“It annoys me to no end: another vegan who gets sentimental about a cow that is going to be killed. Believe me, no one loves my animals more than I do. I work more than 100 hours a week just to stay afloat. That is not easy, because the supermarkets have us in a headlock. We …
The wolf and the lamb
I was introduced to the principle of non-violence by the books of Gandhi and Tolstoy. These authors made it clear that living non-violently meant that they did not eat meat. After I had been vegetarian for a few years, I began to feel like a hypocrite because I still ate the products of the animals …
Interfaith dialogue
For me, the power of faith has never been described more eloquently than in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi. The book is about Piscine, a 16 year old boy from Puducherry, India. After he is shipwrecked, he goes through a terrible ordeal. His love of God pulls him through: The blackness would stir and eventually …
Fasting for peace
The British people never cease to amaze us with their crazy habits. For example, we recently discovered that the day before Ash Wednesday is called ‘Pancake Day’ here. They organize actual pancake races, whereby participants toss a pancake up and down in a frying pan while running. We are always in for pancakes, so tomorrow …
A voice for children
Today, Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai have received the Nobel Peace Prize. I watched their speeches. A small impression. Let us globalise compassion. Not passive compassion, but transformative compassion that leads to justice, equality, and freedom. Mahatma Gandhi said, “If we are to teach real peace in this world… we shall have to begin with …
Gandhi and Truth
Today is Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday and consequently the day of nonviolence. I would like to quote from the introduction to Gandhi’s autobiography. In between the text are pictures that Freddy took when he was climbing Mt Kenya in March. … I have given the chapters I propose to write the title of The Story of My …