International Day of Non-Violence

International Day of Non-Violence: October 2nd

When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it–always. Mahatma Gandhi

This Sunday is the International Day of Non-Violence.  The UN General Assembly established this by resolution in 2007, setting it on the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, a great pioneer of the philosphy and stragegy of non-violence.

According to the resolution, the purpose of this day is to communicate a ”message of non-violence” through both education and expanded public awareness.   It reaffirms ”the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence” and the desire ”to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence.”

Let us examine our own interactions, language, and hearts to transform internal and external violence into life-giving, gospel-affirmed peace.

from Gandhi’s words

I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.

”Non-volence is the greatest force at the disposal of humankind.  It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of people.”

Non-violence is not a weapon of the weak. It is a weapon of the strongest and the bravest.

The common factor of all religions is nonviolence.

Nonviolence is a quality not of the body but of the soul.

Jesus was the most active resister known perhaps to history. His was non-violence par excellence.

If one does not practice non-violence in one’s own personal relations with others and hopes to use it in bigger affairs, one is vastly mistaken.

Love is a rare herb that makes a friend even of a sworn enemy and this herb grows out of non-violence.