Many of us were fortunate to witness a time when the visionary warriors of the spirit, Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King fought oppression and injustice non-violently with Satyagraha, or Soul-force. They used the “weapons” of truth, harmlessness, and self-sacrifice. They were seeking social change against the seemingly unconquerable adversaries of state power and prejudice. Their campaigns successfully exposed the ultimate weakness of falsehood and injustice upon which the dominant oppressive forces were based. The foundations of Satyagraha are beyond religious doctrine and political ideology. Satyagraha is a weapon of the strong; it admits of no violence under any circumstance whatever; and it ever insists upon truth.

The "Occupy" movement is a modern version of this spirit, as it inspires a new generation to meet our current needs and fulfill our future hopes. In the tradition of Ghandi and King it is not "passive" resistance, but active, intelligent, non-violent advocacy.

We must now see how Satyagraha as strategy for social change can become the foundation of a new political culture and the driving force of public policy, economic justice and international relations. If we can instill the concept of "harmlessness" into the political life of nations, the power of “Sat” or “truth” will manifest. When facing opposition, Satyagraha is a revolutionary force because “truth” will always expose falsehood, revealing its pitiful and destructive struggle to dominate others, rationalize injustice and hide its incompetence. On the other hand, if governments embrace Satyagraha it will manifest as goodwill, pragmatic problem solving and integrity.

The power of integrity is that the means and ends are inseparable so that the goal is realized in the reaching of it. It can change the formula of current political power-brokers from “might makes right” to “right makes might.” The latter formula is the foundation of Satyagraha or Soul-force as a governing ethic.

Integrity is super pragmatic. Integrity produces healing and solves problems because as an ethic of political or social action it evokes and energizes the resources latent in people and in nature for beneficial purposes. Integrity produces change by integrating all resources for the common good. It only “fights” with the inherent forces of inertia, and can overpower inertia using the spiritual forces that nurture and transform people and institutions.

While Gandhi struggled against the colonial oppression of the British Empire, and King struggled against institutionalized racism and bigotry, the current adversaries are no less powerful and resistant. All governments and movements for change must use Satyagraha as the political strategy to mobilize all resources to fight the battle against illness, hunger, ignorance, fanaticism, greed, environmental degradation, and hatred. All people must become leaders in their own sphere of influence to bring about “Sat.” Integrity leads to harmony, which leads to health - the result of a conflict being resolved or an ecosystem restored. When everyone works together towards solving problems non-violently on any level, then we will be able to create a culture of justice, peace and prosperity.