flak jacket, or helmet, dragged 23
wounded soldiers out of a Viet Cong
ambush in 1967, evacuating them
to safety. He later opposed the
war, and other wars, such as the
invasions of Iraq. “I think it’s more
of a patriotic duty of citizens of this
country to stand up and say that this
is wrong, that this is immoral,” he
said. But, one man’s immorality is
another man’s morality, especially
if those men are Raytheon, Lockheed
Martin, and Northrop Grumman.
The three largest defense companies
in the world are USA companies.
“You fasten all the triggers, for the
others to fire,” sang Bob Dylan in
‘Masters of War’. The United States
controls more than 50% of the global
weaponry market.
Yoga controls 100% of the global
yoga mat market. Violence is the
bread and butter of war. Warfare is
a dangerous world filled with rough
men, and lately, rough women, too.
It is a world where the end justifies
the means. Ahimsa, or non-violence,
is the bread and butter of yoga. The
practice does not abjure self-defense,
but it doesn’t propagate violence as
a means, no matter what the end
might be.
Non-violence is the first article of the
first limb of yoga. Ahimsa in action is
not doing harm. It’s simple enough,but easier said than done. The first
step is to do unto others as you would
have them do unto you. Unless you’re
a psychopath, the doing will be non-
violent. The next step might be to not
march in ideological lockstep with
anybody’s army. It doesn’t matter
if it’s President Trump or President
Putin or President Xi Jinping. Their
interests are not necessarily in your
best interest.
It’s pointless to complain about the
weather. War is a longtime turmoil
as old as the weather, as old as our
gods. “May God have mercy on my
enemies, because I won’t,” said
George Patton. Sometimes it seems
like there is no resisting the winds ofPhoto credit: Mouna Chamariq