Peace! Some Gandhian thought

Peace! Some Gandhian thought

In the book "In the Footsteps of Gandhi," an interview with Catherine Ingram featured the Dalai Lama's profound reflections from about 40 years ago. The Dalai Lama, who leads an uprooted community from their homeland, emphasized the historical significance of the 20th century for the planet. He spoke of "a pivotal competition between world peace and war, the forces of the mind versus materialism, and democracy against totalitarianism. While materialism exerted substantial influence, a growing dissatisfaction and sense that something crucial was missing became apparent."

The Dalai Lama's perspective on peace, mind, and democracy as antidotes to contemporary challenges remains enigmatic and profound. He believed peace is at the core of human existence, akin to enlightenment. He reinforced this idea in the interview, asserting that every individual, community, and system inherently possesses a state of peace. When peace is violated, systems strive to reinvent it, sometimes resorting to even violence. These words now resonate prophetically as we grapple with global issues like climate change, environmental disasters stemming from our material culture, and rising racists and fundamentalists in democracies.

Drawing parallels to Gandhi, who embraced self-inflicted suffering in pursuit of a"virtuous freedom," the Dalai Lama distinguished between "no violence" and "nonviolence." Nonviolence, he contended, involves retaining or rediscovering peace through reconciliation rather than retribution. He noted that reconciliation can be at times more brutal than acts of violence, exemplified by the harsh consequences of climate change-induced reconciliation by nature.

Gandhi's enduring value lies in his political pragmatism, recognizing peace as the solution to all societal ills. His life epitomized a relentless pursuit of peace – with individuals, systems, practices, caste systems, faith, human dignity, freedom, and conscience. Nonviolence, spirituality, community service, and politics were all tools or paths toward this overarching goal.

In the same book, Mubarak Awad, while admiring Gandhi, acknowledged his divergence from Gandhi's political approach. Gandhi's insistence on adhering to the rule of law and disciplined order within a structural framework, exemplified in the Quit India movement differed from Awad's struggle against the oppressive Israeli regime. Awad argued that the Gandhian method thrived only within a structure upholding the authority of the law, as in the British government. In contrast, he believed that his movement required disobedience to the law.

However, when we look at the prolonged Palestinian conflict, with no concrete resolution even four decades after the interview, doubts arise about the wisdom of Awad's approach compared to Gandhi's success in leading India to freedom and peace in under 30 years through nonviolent resistance.

Despite Gandhi's faults and failures on many front, he held a pivotal role in championing the values of peace and reconciliation in his faith - his ideal Hinduism, which some proponents of Hinduism failed to grasp. As Dalai Lama highlights, Gandhi's emphasis on sacrifice (read as tolerance for reconciliation) was vital for humanity's survival. Those who advocated retribution failed to comprehend this and shot him dead.

Today, as the world seeks solutions for peace with nature amidst impending climate change dangers and political conflicts arising from materialist gread, it is clear whose arguments hold value and whose vision of Hinduism and faith remains essential. Gandhi's political influence endures despite his assassination and attempts to bury his legacy. Also, the relevance of reconciliation as the essence of peace and not retribution.