“Society is sustained by several services. The bhangi (scavenger) constitutes the foundation of all services.” ~ Gandhi, Mahatma, 4.104

Disunity, especially prejudice or disrespect of another caused Gandhi personal pain. Because widows in traditional society were feared and rejected he would write: “God created nothing finer than the Hindu widow.” He of course strove with might and main against untouchability, perceiving correctly that India would never win freedom from outside oppression if she did not rid herself of her own internal prejudices.

Scavengers, in a country where modern toilet facilities were rare, were particularly loathed and stigmatized, and there his resistance was most dramatic: to do the scavenging himself and insist his followers and fellow ashramites do the same. We might recall what Martin Luther King, Jr. was doing when he was assassinated: he was supporting the Memphis garbage workers’ strike, and their motto was I AM A MAN/i.e. a human being. A true satyagrahi cannot stand by when anyone dehumanizes another—for that is the root of all violence.

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Stephanie Van Hook, the Metta Center’s executive director, launched Daily Metta in 2015 as a way to share Gandhi’s spiritual wisdom and experiments with nonviolence.

Our 2016 Daily Metta continues with Gandhi on weekdays. On weekends, we share videos that complement Michael Nagler’s award-winning book, The Search for a Nonviolent Future: A Promise of Peace for Ourselves, Our Families, and Our World. To help readers engage with the book more deeply, the Metta Center offers a free PDF study guide.

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