You’re cordially invited to join Michael Nagler, the Metta Center for Nonviolence, and UC Berkeley’s Public Service Center for an online discussion of the Metta Center’s Third Harmony book and film projects. Please see the event and registration details below. In his latest book, UC Berkeley Professor Emeritus Micheal Nagler argues that nonviolence—not just as… read more
Tag Archives: stephanie van hook
The Metta Center at Google
Michael Nagler, our founder, and Stephanie Van Hook, our executive director, recently spoke at Google. Hmm… Any guess on what they might have spoke about? You guessed it: They talked about the transformational powers of nonviolence.… read more
Never Despair: Daily Metta
“Man’s nature is not essentially evil. Brute nature has been known to yield to the influence of love. You must never despair of human nature.” ~ Gandhi, Harijan, November 1938 The 1930s were not a very hopeful time in the history of world politics, yet here we have Gandhi echoing across the years with a… read more
Women’s Power: Daily Metta
“Woman is more fitted than man to make explorations and take bolder actions in ahimsa.” ~ Gandhi, Mind of Mahatma Gandhi, p. 294 Certainly one can do without the gender essentialism in the 21st century, but that’s the problem when you take quotes out of their time and context. What we have to understand here… read more
Village Life: Daily Metta
“…[P]eople will never be able to live in peace with each other in towns and palaces. They will then have no recourse but to resort to both violence and untruth. We can realize truth and nonviolence only in the simplicity of village life. ~ Gandhi, Letter to Nehru, October, 1945, in Bhoodan, March 26, 1960… read more
Truth to Truth: Daily Metta
“My aim is not to be consistent with my previous statements on a given question, but to be consistent with truth as it may present itself to me at a given moment. The result has been that I have grown from truth to truth.” ~ Gandhi, Harijan, August 30, 1939 Instead of setting his sights… read more
No Room for Hatred: Daily Metta
“My personal religion peremptorily forbids me to hate anybody.” ~ Gandhi, Young India, August 6, 1925 When the heart is full of love, there is no room for hatred. That does not mean that there is no space to resist injustice, or to say no to someone who needs to hear it—on the contrary. It… read more
Real Swaraj: Daily Metta
[R]eal Swaraj will come, not by the acquisition of authority by a few, but by the acquisition of the capacity by all to resist authority when it is abused. In other words, Swaraj is to be attained by educating the masses to a sense of their capacity to regulate and control authority. ~ Gandhi, Young… read more
Truth Be Told: Daily Metta
“Suspicion is of the brood of violence. Nonviolence cannot but trust.” ~ Gandhi, Young India, May 20, 1925 Nonviolence is never about changing another person directly. It’s always about changing ourselves in order to see more directly into the heart of a conflict and effect transformation there, which can, in time, change others. Truth be… read more
Permanent Good: Daily Metta
“Some of the immediate and brilliant results of modern inventions are too maddening to resist. But I have no manner of doubt that the victory of [wo]man lies in that resistance. We are in danger of bartering away the permanent good for a momentary pleasure.” ~ Gandhi, Young India, June 2, 1927 Perhaps it is… read more
