Non-violence. Ahimsa.

On this MLK day of 2013, I am reading his speeches on non-violence. Yes he had a dream, but I believe his greatest legacy was his experience of using NON-VIOLENCE to help awaken and change hiimself, his community and the world. This is what we are all called to do today and forever.

I encourage you to read his speeches beyond the quotes we always see. I encourage you to meditate on Ahimsa. non-violence. inside your own heart. your families. your communities. and ultimately, your world.

May the dream of Ahimsa arise and awaken in all our hearts and in the world.

FROM the Power of Non-Violence – June 4, 1957 MLK  – taken

from http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=11

Another basic thing we had to get over is that nonviolent resistance is also an internal matter. It not only avoids external violence or external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. And so at the center of our movement stood the philosophy of love. The attitude that the only way to ultimately change humanity and make for the society that we all long for is to keep love at the center of our lives. Now people used to ask me from the beginning what do you mean by love and how is it that you can tell us to love those persons who seek to defeat us and those persons who stand against us; how can you love such persons? And I had to make it clear all along that love in its highest sense is not a sentimental sort of thing, not even an affectionate sort of thing.

AGAPE LOVE

The Greek language uses three words for love. It talks about eros. Eros is a sort of aesthetic love. It has come to us to be a sort of romantic love and it stands with all of its beauty. But when we speak of loving those who oppose us we’re not talking about eros. The Greek language talks about philia and this is a sort of reciprocal love between personal friends. This is a vital, valuable love. But when we talk of loving those who oppose you and those who seek to defeat you we are not talking about eros or philia. The Greek language comes out with another word and it isagape. Agape is understanding, creative, redemptive good will for all men. Biblical theologians would say it is the love of God working in the minds of men. It is an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. And when you come to love on this level you begin to love men not because they are likeable, not because they do things that attract us, but because God loves them and here we love the person who does the evil deed while hating the deed that the person does. It is the type of love that stands at the center of the movement that we are trying to carry on in the Southland—agape.

http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=1131