A faith in nonviolence is
impossible without a living faith in God. A nonviolent man can do
nothing save by the power and grace of God. Without it he won't have
the courage to die without anger, without fear and without retaliation.
Such courage comes from the belief that God sits in the hearts of all
and that there should be no fear in the presence of God. The knowledge
of the omnipresence of God also means respect for the lives even of
those who may be called opponents....
Nonviolence is an active force of the
highest order. It is soul force or the power of Godhead within us.
Imperfect man cannot grasp the whole of that Essence-he would not be
able to bear its full blaze, but even an infinitesimal fraction of it,
when it becomes active within us, can work wonders.
The sun in the heavens fills the whole
universe with its life-giving warmth. But if one went too near it, it
would consume him to ashes. Even so it is with God-head. We become
Godlike to the extent we realize nonviolence; but we can never become
wholly God.
The fact is that nonviolence does not
work in the same way as violence. It works in the opposite way. An
armed man naturally relies upon his arms. A man who is intentionally
unarmed relies upon the Unseen Force called God by poets, but called
the Unknown by scientists. But that which is unknown is not necessarily
non-existent. God is the Force among all forces known and unknown.
Nonviolence without reliance upon that Force is poor stuff to be thrown
in the dust.
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