June 13: “How can there be room for distinctions of high and low where there is this all embracing fundamental unity underlying the outward diversity?” –Gandhi (Young India, September 24, 1921) The word ‘unity’ can make some people cringe. It can make it possible to overlook the experiences of those who have been systematically oppressed,… read more
Tag Archives: gandhi
“Go Deeper, Woodcutter”–Daily Metta
June 12: “I am but a seeker after Truth.” –Gandhi (Young India, June 17, 1926) Hindu mystic, father of the modern Vedantic movement, Sri Ramakrishna of Dakshineswar, often shared stories with his devotees to illustrate principles important for understanding the nature of Reality, what Gandhi would call, Sat, or Truth with a capital T. The… read more
“In my country”–Daily Metta
June 11: “ My faith in truth and nonviolence is ever growing.” –Gandhi (Harijan, May 1, 1937) In 2005 I lived in the West African country of Benin as a volunteer with the Peace Corps. I had access to a small video screen to watch films from time to time, and in care packages from… read more
“I am because you are”–Daily Metta
June 10: “I believe in the essential unity of humanity, and for that matter, all that lives.” –Gandhi (Young India, September 3, 1925) In order to make nonviolent institutions possible, they have to be built on a solid cultural foundation that embodies respect and even reverence for the human experience. Not a reverence with our… read more
“Walk Alone”–Daily Metta
June 9 “There are moments in your life when you must act, even though you cannot carry your best friends with you.” –Gandhi (The Monthly Review, Calcutta, October, 1941) One of Gandhi’s favorite songs was Ekla Chalo Re, a Bengali hymn translated as “Walk Alone.” Written by the famous Rabindranath Tagore, the lyrics are as… read more
“Silent Mondays”–Daily Metta
June 8: “It has often occurred to me that a seeker after truth has to be silent.” –Gandhi (Young India, August 6, 1925) In the language of pop psychology, some might say that Gandhi was an introvert as a child and a young man. He experienced a high level of social anxiety and was generally… read more
“Hungry for Nonviolence”–Daily Metta
June 7: “My love for nonviolence is superior to every other thing mundane or supramundane.” –Gandhi (Young India, February 20, 1930) Gandhi loved nonviolence more than anything else, including food. That’s right, foodies, we do not have any photos taken by him of, say, his neem chutney or simple rice and dhal. His… read more
“Nonviolence is not easy”–Daily Metta
June 6: “Nonviolence is not an easy thing to understand, still less to practice.” –Gandhi (Young India, February 7, 1929) If you are practicing nonviolence and finding it difficult, congratulations, you are doing something right! Nonviolence is challenging because it requires so much more of us than passivity or violence. When you have a gun… read more
“Who’s afraid of Gandhi?”–Daily Metta
June 5: “It is not so much the British guns that are responsible for our subjugation as our voluntary co-operation.” –Gandhi (Young India, February 9, 1921) There comes a point when our common understanding of conflict is insufficient and we need to reach deeper. And this is not always easy, for we just may… read more
“A reminder”–Daily Metta
June 4: “We do not exaggerate when we say that life is a mere bubble.” –Gandhi (Young India, October 16, 1930) It is quite a paradox that human life is as fragile as it is powerful. Weak as we are, small as we are, our capacity for love, forgiveness, compassion, and nonviolence has no limit.… read more
