Why Nonviolence? What can we learn from Gandhi’s Legacy?
In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “like most people I had heard of Gandhi, but I had never studied him seriously.”
Yes, Gandhi was a man who used the tools of fasting, brahmachariya and civil disobedience to liberate India from British colonial rule, yet what does his legacy mean for us today and for the well-being of humanity? What was it that Martin Luther King, Jr. found so powerful about Gandhi’s work that it inspired him to lead the Civil Rights movement in the United States?
“The whole concept of Satyagraha (Satya is truth which equals love, and agraha is force; Satyagraha, therefore, means truth force or love force) was profoundly significant to me. As I delved deeper into the philosophy of Gandhi, my skepticism concerning the power of love gradually diminished, and I came to see for the first time its potency in the area of social reform. Prior to reading Gandhi, I had about concluded that the ethics of Jesus were only effective in individual relationships.
The ‘turn the other cheek’ philosophy and the ‘love your enemies’ philosophy were only valid, I felt, when individuals were in conflict with other individuals; when racial groups and nations were in conflict a more realistic approach seemed necessary.
But after reading Gandhi, I saw how utterly mistaken I was. Gandhi was probably the first person in history to lift the love ethic of Jesus above mere interaction between individuals to a powerful and effective social force on a large scale.
Love for Gandhi was a potent instrument for social and collective transformation. It was in this Gandhian emphasis on love and nonviolence that I discovered the method for social reform that I had been seeking.”
Let us deepen our understanding and action of what it means to live nonviolently in the world today and bring the truth to the light of awareness.
Now, more than ever we need a nonviolent renaissance in the world and especially in the United States, where the “Doctrine of the Sword” is so ingrained that it is mostly left unquestioned.
I look forward to exploring this and many topics with you through this blog and the book I am writing about bringing nonviolence into the modern world. Please sign up for my email list to stay posted as this discussion continues.
Ongoing education and dialogue is the essence of democracy.
Also, I’d love to have your feedback on what you would like to learn about regarding Gandhi’s legacy, nonviolence and its application in the world today.
If you would like to fill out my survey to help inform my research process, please follow this link: https://goo.gl/forms/99dWcxCnyvFv76gD2
From The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. pp.23-24.
In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “like most people I had heard of Gandhi, but I had never studied him seriously.”
Yes, Gandhi was a man who used the tools of fasting, brahmachariya and civil disobedience to liberate India from British colonial rule, yet what does his legacy mean for us today and for the well-being of humanity? What was it that Martin Luther King, Jr. found so powerful about Gandhi’s work that it inspired him to lead the Civil Rights movement in the United States?
“The whole concept of Satyagraha (Satya is truth which equals love, and agraha is force; Satyagraha, therefore, means truth force or love force) was profoundly significant to me. As I delved deeper into the philosophy of Gandhi, my skepticism concerning the power of love gradually diminished, and I came to see for the first time its potency in the area of social reform. Prior to reading Gandhi, I had about concluded that the ethics of Jesus were only effective in individual relationships.
The ‘turn the other cheek’ philosophy and the ‘love your enemies’ philosophy were only valid, I felt, when individuals were in conflict with other individuals; when racial groups and nations were in conflict a more realistic approach seemed necessary.
But after reading Gandhi, I saw how utterly mistaken I was. Gandhi was probably the first person in history to lift the love ethic of Jesus above mere interaction between individuals to a powerful and effective social force on a large scale.
Love for Gandhi was a potent instrument for social and collective transformation. It was in this Gandhian emphasis on love and nonviolence that I discovered the method for social reform that I had been seeking.”
Let us deepen our understanding and action of what it means to live nonviolently in the world today and bring the truth to the light of awareness.
Now, more than ever we need a nonviolent renaissance in the world and especially in the United States, where the “Doctrine of the Sword” is so ingrained that it is mostly left unquestioned.
I look forward to exploring this and many topics with you through this blog and the book I am writing about bringing nonviolence into the modern world. Please sign up for my email list to stay posted as this discussion continues.
Ongoing education and dialogue is the essence of democracy.
Also, I’d love to have your feedback on what you would like to learn about regarding Gandhi’s legacy, nonviolence and its application in the world today.
If you would like to fill out my survey to help inform my research process, please follow this link: https://goo.gl/forms/99dWcxCnyvFv76gD2
From The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. pp.23-24.
Comments
Post a Comment