Posts by Stephanie Van Hook

“Forgiveness and Strength”–Daily Metta

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January 8 “A definite forgiveness would mean a definite recognition of our strength.” -Gandhi (Mahatma, vol 2. p. 5) (Gandhi and Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the man who ‘had a problem for every solution Gandhi came up with’) When it is not confronted with nonviolent resistance, violence always leads to more harm than any physical harm… read more

“Duty of Noncooperation and Cooperation”–Daily Metta

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January 7 “Sometimes non-cooperation becomes as much a duty as cooperation.” -Gandhi (Young India 1-19-1921) In Sanskrit, the word for “duty” is dharma. There is an expression repeated throughout the Indian spiritual tradition, ahimsa paramo dharma, nonviolence is the highest dharma, or duty. There should be no wonder why Gandhi was so keen on duties. It… read more

“Love and non-possession”–Daily Metta

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January 6 “Love and exclusive possession can never go together. Theoretically, where there is perfect love, there is perfect non-possession.” -Gandhi ( (Modern Review, October 1935, p. 412) (Pictured: Gandhi’s only possessions at the time of his death.)  Nonviolence meant more to Gandhi than “not being violent.” It was closer to a state of perfect… read more

“Heart’s earnest and pure desire”– Daily Metta

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January 5 The heart’s earnest and pure desire is always fulfilled. -Gandhi (Autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, p. 110)  If you were alive during Gandhi’s day and you wanted to listen to him speak, you would likely attend one of his interfaith prayer meetings. Prayer for Gandhi was more than an empty… read more

“Happiness and Human Dignity”- Daily Metta

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January 4 Happiness means an enlightened realization of human dignity and a craving for human liberty which prizes itself above mere selfish satisfaction of personal comforts and material wants and would readily and joyfully sacrifice these. -Gandhi (Young India 3-5-1931) When people who knew Gandhi reflect on what it was like to be around him,… read more

“Disagree without hostility”- Daily Metta

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January 3 Differences of opinion should never mean hostility. -Gandhi (Young India 3-17-1927) Gandhi created this pair of sandals for his “opponent” in South Africa, General Jan Smuts, which were clearly worn very often.  Where there is more than one person, there will be differences of opinion. How we handle differences of opinion is a… read more

“As vast a scale as possible.”- Daily Metta

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January 2 I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and nonviolence are as old as the hills. All I have done is to try experiments in both on as vast a scale as I could do. In doing so I have sometimes erred and learnt by my errors. Life and its problems have… read more

“Love of Humanity”- Daily Metta

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January 1 My life is an indivisible whole and all my activities run into one another; and they all have their rise in my insatiable love of humanity. -Gandhi (Young India October 15, 1925) What might Gandhi’s impact have been if instead of professing that all of his activities were rooted in his “love of… read more

Building the Peace Army: Research and Practice

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“Armed peacekeepers are 12 times more likely to be killed in the line of duty than unarmed peacekeepers.” –Randy Janzen sharing some of his research on unarmed peacekeeping on this show… In today’s show we go into the concept of unarmed peacekeeping and its expression of building a “peace army” or “shanti sena” through nonviolence skills… read more