Mohandas Gandhi

Mohandas Gandhi







Born into a merchant family in 1869, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was



under the influence of powerful people. Members of his family had served as



prime ministers of an Indian state for several generations. His parents



were strong in their religion, being devout and earnest Hindus. They were a



part of a Hindu sect that worshipped Vishnu and promoted non-violence.







Apparently, he was most influenced by his mother, a gentle and



intelligent person. According to Hindu custom, he married at an early age



and grew to love his wife greatly. Together, they had four children and



adopted a fourth.







Later, in 1888, he travelled to England to become a barrister-at-law.



There were several important influences that he encountered here: the



Western material style of life, which he decided not to follow, and in the



simple Russian way of living he found: the New Testament, and the



Bhagavadgita, the bible of the Hare Krishna movement. It was here that he



developed a sense of the presence of God in his life and the lives of men.







Gandhi then returned to India and studied law in Bombay, but he



quickly denounced it, feeling that it was immoral and could not satisfy



one's conscience. Despite this, he used his schooling to help plead for



Indian settlers in South Africa that were being oppressed by the white



population. His personal experiences, including being ejected from a train



in Maritzburg, of not being allowed the same rights as others lead him to



begin a movement to help his people.







While in South Africa, Gandhi made himself poor so that he could



identify with his the peasants. He then proceeded to start a colony that



consisted of abused labourers. The colony became very large and many cities



were crippled by the lack of labourers. The government reacted to this by



jailing Gandhi several times along with many other of his followers. The



war he fought was one without weapons, already Gandhi was on his way to



starting his career of non-violent campaigns.







The main idea behind Gandhi's teachings was non-violence. The words of



the Sanskrit language: ahinsa and sayagraha clearly express Gandhi's



beliefs. The former means non-killing, non-destructive and the latter means



the force of universal truth. He believed that the killing of man or beast



is an unforgivable sin. Many who promoted these teachings of Gandhi simply



believed that it was their only option for resisting imperialism rather



than having a moral conviction towards his teachings. He taught that the



weapon that could be used was the conscience of the aggressor. This ahimsa



is, to some degree, in the tradition of Hinduism.







Hinduism teaches to stay away from temptation through various



exercises that test one's ability to perform a difficult task, this



devitalizes a person and causes him to act on a non-violent level.







In addition, he taught that one should act rather be held under



subservience. Gandhi himself once stated, "Mere knowledge of right and



wrong will not make one fit for salvation...the Gita says: 'No one has



attained his goal without action...' From this quotation, we learn that his



teachings are influenced by the Bhagavadgita and that he believes that one



must act to reach a goal. But, he believed that one should denounce the



rewards and simply devote one's life to acting on the behalf of others and



that life should be lived near the soil, away from the influence of



machines.







Also, Gandhi strongly believed in upholding the caste system,



believing that a person of one caste should stay a part of that caste. He



also upheld the old Hindu tradition of segregation of castes, indicating



that, "Interdining and intermarraige have never been a bar to disunion,



quarrels or worse." According to Hinduism, the caste system lies in respect



for one another's individuality.







Gandhi is well known for his efforts in fighting imperliasm in India



and South Africa. His methods were, unique in that they did not involve the



use of weapons.







During the South African War of 1899-1902 and during the Zulu



rebellion in 1906, Gandhi organised an ambulance corps consisting of



Indians to help the British fight. He believed that duty dictated that the



Indian population had a responsibity to help the British when they were in



a time of need. Perhaps he was trying to show them that the Indians put an



effort into helping the British forces just like everyone else and deserved



the same rights as everyone else.







It is interesting to note that Gandhi did not promote fighting, but he



helped those who were in need of assistance.







After the law was passed that all Indians were required to carry an



identity card with them at all times, Gandhi organised a group that



resisted the government. In 1914, Gandhi and his followers recieved their



first victory, the South African Government took away many of the laws that



had no real purpose except to humiliate the Indian people.







When Gandhi returned to India in 1914, the Indian population had heard



of his accomplishments and he was given the name Mahatma, which means 'a



man of great soul'. For the next little while, he examined the situation



here and, while doing so, attained a few victories in his fight against



oppression. Several times in 1917, he unhardened the spirits of peasants



and motivated them to rebel without the use of violence.







In 1919, Gandhi called upon all Indians to engage in non-violent



disobedience against the British Government by withdrawing from Government



jobs and from schools and colleges. The magnitude of this act showed when



many cities were held at a standstill as the governmental system was unable



to act. Such was the power of non-violent protest.







When, in 1920, Gandhi became the leader of the Congress, more Indians



gave up their governmental jobs to join the movement. After many of his



follower's were put into prison and cruelly dealt with, some people engaged



in violence. Gandhi's distaste for this reaction showed, yet he blamed



himself calling it a 'Himalayan miscalculation' to have failed to teach the



people how to react non-violently before asking them to protest. As a



result of his 'mistake', he called off the entire movement, thinking it had



been a failure. On the contrary, the movement had been a great success, no



longer did the Indians fear the British jails or the British guns. It was



evident now, that the British Government in India was inevitably going to



fall.







After many failures to reach an agreement with the British Government



and after a short 'Individual Civil Disobedience' movement where many were



imprisoned, the British finally gave the power to the Indians in 1946. But,



the question remained as to whether or not the area should be separated



into two on a communal basis. As a result, many riots broke out between the



different interests of the people.







Gandhi himself was opposed to separation and to the violence that had



broken out. He went from village to village trying to get the people to



understand the benefits of unity, but it wasn't working. He was forced to



agree with his comrades in the Congress who promoted partition into two



areas: India and Pakistan, which came about in 1947.







In 1948, Gandhi was fatally shot by a Hindu fanatic. All over the



globe, there was a certain sadness as many realized that the man whom they



had looked up to and followed was now dead. As Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the



Prime Minister of India, put it, "The light has gone out of our lives and



there is darkness everywhere and I do not quite know what to tell you and



how to say it. Our beloved leader, Bapu, as we call him the father of our



nation, is no more.







Gandhi's influence certainly spreads the globe. He has been the role



model for many famous, influential people. One of these persons is Martin



Luther King, Jr (1929-1968) who was famous for leading a non-violent



movement for racial equality in the U.S.A.. Another person is Joan Baez



(1941- ) who became famous as a folk-singer, a composer, and a guitarist.



She lead many antiwar and civil rights movements in the U.S.. A third



person could be Nehru, the first Indian Prime Minister of India. He was



deeply saddened by Gandhi's death and could not have become Prime Minister



without Gandhi's efforts.







Indeed, Gandhi was a influential man who helped father the nation of



India as we know it today. Without him, the Indians might still be held



under British rule. Without him, many might not have been inspired to fight



racism or imperialism non-violently.