“Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent than the one derived from fear of punishment. . . . I am fascinated by the law of love. It is the philosophers’ stone for me.” ~ Gandhi, Young India, January 8, 1925

Discovering, and thoroughly testing the “power of love,” gave Gandhi’s life a simplicity and a power we might all envy. Of course, there was a qualification: the love he is speaking of here is a selfless, detached (but powerful) lively concern for the other’s welfare, leaving no room for seeking anything for oneself. That is the ideal, of course. We can verify it by being aware, as much as possible, how close our love for someone or someones (or any planets we happen to live on) has come to this ideal. The results in terms of our own peace of mind, fulfillment, and external effects should be, as he said elsewhere, “mathematically proportionate” to that achievement. Thus our life as well becomes an “experiment in truth.”

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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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