“The varna system implies the obliteration of all distinctions of high and low.” ~ Gandhi, Ashram Observances in Action (1955), p. 50 Varna, literally “color,” means essentially “caste.” It often comes as a surprise that Gandhi did not favor eliminating the caste system, but rather purging it of its connotations of superiority/inferiority. This because he… read more
Tag Archives: michael nagler
Humble Work: Daily Metta
“And it was (a brave widow of Gujarat) who discovered, at Vijapur in Gujarat a few Mussalman sisters who were prepared to spin if she would take the yarn from their hands. From that moment began the great revival which is now covering over fifteen hundred villages in India.” ~ Gandhi, Young India, Oct. 13,… read more
Love Power: Daily Metta
“Power based on love is a thousand time more effective and permanent than the one derived from fear of punishment.” ~ Gandhi, CWMG, 26:563 Nonviolence is a science. It is subject to prediction and control, like any natural force. That we understand it less well than other forces says nothing about the force itself, only… read more
The Power of Training: Daily Metta Weekend Videos!
In our first Daily Metta video, Michael Nagler tells a story from the life of David Hartsough and gives us insight into how nonviolence worked itself out in this situation. He then goes on to make the case for nonviolence as a way of life. Find out why. In this next video, he discusses the… read more
Ability to Surrender: Daily Metta
“A definite forgiveness would mean a definite recognition of our strength.” ~ Gandhi, Mahatma 2:5 In 1925, Gandhi was released from prison to find that a majority of his Congress Party supporters had gone back on a position he considered essential. To everyone’s surprise (and the dismay of many) he joined them, saying that they… read more
Suffering: Daily Metta
“In concrete terms, what pure suffering, wholly one-sided, does is stir public opinion against a wrong.” ~ Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi: Correspondence with the Government (1959), p. 301 When Martin Luther King said “unearned suffering is redemptive” he was referring to the same effect. It is the “secret weapon” of satyagraha, the core dynamic of active… read more
Defy Fear: Daily Metta
“The truth is that cowardice itself is violence of a subtle type and therefore dangerous and far more difficult to eradicate than the habit of physical violence.” ~ Gandhi, CWMG, 25:437 That cowardice is a form of violence can be counterintuitive. I have had people tell me that they ran away from a fight: wasn’t… read more
Principled Nonviolence and its Power: Daily Metta Weekend Videos
In this first video, Michael Nagler continues onward in The Search for a Nonviolent Future with insights into the paradox of nonviolence: rising above oneself and becoming more of oneself, truer to oneself. He then shares the origin of the term “person power,” coined by the Metta Center. In this next video, he describes the… read more
Depth of Access: Daily Metta
“But I can boldly declare, and with certainty, that so long as there is even a handful of men true to their pledge, there can only be one end to the struggle, and that is victory.” ~ Gandhi, Satyagraha in South Africa, p. 99 The forces that govern the outcome of human events are as… read more
Full Control: Daily Metta
“Means must determine ends and indeed it’s questionable in human affairs whether there is an end. The best we can do is to make sure of the method and examine our motive.” ~ Ronald Duncan, Selected Writings of Mahatma Gandhi, p. 14 No matter where you cut him, Gandhi is close to what he called… read more
