November 14: “In the code of the Satyagrahi there is no such thing as surrender to brute force.” –Gandhi (Young India, April 30, 1931) This week, when suicide bombers targeted a busy south Beirut marketplace, an indiscriminate attack on men, women, children, whoever happened to be there on an evening like any other, it was… read more
Tag Archives: Nonviolence
“An expression of love”–Daily Metta
November 13: “The various items of constructive activity that you are doing are only the outward expressions of truth and ahimsa.” –Gandhi (Mahatma, vol. iv, p.239) I was visiting my friend in her weaving studio when I first heard about a powerful project taking place in the southern Arizona desert, the borderland between Mexico and… read more
“Talking to gun owners”–Daily Metta
November 12: “We are fearless and free, so long as we have the weapon of Satyagraha in our hands.” –Gandhi (Satyagraha in South Africa) The funny thing about guns is that in nine cases out of 10, the person behind the trigger is scared to death. A gun does not represent bravery as much as… read more
“We were on the side of life”–Daily Metta
November 11: “Birth and death are not two different states, but they are different aspects of the same state.” –Gandhi (Young India, August 4, 1927) There is a bridge outside of Delhi with these words inscribed upon it: This is a Bridge. This is a Bridge. Do not make your home on it. In other… read more
“Have you heard of Mondragon?”–Daily Metta
November 8: “If one man can produce one ideal village, he will have provided a pattern not only for the whole country, but perhaps for the whole world.” –Gandhi (Harijan, August 4, 1940) Never underestimate the power of a good example. Gandhi never did. Indeed, he wanted to show through the power of one good… read more
“Understanding an obstruction”–Daily Metta
November 7: “It is an unshakable faith with me that a cause suffers exactly to the extent that it is supported by violence.” –Gandhi (Young India, February 26, 1931) Here’s a question that Gandhi must have had posed many times: What should a person, a movement, institution or society do when they are confronted by… read more
“Nonviolence, the only short-cut”–Daily Metta
November 6: “I do not believe in short-violent-cuts to success.” –Gandhi (Harijan, December 11, 1924) The Global War on Terror tries to sell us the false idea that we can effectively fight terrorism by killing “terrorists,” instead of addressing the conditions that led to terrorism in the first place. A “short-violent-cut to success,” instead of… read more
“The opposite of love”–Daily Metta
November 5: “I am trying every moment of my life to be guided by ahimsa, by love.” –Gandhi (Harijan, January 12, 1934) Hafiz asked Rabia, “O Daughter of God, is hate the opposite of love?” She replied, “No. Love has no opposite.” Rabi’a, the 7th Century mystic from Basra (not yet Iraq) and founder of… read more
“What a smile did”–Daily Metta
November 4: “Not an ounce of nonviolent energy is ever wasted.” –Gandhi (Harijan, January 11, 1948) Mrs. Hartsough (the mother of one of my nonviolence mentors, David Hartsough) stood day after day in front of Hanford WA nuclear plant, to try to reach the conscience of those who worked there with a group of other… read more
“Gandhi and Mother Cow”–Daily Metta
November 2: “Cow protection to me is one of the most wonderful phenomena in human evolution.” –Gandhi (Harijan, January 1, 1925) Cow protection. Why would Gandhi be concerned about this ancient duty to “Mother Cow”? Hint: it was about more than the cows. The practice, which he said he would “defend against the whole world,”… read more
