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MAHAMTMA GANDHI
During the years of soul searching ,as what makes god happy,and what makes God satisfied with our works,I was totally overwelmed by a unique personality ,that is MOHAN DAS KARAMCHAND GANDHI,who was aptly called MAHATMA GANDHI(Meaning the GREAT GANDHI) Who has really made GOD ALMIGHTY so happy and proud of his creation
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GANDHI'S PEACE PRAYERS
Very early in life Mohandas K. Gandhi began to appreciate the universality of religion. He described them as highways leading to the same destination. As a mark of his respect for all religions and for all human beings he incorporated into his daily prayer relevant hymns or daily prayers, but he influenced millions in India to use them also. All these selected passages have the underlying theme of PEACE.
"My effort should never be to undermine another's faith but to make him a better follower of his own faith." M.K. Gandhi
Hindu Peace Prayer
I desire neither earthly kingdom, nor even freedom from birth and death. I desire only the deliverance from grief of all those afflicted by misery. Oh Lord, lead us from the unreal to the real; from darkness to light; from death to immortality. May there be peace in celestial regions. May there be peace on earth. May the waters be appeasing. May herbs be wholesome and may trees and plants bring peace to all. May all beneficent beings bring peace to us. May thy wisdom spread peace all through the world. May all things be a source of peace to all and to me. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti (Peace, Peace, Peace).
Islamic Peace Prayer
We think of Thee, worship Thee, bow toThee as the Creator of this Universe; we seek refuge in Thee, the Truth, our only support. Thou art the Ruler, the barge in this ocean of endless births and deaths.
In the name of Allah, the beneficient, the merciful. Praise be to the Lord of the Universe who has created us and made us into tribes and nations. Give us wisdom that we may know each other and not despise all things. We shall abide by thy Peace. And, we shall remember the servants of God are those who walk on this earth in humility and, when we addrss them, we shall say Peace Unto Us All.
Christian Peace Prayer
Blessed are the PEACEMAKERS, for they shall be known as The Children of God. But I say to you: love your enemy, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To those who strike you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from those who take away your cloak, do not withhold your coat as well. Give to everyone who begs from you; and, to those who take away your goods, do not ask them again. And as you wish that others would do unto you, do so unto them as well.
Jewish Peace Prayer
Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, that we may walk the paths of the Most High. And we shall beat our swords into ploughshares and our spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation - neither shall they learn war any more. And none shall be afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.
Shinto Peace Prayer
Although the people living across the ocean surrounding us are all our brothers and sisters why, Oh Lord, is there trouble in this world? Why do winds and waves rise in the ocean surrounding us? I earnestly wish the wind will soon blow away all the clouds hanging over the tops of the mountains.
Bahal Peace Prayer
Be generous in prosperity and thankful in adversity. Be fair in thy judgement and guarded in thy speech. Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness and a home to the stranger. Be eyes to the blind and a guiding light unto he feet of the erring. Be a breath of life to the body of humankind, a dew to the soil of the human heart and a fruit upon the tree of humility.
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What Did M. K. Gandhi Mean?
Wealth Without Work:This includes playing the stock market; gambling; sweat-shop slavery; over-estimating one's worth, like some heads of corporations drawing exorbitant salaries which are not always commensurate with the work they do. Gandhiji's idea originates from the ancient Indian practice of Tenant Farmers (Zamindari). The poor were made to slog on the farms while the rich raked in the profits. With capitalism and materialism spreading so rampantly around the world the grey area between an honest day's hard work and sitting back and profiting from other people's labor is growing wider. To conserve the resources of the world and share these resources equitably with all so that everyone can aspire to a good standard of living, Gandhi believed people should take only as much as they honestly need. The United States provides a typical example. The country spends an estimated billion a year on manufacturing cigarettes, alcohol and allied products which harm people's health. What the country spends in terms of providing medical and research facilities to provide and find cures for health hazards caused by over-indulgence in tobacco and alcohol is mind-blowing. There is enough for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed, Gandhi said.
Pleasure Without Conscience: This is connected to wealth without work. People find imaginative and dangerous ways of bringing excitement to their otherwise dull lives. Their search for pleasure and excitement often ends up costing society very heavily. Taking drugs and playing dangerous games cause avoidable health problems that cost the world hundreds of billions of dollars in direct and indirect health care facilities. Many of these problems are self-induced or ailments caused by careless attitudes. The United States spends more than billion on leisure activities while 25 million children die each year because of hunger, malnutrition, and lack of medical facilities. Irresponsible and unconscionable acts of sexual pleasure and indulgence also cost the people and the country very heavily. Not only do young people lose their childhood but innocent babies are brought into the world and often left to the care of the society. The emotional, financial, and moral price is heavy on everyone. Gandhi believed pleasure must come from within the soul and excitement from serving the needy, from caring for the family, the children, and relatives. Building sound human relationships can be an exciting and adventurous activity. Unfortunately, we ignore the spiritual pleasures of life and indulge in the physical pleasures which is "pleasure without conscience."
Knowledge Without Character: Our obsession with materialism tends to make us more concerned about acquiring knowledge so that we can get a better job and make more money. A lucrative career is preferred to an illustrious character. Our educational centers emphasize career-building and not character-building. Gandhi believed if one is not able to understand one's self, how can one understand the philosophy of life. He used to tell me the story of a young man who was an outstanding student throughout his scholastic career. He scored "A's" in every subject and strove harder and harder to maintain his grades. He became a bookworm. However, when he passed with distinction and got a lucrative job, he could not deal with people nor could he build relationships. He had no time to learn these important aspects of life. Consequently, he could not live with his wife and children nor work with his colleagues. His life ended up being a misery. All those years of study and excellent grades did not bring him happiness. Therefore, it is not true that a person who is successful in amassing wealth is necessarily happy. An education that ignores character- building is an incomplete education.
Commerce Without Morality: As in wealth without work we indulge in commerce without morality to make more money by any means possible. Price gouging, palming off inferior products, cheating and making false claims are a few of the obvious ways in which we indulge in commerce without morality. There are also thousands of other ways in which we do immoral or unethical business. When profit-making becomes the most important aspect of business, morals and ethics usually go overboard. We cut benefits and even salaries of employees. If possible we employ "slave" labor, like the sweat shops and migrant farm workers in New York and California where workers are thoroughly exploited. Profit supersedes the needs of people. When business is unable to deal with labor it begins to mechanize. Mechanization, it is claimed, increases efficiency, but in reality it is instituted simply to make more money. Alternate jobs may be created for a few. Others will fall by the wayside and languish. Who cares? People don't matter, profits do. In more sophisticated language what we are really saying is that those who cannot keep up with the technological changes and exigencies of the times do not deserve to live--a concept on which Hitler built the Nazi Party. If society does not care for such people, can we blame them if they become criminals?
Science Without Humanity: This is science used to discover increasingly more gruesome weapons of destruction that threaten to eventually wipe out humanity. The NRA says guns don't kill people, people kill people. What they do not say is that if people didn't have guns they wouldn't have the capacity to kill as quickly or as easily. If hunting can be considered a sport, it is the most insensitive and dehumanizing sport on earth. How can killing animals bring fun and excitement to anyone? This is pleasure without conscience. When we cease to care for any life, we cease to respect all life. No other species on earth has wrought more destruction than man. Materialism has made us possessive. The more we possess the more we need to protect and so the more ruthless we become. As punishment, we will kill if some one steals to buy bread. We feel violated. But we will not bother our heads to find out why, in times of plenty, people have to live in hunger. In order to protect and secure our homes, our neighborhoods, our countries from attacks, we use science to discover frightening weapons of destruction. The debate over the use of the atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki is a question that falls under this category. War is sometimes inevitable only because we are such ardent nationalists that we quickly label ourselves by our country of origin, by gender, by the color of our skin, by the language we speak, by the religion we practice, by the town or the state we come from and so on. The labels dehumanize us, and we become mere objects. Not too long ago even wars were fought according to rules, regulations, ethics and some semblance of morality. Then Hitler changed the rules because of his monumental hate and the rest of us followed suit. Now we can obliterate cities and inhabitants by pressing a button and not be affected by the destruction because we don't see it.
Worship Without Sacrifice: One person's faith is another person's fantasy because religion has been reduced to meaningless rituals practiced mindlessly. Temples, churches, synagogues, mosques and those entrusted with the duty of interpreting religion to lay people seek to control through fear of hell, damnation, and purgatory. In the name of God they have spawned more hate and violence than any government. True religion is based on spirituality, love, compassion, understanding, and appreciation of each other whatever our beliefs may be -- Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Atheists, Agnostics or whatever. Gandhi believed whatever labels we put on our faith, ultimately all of us worship Truth because Truth is God. Superficially we may be very devout believers and make a tremendous public show of our worship, but if that belief, understanding, compassion, love and appreciation is not translated into our lives, prayers will have no meaning. True worship demands sacrifice not just in terms of the number of times a day we say our prayers but in how sincere we are in translating those prayers into life styles. In the 1930's many Christian and Moslem clergy flocked into India to convert the millions who were oppressed as untouchables. The Christian clergy stood on street corners loudly denouncing Hinduism and proclaiming the virtues of Christianity. Months went by without a single convert accepting the offer. Frustrated, one priest asked Grandfather: After all the oppression and discrimination that the 'untouchables' suffer under Hinduism, why is it they do not accept our offer of a better life under Christianity? Grandfather replied: When you stop telling them how good Christianity is and start living it, you will find more converts than you can cope with. These words of wisdom apply to all religions of the world. We want to shout from roof-tops the virtues of our beliefs and not translate them into our lives.
Politics without Principles: Gandhi said those who firmly believe in nonviolence should never stand for elections, but they should elect representatives who are willing to understand and practice the philosophy. Gandhi said an elected representative is one on whom you have bestowed your power of attorney. Such a person should be allowed to wield authority only as long as s/he enjoys your confidence. When politicians indulge in power games, they act without principles. To remain in power at all cost is unethical. Gandhi said when politicians (or anyone else, for that matter) give up the pursuit of Truth they, or in the case of parties, would be doomed. Partisan politics, lobbying, bribing, and other forms of malpractice that are so rampant in politics today is also unprincipled. Politics has earned the reputation of being dirty. It is so because we made it dirty. We create power groups to lobby for our cause and are willing to do anything to achieve our goal. Not many among human kind have learned how to resist temptation, so who is to blame for the mess we find ourselves in?
Rights Without Responsibilities:
We are generally willing to do anything to safeguard our rights but not much to shoulder our responsibilities towards creating a peaceful, harmonious, and understanding society. We believe that our only responsibility in a democracy is to cast our vote once in four or five years, but for a democracy to be healthy and honest, we need to do much more. Should we allow someone to abuse rights under a constitution so that we can preserve our own rights? Under the Freedom of Speech can we allow people to incite violence and perhaps revolution through hate, prejudice, and other forms of bigotry? Under the Right to Bear Arms can we allow people to walk about with weapons and use them freely to protect themselves and their possessions when it means killing others? If an individual can become judge, jury, and executioner, can there be a viable Rule of Law? It might be argued that violence is a form of expression of discontent. If a householder can shoot someone for trespassing with the intent to steal, why should a hungry or homeless person not have the right to kill those he suspects of having stolen his/her opportunities for livelihood? When we possess more than we deserve, we are stealing from those who do not have the opportunity to compete with our talents. Readers of Parade magazine were recently asked if parents or school teachers should teach children about right and wrong. Shockingly, the overwhelming response was NO. We must not impose our rights and wrongs on other people, even our own children, they argued. Isn't our entire sense of law and community and society grounded in basic concepts of right and wrong, i.e. don't harm others? Why do we try and condemn murderers and thieves? Doesn't that impose our sense of right and wrong on them, even when they believe their behavior was justified if not right? Can we build a healthy and viable democracy on double standards?
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QUTATIONS FROM GANDHI----
CAPITAL/CAPITALISM
No doubt, capital is lifeless, but not the capitalists who are amenable to conversion.
I do not regard capital to be enemy of labor.
CHARACTER
Your character must be above suspicion, and you must be truthful and self-controlled.
The truest test of civilization, culture, and dignity is character, not clothing.
A language is an exact reflection of the character and growth of its speakers.
Men of stainless character will easily inspire confidence and automatically purify the atmosphere around them.
The real property that a parent can transmit to all equally is his or her character and educational facilities.
All your scholarship would be in vain if at the same time you do not build your character and attain mastery over your thoughts and your actions.
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CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
Civil disobedience is the assertion of a right which law should give but which it denies.
Civil disobedience presupposes willing obedience of our self-imposed rules, and without it civil disobedience would be cruel joke.
Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the State becomes lawless or, which is the same thing, corrupt.
Civil disobedience means capacity for unlimited suffering without the intoxicating excitement of killing.
Disobedience to be civil has to be open and nonviolent.
Disobedience to be civil implies discipline, thought, care, attention.
Disobedience that is wholly civil should never provoke retaliation.
Non-cooperation and civil disobedience are different but [are] branches of the same tree call Satyagraha (truth-force).
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COERCION
Coercion cannot but result in chaos in the end.
One who uses coercion is guilty of deliberate violence. Coercion is inhuman.
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COOPERATION
Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as cooperation with good.
Nonviolent action without the cooperation of the heart and the head cannot produce the intended result.
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DEMOCRACY
Democracy necessarily means a conflict of will and ideas, involving sometimes a war . . . between different ideas.
The very essence of democracy is that every person represents all the varied interests which compose the nation.
Democracy is a great institution and, therefore, it is liable to be greatly abused.
Democracy is an impossible thing until the power is shared by all, but let not democracy degenerate into mobocracy.
Democracy is not a state in which people act like sheep.
Democracy and violence can ill go together.
Evolution of democracy is not possible if we are not prepared to hear the other side.
Democracy, disciplined and enlightened, is the finest thing in the world.
The spirit of democracy cannot be imposed from without. It has to come from within.
My notion of democracy is that under it the weakest should have the same opportunity as the strongest.
To safeguard democracy the people must have a keen sense of independence, self-respect, and their oneness.
Intolerance, discourtesy, and harshness are taboo in all good society and are surely contrary to the spirit of democracy.
In true democracy every man and women is taught to think for himself or herself.
The spirit of democracy cannot be established in the midst of terrorism, whether governmental or popular.
Corruption and hypocrisy ought not to be inevitable products of democracy, as they undoubtedly are today.
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DISCIPLINE
Conscience is the ripe fruit of strictest discipline.
Unless discipline is rooted in nonviolence, it might prove a source of infinite mischief.
Non-cooperation is a measure of discipline and sacrifice, and it demands respect for the opposite views.
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FAITH/FEAR
Faith gains in strength only when people are willing to lay down their lives for it.
Faith is not like a delicate flower which would wither away.
Robust faith in oneself and brave trust of the opponent, so-called or real, is the best safeguard.
A living faith cannot be manufactured by the rule of [the] majority.
What is faith if it is not translated into action?
Faith is not imparted like secular subjects. It is given through the language of the heart.
Every living faith must have within itself the power of rejuvenation if it is to live. Just as the body cannot exist without blood, so the soul needs matchless and pure strength of faith.
Nonviolence succeeds only when we have a real living faith in God.
My effort should never be to undermine another's faith but to make him a better follower of his own faith.
My faith is brightest in the midst of impenetrable darkness.
Nonviolence is the first article of my faith. It is also the last article of my creed.
Even as a tree has a single trunk but many branches and leaves, there is one religion-- human religion--but any number of faiths.
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FAST/FASTING
Fasting is an institution as old as Adam. It has been resorted to for self-purification or for some ends, noble as well as ignoble.
A complete fast is a complete and literal denial of self. It is the truest prayer.
A genuine fast cleanses the body, mind, and soul. It crucifies the flesh and to that extent sets the soul free.
What the eyes are for the outer world, fasts are for the inner.
My religion teaches me that whenever there is distress which one cannot remove, one must fast and pray.
Fear is not a disease of the body; fear kills the soul.
A fear-stricken person can never know God, and one who knows God will never fear a mortal man.
Where there is fear, there is not religion.
It is weakness which breeds fear, and fear breeds distrust.
There would be no one to frighten you if you refuse to be afraid.
For a nonviolent person, the whole world is one family. He will thus fear none, nor will others fear him.
The golden rule is to act fearlessly upon what one believes to be right.
Fearlessness presupposes calmness and peace of mind.
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FORCE
Love is the subtlest force in the world.
The force of nonviolence is infinitely more wonderful and subtle than the material force of nature, like electricity.
The truth is that God is the force. He is the essence of life. He is pure and undefiled consciousness. He is eternal.
The more efficient a force is the more silent and the more subtle it is.
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FREEDOM/INDEPENDENCE
Freedom is like birth. Till we are fully free, we are slaves.
Freedom received through the efforts of others, however benevolent, cannot be retained when such effort is withdrawn.
No charter of freedom will be worth looking at which does not ensure the same measure of freedom for the minorities as for the majority.
No society can possibly be built on a denial of individual freedom.
True nonviolence should mean a complete freedom from ill-will and anger and hate and an overflowing love for all.
This freedom from all attachment is the realization of God as Truth.
I do not want my house to be walled in on sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible.
Independence means voluntary restraints and discipline, voluntary acceptance of the rule of law.
Independence of my conception means nothing less than the realization of the "Kingdom of God" within you and on this earth.
Complete independence does not mean arrogant isolation or a superior disdain for all help.
If it is man's privilege to be independent, it is equally his duty to be inter-dependent.
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JUSTICE
Justice will come when it is deserved by our being and feeling strong.
Justice does not help those who slumber but helps only those who are vigilant.
Peace will not come out of a clash of arms but out of justice lived and done by unarmed nations in the face of odds.
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MACHINE/MACHINERY
The supreme consideration is man. The machine should not tend to make atrophied the limbs of man.
Today machinery merely helps a few to ride on the backs of millions.
What I object to is the craze for machinery, not machinery as such.
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MORAL FORCE/MORALITY
Moral results can only be produced by moral restraints.
Moral authority is never retained by any attempt to hold on to it. It comes without seeking and is retained without effort.
True morality consists not in following the beaten track, but in finding out the true path for ourselves and in fearlessly following it.
To observe morality is to attain mastery over our minds and our passions.
Performance of duty and observance of morality are convertible.
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NONCOOPERATION
Noncooperation means refusal both to help the sinner in his sin and to accept any help or gift from him till he has repented.
Non-cooperation is a measure of discipline and sacrifice, and it demands respect for the positive views.
Noncooperation is intended to pave the way to real, honorable and voluntary cooperation based on mutual respect and trust.
Noncooperation in [the] political field is an extension of the doctrine as it is practiced in the domestic field.
The avowed policy of Non-cooperation has been not to make political use of disputes between labor and capital.
Real Non-cooperation is Non-cooperation with evil and not with the evil doer.
Noncooperation is not a hymn of hate.
My Non-cooperation is with methods and systems, never with men.
Nonviolent Non-cooperation with evil means cooperation with all that is good.
Nonviolence is the rock on which the whole structure of Non-cooperation is built.
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PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Passive resistance is a method of securing rights by personal suffering; it is the reverse of resistance by arms.
Passive resistance is an all-sided sword; it can be used anyhow; it blesses him who uses it and him against whom it is used.
Passive resistance is a misnomer for nonviolent resistance.
Passive resistance, unlike nonviolence, has no power to change men' s hearts.
The sword of passive resistance does not require a scabbard.
Jesus Christ, Daniel, and Socrates represented the purest form of passive resistance or soul force.
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PATRIOTISM
My patriotism is not an exclusive thing. It is all-embracing, and I should reject that patriotism which sought to mount the distress or exploitation of other nationalities.
By patriotism I mean the welfare of the whole people; if I secure it at the hands of my opponent, I should bow down my head to him.
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SATYAGRAHA/SATYAGRAHI
Satyagraha is a process of educating public opinion, such that it covers all the elements of the society and makes itself irresistible.
Satyagraha is a relentless search for truth and a determination to search truth.
Satyagraha is an attribute of the spirit within.
Satyagraha has been designed as an effective substitute for violence.
The fight of Satyagraha is for the strong in spirit, not the doubter or the timid. Satyagraha teaches us the art of living as well as dying.
Satyagraha, of which civil-resistance is but a part, is to me the universal law of life.
Satyagraha is a law of universal application. Beginning with the family, its use can be extended to every other circle.
Satyagraha can rid society of all evils, political, economic, and moral.
Satyagraha and civil disobedience and fasts have nothing in common with the use of force, veiled or open.
A genuine Satyagraha should never excite contempt in the opponent even when it fails to command regard or respect.
Satyagraha thrives on repression till at last the repressor is tired and the object of Satyagraha is gained.
Satyagraha does not depend on the outside [for] help; it derives all its strength from within.
The method of Satyagraha requires that the Satyagrahi should never lose hope, so long as there is the slightest ground left for it.
In the dictionary of Satyagraha, there is no enemy.
Since Satyagraha is a method of conversion and conviction, it seeks never to use the slightest coercion.
For a Satyagraha brigade, only those are eligible who believe in ahimsa--nonviolence and satya--truth.
Satyagraha is a force that has come to stay. No force in the world can kill it.
Satyagraha does not begin and end with civil disobedience.
A clear victory of Satyagraha is impossible so long as there is ill-will.
Whatever may be true of other modes of warfare, in Satyagraha it has been held that the causes for failure are to be sought within.
What I call the law of Satyagraha is to be deduced from an appreciation of duties and rights flowing therefrom.
A Satyagrahi turns the searchlight inward relentlessly to weed out all the defects that may be lying hidden there still.
A Satyagrahi has infinite patience, abundant faith in others, and ample hope.
A Satyagrahi has no other stay but God, and he who has any other stay or depends on any other help cannot offer Satyagraha.
A Satyagrahi cannot go to law for a personal wrong.
A Satyagrahi loves his so called enemy even as he loves his friend. He owns no enemy.
A Satyagrahi exhausts all other means before he resorts to Satyagraha.
In the code of the Satyagrahi, there is no such thing as surrender to brute force.
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STRONG / STRENGTH
Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
A person who has realized the principle of nonviolence has the God-given strength for his weapon, and the world has not yet known anything that can match it.
A definite forgiveness would mean a definite recognition of our strength.
The greater our innocence, the greater our strength and the swifter our victory.
The dignity of man requires obedience to a higher law, to the strength of the spirit.
If your heart acquires strength, you will be able to remove blemishes from others without thinking evil of them.
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SUFFERING
Sorrow and suffering make for character if they are voluntarily borne, but not if they are imposed.
True suffering does not know itself and never calculates.
The only way love punishes is by suffering.
The hardest heart and the grossest ignorance must disappear before the rising sun of suffering, without anger and without malice.
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TRUTH
Truth is what the voice within tells you.
Truth is the right designation of God.
Truth and nonviolence will never be destroyed.
Truth is like a vast tree which yields more and more fruit the more you nurture it.
Truth alone will endure; all the rest will be swept away before the tide of time.
Truth and untruth often con-exist; good and evil often are found together.
Truth is self-evident; nonviolence is its maturest fruit, it is contained in Truth, but is not self-evident.
Every truth is self-acting and possesses inherent strength.
Truth, which is permanent, eludes the historian of events. Truth transcends history.
Truth and nonviolence demand that no human being may debar himself from serving any other human being, no matter how sinful he may be.
Truth is the first to be sought for, and Beauty and Goodness will then be added unto you.
An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.
Truth without humility would be an arrogant caricature.
The quest of truth involves self-suffering, sometimes even unto death.
Use truth as your anvil, nonviolence as your hammer and anything that does not stand the test when it is brought to the anvil of truth and hammered with nonviolence, reject it.
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UNTOUCHABILITY
God never made man that he may consider another man as an untouchable.
I would far rather that Hinduism died than untouchability lived.
My fight against untouchability is a fight against the impure in humanity.
To say that a single human being, because of his birth, becomes an untouchable, unapproachable, or invisible, is to deny God.
Anger, lust, and such other evil passions raging in the heart are the real untouchables.
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WOMEN
Woman is more fitted than man to make exploration and take bolder action in nonviolence.
There is no occasion for women to consider themselves subordinate or inferior to men.
Woman is the companion of man, gifted with equal mental capacity.
If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man's superior.
If nonviolence is the law of our being, the future is with women.
Woman, I hold, is the personification of self-sacrifice, but unfortunately today she does not realize what tremendous advantage she has over man.
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The Meaning of God Poem
There is an indefinable mysterious Power that pervades everything.
I feel It, though I do not see It.
It is this unseen Power which makes Itself felt and yet defies all proof,
because It is so unlike all that I perceive through my senses.
It transcends the senses....
That informing Power or Spirit is God....
For I can see that in the midst of death life persists,
in the midst of untruth, truth persists,
in the midst of darkness light persists.
Hence I gather that God is Life, Truth, Light. He is love.
He is supreme good.
But he is no God who merely satisfies the intellect if He ever does.
God to be God must rule the heart and transform it.
M. K. Gandhi
(Young India, October 11, 1928)
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A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF A MAHATMA GANDHI
1869, October 2 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi born
1883 Marries Kasturbai
1888, Sept. 4 Sails to England to study law
1891, September Called to the Bar, returns to India
1892 Practices law at Rajkot and Bombay
1893, April Leaves for South Africa for the first time; acts as a legal consultant
1893, May-June Experiences racial discrimination and decides to fight against racial prejudices in South Africa
1896 Returns to India to organize support for Indians in South Africa
1896, Nov. 30 Returns to South Africa with wife and children
1897 Petitions, writes letters, calls upon British authorities to end discriminatory laws
1899 Forms Indian Ambulance Corps during the Boer War
1901, October Returns to India
1902 Practice law, seeks Indian support of South African Indians
1902, November Recalled to South Africa to fight against anti-Asiatic legislation in Transvaa
1903 Enrolled as Attorney of Supreme Court of Transvaal
1905 Opposes Bengal Partition, appeals to British colonial officials to treat India as an @quot;integral part of the Empire"
1906 Announces for Indian Home rule; declares disinterestedness in worldly goods; takes vow of celibacy for life
1906, September Organized Indian opposition to Transvaal Asiatic Laws; addresses a mass meeting of Indians at Johannesburg which takes an oath of passive resistance
1907, January Writes ETHICAL RELIGION
1907, March New protest meetings held by Indians against the Asiatic Registration Act passed in Transvaal
1907 Petitions, addresses mass meetings, leads Smuts in Pretoria in opposition to the Registration Act
1908, January Gandhi adopts the word "Satyagraha" in place of "Passive Resistance" to describe his nonviolence
1908 Sentenced to two months imprisonment for failure to leave Transvaal
1908 Gandhi agrees to voluntary registration if the Registration Act is repealed, is physically attacked by those who believe he had betrayed the Indian cause
1909 Continues Satyagraha campaign against the Registration Act in Transvaal; visits England; seeks to influence British opinion
1909, November Writes Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule
1913 Indian marriages in South Africa are invalidated by the Supreme Judgment. Gandhi defers plans to returns to India
1913, May Gandhi promises Satyagraha campaign if South African Government does not repeal marriage law
1913, September Campaign begins; Gandhi's wife arrested
1913, October Gandhi urges a strike by miners, leads a march into the Transvaal
1914, January Suspends Satyagraha campaign following agreement with Smuts
1915, January, 9 Arrives in Bombay, India
1915, May 25 Founds Satyagraha Ashram in Ahmedabad in Western India
1917 Fights successfully against indentured Indian emigration
1918, January Takes up cause of textile laborers in Ahmedabad; initiates Satyagraha in Bombay district
1919, April Begins all-India Satyagraha movement
1919, April 11 Arrested in Delhi, escorted back to Bombay, violence occurs in several towns
1919, April 13 Troops fire on an unarmed crowd killing over 400 people, at peaceful celebration of spring festival in Amritsar, Punjab. Gandhi declares a three-day penitential fast and suspends Satyagraha
1919, October Assumes editorship of Young India
1919, November Presides over all-India Khilafat Conference at Delhi
1920, February Gives notice to Viceroy of intention to launch Satyagraha campaign in Bardoli (Gujarat)
1922, March 10 Arrested for sedition
1922, March 18 Sentenced to six years imprisonment
1924, February 5 Released from prison
1924, September Fasts 21 days for Hindu-Muslim Unity
1925, November Begins writing final version of autobiography
1928, December Gandhi moves in favor of Independence if Dominion status is not granted by the end of 1929
1929, December Lahore Congress declares for complete independence at Gandhi's insistence
1930, February Launches civil disobedience movement
1930, April 6 Intentionally breaks salt laws
1930, May Gandhi arrested and imprisoned; civil disobedience follows all over India
1931, March Gandhi and Irwin, viceroy of India, reach agreement
1931, August Sails for England to attend Second Round Table discussion
1932, January Arrested 6 days after his return from England
1932, Sept. 20 Begins a fast unto death in jail to secure abolition of separate electorate for Harijans
1932, Sept. 26 Breaks fast as the demand is accepted
1933, Feb. 11 Founds the weekly paper Harijan
1933, May 8 Begins 21 day fast for self-purification and suspends Satyagraha campaign
1933, July Informs government of Bombay of his decision to revive the Civil Disobedience movement; arrest follows
1933, August Goes on fast on being denied facilities to carry on anti-untouchability propaganda
1933, November Commences Harijan-uplift tour
1934, September Announces his retirement from politics to engage in developing village industries, Harijan service and education through basic crafts
1934, October Inaugurates All-India Village Industries Association
1937, October Presides over educational Conference calling for education through craft labor
1939, March Commences "fast unto death" to secure adherence to promises of Government reform
1940, October Sanctions individual civil disobedience in wartime; suspends Harijan and allied weeklies
1941, December Asks to be relieved of leadership in Congress by Working Committee
1942, May Appeals to British Government to quit India
1942, August 9 Arrested in Bombay before day-break to stop him from announcing the beginning of Quit India movement; imprisoned in Aga Khan Palace
1915, August 15 Kasturbai makes the announcement in place of Gandhi, arrested and taken to prison
1943, February Fasts for 21 days
1944, February Kasturbai Gandhi dies in prison
1944, September Gandhi-Jinnah talks regarding Pakistan
1945, April Gandhi argues for equality and freedom for India as condition of peace. He also asks for a just peace for Germany and Japan
1946, January Tours Southern India arguing against untouchability and Hindustani propaganda
1946, February Harijan and allied papers revived
1946, June Congress Working Committee decided to accept Interim Government scheme
1946, August Viceroy of India announces invitation to Congress to form Provisional Government
1946, August Gandhi opposes partition of India
1946, September Great Calcutta Killing
1946, October Noakhalli Massacre
1947, January Mountbatten, new Viceroy, arrives in Delhi
1947, April Gandhi and Jinnah issue joint appeal for peace
1947, May Congress Working Committee accepts partition in principle over Gandhi's opposition
1947, June Indian leaders accept Mountbatten partition plan;
Gandhi opposes it
1947, July Independence of India Bill passed
1947, August 14 Gandhi hails August 15 as a day for rejoicing for the independence of India but deplores the division of the country
1948, January 12 Gandhi begins fast for communal peace in Delhi
1948, January 18 Ends fast after communal harmony is assured
1948, January 30 Gandhi assassinated on way to evening prayers
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