June 16:

“We are constantly being astonished these days at the amazing discoveries in the field of violence. But I maintain that far more undreamt of and seemingly impossible discoveries will be made in the field of nonviolence.”

–Gandhi (Harijan, August 25, 1940)

Distinguished historian J.B. Kripalani had a run-in with the Mahatma that he would always remember. He told Gandhi, “If you think nonviolence can overcome violence, you just don’t know history.” Gandhi was unfazed, perhaps amused, and gracefully — as ever — replied that between the two of them, it appeared that Kripalani was the one who did not understand history. For if he did, Gandhi went on, he would know that just because something has not happened in the past does not mean that it cannot happen in the present.

History was not just the story of wars for Gandhi, it was the story of us: our choices and our evolution. If nonviolence does not appear in “history,” it is simply because it has been overlooked and ignored.

Experiment in Nonviolence:

Make nonviolent history today, or at least, read something about it!

Watch Metta’s latest animation, a New Story of Us for inspiration! 

 

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.