Birth and death are not two different
states, but they are different aspects of the
same state.” M.K. Gandhi CWMG, Vol. XXV, p333

I often marvel how quotes from the past from Gandhi, Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day and Martin Luther King Jr. are so relevant today. Every day I receive a picture with a quote from Gandhi from Mumbai, India and most days it is an inspiring and a relevant quote. The Gospel writers also had this quality of using universal quotes for Jesus.

Reading today a book by my friend, James Douglas, “Gandhi and the Unspeakable: His final experiment with truth,” I was struck by a mantra Gandhi used with his followers to be persistent yet nonviolent: “Do or Die.” “Do or Die” became his mantra to the end of his life. Resist injustice with one’s whole life. Do it lovingly, Resist nonviolently, openly, fearlessly. Suffer the consequences with joy to the point of death: “Do or Die”. (Gandhi, Satyagraha in South Africa, p. 150).

In May 1930, while Gandhi was imprisoned, his movement was determined to occupy the salt factory. Although they were beaten back, heads smashed they kept advancing on the salt factor, without using violence. An AP correspondent called it an encounter with British police and satyargrahis, creative force of nonviolence.

This mantra “Do or Die” is one we need to learn in the struggle in our times, be it with the hierarchical Church denying equality to women or with a Catholic University like Marquette teaching killing with conscience on campus. We must resist but not resort to violence of action or words. We may not face life endangerment but we will face death of insults and being marginalized.

Jesus, Martin Luther King Jr., Thomas Merton and Dorothy Day and many others throughout history practiced “Do or Die” and now after they have died we call them great persons or ‘saints.’ We ordinary persons can and, I believe, must practice “Do or Die” in order to live and find true freedom.

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