Ibrahim Husain

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” “Whenever you are confronted with an opponent. Conquer him with love.” “Whenever you have truth it must be given with love, or the message and the messenger will be rejected.” With ideas like these, it’s no wonder Mahatma Gandhi was one of histories greatest men.

“Mahatma” means “Great Soul,” and Mohandas Gandhi was certainly a man of great soul. At a young age the boy was small and shy, and  showed absolutely no indication of being a leader.  But in his mid teens Mohandas had a profound experience which would change his life.  He and his father attended a play, “Harischandra,” which was about an ancient king who sacrifices everything he has to seek truth.  This had a grand affect on the boy.  He was troubled for months over the drama.  He finally asked himself why all men did not seek truth as their ultimate goal.  As he seeked truth he found that it is not within the confines of any religion, but through peace among mankind.

Gandhi wasn’t without a rebelious adolescence though.  In his younger years he ate meat with his Muslim friend, smoked cigarretes, and occasionally even stole.  But after a painful confession to his dying father, he finally felt absolved.  The calm tears of the dying man radiated love, forgiveness, and a new respect for the truthfulness of his son.

Formal education was did not keep Gandhi in good spirits.  It wasn’t until he was asked by the Vegetarian Society of England to help edit a translated Bhagavad Gita that his spirit was reawakened through the epic stories and wisdom of his Hindu heritage.  The Christian Bible was another book of his studies.  Both Hindu and Christian studies has a profound influence on his life.

Gandhi is probably most well known for his hunger strike and other protests and social movements.  His protests started as an effort to test the effectiveness of his strategies for nonviolent protest. He initiated civil disobedience campaigns, organized numerous strikes and mass meetings, composed petitions and spoke out for human rights. He stood up for what he thought was right, and was arrested many times in the process, though later he would become decorated by the British for his efforts during both the Boer War and the Zulu Rebellion.

After 21 years of crusading for human rights in South Africa, Gandhi returned to India where he became the leader of the Indian Nationalist Movement, which advocated Home Rule, or Swaraj (British government had enacted bills to outlaw opposition movements). Later satyagraha protests nullified the impact of these laws.

“I had to disobey the British because I was acting in obedience with a higher law, with the voice of my conscious.”

In 1919 almost four hundred Indians were massacred when British troops were ordered to fire on unarmed protesters.  This only made Gandhi more determined to gain independence by cultivating satyagraha.

In 1930 as a protest against the new “Salt Acts,” stipulating that all salt must be purchased by the government, Gandhi led 200 followers on a march to the sea, where they made salt from the sea water.  Pictures of the loin-clothed Indian wading into the water to extract the first crystal of salt raised the awareness of people all over the world.

Over the next few years Gandhi’s civil disobedience continued, along with a crusade for dismantling the caste system (discrimination, based, in this case, on religion).  Gandhi’s fasts now were not directed towards the British, but at his own people, Brahman and outcast alike.

Although Gandhi spent 7 years in prison for his beliefs, he felt honored to be imprisoned for his cause.  He had, for years, tried to unite Muslims and Hindu, and despite dissimilar beliefs and customs, he believed that they could live in peace as one nation.  When Britain granted India its freedom in 1947, Gandhi was heartbroken as the country was partitioned into 2 separate nations, a Muslim Pakistan, and a Hindu India.  He spend Independence Day alone in prayer.  He knew that even he could not stop the fighting that would soon break out between the Muslim and Hindu.

At age 78 Gandhi entered into his last fast in hopes of ending the bloodshed.  5 days later the factious leaders did pledge to cease fighting, but 10 days later he was gunned down by a high ranking Indian Brahman who feared his tolerant teachings.  All of India mourned without further violence until his body was burned to ashes in its funeral pyre beside the holy river.

Mahatma Gandhi’s life was lead by a search to find truth and peace.  Though small and humble in shape and size, Gandhi was a man of limitless physical energy, moral wisdom, courage and conviction.   He lived his life as a lesson to all of mankind for peace, humility, and the pursuit of truth.