October 18: “Patience and perseverance, if we have them, overcome mountains of difficulties.” –Gandhi (Harijan, May 16, 1935) Aside from la-onf, which literally means ‘non-violence,’ Arabic has two other common terms for it, sabr and sumud, which mean, interestingly enough, ‘patience’ and ‘endurance, perseverance.’ Gandhi here offers us a gentle reminder of the same two… read more
Tag Archives: gandhi
“What democracy looks like”–Daily Metta
October 16: “Every village has to become a self-sufficient republic.” –Gandhi (Harijan, January 18, 1922) For democracy to be possible and independence meaningful, Gandhi was sure that it had to start at the bottom, from the villages, and build its way up. With each village as a “self-sufficient republic,” there would need to be work… read more
“A Syrian teacher’s Satyagraha”–Daily Metta
October 15: “That is the beauty of Satyagraha. It comes up to oneself, one has not to go out in search of it.” –Gandhi (Satyagraha in South Africa, p. xiv) It was the summer of 2013 when the Assad regime was forced out of the northeastern city of Raqqa, home of schoolteacher Souad Nofal. When… read more
“Gandhi in a nutshell”–Daily Metta
October 14: “Our bodies are the real temples rather than buildings of stone.” –Gandhi (Harijan, January 4, 1948) If there is one quotation of Gandhi’s that could rival the misattributed, paraphrase Be the Change that we all know and love, it’s this one from 1948. Uttered a couple of weeks before he shed his body,… read more
“Syria’s White Helmets”–Daily Metta
October 13: “Satyagraha brigades can be organized in every village and in every block of buildings in the city.” –Gandhi (Harijan, March 17, 1946) We’ve all heard of the Blue Helmets — the United Nations armed peacekeeping wing. But have you heard about the White Helmets, the unarmed peacekeeping and first responders in Syria? It… read more
“Understanding Columbus”–Daily Metta
October 12: “True economics stands for social justice.” –Gandhi (Harijan, October 9, 1937) Columbus Day, a national holiday in the United States, seems to be a celebration of Christopher Columbus, the man, the adventurous, courageous Italian explorer who convinced the Spanish king to send him on a sea-mission. Though really, it is a subversive celebration–a… read more
“Our Humanity vs. Our Machines”–Daily Metta
October 11: “In this [vision] there is no room for machines that would displace human labour and that would concentrate power in a few hands.” –Gandhi (Harijan, July 28, 1946) It’s hard to understand the concept of Gandhian Economics (one of his most brilliant contributions) without the fundamental principle that upholds it: human beings need… read more
“Show by example”–Daily Metta
October 10: “The best way to show how to do it, is to do it myself.” –Gandhi (Young India, October 23, 1924) It was Gandhi’s first great campaign in India, well portrayed in the Attenborough film: the indigo farmers of Champaran, Bihar state. While the farmers were faced with starvation and slave-labor conditions in their… read more
“Nothing is insignificant”–Daily Metta
October 9: “I must strive my utmost, during the coming year of grace, to express in every little act of mine whatever love I am capable of.” –Gandhi (Young India, October 23, 1924) One of the most interesting things about Gandhi is the way he seems at one minute to be a political activist, with… read more
“Brave enough to love each other”–Daily Metta
October 8: “Before they dare to think of swaraj they must be brave enough to love one another.” –Gandhi (Young India, September 29, 1924) While love is, in itself, a kind of freedom, what does a love of a nation or a larger social order look like when there is no love between those living… read more
