“My experience has taught me that the law of progression applies to every righteous struggle. But in the case of Satyagraha it amounts to an axiom.” ~ Gandhi, Satyagraha in South Africa, p. 19 In the course of his eight-year “experiment” with the development of satyagraha in South Africa (1908-1916) Gandhi discovered two laws. This… read more
Tag Archives: law of suffering
“Holding up a mirror”–Daily Metta
November 18: “Sorrow and suffering make for character if they are voluntarily borne, not if they are imposed.” –Gandhi (Mahatma vol. 3, p. 122) During one of his stays in London, this time for the Second Roundtable Conference on the Freedom of India, someone asked Gandhi this question: “Mr. Gandhi, if sorrow makes for character… read more
“Not by reason alone”–Daily Metta
February 12 “The conviction has been growing upon me that things of fundamental importance to the people are not secured by reason alone, but have to be purchased with their suffering.” –Gandhi (Young India, 3-19-1931) Gandhi does not hide the very unpopular fact that when one decides to undertake nonviolent discipline, one is preparing… read more
Law of Suffering
The Law of Suffering was defined by Mahatma Gandhi as the necessity of the nonviolent actor to voluntarily endure suffering as a mechanism for transforming an opponent. The law rests on Gandhi’s observation that, “Real suffering bravely borne melts even a heart of stone. Such is the potency of suffering or tapas. And there lies… read more
