April 9

“Non-cooperation is not a hymn of hate.”

–Gandhi (Mahatma, Vol. 2, p. 200)

Whenever I think of an act of non-cooperation in its most potent form–that is, as the expression of love– I think of the Russian nun, Elizabeth Palenko, Maria Skobtsova, also known as “Mother Mary,” who was a member of the French Resistance. (Pictured in 1938 on the left.)

In 1945, she was sent to Ravensbruk concentration camp for hiding Jewish families in the walls of her hospital in occupied Paris. In the camp, a line of women–of which she was a part–was taken in front of a newly constructed building, and told that it was a bath-house. Then, twelve women were called to go inside. Everyone realized what was happening, and one woman of the twelve broke down. Palenko quickly stepped in, and offered her last form of non-cooperation–she died in her place. With her final sacrifice, she left a clear message: non-cooperation is a hymn of love. She refused to cooperate with the belief that there was nothing more that she could do, instead cooperating with the demands of her conscience. Not surprisingly, she was later canonized in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Experiment in Nonviolence:

Do something for love today that is the expression of your conscience.

Daily Metta 2015, a service of the Metta Center for Nonviolence, is a daily reflection on the strategic and spiritual insights of Mahatma Gandhi in thought, word and deed. As Gandhi called his life an “experiment in truth,” we have included an experiment in nonviolence to accompany each Daily Metta. Check in every day for new inspiration. Each year will be dedicated to another wisdom teacher.