A young Yogananda was learning at the feet of his master, the venerable sage, Sri Yukteswar. They were located close to the river Ganges and the place was infested with mosquitoes.
One day as Yogananda sat near his guru, a mosquito buzzed about and finally settled on his thighs. As its dug its needle into his thighs, Yogananda automatically raised his hands to strike it down. Then Patanjali’s aphorism on ahimsa (non-violence) entered Yogananda’s mind and he hesitated. (2.35: “In the presence of one who is firmly established in non-violence, there is no hostility towards any living creature.”)
Seeing what was happening Sri Yukteswar asked him, “Why don’t you finish the job?”
“Master! Do you advocate taking life?” Yogananda responded.
“No, but in your mind you had already struck the deathblow.”
“I don’t understand.” Yogananda protested.
Sri Yukteswar explained, “By ahimsa Patanjali meant removal of the desire to kill. The world is inconveniently arranged for a literal practice of ahimsa. Man may be compelled to exterminate harmful creatures. However he is not under a similar compulsion to feel anger or animosity. All forms of life have equal right to breathe this air.”
Yogananda has included this exchange between him and his guru in his book “Autobiography of a Yogi”. He did so because he wanted to highlight the valuable lesson of ahimsa that he had learnt from his guru that day. Ahimsa is not the mere outward renunciation of physical violence. More important is the inward renunciation of any desire to cause any harm to any living creature, human or otherwise.
Credits: This exchange can be found in the Autobiography Of A Yogi.
You may also like: The General And The Monk