have stood in the way of an individual reaching towards Source by curtailing the freedom to be the wisdom behind the “I Am” experience. Consciousness forever grows and the wisdom of our unique Now of consciousness is greater than any sacred scripture there ever was.
The first freedom is that from our own mind, the belief of the past and our own karmic veil that keeps us from understanding the vastness of whom we are as the Spirit having the human experience.
4. Consciousness is Oneness:
The consciousness Christ spoke about was from deep love that expressed oneness. This love was from the ability to see God in every human. That consciousness of Christ was way ahead of his times two thousand years ago for which he was crucified. Consciousness grows perpetually and is still growing. The deeper our realization of God, the more of God we see in all living creatures.

The first trait of a conscious person is that of compassion towards all living beings. When we understand the wisdom of Oneness to not kill another living being, the food we eat will carry more energy to expand consciousness. When Oneness is understood so will we understand that race, sexual preference, culture etc. from not just tolerance, but appreciative over differences we might have. From Oneness, the word “love” becomes more meaningful as unconditional and from the heart.
5. Consciousness is Purpose:
When we awaken to the vastness of the “I Am” experience, we are then reminded of our human body that has a shelf life. The next question then is, “What am I here on Planet Earth to do?” As we journey through consciousness, we come to realize our individual highest purpose that has all the passion and joy in it even just to dream or think of it. Coming into the ‘knowing’ of purpose, we attain the blessings of inspiration that enables well-being, fulfillment and evolved grace in our life. Consciousness then becomes action and a reality. The collective reality of conscious folks in the world then creates heaven here in Planet Earth.
6. Consciousness is being the Spirit:
Siddhar Kakapujundar (pictured here),  Siddhar Rajaswamy's Guru, explained the meaningfulness of this human birth by way of this story:-      
When Siddhar Rajaswamy was in the forest with his Guru Kakapujundar , in the evening time, Siddhar Rajaswamy saw many wild animals and birds come and sit beside them as he and his Guru sat to meditate or do the sacred fire (yagna). Siddhar Rajaswamy asked his Guru, “Divine Guruji, It is truly heart touching to see all these animals and birds come towards us and sit so peacefully without fear around us. There is more to all this that I can see. Could you tell me about it?”
Siddhar Kakapujundar said,
“Angels are highly evolved Spiritual Beings but they evolve slowly into even higher realms as compared to the human evolution. In being human the evolution is quicker the moment  consciousness is attained. With attainment of consciousness, the conscious person constantly does good and evolves fast. 

Yes, of course there is much more to understand this evening from the yogic perspective. 

Twirling around us is the peace of ourselves and all Angels too. The animals and all creatures come to bathe in this  light. 
Like all living beings gravitating to their innate wholeness, even the Angelic Beings seek to evolve. They seek to evolve by assisting conscious beings, the living masters. Angelic Beings twirl around conscious beings, wanting to serve and guide the conscious master. 
At the moment when a  master of consciousness is meditating all the Angelic Beings circumbulate around the pillar of light activated. 
When a conscious being performs a good act (dharma) the Angelic Beings, too benefits from the merits of  good action. Through the dharma done by the higher conscious being, the Angelic Beings evolve. A higher conscious master is many as one with many Angels serving them. 
The human birth and its evolution towards consciousness is the reward that even Angels desire. Use the human birth for all its potential”  

Consciousness is the awake awareness of being the Spirit having the human experience. The Spirit is the "We, the many as One."
This inner wisdom explains how spiritual beings have legions of angelic beings and Source serving them to attain the highest aspiration for humanity. This Spirit as experience is our own inner bliss of being in the Now.

Teachings of Mastery of Consciousness:
http://nandhi.com/masteryofconsciousness.php





A Wealth of Consciousness.


Consciousness and wealth—spiritual & material—are not just related, but rather interwoven as one flowing energy field. When there is peace and harmony, abundance of all good things flow naturally—not just for individuals, but also for whole nations.

There has been so much global dynamics springing from the colossal debts USA has and the global politics of economics that shape this. The debt is $14.6 trillion and climbing. That is roughly $47,000 debt for every US citizen.
Is there a need to be worried? What will happen next to the nation, the global economics and our own individual reality? What will happen if a rogue nation like China, armed with economic strength, gains the upper hand to threaten our individual freedom?
These questions and thoughts can be brought to the right perspective if we can understand consciousness as being the wealth that will always gain precedence over any temporary upheavals. 

Photo: Oigs
If we can gain insights into the history of consciousness, we know we will not fail. We are consciousness that is victorious. Always!
India had been an economic super power for over 2000 years prior to being colonized by the British Empire. This “super-power” status was conferred based on the size of the entire global economy being less than 50% of that of India, the global economy of that period of course included a relatively developed China. Compare this to the 50-year maximum time of the “super-power” status of the USA that in its heyday constituted only 15% of the global economy.
This enormous wealth of India was driven by a foundation of harmony from within for centuries. Economic strength grew due to the inner harmony, the result of the absence of wars, especially in South India. Isolated from invasions for thousands of years thanks to the three oceans of the south and the Himalayas of the north, the Indian subcontinent sustained a society where spirituality was a foundation on which enterprise prospered along with science. The Indian subcontinent provided and still provides the sustaining and nurturing environment to not just a few spiritual seekers, but to over 3 million sadhus, or spiritual recluses.
Consider these facts of an inherent consciousness:
- During its years as a “super-power,” India did not invade/plunder or evangelize another of its neighboring countries. All of its neighbors were trading partners and culture & philosophy flowed naturally.
- Wars were civilized. Wars were fought within the Indian subcontinent with an attitude of being civilized, i.e., no

Photo: DB King
civilian casualties, no killing prisoners of war, hostilities ceased every evening to tend to the wounded etc. Sadly, this code changed with the advent of the Muslim invaders from 1200 A.D. onwards who came to plunder India and forcefully enforce Islam on the conquered people while committing atrocities that violated the ethics of war. With the advent of British imperialism, all ethics of war were done with.
- Throughout the years of India’s history, anyone and everyone stepping on the shores of India were treated as welcomed guests of honor. India is the only country that not only welcomed the Jews but also ensured that they were protected and that their trade was encouraged. This is exactly the policy that East India Company took advantage of to later colonize India (see the video below).
- With Islamic invasion & European colonization, the original language, religion and culture of entire nations were obliterated completely and replaced by that of the conquerors.India was the only exception. Even after being ravaged by over 800 years of Islamic rule and then British / Portuguese / Dutch colonization, nearly all its native languages, indigenous cultures and religion are quite intact (as in comparison to Latin America/Africa/Middle East etc.).
- When Mahatma Gandhi started his freedom struggle in India, the British felt threatened almost immediately as the vast majority of the Indian population were agreeable to the concept of ahimsa — non-hurting, non-harming and non-killing as a non-violent path to attaining freedom. Ahimsa as a concept was untried as yet in human history. The Indian freedom struggle through violence was well in place before Gandhi’s presence. What baffled the British and the press was how, without modes of modern communication,  huge crowds would form and wait for hours before Gandhi arrived at any destination. The freedom movement had the whole of India responding to Gandhi’s call to be the “soul-force” from the beginning — that eventually led to Britain’s decision to leave India as a friend. Consciousness still won over steel, guile and greed.
The material wealth extent of ancient India:
When the British got their first administrative hold in the Indian subcontinent starting with what is today Tamilnadu, the British knew that they would conquer the rest of India with the financial “profits” they made. They

Photo: COD Gabriel
realized that they had the revenue of the world’s richest region of those times.
In 1803, the East India Trading Company (later taken over by the British government) made 13 million pounds as its profit (approx $5 billion in today’s value) from a territory that later expanded over nearly 25 times in size. This “profit” grew compounded each year by a minimum 100% and sometimes 1000% each year — over each year at the minimum, year after year as newer territories were annexed—until the entire Indian subcontinent was under the empire. Newer methods of appropriating money from India were devised—until India gained Independence in 1947.
In between, India footed the entire bill of the UK’s First and Second World Wars cost apart from the costs of all the other wars fought by the British. If we sum up the amount of wealth taken out of India directly and indirectly from 1800 to 1947, by comparison, the current US debt of $15 trillion is minuscule.
Consciousness, however, moves in cycles and is not the monopoly of any one culture or country.
The ancient consciousness of the Indian subcontinent is embedded in the science of yoga, meditation and the essence of realizing oneness — ahimsa. This cycle of goodness for consciousness is now beginning again. The enormous wealth that was with India in the form of stored consciousness through being a super-power for over 2000 years was not depleted as wealth, spiritual and material, is created through consciousness.
When we meditate, do yoga or do any practice that calms the mind to harmony, we experience peace. Thoughts from a mind of harmony are always innovative, abundant, nurturing and inspiring.
As thoughts of the Sages from the East, we wish all to know that even a $100 trillion is still minuscule compared to collective consciousness that can be transformed to abundant material realities in a moment.
The immenseness of spiritual abundance is a power that has come of time and no one person, no nation and no ignorance can stop its manifestation to be the radiance of material abundance.
May we all evolve in our awakening to the harmony of oneness behind each thought. May we all unfold abundant realities in our lives that fulfill, inspire and bless us with well-being, contentment and enterprise that enables the goodness of abundance.

AHIMSA Principle: Osama Bin Laden, Hitler, Mahatma Gandhi, and the Dalai Lama.


Yogic Insight on Ahimsa

Ahimsa is the practice of not harming or killing any living being.
Yet, the Dalai Lama said,
Forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting what happened. If something is serious and it is necessary to take counter-measures, you have to take counter-measures.

Photo: Abhikrama
This is common sense in the reality we live in today.Known for his practice and advocacy of Ahimsa, this statement from the Dalai Lama might seem contradictory. There is however a deeper yogic wisdom to the principle of Ahimsa.
Our world is energy. Balancing the world is about balancing energy.
Looking into the yogic insight on the three basic states of energy called gunas, with reference to history, sheds light on the applicability of the Ahimsa principle in our times.
There are three states of the mind. The first is the Tamasicmind, which means darkness and is a mind characterized by ignorance, violence, and destructive tendencies. The second is the Rajasic mind, which is characterized by action and momentum fueled by greed and selfishness. The third is the Sattvic mind that is pure, illumined, and without impurities.  The Sattvic mind is rooted in the principles of Ahimsa.
When World War II broke out, Mahatma Gandhi wrote to Hitler, trying to persuade Hitler away from being an aggressor. The letters reached Hitler just before his invasion of Poland. Hitler chose to ignore the letters and simply went ahead invading and annexing Poland. Mahatma Gandhi’s Ahimsa principle had fallen on deaf ears.

Photo: History in an Hour
At the same time, Gandhi was of the opinion that the Jews who were being persecuted by the Nazis, “should submit themselves meekly and as Satyagrahis (spiritual warriors) will triumph”.
Today, now that the world knows for sure the determined evil intent behind the Nazi regime, we understand that Mahatma Gandhi’s Ahimsa principle would have failed to stop the massacre of Jews. In fact it would have aided the Nazi authorities in achieving their aim of mass murder of the Jews.
From the yogic point of view, during that time, Nazi Germany was in the grip of Tamas. Britain was Rajasic. The non-violent India headed by Gandhi was Sattvic. According to the yogic perception of the Gunas, Tamas can be effectively dealt with only through the Rajasic nature. Likewise, the Rajasic nature can be overcome only by the Sattvic nature. In other words, it was only through the violence of war (Rajasic energy) that Britain, America, and the other fourteen allied countries could defeat Nazi Germany & Imperial Japan. Likewise, it was exclusively Sattvic non-violent India, which was following the Ahimsa principle, that could overcome the colonial British rule of Rajasic nature.
It is important to see human realities for what they are:  states of energy.  Now we understand why the Dalai Lama said what he said.
Osama Bin Laden is a sad symptom of the increasing face of avidya (ignorance of Oneness) that is stalking humanity today in various forms such as terrorism and war lords. When Osama Bin Laden was in his destructive element, facing him with the principle of Ahimsa would not have worked, especially given he was convinced he would achieve the status of a martyr, and other heavenly rewards by using violence.

Photo: Filipao 28
The disease to be addressed is the advocacy of intolerance, violence, barbaric punishments and male dominant belief-systems that justify the likes of Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban and the growing fundamentalism around the globe.
Wishing away this growing threat by standing on the principles of Ahimsa is questionable as we are dealing with Tamas that cannot be suppressed directly by the Sattvic nature. In the practical, Rajas will have to be employed to limit Tamas – and Rajas means Resistance and Counter-action. This isn’t justification of violence or ‘an eye for an eye’ — this is simply saying that, giving in without resistance (Ahimsa) is not the way to go and action has to be taken when we are faced with Tamas (violence).
_________________________________________________________________________________________