“Both reason and heart refuse to reconcile themselves to torture for any crime, no matter how vile the crime may be.” ~ Gandhi, Young India, February 26, 19256

There are certain human universals to which we can never afford to lose our sensitivity (as has recently happened in the post-9/11 policy of this country). The reality is that when we understand our nonviolence well and deeply enough, there should never be a conflict between reason and heart, or for that matter between the right and the most effective, or strategic thing to do. Reality is one; if we have a conflict we must be misunderstanding something, and if we can’t clear it up it’s usually safer to go with heart. Reason will usually catch up, when we factor in the feedback of our experiences. Case in point: adopt the rule, never degrade a human being. Then see what happens to our criminal justice, foreign policy and many other systems, that at present are trying in vain to base themselves on various kinds and degrees of that degradation and abuse. When you rebuild those systems in conformity with the rule, voila! A nonviolent world.

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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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