Gandhiji
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma (Great Soul) Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948) stands as one of history’s greatest heroes of “engaged spirituality,” a spirituality that is active within the world to help heal injustice, hatred, pettiness, fear and violence with justice, loving-kindness, equanimity, courage and nonviolence.
In India, he is reverently and lovingly named “Bapu” (Father) and is officially honored as “Father of the Nation,” with his birthday on October 2nd commemorated each year as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday.
Mohandas K. Gandhi was born Oct. 2, 1869 in Porbandar, India, on the west coast of Gujarat, to a rather wealthy family of the vaishya merchant-caste and Vaishnava religious affiliation (worshipping Lord Vishnu).
Gandhi envisioned satyagraha as not only a method for struggling against unjust politics and policies, but as a universal solvent for injustice and harmfulness. He saw it applying equally to large-scale political situations and to one-on-one interpersonal conflicts. Satyagraha, Gandhi insisted, could and should be taught to everyone.
He founded the Sabarmati Ashram and later Sevagram to teach satyagraha. He urged satyagrahis to follow certain principles and rules.
Principles
1. Nonviolence (ahimsa)
2. Truth — this includes honesty, but goes beyond it to mean living fully in accord with and in devotion to that which is true
3. Non-stealing
4. Chastity (brahmacharya) — this includes sexual chastity, but also the subordination of other sensual desires to the primary devotion to truth
5. Non-possession (poverty)
6. Body-labor or bread-labor
7. Control of the palate
8. Fearlessness
9. Equal respect for all religions
10. Swadeshi (commitment to self-reliance and "home rule")
11. Freedom from untouchability (or any kind of casteism or classism)
-Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma (Great Soul) Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948) stands as one of history’s greatest heroes of “engaged spirituality,” a spirituality that is active within the world to help heal injustice, hatred, pettiness, fear and violence with justice, loving-kindness, equanimity, courage and nonviolence.
In India, he is reverently and lovingly named “Bapu” (Father) and is officially honored as “Father of the Nation,” with his birthday on October 2nd commemorated each year as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday.
Mohandas K. Gandhi was born Oct. 2, 1869 in Porbandar, India, on the west coast of Gujarat, to a rather wealthy family of the vaishya merchant-caste and Vaishnava religious affiliation (worshipping Lord Vishnu).
Gandhi envisioned satyagraha as not only a method for struggling against unjust politics and policies, but as a universal solvent for injustice and harmfulness. He saw it applying equally to large-scale political situations and to one-on-one interpersonal conflicts. Satyagraha, Gandhi insisted, could and should be taught to everyone.
He founded the Sabarmati Ashram and later Sevagram to teach satyagraha. He urged satyagrahis to follow certain principles and rules.
Principles
1. Nonviolence (ahimsa)
2. Truth — this includes honesty, but goes beyond it to mean living fully in accord with and in devotion to that which is true
3. Non-stealing
4. Chastity (brahmacharya) — this includes sexual chastity, but also the subordination of other sensual desires to the primary devotion to truth
5. Non-possession (poverty)
6. Body-labor or bread-labor
7. Control of the palate
8. Fearlessness
9. Equal respect for all religions
10. Swadeshi (commitment to self-reliance and "home rule")
11. Freedom from untouchability (or any kind of casteism or classism)