“A nation which allows itself to be influenced by the fear of death cannot attain swaraj and cannot retain it if somehow attained.” ~ Gandhi, Navijivan, October 1921

Gandhi likes to challenge us, doesn’t he? Here he suggests we cannot fear death and achieve lasting peace and freedom. Without understanding who we are and why we are here, we become willing to harm others for one more day of security. Death is our inevitable destiny, and learning to face it, and if necessary even risk it, is our sacred duty. No army, no weapon can protect us from it. Only we can—and must—do that for ourselves. Its implications are not only transcendent, but global. What greater, more freeing work is there?

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About Daily Metta

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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