“My personal religion peremptorily forbids me to hate anybody.” ~ Gandhi, Young India, August 6, 1925

When the heart is full of love, there is no room for hatred. That does not mean that there is no space to resist injustice, or to say no to someone who needs to hear it—on the contrary. It may well mean that we sometimes really need to struggle to overcome a downward pull toward the ultimate separating barrier of “otherness” which, when it becomes a habit, makes not only indifference but, if left untended to, murder and genocide possible. Anyone who strives toward the highest ideals of nonviolence, therefore, will one day come across the problem of hatred—not only in the world but in themselves. And it is up to each one of us to decide how and in what measure we will challenge ourselves to do something about it. Gandhi, as he notes in 1925, has his own method that he relates to his “personal religion.” What is your approach?

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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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