Ahimsa — Non-harming as the Supreme Ethical Principle
Ahimsa (non-violence) is the first and foundational Yama — the ethical restraint that must be established before any other spiritual practice can bear genuine fruit.
Ahimsa (a = without; himsa = harm, injury) is defined by Patanjali as non-harming in thought, word, and deed toward all living beings. It is presented in sutra 2.35 as having a specific siddhi (fruit): 'ahimsa pratishthayam tat vaira-tyagah' — when one is established in Ahimsa, in their presence all hostility ceases. This is not merely a spiritual ideal but a verifiable psychological phenomenon: genuine non-violence in a person's presence creates a field of safety that dissolves others' defensive aggression. Gandhi's life-work was built entirely on this principle, demonstrating its practical political power in the satyagraha campaigns he named directly from the Sanskrit.
When one is established in non-violence, in their presence all enmity ceases.
Mahatma Gandhi's political philosophy of Satyagraha (truth-force) was explicitly derived from his understanding of this sutra — that genuine, sustained Ahimsa generates a power (tat vaira-tyagah) capable of transforming even violent opponents.
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali