“My experience teaches me that truth can never be propagated by doing violence.” ~ Gandhi, The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi, p. 117
Two things stand out in this short sentence: while he drew heavily from and was greatly inspired by the Gita, the Isha Upanishad, and other scriptures (including the New Testament), Gandhi would accept nothing as real that was not verified in his personal experience. This is what gives his words, spoken or written, such great authority. And the way that nonviolence and truth are, as he said, “opposite sides of the same coin.” If we are unkind—to anyone, any creature—we are misrepresenting Who We Are. When we act with kindness, even if that means blocking what we perceive to be another’s misstep, reality comes to life in our words and actions.
Thanks for sharing a comment below.
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.
Enjoy more Daily Metta: See the archives
Get Daily Metta by email: Subscribe
-
By: Prof. Michael Nagler
As the Founder and President of Metta Center, Michael Nagler is also Professor Emeritus of Classics and Comparative Literature at UC, Berkeley, where he co-founded the Peace and Conflict Studies Program. Michael is the author of The Search for a Nonviolent Future and The Nonviolence Handbook: A Guide for Practical Action. His latest book is The Third Harmony: Nonviolence & the New Story of Human Nature. Visit his website: michaelnagler.org.
-
-
Normandy and Pietermaritzburg
Nonviolence Report April 28, 2021
Nonviolence Report April 23, 2021
A bit of History Offers a Clue for Going Forward
A Call to Nonviolence.
Question: We have heard and seen this year “that you can’t have a revolutionary campaign in a counter-revolutionary party [or institution].” — Jill Stein and also have from other sources.
Dr. Nagler, would you care to comment on this? Thank you.
Dear Sheila,
It’s always a strategic choice whether to work within a system or institution or work against it from the outside. I bet this statement is generally true, but might have a few exceptions. I don’t think this is one of them. In other words, that Jill Stein is right.