“It has been my endeavor, as also that of some companions, to reduce to practice the teachings of the Gita as I have understood it.” ~ Gandhi, The Gita According to Gandhi, p. 126 In Gandhi’s religious tradition, not just anyone offers a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. Usually, this task is reserved for someone… read more
Tag Archives: daily metta
Enemy #1: Daily Metta
“No man could look upon another as his enemy unless he first becomes his own enemy.” ~ Gandhi, Mahatma Vol. 7, p. 204 We make no apology for revisiting this quote from a Daily Metta in April of last year because of its inexhaustible profundity. After all, 1500 years earlier Augustine had said, “Imagine someone… read more
Being Zero: Daily Metta
“My mission is to convert every Indian, even Englishmen, and finally the world to nonviolence for regulating mutual relations, whether political, economic, social, or religious.” ~ Gandhi, Mahatma Vol. 5, p. 2 We can’t fault Gandhi for lacking ambition! His greatest ambition, however, in his own opinion, was quite different: “to make myself zero.” What… read more
What makes us human-Daily Metta
“We are very limited in our ability to grasp what nonviolence is by the limitations on our image of who we are.” Having no agreed upon definition of who we are creates a vacuum and so a very reductionist image comes in as the lowest common denominator. The discovery of nonviolence and the rebuilding of… read more
Nonviolence as Strength: Daily Metta
“Destruction is not the law of the humans.” ~ Gandhi, Harijan in July 20, 1931 If destruction were the law of humanity, we would not feel remorse or regret when we harm others. Our bodies would not respond to violence with pain and stress reactions but with oxytocin. But that isn’t the case. Why are… read more
Extending Love: Daily Metta
“It is no nonviolence if we merely love those who love us. It is nonviolence only when we love those who hate us.” ~ Gandhi in a letter dated December 31, 1931, from All Men Are Brothers, pg. 78 Nonviolence challenges us to cleanse our heart of all resentment, bitterness, and hatred. If we merely… read more
A Higher Happiness: Daily Metta
“The opinions I have formed and the conclusions I have arrived at are not final, I may change them tomorrow.” ~ Gandhi in Mahatma, Vol. IV, 1936 The Buddha once said, “when a person, clinging to a lower happiness, beholds a higher one, let him or her let go of the lower and hold onto the… read more
Violence is No Help: Daily Metta
“I think Tolstoy called [truth force] also soul force or love force and so it is. . . [T]his force is independent of pecuniary or other material assistance; certainly even in its elementary form of physical force or violence.” ~ Gandhi in Indian Opinion, 1914 Occasionally there is something new under the sun. In just… read more
Simple Ideas: Daily Metta
“Khadi has been conceived as the foundation and the image of ahimsa. A real khadi wearer will not utter an untruth. A real khadi wearer will harbour no violence, no deceit, no impurity.” ~ Gandhi, in Mahatma Vol. 4, pg. 217, courtesy of Mumbai Sarvodaya Mandal Gandhi was a genius at using simple ideas, household… read more
Strength to defy and forgive–Daily Metta
“The strength to defy and the strength to forgive are part of a single emotional package which makes a person capable of nonviolence.” In our Sunday video edition of Daily Metta Michael Nagler thinks about the moment when Nelson Mandela shook hands with his former opponent, De Klerk, in front of the world, saying that he… read more
