November 30: “I for one will not hesitate to give water or food to a soldier who comes to me with hands red with murder.” –Gandhi (Mahatma, vol. 6, p. 53) Gandhi understood that nonviolence was the active and radical expression of empathy. There was no one, in his book, who did not deserve kindness,… read more
Posts by Stephanie Van Hook
“Nonviolence above all”–Daily Metta
November 29: “Nonviolence has brought us near to swaraj as never before. We dare not exchange it even for swaraj. For swaraj thus got will be no true swaraj.” –Gandhi (Mahatma, vol. 6, p. 41) Swaraj is the Sanskrit term for independence and freedom, as applied at all levels, from the personal to the global.… read more
Nonviolence and Terrorism: WEBINAR
Nonviolence and Terrorism: What can WE do? Where do we even begin? Join Dr. Michael Nagler (The Metta Center for Nonviolence) and Dr. Johan Galtung (Transcend) for a live webinar on Saturday, December 5, 2015 at 10 am PST. Please help spread the word and share this widely. Register in advance here. … read more
“What I hold to be essential”–Daily Metta
November 28: “I, having made up my mind to surrender every non-essential, gain greater strength than ever before to die for the defense and preservation of what I hold to be essential.” –Gandhi (Mahatma, vol 6, p.3) There’s a story about a man who was being mugged, and he fought tooth and nail to ward… read more
“Everyone a newspaper”–Daily Metta
November 27: “Let everyone become his walking newspaper and carry the good news from mouth to mouth.” –Gandhi (Mahatma, vol. 6, p. 2) As the British rallied popular opinion, funds and other support for its war efforts in the 1940s, they tried to downplay the resistance efforts within India. This included censoring the press–not allowing… read more
“The risks of nonviolence”–Daily Metta
November 26: “No big or swift movement can be carried on without bold risks, and life will not be worth living if it is not attended with large risks.” –Gandhi (Young India, December 15, 1921) Nonviolence is always going to include taking risks, but so does violence. And when you get down to it, so… read more
“Gandhi’s philosophy”–Daily Metta
November 25: “My philosophy, if I can be said to have any, excludes the possibility of harm to one’s cause by outside agencies.” –Gandhi (Harijan, July 25, 1936) Whenever he talks about the full power of nonviolence, Gandhi is sure to tell us that the first observance we must acknowledge is, the cause must be… read more
“Proof is within”–Daily Metta
November 24: “There come to us moments in life when about some things we need no proof from without.” –Gandhi (The Leader, December 25, 1916) Have you had a moment in your life where you knew you were heading in the right direction, even if around you there was chaos and confusion? My guess is… read more
“Talking to a dictator”–Daily Metta
November 23: “The fight of Satyagraha is for the strong in spirit, not the doubter or the timid.” –Gandhi (Harijan, April 7, 1946) It is one thing to protest outside of a palace, where you can say pretty much whatever you like, in whatever tone. It’s an entirely different thing when you speak directly to… read more
“A dash of humor”–Daily Metta
November 22: “If I had no sense of humour, I should long ago have committed suicide.” –Gandhi (Young India, August 18, 1921) When Gandhi arrived in Marseille on his way to the Second Roundtable Conference, he was wearing his traditional Indian clothing, a dhoti and shawl, which according to one biographer, “scandalized the French journalists.”… read more
