A Thought for the Day From Sri Eknath Easwaran
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My life is an indivisible whole, and all my attitudes run into
one another; and they all have their rise in my insatiable love
for mankind. -- Mahatma Gandhi


We should be able to make all sorts
of graceful concessions on things that do not matter in life
and yet stand unshakable on essentials. To do this, we have to
be detached from our opinions. I'm not recommending that we be
wishy-washy, or lack strength in our convictions, but that we
cultivate the forbearance not to force our opinions on others.

When we have strength of conviction we will not get rattled when
people question or contradict us. Mahatma Gandhi, for example, was
not in favor of tea or coffee, but he took joy in making a cup of
tea for his wife each morning just the way she liked it. This is
bending gracefully on nonessentials. When it came to essentials,
however, Gandhi was unshakable. His dedication to nonviolence was
so absolute that he would abruptly call off a successful nationwide
program of noncooperation with the British if he heard any reports
of violence committed by his countrymen, even those who did not
acknowledge him as their leader.

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From Eknath Easwaran, "Words to Live By" (Nilgiri Press, 1997)

http://www.nilgiri.org/Html/Thoughts/today.html