Love, as a level of consciousness, is systematically associated with non-violence. Yet, refraining from violence in certain situations can mean failing in one’s duty of love.
Courage comes from the heart
Acting with love means acting with courage by definition (the etymological meaning of the word “courage”). When you live in constant non-violence, you must ask yourself whether you do so out of true conviction or simply due to an inability to resort to violence. The hare does not choose non-violence when faced with the lion; it is forced into it. Everything is therefore a matter of intention and strength. It is easy to be non-violent when one lacks strength. However, it is much harder to abstain from violence when the situation allows for it.
To be non-violent, one must first be strong
To be sure that one is driven by spiritual love, one must be able to resist the easy path of violence. This means having a choice. And to have a choice, one must learn to be strong. True clemency can only stem from strength.
Learning to act with love
To follow the path of love, one must cultivate humility. Only through humility can one maintain a connection with the divine. Hubris is, by definition, an act of defiance towards the divine. When one is overly confident, to the point of challenging the cosmos, one loses the opportunity to draw from God’s energy.
Connecting with other energies
When one lingers too long in materialism and worldly affairs, one inevitably loses some of their magnetism. To remedy this, various means exist. One of them is to constantly remember God in one’s heart. Showing respect and kindness is a sign of living in accordance with divine love.
Violence as a lesson
In most cases, you will not need to resort to violence. However, to protect your dignity or that of others, you may sometimes have to use force. Those who have undertaken spiritual work on themselves will naturally and consciously be receptive to kindness. Others, however, understand only self-interest and reason—the majority of people fall into this category. Finally, some individuals, who have not sufficiently worked on themselves spiritually, are often driven solely by force or coercion. Unfortunately, it is sometimes necessary to resort to these means to protect oneself from their malice. That being said, violence must remain the exception, not the rule. Kindness normally reaches all souls, even the darkest ones. This is why it is always good to act with love whenever possible: you spiritually enrich others, even if they are unaware of it.
