Gandhi’s Soul Force Vows

(Re-envisioned by Mel White)
Published on page 13 of the July-August 1998 issue of Fellowship Magazine, published by the Fellowship of Reconciliation www.forusa.org

1. Vow to Truth

I promise to seek the truth, to live by the truth, and to confront untruth wherever I find it.

2. Vow to Love (Nonviolence)

I promise to reject violence (physical violence, spiritual violence, psychological violence) and to use only the methods of nonviolence in my search for truth and my confrontation with untruth.

3. Vow to Absorb Suffering

I promise to take on myself without complaint any suffering that might result from my confrontation with untruth and to do all in my power to help my adversary avoid all suffering, especially the suffering that might result from our confrontation.

4. Vow to Control Passions

I promise to control my appetite for food, sex, intoxicants, entertainment, position, and power, that my best self might be free to join with my Creator in doing justice (making things fair for all).

5. Vow to Limit Possessions

I promise to limit my possessions to those things which I really need to survive, and to see myself as God’s trustee over all other possessions, using them exclusively to help God make things fair for all

 

 

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