The Spiritual Discipline of Nonviolence

There are definite ethical concerns tied up with Matthew's infamous injunction: "If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also" (Mt 5:38-39). If read as a moral absolute, this form of non-violence may not adequately speak to the complexities of mass slaughter or genocidal brutality, in which more is required than a defenseless turning - I shall leave that discussion to another time. On a more daily basis, in our interactions with others, I have found this moral principle to be both effective, cathartic and spiritually grounding. What does it mean to affirm someone's inherent worth in the face of offensive or hurtful behavior?

In the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, we come across an adaptation of this ethical truism:

ਜੋ ਤੈ ਮਾਰਨਿ ਮੁਕੀਆਂ ਤਿਨ੍ਹ੍ਹਾ ਨ ਮਾਰੇ ਘੁੰਮਿ ॥
Do not turn around and strike those who strike you with their fists.
ਆਪਨੜੈ ਘਰਿ ਜਾਈਐ ਪੈਰ ਤਿਨ੍ਹ੍ਹਾ ਦੇ ਚੁੰਮਿ ॥
Kiss their feet, and return to your own home.

[Pannaa 1378]

This commandment radicalizes that of Jesus' in the way of reverence. It focuses less on what is given (later in Mt and Lk, a tunic) or received (a subsequent blow), and more on the disposition that is cultivated in the practice of returning home. The act of kissing another's feet (reminiscent, perhaps, of John's account of the foot-washing, 13:1-15) mirrors in Sikh tradition the appropriate demonstration of reverence for the Lotus feet of the Satguru: e.g. "I take the Support of the Lord's Lotus Feet; there is no other place of rest for me" (Pannaa 46). In a very real sense, then, this exhortation deferentially affirms the dignity of personhood. Just as a radiant lotus flower bursts out of the murky swamp, so too an individual's humanity shines through destructive deeds.

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