Arun Gandhi, the 65-year old grandson of the'great-soul' Mahatma Gandhi, spends his time lecturing around theworld, in his efforts to continue to bring the message of MahatmaGandhi to people around the world.
This week, he is visiting the Buffalo area, on aninitiative of the Clarence school teachers led by Claudia Stachowski,who was instrumental in bringing him to our town. On Friday evening,he gave an inspiring talk to the full auditorium of the ClarenceSenior High School. He is a soft-spoken, thoughtful, and spirituallycentered man, who spreads around him an aura of calmness andpeacefulness.
Although Mahatma Gandhi is known world-wide forhis teaching of ahimsa, non-violence, or much better translated as'non-hurting', we know that his main spiritual practice was actuallythat of satyam--'truthfulness'. From that practice, one's practice ofnon-hurting follows naturally.
The practice of truthfulness takes place on threelevels: in our thoughts, in our words, and in our actions. First,one's thoughts must be purified, and truthful. This is accomplishedby meditation and practice of one's mantra. Then, one should takecare to speak only what is truthful and helpful to others. As thepractice continues, one's truthful thoughts and truthful wordsnaturally turn into truthful actions. There is no otherway.
The power of the practice of truthfulness is suchthat it may seem unbelievable to the rest of us: one who haspracticed it faithfully, his or her words will come true. Such is thepower of the practice of truthfulness. That was the power which wasthe basis of Mahatma Gandhi's spiritual strength.
The practice of truthfulness has two things whichwe should keep in mind: first, it is a "practice." One has topractice it constantly; it is a continuing effort which one strivesto practice every day. The second thing, the meaning of the word"truth" does not have only the limited meaning we normally associatewith it--not saying straight-out lies. In the Indian philosophy ofyoga, truth also means the concept that the "Self"--the soul--is One,all-pervading, ever lasting, ever pure, ever free. The 'Self' in meis the same one as the 'Self' in you. Knowing this, that all beingsare essentially one, that everything is interconnected, it thenbecomes easier for us to see where the practice of truthfulness andnon-hurting comes from.
One who has practiced truthfulness for some timewill see the effects of this practice. He or she will not fail tonotice how it flowed naturally into the 'practice of non-hurting' anyother sentient beings (not just people). And this 'non-hurting' againis operative on the three levels of thought, speech, and actions. Itis quite amazing.
When one of the young Clarence teachers in theaudience asked Arun Gandhi about the corrupting effect of violentmovies, TV shows and obscene and violent music on the young people inAmerica, with the thought that they should avoid these things, shecompletely missed the boat: she put the cart before the horse. Thepractice of non-hurting begins elsewhere, on a different level. Thenone's inclinations and interests will be different, and one will notbe inclined or interested in watching the violent shows, in listeningto violent and degrading music, in lying, cheating, robbing andkilling.
The late Swami Rama of the Himalayas, a greatyogi, philospher, humanitarian, writer and scientist has spent muchof his life in serving humanity by acting as a "bridge" between theancient wisdom of India and the modern technological achievements ofthe West. He was born and raised in the Himalayas, and in his youth,his master sent him to meet other great saints, yogis, and sages allacross of India. In the late 1930's and early 1940's, Swami Ramastayed with Mahatma Gandhi in the Vardha Ashram.
In his remarkable book, Living with the HimalayanMasters, Swami Rama describes his personal experience as follows:"While I was in the ashram, I observed Mahatma Gandhi serving aleper. The leper was a learned Sanskrit scholar who was frustratedand angry, but Mahatma Gandhi personally looked after him with greatcare and love. That was an example to all of us. The way in which heserved the sick left a lasting impression on me.
My master told me to observe Mahatma Gandhiparticularly when he walked, and when I did so I found that his walkwas quite different from the walk of other sages. He walked as thoughhe were separate from the body. He seemed to be pulling his body asthe horse pulls the cart. He was a man who constantly prayed forothers; who had no hatred for any religion, caste, creed, sex orcolor. He had three teachers: Christ, Krishna, and Buddha.
A pioneer in the realm of ahimsa (non-hurting)consciousness, Gandhi always experimented in expanding man's capacityto love. Such a man finds joy in all the storms and trials of life.Gandhi never protected himself, but rather always protected his oneprinciple of ahimsa or love. The flame of love burned in him day andnight like a fire which nothing could quench. Complete relf-relianceand fearlessness were the foundation stones of Gandhi's philosophy.Violence touched the very depths of his being, but valiant in spiritof ahimsa, he walked on alone. There was not a word of protest, andthere was not a flicker of hostility in his life.
While staying with Gandhi, I noted theseprinciples in my diary:
1) Non-violence and cowardice cannot go togetherbecause non-violence is a perfect expression of love that casts outfear. To be brave because one is armed implies an element of fear.The power of ahimsa is an extremely vital and active force, whichdoes not come from physical strength.
2) A true follower of ahimsa does not believe indisappointment. He dwells above in perennial happiness and peace.That peace and joy do not come to him who is proud of his intellector learning. They come to him who is full of faith and has anundivided and single-pointed mind.
3) The intellect can produce many wonders butnon-violence is a matter of the heart. It does not come throughintellectual exercises.
4) Hatred is not overcome by hatred, but rather bylove. This is an unalterable law.
5) Devotion is not mere worship with the lips. Itis self-surrender with mind, action and speech.
6) Gandhi did not believe in the barriers createdby religions, cultures, superstitions and mistrust. He taught andlived the brotherhood of all religions.
7) Gandhi believed in the art of living withoutconcern for the fruits of one's actions. He practiced not worryingabout success or failure, but paid attention to the work at handwithout feeling the slightest anxiety or fatigue.
8) In order to enjoy life, one should not beselfishly attached to anything. Non-attachment means to have a puremotive and a correct means without any worry or desired result. Hewho gives up actions falls, but he who gives up the reward rises andis liberated.
9) Yoga is the complete re-integration of all thestates of mind, intellect, senses, emotions, instincts and everylevel of personality. It is a process of becoming whole.
10) One's mantra becomes one's staff of life andcarries one through every ordeal. Each repetition has a new meaningand carries one nearer and nearer to God. It is capable oftransforming that which is negative in the personality into thatwhich is positive, and it can gradually integrate divided andopposing thoughts at deeper and deeper levels ofconsciousness."
That is the essence of the message of MahatmaGandhi, and this is the message which his grandson tries to keepalive.
Arun Gandhi was born in South Africa in 1934. As amember of the Indian minority, he got to experience racialdiscrimination from both sides. As a ten year old boy, he got beat upby the whites for being 'too black', and a couple of months later hewas beaten by the blacks for being 'too white'. Frustrated by anger,he took to bodybuilding to become strong physically, so that he couldbeat up all of his enemies…
That was why his parents decided to take him backto India in 1946, to live for 18 months with his grandfather, MahatmaGandhi. He made special efforts to devote time to his young grandsonArun, and the first lessons he gave the boy was how to deal withanger. Arun recalls: "When I told grandfather about the beatings, helistened intently, as he put his arms around me in a gesture of loveand comfort. 'I can understand your anger,' he said. 'But do you knowthey acted out of ignorance? They do not know what they aredoing… do you know that anger is like electricity?… it canbe powerful as powerful and destructive as electricity… anger isthe same… if you don't harness your anger, then it will alsodestroy and kill'… he encouraged me to keep a diary… whenexperiencing anger, I should write down my feelings, and then read itlater and decide how I should have responded to the situation…that way I would learn how to use the anger positively rather thannegatively."
At the age of 23, Arun returned to India, where heworked as a reporter for the Times of India. At that time he foundedthe Center for Social Unity, whose mission was to alleviate povertyand caste discrimination in India by providing members of the"untouchable" class with self-help models of business. Through theorganization of cooperatives, residents of urban and ruralcommunities were able to establish dairies and textile mills. Thecenter's work has spread to over 300 villages and helped to improvethe lives of over 500,000 people.
In 1987 Arun arrived in the United States tosearch for nonviolent ways to improve human relations. Four yearslater, in 1991 he and his wife Sunanda founded the Gandhi Institutefor Nonviolence to help reduce the violence that consumes our hearts,our homes and our societies. The Institute, which is located inMemphis, Tennessee (The Gandhi Institute, 650 East Parkway South,Memphis, TN 38104) continues to build upon Mahatma Gandhi's teachingsthrough many programs, seminars, talks, events in the United Statesand in other countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, SouthAmerica.
After his talk, Arun Gandhi and his wife Sunandastayed around, talking to people and autographing several of theirpublications about the life and work of Mahatma Gandhi. One was asmall booklet of quotes, "Gandhi's Wit and Wisdom", edited by ArunGandhi. The other was the new book "The Forgotten Woman", writtenjointly by Arun and his wife Sunanda, about the previously untoldstory of Kastur, the devoted wife of Mahatma Gandhi.
March 12, 1999
Copyright 1999 Museum of European Art
May we recommend you some books?
Mantraand Meditation, by Usharbudh Arya (now Swami Veda Bharati)
Scienceof Breath, by Swami Rama
God,by Usharbudh Arya (now Swami Veda Bharati)
Lightof Ten Thousand Suns, by Swami Veda Bharati
Livingwith the Himalayan Masters, by Swami Rama