World Peace Mahatma Gandhi's 11 Vows

Ahimsa (Nonviolence)

• Ahimsa is not merely a negative state of harmlessness, but it is positive state of love, of doing good even to the evil-doer - Young India, August 25, 1920. • Ahimsa is a weapon of matchless potency. It is the summum bonum of life. It is an attribute of the brave, in fact, it is their all. It does not come within the reach of coward. It is no wooden or lifeless dogma, but a living and life giving force. - Young India, Sept 6, 1926. • Ahimsa is not the way of the timid or cowardly. It is the way of the brave ready to face death. He who perishes sword in hand is no doubt brave; but he who faces death without raising his little finger and without flinching, is braver. - Young India, Oct. 11, 1928 Satya (Truth)

• Truth has no form. Therefore everyone one will form such an idea or image of Truth as appeals to him, and there will be as many images of Truth as there are men. These will be true as long as they last. For they enable a man to obtain everything he wants. - Diary of Mahadevbhai, p. 120. • Truth should be Truth in thought, Truth in speech, and Truth in action. To the man who has realised this Truth in its fulness , nothing else remains to be known, because all knowledge is necessarily included in it. What is not included in it, is not truth and so not true knowledge. - From Yeravda Mandir, p. 2. Asteya (Non-stealing)

• Non-stealing does not mean merely not to steal. To keep or take anything which one does not is also stealing. And of course, stealing is fraught with violence.- Bapu-ke-Aashirvad, November 24, 1944. • We are not always aware of our real needs, and most of us improperly multiply our wants and thus, uncon- sciously, make thieves of ourselves. One who follows the observance of Non-stealing will bring about a progres- sive reduction of his own wants. Much of the distressing poverty in this world has risen out of the breaches of the principle of Non-stealing - From Yeravda Mandir, p. 20. Brahmacharya (Self Discipline)

• Brahamchraya means control of all the organs of sense. He who attempts to control only one organ, and allows all the others free play is bound to find his effort futile- Bapu's Letters to Mira. P.257. • To hear suggestive stories with the ears, to see suggestive sights with the eyes, to taste stimulating food with the tongue, to touch exciting things with the hands, and at the same time to expect to control the only remaining or- gan, is like putting one's hands in the fire and expecting to escape being hurt. Bapu's letters to Mira. P.257. Aparigraha (Non-possession)

• Non possession means that we should not hoard anything that we do not need today - Bapu-ke-Aashirvad, Nov. 25, 1944. • The less you possess, the less you want, the better you are. And better for what? Not for your enjoyment of this life but for enjoyment of personal service to your fellow beings; service to which you dedicate yourself, body, soul and mind - Mahatma Vol. 3, p.155. • When you dispossess yourself of everything you have, you really possess all the treasures of the world. In other words, you really get all that is in reality necessary for you, everything. If the food is necessary, food will come to you- My Philosophy of Life, p. 138.

2 Sharirshrama (Bread Labour)

• Earn thy bread by the sweat of the brow- says Bible. Bread labour means that everyone is expected to perform sufficient body-labour in order to entitle him to his living. It is not, therefore, necessary to earn one's living by bread labour, taking living' in its broader sense. But everyone must perform some useful body-labour Young In- dia, Nov. 5, 1925. • The economics of Bread labour are the living way of life. It means that every man has to labour with his body for his food and clothing. If I can convince the people of the value and necessity of bread-labour, there never will be any want of bread and cloth. - Harijan, Sept. 7, 1947. • The idea is that every healthy individual must labour enough for his food and his intellectual faculties must be exercised not in order to obtain a living or amass a fortune, but only in the service of mankind. If this principle is observed everywhere, all men would be equal, none would starve and world would be saved from a sin- Harijan, Aug 3, 1935. Aswada (Control of the Palate)

• Unless we are satisfied with foods that are necessary for the proper maintenance of our physical health and unless we are prepare to rid ourselves of stimulating heating and exciting condiments that we mixed with food. We will certainly not be able to control the over-abundant, unnecessary, and exciting stimulation that we may have. If we do not do that, the result naturally is that we abuse ourselves, and become less than animals and brutes - Speeches & Writings of Mahatma Gandhi. p 384. • The diet should be healthy and well-balanced. The body was never meant to be treated as a refuse-bin. Food is meant to sustain the body. - My Philosophy of Life.p.111 Sarvatra Bhayavarjana (Fearlessness)

• Fearlessness should connote absence of all kinds of fear - fear of death, fear of bodily injury, fear of hunger, fear of insults, fear of public disapprobation, fear of ghosts and evil spirits, fear of anyone's anger. Freedom from all these and other such fears constitutes fearlessness - Bapu - Ke Ashirwad Nov 26, 1944. • Fearlessness does not mean arrogance and aggressiveness. That in itself is a sign of fear. Fearlessness presup- poses calmness and peace of mind. For that it is necessary to have a living faith in God. - Harijan, Nov. 3, 1946. Sarva Dharma Samantva (Equality of the religions)

• Religions have been interwoven. One sees a special quality in every one of them. But no one religion is higher than another. All are complimentary to one another .Since this is my belief, the speciality of any one religion cannot run counter to another, cannot be at variance with universally accepted principles. - Harijanbandhu, March 19, 1933. • For I believe in the fundamental truth of all great religions of the world. I believe that they are all God-given, and I believe that they were necessary for the people to whom these religions were revealed. And I believe that, if only we could all of us read the scriptures of the different faiths from the standpoint of the followers of those faiths we should find that they were at bottom all one and were all helpful to one another- Harijan, Feb. 16, 1934. • Just as men have different names and faces, these religions also are different. But just as men are all human in spite of their different names and forms, just as leaves of a tree though different as leaves are the same as the leaves of the same tree, all religions though different are the same. We must treat all religions as equals. - Hari- janbandhu, July 22, 1934. Swadeshi (Use Locally Made Goods)

• Swadeshi is that sprit in us which requires us to serve our immediate neighbours before others, and to use things produced in our neighbourhood in preference to those more remote. So doing, we cannot serve humanity to the best of our capacity; we cannot serve humanity by neglecting our neighbours - Young India, April 20 1919.

3 • It is sinful to buy and use articles made by sweated labour. It is sinful to eat American wheat &and let my neighbour, the grain dealer starve for want of custom. Similarly, it is sinful for to wear the latest finery of Regent Street when I know that if I had but worn the things woven by the neighbouring spinners and weavers, that would have clothed me, and fed and clothed them - Young India, Oct. 13, 1921. • My definition of Swadeshi is well known. I must not serve my distant neighbour at the expense of the nearest. It is never vindictive or punitive. It is in no sense narrow, for I buy from every part of the world what is needed for my growth. I refuse to buy from anybody anything, however nice or beautiful, if it interferes with my growth or injures those whom Nature has made my first care - Young India, March 12, 1925. • Swadeshi is that spirit in us which restricts us to the use and service of our immediate surroundings to the exclu- sion of the more remote& I should use only things that are produced by my immediate neighbours and serve those industries by making them efficient and complete where they might be found wanting. It is suggested that such Swadeshi, if reduced to practice, will lead to the millennium. - Speeches and Writings of Mahatma Gandhi. Sparshbhavna (Untouchability)

• Untouchability means pollution by the touch of certain persons in reason of their birth in a particular state or family. It is an excrescence. In the guise of religion, it is always in the way, and erupts religion - From Yeravda Mandir, p. 3. • Removal of Untouchability means love for, and service of, the whole world and thus merges into Ahimsa. Re- moval of Untouchability spells the breaking down of barriers between man and man and between the various or- ders of Being -From Yeravda Mandir, p.3. • I consider untouchability to be a heinous crime against humanity. It is not a sign of self-restraint, but an arrogant assumption of superiority. - Young India, Dec. 8, 1920

Source: Gandhi Samarak Nidhi (Gandhi Memorial Trust) - www.gandhi-manibhavan.org.

Gandhi Talisman "I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a control over his [her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to Swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away." - One of the last notes left behind by Gandhi in 1948, expressing his deepest social thought. Source: Mahatma Gandhi [Last Phase, Vol. II (1958), P. 65].

4 President’s Page

The Martyr Mohandas K Gandhi advocated at all times that ‘There must be consistency between one’s thoughts, words and actions’ and he was a living example of his advocacy. There was no difference in his thoughts, his words and his actions. That made him ‘Mahatma’ meaning the great soul.

Mahatma Gandhi did not set out to evolve a philosophy of life or formulate a system of beliefs or ideals. He had probably neither the inclination nor the time to do so. He had, however, firm faith in truth and ahimsa, and the practical application of these to problems which confronted him may be said to constitute his teachings and philosophy. There was hardly any political, social, religious, agrarian, labour, industrial or other problem which did not come under his purview and with which he did not deal in his own way within the framework of the principles which he held to be basic and fundamental. There was hardly any aspect of life in India which he did not influence and fashion according to his own pattern, beginning with the small details of individual life regarding food, dress, daily occupation, right up to big social problems which had for centuries become a part of life not only unbreakable but also sacrosanct like the caste system and untouchability.

His views appeared to be startlingly fresh, unhampered by tradition or prevalent custom. So also, his methods of dealing with problems, big and small, were no less novel and apparently unconvincing, but ultimately successful. Evidently, by his very nature he could never be dogmatic. He could never shut himself out from new light born of experience resulting from new experiments. For the same reason, again, he was no stickler for superficial consistency. In fact, his opponents, and sometimes even his followers, saw apparent contradiction in some of Mahatma Gandhi's actions. He was so open to conviction and had such an extraordinary amount of moral courage that once he was convinced that any particular action of which he was the author was defective, he never hesitated to correct himself and declare publicly that he was in the wrong. We often find him subjecting his own decisions and actions to an objective and impartial criticism. Little wonder, therefore, that many of his actions sometimes appeared to mystify his admirers and to confound his critics.

In protest against the continuing riots between Hindus and Moslems Mahatma Gandhi commenced a total fast on 13 January 1948 morning which lasted until 18 January. This (his last fast) achieved the purpose for which he fasted. We have published a brief account of his last fast and the last act in this issue of Bhavan Australia. By courting death he found a new lease of life ‘to serve humanity’. Mahatma Gandhi loved life and wanted to live; but through the readiness to die he recovered the capacity to serve. That made him happy; with revived wish to live his full life span he was full of plans for further work. ‘That span, according to learned opinion is at least 125 years, some say 133,’ he declared. His assassination defeated the very object envisaged to be achieved by those behind the assassination plot.

His assassinator Nathuram Godse had no personal hatred of Mahatma Gandhi. Before he fired shots he actually wished Mahatma Gandhi well and bowed to him in reverence. He was perhaps blinded by the misguided emotions infused in him by the fanatic leaders of his (Hindu) organisation. Similar fanaticism from different religious organisations claimed the lives of two Indian Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. The blindness of religious fanaticism continues taking lives of the peace advocating leaders and thousands of innocent people every year. We salute all those thus sacrificed. The struggle for peace and social justice must and I am sure will go on with increased enthusiasm and vigour in spite of such killings. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi ‘Not to believe in the possibility of permanent peace is to disbelieve in the Godliness of human nature.’ Dialogue and negotiation, not violence and wars, have potency to achieve peace. ‘Ahimsa is the strongest force known,’ said Mahatma Gandhi; he proved it right with his life example. This will be a true tribute to Jesus Christ and to the great souls like Mahatma Gandhi, and others inspired by him like Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

According to Mahatma Gandhi fortunate people who have amassed wealth are trustees of the wealth in their possession which they must utilise for the benefit of the underprivileged people. The practice codes of the various religious scriptures also encourage keeping aside a proportion of one’s income for charitable causes.

Gambhir Watts President Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Australia

5 Publisher & Managing Editor: Gambhir Watts Editorial Page [email protected] Current Board of Directors Editorial Committee: J Rao Palagummi Catherine Knox [email protected] Office Bearers :

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* The views of contributors to Bhavan Abbas Raza Alvi; Moksha Watts Australia are not necessarily the views of Bhavan Australia or the editor. Nominees of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Worldwide:

*Bhavan Australia reserves the right to Homi Navroji Dastur, Executive Secretary and Director General edit any contributed articles and letters Jagannathan Veeraraghavan, Executive Director, Delhi submitted for publication. Mathoor Krishnamurti, Executive Director, Bangalore Copyright: all advertisements and original editorial material appearing remain the Palladam Narayana Sathanagopal, Additional Registar property of Bhavan Australia and may not P. A Ramakrishnan, Executive Vice Chairman, Puthoucode (Kerala) be reproduced except with the written consent of the owner of the copyright.

Bhavan Australia - ISSN 1449 – 3551

Articles & Focus Themes Message from Greg Johns, General Director, 22 Mahatma Gandhi’s 11 Vows 2 Soka Gakkai International Australia

Message from Sujan Chinoy, Consul Message from Brian White, Chairman, 7 23 General of India, Sydney Buddhist Council of NSW

Message from John Aquilina MP 8 Message from Jynene Helland 24

Message from Cardinal Pell, Archbishop of Message from Atmarama das,Regional 9 25 Sydney Secretary, ISKCON Message from Linda Oliveira, National Message from Swami Sridharananda 15 26 President, Theosophical Society in Australia Message from Clover More MP, Lord 16 Message from R. Mimmo 27 Mayor of Sydney Message from Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence 17 Reminiscences of Kasturba Gandhi 31 Senior Minister, The Great Synagogue Mahatma Gandhi’s Speech, On the Eve of Message From Dr. Stuart Rees AM 18 36 The Last Fast (12-1-1948) Mother and Motherland are more sublime Message from Swami Maheshwarananda 20 41 than heaven

6 7 8 Message to the readers of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on the occasion of Mahatma Ghandi Day 2008

It is a great privilege to join with the members of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and people of many faiths and cultures in Australia and throughout the world to pray that peace and non violence might become a reality in our world today.

In particular let us pray together that the youth of our nation will join in prayer and action with the billions of peace-loving people throughout the world to confront voracious consumerism, eliminate tyranny and terrorism and establish justice for peoples of all races and faiths.

In these efforts we take particular inspiration from the example of great advocates of peace and non-violence such as Mahatma Ghandi, and we pray that our work will bear much fruit in a world hungry for it.

Prospects for peace and rumours of war: Religion and democracy in the years ahead

Old Testament, "angry enough to die". Jonah was angry Even its most ardent opponents now concede grudgingly because God relented and chose not to smite Nineveh that religion is not about to whither away anytime soon. (Jon. 4:1-11). Atheist anger is a condition of its own, and One hundred and perhaps two hundred years ago, there several explanations have been mooted. Our atheist were hopes that this might come to pass, at least among friends evince any number of reasons to be angry with the educated in the West. These hopes have died hard and religion, and particularly with Christianity, but there is a for some it seems the disappointment is bitter indeed. Au- disproportion to it all which makes one wary. Why be an- thors such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, gry at an absence? It leads me to wonder if some atheists among others, are very angry about it; like Jonah in the are angry with God precisely because - by their lights - he

9 does not exist. It is, after all, not unheard of for children to have they been victims of the mob-violence and church- grow up angry at a father who is remote, absent, or un- burning that anti-Catholicism occasionally produced in the known. And the alternatives are Creative Intelligence - United States. The idea that religion is irrational and must that is, God - or blind chance. It would be infuriating to be excluded from public affairs is not a native Australian concede that Christ, the Buddha, Aristotle, Michelangelo, plant. Shakespeare, Newton, Beethoven and Einstein are point- In Australia, democracy is not spelt with a capital D. It is less froth in a heartless universe. not treated as a high system of belief or a source of tran- Whatever of this, religion is here to stay, and in Western scendent meaning. While it may be a cause for regret democracies such as Australia. I say this not to indulge in among those who take politics too seriously, Australians triumphalism, but simply to state a fact about real life as it value democracy primarily because it works, although is lived around us. Triumphalism is not in keeping with they are deadly serious about the right of each adult to Christianity, and in some places in Western Europe there vote for who will or will not govern them, and about the is very little reason for the Christian churches to be trium- right of everyone to have his or her say. It is not a perfect phalist. The situation continues to be hopeful for Christi- combination and it has some serious flaws, but it has nev- anity in Australia, despite recent census figures showing ertheless played a significant part in the success of the that the percentage of Christians has fallen from 68 per Australian experiment. The Australian idea of life in com- cent in 2001 to under 64 per cent in 2006. The percentage mon is often generous and always capacious. A bit more of people claiming no religion rose from 16 per cent to 19 religion here and there is something most will easily take per cent, perhaps in part because those identifying them- in their stride, and probably nearly as many would be un- selves as Jedi knights in the 2001 census have lapsed into easy if religious voices were completely silent. unbelief. Catholics remain the largest religious minority in It would be regrettable if American or European frames of the country, with our overall numbers increasing to 5.1 reference were imposed on the very different situation of million people, but slipping slightly as a percentage of the religious life and public culture here in Australia. The total population from 27 per cent to 26 per cent. Greens, some Democrats and largely silent minority ele- And next July, of course, Sydney will host World Youth, ments in both major parties, as well as a bigger percentage which will generate the largest movement of people within in the media, would like to exclude religious considera- the country (50,000 young people will travel from Mel- tions from public discussion, but this overlooks the fact bourne to Sydney in the week before World Youth Day); that Australians, often unlike Europeans and Americans, the largest number of overseas visitors to the country (at are also pragmatic rather than ideological about the rela- this stage, nine months out, registrations of overseas pil- tionship between religion and democracy. So while the grims stand at 140,000); and the largest gathering in Aus- separation of church and state is accepted as one of the tralian history, with 500,000 people expected to attend the foundations of Australian life, and strongly supported by final Mass with Pope Benedict XVI at Randwick race- me and by most Australian Catholics too, government course. There's also a useful statistic for those who think funding for religious services in areas such as education, that young Australians are not interested in religion. welfare, health and aged care is also accepted, whether Based on the registrations of Australian pilgrims, and they be Christian, Jewish, or Muslim facilities. There is no again with nine months to go before the Holy Father ar- official religion, no compulsion on belief, and govern- rives, we are looking at a forecast participation rate among ments and courts are loathe to interfere in religious com- young Australian Catholics almost three-and-half times munities. higher than the participation rates of locals at the two pre- The separation of church and state is sometimes invoked vious World Youth Days in Germany and Canada. Austra- as a principle when politicians or others disagree with lia has never seen anything quite like it. what church leaders or agencies have said on social jus- Religion is not only refusing to disappear in modern Aus- tice, government policy, or moral issues, but when they tralia. There is also some danger of revival and new agree with church statements this principle is not men- growth. What does this mean for our ideas of secular de- tioned. The most lurid objections are often made by politi- mocracy? I do not think this is a problem for most Austra- cal yahoos seeking publicity, evidence perhaps of anti- lians. As I have observed elsewhere recently, although clericalism, but probably not evidence of sustained, Australian life has been marred by sectarianism in the thought-out opposition to religion. Even groups hostile to past, Catholics here never suffered the centuries of perse- Christianity are happy enough to accept public interven- cution that befell Catholics in Britain and Ireland, and nor tions which seem to support their ideas of right and

10 wrong. religion. But he also understands the power that belief in an order beyond politics can give to people. Some of those who are not particularly religious also think it is important to have a critical mass of active religious There is no doubt that secular beliefs in freedom or human believers in the community. In part this reflects an accep- rights can also provide this power, as they did for the stu- tance of the so-called social usefulness of religion, par- dents in Tiananmen Square in 1989, but only when they ticularly in caring for the poor and in picking up the are held with the depth and strength of conviction that we pieces of social and personal dysfunction. But more would usually describe as religious. Buruma argues that deeply than this, I also think many Australians appreciate "faith has an especially important role to play in politics" that having a goodly number of active believers is essen- when confronting oppression and dictatorship. "Liberals" tial to ensure that the values of a fair go and respect for he says "are most needed when compromises have to be others are promoted and passed on the next generation. made, but not nearly as useful when faced with brute Values don't create and renew themselves, and it is a force". What is needed then is people "driven by their be- serious liefs to take risks that most of us would regard as fool- hardy". Buruma does not wish to be ruled by believers, mistake to assume that people will always give to the poor but thinks it is good to have them around "when they are and be concerned about social justice for the bottom five, needed". ten or fifteen per cent. Many great civilisations have shown no regard for these values at all and have even con- Perhaps not many would admit it as frankly as Ian Buruma sidered them weaknesses, and there are occasional worry- and Jonathan Glover have done, but I suspect many Aus- ing indications of a return to this pagan mindset in parts of tralians think the same way, including probably many in Western culture. We might not talk openly about the our otherwise secular political and cultural elites. It is not domination of the strong over the weak as part of the natu- mind control or an incapacity to think of dangers that en- ral order of things, but some of the talk about "winners" ables religious believers to make extraordinary sacrifices and "losers" that can be heard from time to time is cer- for their beliefs. On the contrary. True individuality is tainly reminiscent of it. Many people are worried that our produced and sustained within the mesh of social rela- egalitarian ethos is being eroded by the scramble to suc- tions. In the West, the two institutions that have been most ceed. Christianity helps to renew and pass on to young fruitful in producing a hardy and resilient individuality are people the sort of values that are essential for a decent, Christianity and the family. It is for this reason, as Ken- prosperous and stable society, and most Australians ex- neth Minogue once remarked, that the great totalitarian pect the churches to do this, even if they never darken its projects of the last century paid so much attention to their doors. destruction. Both seriously impede the creation of the sort of atomized society conducive to totalitarianism by unit- The contribution of religion to the renewal of social capi- ing individuals with one another and giving them the cour- tal in a democracy is part of its day-to-day work. In more age and hope to defend a genuine idea of the common extreme political circumstances there is another contribu- good. This is the sort of communitarian individualism that tion that believers make, and which sometimes only be- democracy needs, not that of isolated fragments in an at- lievers dare to make in the political realm, and that is in omized environment. defending freedom and human rights against brute force. This is not a new insight. I remember Jonathan Glover We should place all this in a bigger picture. The key pub- saying something along these lines at Oxford in the 1980s lic task facing all Christians today is to make the case for and he has explored it further in his book Humanity: A Western civilisation and to replenish the sources from Moral History of the Twentieth Century (1999). But it which it takes life and strength. In the midst of unprece- bears repeating and the writer Ian Buruma has recently dented prosperity and opportunity we have more and more done this while reflecting on the role Buddhist monks and evidence of the instability of our families, diminishing nuns have played in leading opposition to the military re- trust and safety within our communities, and growing gime in Burma. fears about the future. One of the most important indica- tors of trust in the goodness of life and confidence in the Buruma points to the role of the church in the "People future is the willingness to have children, and the fertility Power" movement which felled Marcos in the Philippines, rates of every Western country are below replacement the crucial part played by Pope John Paul II and the Soli- level, in some cases catastrophically so. Christianity's role darity movement in Poland in bringing down the Iron Cur- in democracy, and in particular Catholicism's role in Aus- tain, and the role of Christian belief in sustaining political tralia, is to help turn this situation around. We do this dissent in China. Buruma makes his own unbelief clear through our works of service, but also through our contri- and acknowledges the evil that can be done in the name of butions to debate on a range of issues crucial to the well-

11 being of society — faith and religious freedom, life and laws which forced Catholic agencies out of adoption ser- biotechnology, marriage and family, social justice and vices earlier this year. The British government refused to social capital. grant church agencies an exemption from the laws, even though it meant that the country would lose one of its We focus on these issues to maintain and improve a de- most successful adoption services. cent society. Let me given an example. In September I was cleared of a charge of contempt of the New South In Australia, the concept of exemptions to anti- Wales parliament. The charge was ridiculous and my ex- discrimination laws to allow church agencies to go about oneration no surprise. It arose out of remarks I made about their work in a manner consistent with their beliefs contin- the cloning legislation. Legislating for the destruction of ues to survive. But it was subject to sustained attack dur- human life contravenes important fundamental principles. ing the debate in the United Kingdom over the Sexual Ori- These principles come from both the natural law known entation Regulations. These laws prohibit any discrimina- through human reason alone and Christian teaching. They tion against homosexuals by anyone providing "goods, hold that human life should be accorded the full protection facilities and services". This makes them practically all- of the law without regard to race, ethnicity, sex, religion, encompassing, with exceptions only for a small number of age, condition of dependency or stage of development. narrowly defined religious activities, primarily services There is nothing undemocratic in this principle. In fact, in held in churches. Church adoption services were therefore the normal course of things it should be at the heart of de- confronted with the prospect of being forced to place chil- mocratic life and politics. dren with homosexual couples, contrary to their beliefs. Setting this principle out is a rational contribution to pub- When the Catholic bishops petitioned the government for lic debate, not an imposition of some supernatural dogma an exemption for church agencies a member of the Scot- on the general community, and respect for human life is tish parliament said it would make "a mockery" of soci- shared by people from every section of the Australian ety's decision "to end discrimination" if exemptions were population, not just the Christian majority. In asking all granted "to those groups most likely to discriminate". The politicians who respect human life to vote against this leg- English philosopher AC Grayling said the Catholic bish- islation, the NSW bishops were not calling for the ops' request posed "the threat of a possible return to the "enforcement" of Catholic beliefs, but reminding legisla- dark ages. We are trying to keep a pluralistic society, and tors to fulfil the demands of justice and the common good elements in the Christian church and other religions are that follow from the inherent and equal dignity of every trying to destroy it". The American academic lawyer member of the human family. This is exactly the basis on Ronald Dworkin said the laws were "necessary to prevent which the church also calls on legislators to protect the injustice", and argued that respect for religious freedom poor or to oppose racial discrimination. Christians in Aus- does not mean accommodating any "preference" desig- tralia have long played an important part in ensuring that nated as religious. Even though supportive of an exemp- fundamental human rights are respected and will strive to tion for church agencies on adoptions, Dworkin claimed continue this important work. My contribution to the pub- that, as a matter of general principle, allowances should be lic discussion on human cloning was made in this spirit made only for the "central convictions" of religious be- and tradition. It is strange that the church's defence of a lievers, and must not extend to the state allegedly taking principle which should be one of the foundations of de- the side of religion on questions such as abortion or same- mocracy was seen by some as an attack on democracy. sex marriage, by restricting or prohibiting them. There are other fault-lines that can be identified which, At the heart of this attack on the concept of exemptions like cloning and biotechnology generally, are likely to for faith-based agencies lies a false analogy drawn be- give rise to tension between religion and secularist democ- tween alleged discrimination against homosexuals and racy in the years ahead. racial discrimination, and this is already beginning to ap- pear in Australia. This analogy allows opponents of ex- A large battle is likely to open up over human rights and emptions to dismiss the objection that the law makes ex- antidiscrimination legislation. Last week English papers ceptions all the time — for example, for halal abattoirs, or carried reports that a couple with an unblemished record for Sikhs to wear turbans, or for pacifists to avoid military as foster parents to 28 vulnerable children have been service — by pointing to the legitimate absence of excep- forced to give up this work. As committed nonconformist tions in laws against racial discrimination. Opposition to Christians they were unable to teach the children they are same-sex marriage is therefore likened to support for laws fostering that homosexual relationships are just as accept- against inter-racial marriage (which continued in some US able as heterosexual marriages. This requirement was im- states until the 1960s), and opposition to homosexual posed under the Sexual Orientation Regulations, the same adoptions is likened to refusing to adopt children to black

12 parents. English precedents remain powerful in a cultural and legal sense, especially throughout the Anglophone world, but The analogy is false because allowing blacks and whites the religious situation in Australia is somewhat closer to to marry did not require changing the whole concept of that of the United States rather than post-Christian Britain. marriage; and allowing black parents to adopt white chil- Both our Prime Minister and his challenger are serious dren, or vice versa, did not require changing the whole Christians. Neither the British Prime Minister nor his al- concept of family, or for that matter, the whole concept of ternative are in this mould, and the Catholic community childhood. Same-sex marriage and adoption changes the here is larger and with a much longer and stronger tradi- meaning of marriage, family, parenting and childhood for tion of contributions to public political life than in Britain, everyone, not just for homosexual couples. And whatever whose history and traditions are still residually anti- issues of basic justice remain to be addressed, I am not Catholic. sure that it is at all true to say that All the same, this case shows what can happen when bills homosexuals today suffer the same sort of legal and civil of rights are interpreted from the premises of a minority disadvantages which blacks in the United States and else- secularist mindset, especially when it is sharpened, as in where suffered forty years ago, and to some extent still Europe, by fear of home-grown Islam. Reading freedom suffer. of religion as a limited right to be offensive to which only All the same, the race analogy has been very effective in a limited toleration is extended is not acceptable in a de- casting the churches as persecutors. So, in the United mocracy where many more than a majority belong to the Kingdom, and also in Massachusetts where a similar issue great religious traditions — even more so when it is arose in 2006, warnings that the Catholic Church would be claimed that this is "necessary for democracy". Democ- forced to close its adoption services if exemptions were racy does not need to be secular. The secularist reading of not granted were described as blackmail. religious freedom places Christians (at least) in the posi- Then there is the question of human rights legislation and tion of a barely tolerated minority (even when they are the the adverse effects it can have on religious believers. In majority) whose rights must always yield to the secular the United Kingdom in 2005, Mrs Veronica Connolly, a agenda, although I don't think other religious minorities pro-life campaigner, sent photos of aborted babies to three will be treated the same way. Proponents of a bill of rights pharmacies in an attempt to dissuade them from stocking in Australia the morning after pill. The pharmacies complained to the regularly point to the UK Human Rights Act as a model police and Mrs Connolly was charged under the Malicious that we should adopt. Connolly v DPP shows how little Communications Act for posting material to people which protection religious people can expect from anything like was "in whole or in part, of an indecent or grossly offen- the UK Human Rights Act if it were to be implemented in sive nature". She was duly convicted and fined, and she Australia, even for minor and maladroit forms of religious appealed to the High Court of Justice. In her appeal Mrs expression and political activity such as Mrs Connolly's. Connolly claimed that the Human Rights Act required the Another fault-line concerns Islam and democracy, or more English law against malicious postal communications to precisely, the presence of growing Muslim minorities in be applied in a way consistent with her rights to freedom Western countries. In discussing Islam in the West it is of expression and freedom of thought, conscience and re- absolutely crucial to distinguish the activity and agenda of ligion under the European Convention on Human Rights. the small violent Islamist minority from the aspirations In January 2007 the court dismissed this argument, ruling and ambitions of ordinary Muslim citizens around the that freedom of thought, conscience and religion is a right world, many of whom bear the brunt of Islamist intimida- which of its nature is likely to cause offence to others and tion in their own communities. One of the obvious tasks so must be narrowly construed. The limitations for pro- for the majority non-Muslim population in Australia is to tecting the rights of others placed on this right, and in this establish and deepen friendship with the different Muslim case also on the right to freedom of expression, were communities now around us and to make them feel more given an expansive reading, so that the "distress and anxi- at home, especially their young people. We have to ac- ety" caused to those who saw the photos sent by Mrs Con- knowledge too that the ideological struggle against nolly was found to be a violation of their rights. For this Islamist violence in the Muslim community is one in reason, the court concluded, "the conviction of Mrs Con- which most of the heavy lifting has to be done by Muslims nolly on the facts of this case was necessary in a democ- opposed to extremism, but we should be prepared to help ratic society". The House of Lords has since declined to them in this task in ways which are effective and which grant her leave to appeal against this decision. build trust and openness instead of fear and ghettoisation. The prospects of success for this in Australia are good,

13 provided they are not derailed by a series of disasters policies followed by Ataturk in Turkey after the First overseas. World War and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire? Time will tell, but the experience in Indonesia provides consid- Leadership is crucial here, and one advantage we have in erable reassurance, even for Christians, as does Pakistan's Australia is good relations between the leaders of the post World War Two history, although the situation there Christian churches and those of the different Muslim com- for Christians is difficult and confined. munities. Internationally, the recent letter sent to Pope Benedict XVI and other Christian leaders by 138 leading The story of religions in the Western world will continue Muslim scholars from around the world is a helpful initia- to be interesting, and probably surprising, for the foresee- tive. This letter is one of the most authoritative statements able future. The future of an explicit secularism is more we have seen from Muslim leaders supporting dialogue problematic even than the future of regular religious prac- and friendship between Christians and Muslims, based on tice. Professor Alistair McGrath from Oxford University a shared belief in God as the God of love, and in the com- believes post-modernism will damage atheism more than mandment to love our neighbour as we love ourselves. it damages Christianity. I believe this is correct as the numbers in humanist societies have dropped radically. Outsiders and insiders have every right to ask spokesper- Therefore, challenges to Christianity are more likely to sons of the great religious traditions, perhaps the mono- come at a popular level from a variety of superstitions, theist traditions in particular, how they understand and from muddled agnosticism, and for the more sophisti- explain the teachings of their sacred writings on violence cated, from some forms of pantheism, of semi-religious and coexistence, and how they explain, condone, or con- and personally undemanding environmentalism. Free de- demn what are, or appear to be, religious wars. This letter mocratic societies provide an appropriate setting for these is an important contribution to this discussion. systems of meaning to offer their different solutions to Of particular interest to me is the idea of human nature those who are searching or dissatisfied. which the Muslim scholars present in their letter, and the The prospects for continuing religious peace continue to interpretation of the Koran they use for this. The letter be good in Australia, while vigorous debate will continue argues that the "the three main faculties" of human nature on the best ways to repair our diminishing social capital are "the mind or the intelligence, which is made for com- (which still remains high in comparison with many other prehending the truth; the will which is made for freedom societies), and to wrestle with the escalating possibilities of choice, and sentiment which is made for loving the from biotechnology. A succession of big terrorist attacks good and the beautiful". Christianity teaches that human would also change the religious scene dramatically and beings are a unity of reason, freedom and love, and while provoke ferocious retaliation, especially from the United the emphasis on "intelligence", "will" and "sentiment" in States. We can only hope that policies of continued vigi- the Muslim scholars letter should not automatically be lance and strength will deter the violent fanatics, and that assumed to be the simple equivalent of this teaching, it the battle for public opinion in Islamic societies (and our certainly opens up new and positive questions to explore. own) will be won by the peace makers. It also raises the intriguing possibility of Christians, Mus- lims and Jews co-operating to help secular society address its radically diminished ideas of the human person, and - George Cardinal Pell the fragmented and incoherent ideas it has about the Archbishiop of Sydney meaning and value of reason, freedom and love. Many complexities and problems remain, of course, but the leadership given by the 138 scholars who have issued this letter is to be welcomed and applauded. Serious scholarly replies from the leadership of the Christian churches are required. The great religious traditions differ considerably one from the other and there are huge differences within traditions: for example, between Quakers and the medieval Catholic orders of military knights. These differences bring socio- logical consequences for democratic life and an unan- swered question is the compatibility of religiously moti- vated Islamic majorities with the democratic process. What other alternatives are there beyond the secularising

14 15 16 Message from Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence Senior Minister, The Great Synagogue

I was raised in a generation that had adopted as twin anthems “give peace a chance” and “imagine there’s no heaven”. At their heart, the lyrics called for understanding, acceptance and the breaking down of barriers. At the same time, there was an implicit erosion of ethnic culture, creed and custom. The individual, even the collective were thoroughly suborned to the whole. And with this I take issue. Our diversity is to be cherished. Our identity is to be celebrated. Our individuality is what makes us wondrous. Our cultures and our communities give us colour and cohesion. Difference enables us to appreciate an alternative perspective – to subject ourselves to critical evaluation. What is my role in this busy and baffling world? It is the Jewish way to seek to elevate the individual to aspire to be godly and we identify in order to emulate them, a number of godly virtues. I invite you to join me and to reflect on two: Tzeddaka is charity. And it is righteousness. It is the recognition that wealth and resources that we have at our disposal are held on trust. They are ours to disburse to alleviate poverty, hunger and suffering. Our wealth is not God’s gift to us. Rather, our wealth is the tool. Sharing it is a responsibility. Looking to help others is a sacred duty. God’s gift to us is the opportunity to improve the lot of others. It is the joy of giving. We can partner Him in bettering the world. Chessed is lovingkindness. It is the gift of our compassion. It is the time we invest in visiting the sick; in comforting the bereaved. It is the gift of ourselves; of our energy. How easy it is to dig into a pocket and toss a coin to a beggar, without looking up or down. How much greater to give our time, or our attention. To show love and concern. On this anniversary of the slaying of Mahatma Gandhi, we pay tribute to a man who demonstrated the true power of the individual; a man who championed his culture and who challenged oppression. In both speech and in deed, Mahatma Gandhi taught the responsibility of Tzeddaka – of social justice. He embraced Chessed – giving so completely of himself for the sake of his people. He established a new paradigm in non-violent confrontation. One can push and promote; one can stand without flinching for the causes one holds dear – and yet, it can be done without bloodshed. One can, indeed one must, give peace a chance. Today we gather and we remember a man who elevated the human spirit, who raised himself as a lofty example and who raised so many others through his actions, his teachings and his inspiration. Today we pray for those whose homes and whose livelihoods were lost in natural disasters and also those who have perished at the hands of their fellows. May they be blessed with every assistance and every strength as they rebuild their shattered lives. May we show them Tzeddaka – charity – that our brothers and sisters may live with us. May we show them compassion – May we take the initiative to offer a helping hand, and the hospitality of our hearts. May we rise to the challenges that are presented to us daily – to live as men and women who radiate the spirit of God, lifting ourselves above base self-interest and elevating those around us with that face of humanity which is Divine. Through our endeavours, may the Almighty bring healing to our world, may he give his peoples fortitude and bless us all with Peace. Shalom.

17 Message From Dr. Stuart Rees AM., Professor Emeritus & Director, Centre for Peace & Conflict Studies, University of Sydney and Sydney Peace Foundation.

'Mahatma Gandhi was a giant of the 20th century, perhaps the most significant global figure not to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Yet as someone who taught the world that non violence is the law for life, his influence lives on and at the beginning of the 21st century is sorley needed. He also taught that violence - as in the possession of nuclear weapons - is a an expression of cowardice whereas to live non violently requires courage. The Mahatma campaigned against religious intolerance, against the caste system and advocated economic equality. His values, his skills and his love for a common humanity still have great relevance today. The Sydney Peace Foundation is honoured to support Bhavan Australia in keeping alive the memory and the teaching of Mahatma Gandhi.'

There is an alternative to pleas for modern Machiavellis. Why not seek inspiration from advocates of human rights and nonviolence, from Mary Wollstonecraft to Leo Tolstoy, from Mahatma Gandhi to Martin Luther King Jr, from Vaclav Havel to Aung San Suu Kyi? Why not learn from them how to craft a passion for peace? This book's response to these questions relies in particular on the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and on the practice of those who he influenced. For example, in April 1945 on the eve of the San Francisco Conference to draft the charter of the United Nations, journalists sought a statement from Gandhi. He responded: There will be no peace for the Allies or the world unless they shed this belief in the efficacy of war and its accompanying terrible deception and fraud, and are determined to hammer out a real peace based on the freedom and equality of all races and nations. Peace must be just. In order to be that it must be neither punitive nor vindictive. Germany and Japan should not be humiliated. The strong are never vindictive. Therefore the fruits of peace must be shared equally. The effort then will be to turn them into friends. The allies can prove their democracy by no other means. Peace with justice is characterised by an absence of violence, whether it is direct and observable or indirect and invisible. A just peace would be marked not only by an end to hostilities between peoples but also by fairness in social, economic and political arrangements. It would be a fairness characterised by equality of opportunity and by associated influences in the building of civil societies. An easier way to describe a just peace is to identify its opposite — the violence which hinders individual freedom and which diminishes the quality of people's lives. Such violence may be direct, as in acts of terrorism, or indirect as in the persistence of poverty which curtails individuals' life chances and life expectancies. Relationships of domination and subordination are often a cue for violent conflict and transformation of such unequal power relationships is a key to peace with justice. The Treaty of Versailles, which marked a formal peace settlement at the end of the First World War, embodied such relationships and represented a peace without justice. The desire of First World War victors to seek revenge against the vanquished is widely believed to have contributed to conditions which led to the Second World War. Criticising such a treaty for having ignored questions of justice should not be taken to mean that in the future a viable peace would depend entirely on restoring financial, social and political balance between antagonists. The road to any formal peace treaty and the journey to implement it will follow a tortuous route involving tolerance, understanding, forgiveness, perhaps agreement about peaceful coexistence and then a process of healing and reconciliation. All affected parties could contribute to a process of defining, achieving and sustaining a just peace. Providing an opportunity to participate in such a process should ensure that the terms of any formal treaty will be relevant and would last.

Excerpt from the book ‘Passion for Peace, Exercising Power Creatively’, Prof Stuart Rees, 2003, University of New South Wales Press Ltd

18 Message from Mr Ikebal Adam Patel. President of Australian Federation of Islamic Councils

The Qur’an describes Islam as the abode of peace:

"And Allah summons to the abode of peace, and leads whom He wills to the straight path" (10:1)

Indeed the word Islam means submission and is a derivative of the word salaam meaning peace. Islam is peace with God, peace with man, and peace with one’s own self. The Muslim greeting consists of the word salaam (peace).

It is important, therefore to send out this message of peace, friendship, religious freedom, justice, trust and acceptance to all of humanity. We as human beings are only valued when we put into practice these attributes in our daily lives and persuade others to embrace these values.

Every opportunity towards understanding and acceptance of the other is indeed an honourable goal.

The strength of conviction and self less effort exerted by Mahatma Gandhi throughout his life time should stand as a beacon to humanity that human life is of utmost value and people of different faiths can coexist along side each other. Respect for human dignity and inter communal harmony and peace building is a cause worthy to strive for. Greed, avarice and political manipulation is the thief of all that is good, wholesome and beneficial to humanity. If left unchecked, what type of world will our legacy be?

The Quran reminds us: O mankind! We created you from a single soul, male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, so that you may come to know one another. Truly, the most honoured of you in God's sight is the greatest of you in piety. God is All-Knowing, All-Aware. Quran 49:13 Let us honour this sentiment and extend our hand of friendship and love to our fellow human being, irrespective of colour, creed or conviction. It takes only one person to touch the heart of another with friendship and compassion. Let us make this our commitment, for a peaceful and more tolerant community embracing one and all, in justice and fairness.

When I was turning over the pages of the sacred books of different faiths for my own satisfaction, I became sufficiently familiar for my purpose with Christianity, Islam, Zorostrianism, Judaism and Hinduism. In reading these texts, I can say, that I was equiminded towards all these faiths, although perhaps I was not then conscious of it. Refreshing my memory of those days, I do not find I ever had the slightest desire to criticize any of those religions merely because they were not my own, but read each sacred book in a spirit of reverence, and found the same fundamental morality in each. Some things I did not understand then, and do not understand even now, but experience has taught me, that it is a mistake hastily to imagine, that anything that we cannot understand is necessarily wrong. Some things which I did not understand first have since become as clear as daylight. Equimindedness helps us to solve many difficulties and even when we criticize anything, we express our- selves with a humility and a courtesy, which leave no string behind them. Mahatma Gandhi (1968, SW. Vol.IV, pp.243-244)

19 Spirituality Means to Take Care of this Beautiful Living Planet… By H.H. Mahamandaleswhar Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda

In today’s world a new order is emerging. The previous world order which was based on nation- states has deteriorated, with the breakdown of national boundaries and the emergence of globalisation. Now the world is frequently referred to as a global village however, as a global community we have a long, long way to go before we become a peaceful and integrated ‘village’. In this modern civilisation, humanity suffers in four ways. 1. Environmentally. Environmental pollution is a huge problem throughout the world. It is not limited to any one location, we are all affected. 2. Immigration Challenges. One of the modern world’s greatest global challenges. 3. Unemployment. A problem of subsistence. 4. Water. Problems of water scarcity, sanitation and access increase every year. These problems are all created by humans, due to the modern way of living, the modern way of education, and the modern way of thinking. Our entire global system is wrong. The problem is largely associated with one common expression: “I don’t care”. As well as, “I don’t want to do that any more.” “It's not my duty.” “I don’t care about others…” and so on. But we must not break our relationship with others or with nature, for human life is about learning and understanding the value of relationships. If humans had cultivated their sense of relationship (without selfish expectation), then better care would have been taken of nature, the animals, of water and human society. If we had done the necessary, we would not be facing the problems of today. For example, in the past we had to fetch water from far away and carry it home, therefore we were careful how we used it. Today however, we clean our vegetables and wash our dishes under running water and waste millions of litres day after day! It’s a mistake to think there is enough water on earth to last forever, for this will change very soon. Less than 50 years ago many healthy creatures lived in our rivers, but now the situation is vastly different in many locations around the world where bacteria, pollution and disease proliferate more than ever before, making it dangerous to drink the water. As a human society we need to become much more aware of our environment and begin to protect it. Pollution is not just about physical pollution. By far the greatest pollution is mental pollution - it is mental pollution that has brought the planet to this point today. Some may consider that the last 60 years has brought great development to the world and a democratic way of life. Perhaps yes, but I would say that the world has developed towards destruction with so many diseases, catastrophes, wars and pollution… this never happened in the past. Be cautioned against always thinking, “The government shall do, the government shall fix…” Governments require public support and encouragement to do the necessary. That is democracy. Become attentive, becoming discerning, learn to differentiate between need and greed. Don’t be a consumer of such things that harm our planet, our relationships, our spirituality. To only pray all the time is not spirituality. Spirituality means to also take action to care for this beautiful living planet. Never think and never say: “I don’t care.” We should care about every relationship in this world. It may be about your house, the river, the washing powder, your way of dressing, what you buy, what you eat, your friends, other humans and animals.

20 Care for others and live according to the principle of Ahimsa Paramo Dharma “non-violence is the highest duty”. Never cause harm to anyone, via your thought, word or deed. Accept and respect different opinions, cultural traditions and religions. To accept others, we must also learn to accept ourselves. As my Grand-Master, Bhagwan Sri Deep Narayan Mahaprabhuji used to say, “When you understand the Divine within yourself you will recognise it in all living creatures.” Mankind’s primary obligation is to protect life in all its forms and manifestations of existence. To actualise this, it is necessary to adopt a different way of thinking and behaving in every day life. “Love, tolerance, help and understanding” not only applies between individuals, but also amongst nations, cultures, races and religions. There is also the necessity to accept each being as a part of the eternal cycle of life, as each has an opportunity for individual development with duties to fulfill on earth. Humans ought to be the protectors of life, not destroyers of life. If one cannot give life then one has no right to take it. That’s the reason why the killing of animals and eating of meat is rejected. The philosophy of non-duality and Sat Sanatan Dharma postulates that in this world – humans, animals, plants and inorganic materials – are created by one God. All creatures are the children of one Creator. All living beings are part of one united family. The responsibility for one’s life and development remains with one’s self. There are many ways to find one’s inner Self and God. Each person has their own spiritual path and pursues it with different speed and dedication. The principles of self-responsibility and tolerance help to stimulate each person’s realisation of God according to one’s individual system of belief. God as the creating principle, pervades the whole of creation and is called Nirguna – God without form. When manifest in material form, including in living beings, this principle is called Sarguna – God with form. In all religions, Sarguna is represented by spiritual persons, saints and holy incarnations, who spread the divine message. Today, many people find it hard to accept God in Sarguna form, so for those still searching it is a good alternative to view God in Mother Nature and to learn to recognise God’s creative power everywhere and in everyone. Each of us explores feelings of unity with creation in our own way, either in nature or in places of worship. To live sustainably on this planet and to achieve lasting world peace, humans must re-awaken to the vital significance of maintaining their ethical and spiritual values, whilst at the same time fostering a genuine commitment to care for the community of life - all of life - with understanding, compassion and love. Revival of humanity’s ethical and spiritual values is the ‘first-step’ in affecting the change we want to see for Mother Earth.

Message from Virginia Judge MP Parliamentary Secretary

I am delighted to offer my admiration towards the great Indian spiritual leader and apostle of peace Mahatma Gandhi. I am sorry I am unable to join with you today to celebrate his life and his legacy. On this day, the day of Gandhi’s death 60 years ago, we remember his passing with sadness, but celebrate his life and all his spiritual achievements. He was a great man who acknowledged that peace, tolerance and understanding is the path to enlightenment. Gandhi’s life is relevant to this and future generations. I commend those present here today for respect shown to one of the world’s greatest leaders. Namaste.

21 Message from Greg Johns General Director, Soka Gakkai International Australia

“Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.” In commemorating the tragic event causing the death of the beloved Gandhi, it is timely to reflect on his statement above. The age in which we live offers great opportunity for com- mon understanding through the great communication revolution we are experiencing. At the same time it is important to take responsibility for the spirit in which we communicate and for the actions we take based on our conviction. The freedom we experience in the modern age can sometimes lead to seeking self- satisfaction above our connection to the happiness of others in our environment. Gandhi exemplified the selfless action that arouses others to develop such a state of life for them- selves. His courage and conviction drove a nation to believe in its own significance and potential. We who wish inherit and expand his legacy to all people of all faiths need to honour his life through our own actions. It is not enough to simply praise one who is great. It is the greatest praise to inherit their mission and enact it in our own life no matter on what scale – small or large. Each of us has the opportunity to honour Gandhi, in the same way that he honoured all people in his prayer and actions every day. How we take responsibility for our daily ‘thoughts, words and deeds’ makes the difference between a daily life of ‘faith’ and one lost and without meaning. Whatever our faith our common shared reality is that we are all human beings with the same potential and shortcom- ings as each other. This is something that can unite us when we realise it is through directing or ‘purifying’ our thoughts, in order to inspire another to belief in humanity, that truly reveals that sanctity of humanity. Perhaps a key to understanding how Gandhi maintained hope can be seen through this quote from SGI President Daisaku Ikeda. “I would like first to address the matter of Gandhi's relentless and unshakable optimism. Optimism has been the mark of virtually every outstanding personality, whether philosopher or statesperson, since ancient times. It is, however, perhaps impossible to find an example that compares to Gandhi, of a person whose every action and accom- plishment bears the mark of a pure and refreshing optimism, untainted by the slightest hint of showmanship.” "Toward a World without War: Gandhism and the Modern World," (National Museum Delhi, 1992)–This lecture was given by Mr. Ikeda at the National Museum in New Delhi on February 11, 1992. My hope is that, in commemorating Gandhi’s greatness we open our belief in his wonderful philosophy of non- violence and bring it to life in our daily interactions with others. In the following quote we can extrapolate a daily prayer of our own to drive our thoughts, words and deeds towards peace. "Goodness must be joined with knowledge. Mere goodness is not much use. One must cultivate the fine discriminating quality which goes with spiritual courage and character." (Gandhi on Non-Violence: Selected Texts from Non-Violence in Peace and War New York: New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1965, p. 34.)

(Dr Daisaku Ikeda – President of Soka Gakkai International (SGI), from The Japan Times, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007)

I pray for all those who believe in their own and others inherent potential for good to challenge to reveal that good with courage and confidence throughout 2007, conducting vibrant dialogue in the pursuit of peace. Daisaku Ikeda

22 The Path of Peace in Everyday Life

I am going to quote the peace activist and Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh.

Every morning, when we wake up, we have twenty-four brand-new hours to live. What a precious gift! We have the capacity to live in a way that these twenty-four hours will bring peace, joy, and happiness to ourselves and others. Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see. The question is whether or not we are in touch with it. We don't have to travel far away to enjoy the blue sky. We don't have to leave our city or even our neighbourhood to enjoy the eyes of a beautiful child. Even the air we breathe can be a source of joy. We can smile, breathe, walk, and eat our meals in a way that allows us to be in touch with the abundance of happiness that is available. We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living. We know how to sacrifice years in study, and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive. Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy, and serenity. We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment. If a child smiles, if an adult smiles, that is very important. If in our daily lives we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. If we really know how to live, what better way to start the day than with a smile? Our smile will bring happiness to us and to those around us. Even if we spend a lot of money on gifts for everyone in our family, nothing we buy could give them as much happiness as the gift of our awareness, our smile. And this precious gift is peace itself and costs nothing. On behalf of the Buddhist community, I would like to offer my heartiest congratulations and appreciation to Mr. Gambhir Watts and the Bhavan Australia for this wonderful initiative and for allowing us to be a part of it. What better way to honour and remember one of the greatest advocates of peace and non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi, than to come together to pray for peace and harmony in the world. - Brian White, Chairman, Buddhist Council of NSW

H.H. The Dalai Lama (Understanding Human Nature Cultivate the Compassion within) Mahatma Gandhi was a great human being with a deep understanding of human nature. He made every effort to encourage the full development of the positive aspects of the human potential and to reduce or restraint the negative. I consider myself to be one of the followers of Mahatma Gandhi. … What is the relevance of non-violence and compassion in today’s world? Ahimsa or non-violence is an ancient Indian concept which Mahatma Gandhi revived and implemented in modern times not only in politics but in day-to-day life. That was great achievement. … The events and developments of our century have encouraged the human being to become wiser, more mature. In many countries, I think the attraction to Gandhian philosophy is growing. Because the capacity for human destruction is so immense, because the threat to the environment is so great, people are developing greater understanding of the meaning of non-violence and compassion.

23 Peace Message from Women’s Federation for World Peace International

As we are remembering the life and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, one inspirational story, which is probably familiar to many of you, springs to mind. It was when Gandhi was touring across India by train spreading his message of peace and non-violence. In an effort to save money and time the trains did not stop at stations, but instead they just slowed down and the passengers would have to run along-side the train and embark as it was still moving. In the process of embarking the train one day one of Gandhi’s shoes slipped of his foot and fell on the railway tracks. As the train continued along the track Gandhi quickly took the other shoe off and threw it so it landed near its pair. When asked why he did that by puzzled onlookers Gandhi said “At least now if a poor person finds his way across my shoe he will soon come across its mate and end up with a good pair of shoes”. The story inspires me because Gandhi’s natural reaction was to think of the other person. He wasted no time lamenting over what he had lost but immediately turned his focus to how the situation could best benefit another person, the person who found the shoe. What is it that can bring true lasting peace to our world? Only this kind of thinking, this kind of heart, can bring lasting peace, when we think more of the other than of ourself. Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP) founder Mrs Ha Han Moon had this in mind when she founded this women’s organisation. She realised that while negotiations on a governmental level are important, true and lasting peace can only be achieved when we start thinking as one human family, when we start living for others beyond our religion, race, nationality and ethnicity. It takes all our efforts, every day until like Gandhi’s reaction it becomes natural to think of others. Jynene Helland Vice President Oceania Region Women’s Federation for World Peace International

Swami Vivekanda Celebrating Birth Anniversary on 29 January A spiritual genius of commanding intellect and power, Vivekananda crammed immense labor and achievement into his short life, 1863-1902. Born in the Datta family of Calcutta, the youthful Vivekananda embraced the agnostic philosophies of the Western mind along with the worship of science. At the same time, vehement in his desire to know the truth about God, he questioned people of holy reputation, asking them if they had seen God. He found such a person in Sri Rama- krishna, who became his master, allayed his doubts, gave him God vision, and transformed him into sage and prophet with authority to teach. After Sri Ramakrishna's death, Vivekananda renounced the world and criss-crossed India as a wandering monk. His mounting compassion for India's people drove him to seek their mate- rial help from the West. Accepting an opportunity to represent Hinduism at Chicago's Parliament of Religions in 1893, Vivekananda won instant celebrity in America and a ready forum for his spiritual teaching. For three years he spread the Vedanta philosophy and religion in America and England and then returned to India to found the Ramakrishna Math and Mission. Exhorting his nation to spiritual greatness, he wakened India to a new na- tional consciousness. He died July 4, 1902, after a second, much shorter sojourn in the West. His lectures and writings have been gathered into nine volumes. Source: http://www.vivekananda.org/biography.asp

24 Message of peace: Becoming the change we wish to see in the world. A basic law of nature is that of reciprocation. The great spiritual teachers from Christ to Buddha taught that if we our- selves want peace then our own attitude must be one peace - peace on earth, coming about through good will toward all. In other words we must do - literally - unto others what we would wish done to ourselves. This idea is more than just a fine sentiment. It recognises a principle based as much on laws of physics as that of ethics or morality. Simply put, as we act - so the universe responds. In the great spiritual literatures of India this principle is referred to as the ‘law of karma’ – the law that governs action and reaction. This law implies that all of our present experiences, individually and collectively, are nothing more than the accumu- lated reactions of all that has transpired previously. If war now exists, if starvation exists, if cruelty and abuse and crime and suffering now exist, it is simply a perpetuation of whatever has happened in the past: things in fact that we ourselves have done, or for which we are responsible. Today, in our enthusiasm to commemorate the saintly Gandhi’s contribution to the cause of world peace, we should not get caught up simply in the sentiment of it all while overlooking the science and the logic that underlies the issue. Re- alistically, how can we expect peace on earth while we continually - so casually - to make war on her and all her chil- dren? When over one million innocent animals are being rounded up, caught and killed every hour of every day in America, for example, how can we expect peace on earth? When the planet itself is being exploited and abused at an ever-increasing rate in order to sustain our rampantly consumerist lifestyles, how can we expect her cooperation. When every year more than six million children die of malnutrition before their fifth birthday because of an artificial system of global economics, how can we expect her blessings? We may be proud of modern mans admittedly wonderful technical achievements over the last few centuries, but in light of our consistent failure to successfully address the issue of peace throughout this same period, we may well question the actual depth of our understanding, or even the real value of our achievements. Its takes developed intelli- gence of a sort to manipulate material nature, but it takes true insight and wisdom to understand the laws and principles that underlie and govern our existence. The distinction between technical brilliance and actual human intelligence should be clear to us, as it was to the Mahatma, who said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress may be judged by the way its animals are treated”. If it is peace we want, then it is peace we must practice - in our diet, in our daily life, and in our ambitions for achieve- ment and progress. If it is peace we want, then we need to live peacefully, not just in harmony with our fellow humans, but with our environment, and all of our fellow living beings. If we want to see change, if we want see real peace in our world, we must, as Gandhi said, become “the change we wish to see in the world”. If we ourselves do not change, nothing else will either. In spite of our sentiments for peace, or our high blown rhetoric in its honour, the world will just continue on, as is. If it is change we want to see, we ourselves must be prepared to change. Today we reflect both on Gandhi as a man of peace, and the cause of peace itself. Gandhi was not a mere advocate for peace. His life itself was a practical commitment to the principles and actions that underlie its achievement. The high- est honour we could do him, and no doubt the greatest joy we could bring him, would be to take up those same princi- ples, to make practical changes in our own life - as he did in his - and to follow his lead in ourselves becoming “the change we wish to see in the world”.

Yours, in the cause of peace,

Atmarama das Regional Secretary, International Society for Krishna Consciousness

25 Message from The Theosophical Society in Australia “The need for peace in the world is perhaps stronger today than in previous eras of human history, if only because of the population explosion on our planet and the consequently greater potential for conflict between individuals, various groups of people and nations. Violence is not just something which occurs outside of us—on the news, in films, and so forth. Its seeds are within. Therefore each of us can do well to search our minds and hearts to help eliminate personal traces of violence in its many forms. Dr Annie Besant was the Founding President of the Indian National Congress as well as the second International President of The Theosophical Society. She described the true ideal of the human State as the family, in which those who are older and stronger bear the burden of the family according to their capacities. She described the possibility of a nobler social order ‘where the wisest shall guide, where the holiest shall inspire, where the authority of wisdom shall be the basis of the throne, and where the law shall be the expression of the consensus of the wisest heads’. If the current social order does not meet such a lofty ideal, we can still help to strengthen it by allowing wisdom to flower through our life’s experiences, and by helping to maintain the greatest peace and harmony possible in our various spheres of endeavour in daily life.

- Linda Oliveira, National President, The Theosophical Society in Australia”

Mahatma

Mahatma is Sanskrit for "Great Soul" (महात्मा mahātmā: महा mahā (great) + आत्मं or आत्मन ātman [soul]); it is similar in usage to the modern Christian term saint. This epithet is commonly applied to prominent people like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Jyotirao Phule. Many sources, such as Dutta and Robinson's Rabindranath Tagore: An Anthology, state that Rabindranath Tagore first accorded Gandhi this title. [1] Others state that the title "Mahatma" was first accorded to Gandhi on January 21, 1915 by Nautamlal Bhagavanji Mehta at Kamribai School in Jetpur, India. The term is also used to refer to adepts, liberated souls, or professionals. The word, used in a technical sense, was popularised in theosophical literature in the late 19th century when Madame Helena P. Blavatsky, one of the founders of the Theosophical Society, claimed that her teachers were adepts or Mahatmas who reside in Tibet. According to the Theosophical teachings, the Mahatmas are not disembodied beings, but highly evolved people involved in overseeing the spiritual growth of individuals and the development of civilisations. Blavatsky was the first person in modern times to claim contact with these Adepts, especially the "Masters" Koot Hoomi and Morya. In September and October 1880, Blavatsky visited A. P. Sinnett at Simla in northern India. The serious interest of Sinnett in the Theosophical teachings of Mme. Blavatsky and the work of the Theosophical Society prompted Mme. Blavatsky to establish a contact by correspondence between Sinnett and the two adepts who were sponsoring the society, Koot Hoomi and Morya. From this correspondence Sinnett wrote The Occult World (1881) and Esoteric Buddhism (1883), both of which had an enormous influence in generating public interest in theosophy. The replies and explanations given by the Mahatmas to the questions by Sinnett are embodied in their letters from 1880 to 1885, published in London in 1923 as The Mahatma Letters to Sinnett. The Mahatmas also corresponded with a number of other persons during the early years of the Theosophical Society. Many of these letters have been published in two volumes titled Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom, Series 1 and Series 2. There has been a great deal of controversy concerning the existence of these particular adepts. Blavatsky's critics have doubted the existence of her Masters. See, for example, W.E. Coleman's "exposes." More than twenty five individuals testified to having seen and been in contact with these Mahatmas during Blavatsky's lifetime. [3] In recent years, K. Paul Johnson has promoted an interesting but controversial theory about the Masters.

26 After Blavatsky's death in 1891, numerous individuals have claimed to be in contact with her Adept Teachers and have stated that they were new "messengers" of the Masters conveying various esoteric teachings. [4] Currently various New Age, metaphysical, and religious organizations refer to them as Ascended Masters, although their character and teachings are in some respects different from those described by Theosophical writers.[5][6] Foot Notes 1. Dutta, Krishna and Andrew Robinson, Rabindranath Tagore: An Anthology, p. 2 2. Kamdartree.com 3. A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas 4. Madame Blavatsky & the Latter-Day Messengers of the Masters 5. Leadbeater, C.W. The Masters and the Path. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1929 (Reprint: Kessinger Publishing, 1997). 6. Partridge, Christopher ed. New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities Oxford University Press, USA 2004.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma

Mahatma Gandhi In memory

The inspiration that peace can be found through non-violence is the memory of Mahatma Gandhi. To reflect on the life of Mahatma Gandhi is to realise that he sought a better world where freedom would be meaningful and complete. He also sought a world where strength would be in the will of every person. This is a strength that does not surrender our humanity, our dignity and our core beliefs. We must protect this strength which fills the soul with love, with peace and with enduring light.

In particular, I admire the hunger that Mahatma Gandhi displayed for happiness of all. He did not seek for humanity to be judged by the behaviour of a few tyrants or despots but rather by the humility of the overwhelming number who seek fulfilment in life through their search for truth.

May I respectfully repeat a quotation from Mahatma Gandhi on truth:

“In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth”.

R. Mimmo Founder & Chairman.

27 Sikhism and Peace Guru Nanak laid the foundation of Sikhism in 15th century in the state of Punjab in North India on principles of peace and tolerance. He stood against superfluous fasts, rituals, degradation of and looking down upon women, and religious practices that had no scientific or appealing and convincing base. But overall he had a firm faith in peace and prayed for ‘sarbat da bhalla’ – well being of all. Sikhism is a monotheistic religion, believing in the singular power of the Formless Creator God, “Ik Onkaar”, without a parallel. In the Guru Granth Sahib (The Holy Book), God is called by all the Hindu names Langar (free food) is and by Allah as well. Sikhism is void of meaningless rituals and practices. During the 18th distributed after the Sikh century, there were a number of attempts to prepare an accurate portrayal of Sikh customs. congregation. Guru Nanak’s Sikh scholars and theologians started in 1931 to prepare the “Reht Maryada” - the Sikh message is that all classes, code of conduct and conventions. This has successfully achieved a high level of uniformity rich & poor share the food in the religious and social practices of Sikhism throughout the world. It contains 27 at one platform without any discrimination. articles. Article 1 defines who is a Sikh: "Any human being who faithfully believes in: One Immortal Being, Ten Gurus, from Guru Nanak Dev to Guru Gobind Singh, The Guru Granth Sahib, The utterances and teachings of the ten Gurus and the baptism bequeathed by the tenth Guru, and who does not owe allegiance to any other religion, is a Sikh." Besides the absolute value of the Divine itself the Sikh Value System comprises the following: (I) Physio-economic values: A Sikh treats body as the sacred abode of the Spirit. There is no place for austerities and torturing of the body as a way of salvation. (2) Intellectual Values: Knowledge and wisdom are the key concepts; reason plays the pivotal role and truth is the highest value to be cherished. (3) Aesthetic Values: Loving devotion to the Lord, generating ecstatic state of bliss leading to the enjoyment of the grandeur and beauty of His creation. (4) Ethical Values: Virtue as reflected in valour, purity of conduct, realisation of the Divine presence in all the human beings and service of the mankind. (5) Spiritual Values : Mukti and Nirvana in Sikhism is emancipation in life through Divine Grace. The three pillars of the Such way of life are - a) Naam-Japna: Meditation of God; b) Kirat Karni: Earning with hard labour and by honest means; c) Wand Chhakna: Sharing one's earning with the needy. The word “Sikh” means a learner and “Guru” means an enlightener, a prophet-teacher. A Sikh has a distinctive personality, which is represented by five symbols, popularly known as Five K’s. These are – Keshas (long and unshorn hair), Kangha (a comb), Kara (a steel bracelet), Kachha (pair of shorts) and Kirpan (a sword). Sikhism seeks peace; when all other means have been exhausted then they find it justifiable to draw the sword against oppression and injustice. Sikhs believe in the Karma Theory and re-incarnation of the soul. Sikhism does not promote asceticism - The Gurus Panj Payare (five beloved advocated a householders lifestyle. Salvation for a Sikh is attained through the Divine ones) on Vaisakhi Day. Only Grace and Will of Waheguru (God). Sikh believe in the conquest of the mind through Panj Payare are authorised to control of the passions through the five senses as the path to ending the cycle of sufferance baptise men & women of of birth and death. any nationality, race or social standing. Baptised Sikhs Sikhism stands for humility, compassion, forgiveness, selfless service and love for always keep Five K’s, articles humanity. A Sikh is bound to the Truth at all times and practices God Consciousness of Sikh faith. through Nam Simran and selfless Service - Sewa. Sikhs reject the caste system and promote social and gender equality as the soul is the same for both men and women. All are equal in the eyes of God. God is accessible without priests or a middle person. Sikhs are tolerant of all faiths and do not believe that any one path has a monopoly on the Truth. There are many paths to seek out the Love of God and

28 incur Divine Grace. Both, personal devotion and communal prayers are a part of Sikh's way of life. Sikh prayer that longs for a world at peace, “Ardas”, the closing prayer in the Sikh worship tradition, ends with a universal blessing for all humanity: "By thy grace, may there be peace and goodwill among all people everywhere." Sikh Scriptures remind us to understand and celebrate our common humanity: "Recognise all humanity as one race, one brotherhood." Peace and goodwill are an important condition for human Hon John Aquilina MP, survival and progress. A state of peace must prevail for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of Speaker NSW Parliament at happiness" and for communion with our deeper self. A spirit of friendship and goodwill the time of inauguration of the among nations and people can "make the whole world kin." Conflicts erupt; discords Sikh library at Parklea arise when a civilised society fails to guarantee freedom, justice, human dignity and Gurdwara, Sydney. The equal opportunity to all citizens. objective of the Sikh library is to educate the young There are numerous examples of Sikhs helping foes in need. After battle, Bhai Kanahya, Australians about the Sikh a water-carrier of Guru Gobind Singh at Anandpur Sahib, sowed the seeds of Red Cross religion and spread the while serving the wounded soldiers with water not caring as to whether they were Sikhs message of peace and universal or belong to enemy’s camp and then put the ointment on their wounds as supplied by his brotherhood. Commander, Guru Gobind Singh. Lord, teach us to make peace with all that surrounds us. May we reflect on the meaning and shape of our universe and nurture it with prayer, sacrifice and inspirations of great souls. May our labours and prayers converge to create a beautiful canopy of dignity, equality, justice and friendship for all living beings under the heavens to live and prosper in peace. May the entire creation move forward in solidarity, oneness of spirit and purpose, and together shape and inherit a legacy worthy of God and man, where peace is not a dream but our true destiny. Peace that: transcends temporal frontiers, reaches deep into the spiritual realm, transports our spirit to a new purpose, sets our sight to a higher promise. Peace that: accepts all triumphs and trials, inspires respect and understanding among nations, discovers meaning and challenge in all things, entertains The Good of All Creation. Peace that: the threat of war is a distant memory, peaceful coexistence is not an illusion, unwelcome conflicts do not intrude on human space, might surrenders to right in loving grace. Peace that: the mind captures and honours the essence of life, the soul dances to the rhythms of universal joy, great ideas are rewarded chariots of fantasy, common everyday living is a cherished pastime. Peace that: the heart cherishes giving, giving in faith is a sacred rite, the true count of blessings begins with giving, the spirit yearns to serve as an offering. Peace that: legends and tradition echo and affirm Universal spirit, faith and seva (service) converge to mirror our humanity, the Light of the Unseen guides us through unimagined valleys, the promise of tomorrows keeps hope and dreams alive. Peace that: despair and divisiveness no longer threaten the human race, ignorance and injustice find no friendly place, vision and striving strengthen and thread human destiny, diversity of thoughts and ideas is a cherished treasure. Peace that: reason and truths herald triumphs, dignity and justice are sacred rights, love transcends all colours and separating walls, hope and freedom are an eternal flame. The faith that our right actions are part of God's great design, even if we do not see the results, dispels worries about our failures and brings us peace. We will realise God's presence in ourselves; there is no higher goal in life than that. Thus Sikhism was not the 'transvaluation' of the existing faiths and cults; it ushered in a new spiritual as well as social and political matrix of conduct for mankind. Violence and peace as concepts for the social behaviour are conspicuous to the Sikh way of life. Sikhism does not support militarism or glorification of war and yet wielding the sword is warranted in extenuating circumstances. Sikhism upholds war against oppression and aggression. The sword is a symbol of power both temporal and spiritual in Sikhism. A Sikh doesn't frighten anyone nor is he afraid of anyone. Written by Harmohan Singh Walia

29 Message from Keysar Trad Islamic Friendship Association of Australia

Thinking about our children at war in Iraq and Afghanistan on this very sad anniversary of the martyrdom of a great apostle of peace and humanity, one cannot help but lament how great it would have been for our world to have a Mahatma Gandhi to steer it towards peace.

THE MARTYRDOM OF IMAM HUSSAIN

THE BIBLE COMMANDS & PROPHECISES:

On the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls…And ye shall do no work in that same day…Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings…It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest… Leviticus 23:27-32

For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts… for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates Jeremiah 46:10

On the 10th day of Moharram (the 7th month in the calendar of the era of Moses) in 680 A.D., Imam Hussain, the grandson of Mohammed, the Holy Prophet of Islam, was martyred at Karbala on the banks of the river Euphrates. He was brave to the last. He was cruelly mutilated. His sacred head was cut off while in the act of prayer. A mad orgy of triumph was celebrated over his body by the devilish forces of the Caliph of the day. After all that agony, when his head was lifted up on a spear, his face was the peaceful, serene face of a man of God. All the men of his gallant band ( Total 72 martyrs - including a child of 6 months old ) , except his one sick son, were exterminated and their bodies trampled under foot by the horses. He and his family was deprived of water for three days before they were martyred.

Imam Hussain had refused to bow down before the despotic Caliph of the day in Damascus who had hijacked Islam and all it stood for. Imam Hussain stood steadfastly for Godly righteousness. All were touched by the story of his martyrdom, and it eventually gave the deathblow to the rule of the Caliphate. Imam Hussain’s martyrdom and supreme sacrifices succeeded in maintaining the purity of Islam and its true message to mankind to this day.

Sir Thomas Adams, Professor of Oriental Studies at the University of Cambridge writes: "… a reminder of the blood-stained field of Kerbala, where Hussain, the grandson of the Apostle of God fell at length, tortured by thirst and surrounded by the bodies of his murdered kinsmen, has been at anytime since then sufficient to evoke, even in the most lukewarm and heedless, the deepest emotions, the most frantic grief, and an exaltation of spirit before which pain, danger and death shrink to unconsidered trifles."

In this sacred month of Moharram we mourn the martyrdom of Imam Hussain which has been an inspiration through the cen-turies. So it is no wonder then that our Lord God has made this 10th day of Moharram a day of atonement and a day of Sabbath: a day for inner reflection, prayer and soul searching, a day to purify ourselves.

Mir Altaf Hussain BE

30 Reminiscences of Kasturba Gandhi Courageous Wife - M. K. Gandhi

so, my wife and I will Thrice in her life my wife narrowly escaped death through do all that is possible serious illness. The cures were due to household remedies. for her, and you may go At the time of her first attack satyagraha was going on or back without the least was about to commence. She had frequent haemorrhage. A anxiety on her score. medical friend advised a surgical operation, to which she But if you will not agreed after some hesitation. She was extremely understand this simple emaciated, and the doctor had to perform the operation thing, you will compel without chloroform. It was successful, but she had to me to ask you to suffer much pain. She, however, went through it with remove your wife from wonderful bravery. The doctor and his wife who nursed my place.’ I think one her were all attention. This was in Durban. The doctor of my sons was with gave me leave to go to Johannesburg, and told me not to me. He entirely agreed have any anxiety about the patient. In a few days, with me, and said his however, I received a letter to the effect that Kasturbai mother should not be was worse, too weak to sit up in bed, and had once given beef tea. I next become unconscious. The doctor knew that he might not, spoke to Kasturbai without my consent, give her wines or meat. So he herself. She was really telephoned to me at Johannesburg for permission to give too weak to be her beef tea. I replied saying I could not grant the consulted in this matter. But I thought it my painful duty permission, but that, if she was in a condition to express to do so. I told her what had passed between the doctor her wish in the matter she might be consulted, and she was and myself. She gave a resolute reply: ‘I will not take beef free to do as she liked. ‘But,’ said the doctor, ‘I refuse to tea. It is a rare thing in this world to be born as a human consult the patient’s wishes in the matter. You must come being, and I would far rather die in your arms than pollute yourself. If you do not leave me free to prescribe whatever my body with such abominations. diet I like, I will not hold myself responsible for your wife’s life.’ I took the train for Durban the same day, and ’ I pleaded with her. I told her that she was not bound to met the doctor who quietly broke this news to me: ‘I had follow me. I cited to her the instances of Hindu friends already given Mrs. Gandhi beef tea when I telephoned to and acquaintances who had no scruples about taking meat you.’ ‘Now, doctor, I call this a fraud,’ said I. ‘No or wine as medicine. But she was adamant. ‘No,’ said she, question of fraud in prescribing medicine or diet for a ‘pray remove me at once.’ I was delighted. Not without patient. In fact we doctors consider it a virtue to deceive some agitation I decided to take her away. I informed the patients or their relatives, if thereby we can save our doctor of her resolve. He exclaimed in a rage : ‘What a patients,’ said the doctor with determination. I was deeply callous man you are! You should have been ashamed to pained, but kept cool. The doctor was a good man and a broach the matter to her in her present condition. I tell you personal friend. He and his wife had laid me under a debt your wife is not in a fit state to be removed. She cannot of gratitude, but I was not prepared to put up with his stand the least little hustling. I shouldn’t be surprised if medical morals. she were to die on the way. But if you must persist, you are free to do so. If you will not give her beef tea, I will ‘Doctor, tell me what you propose to do now. I would not take the risk of keeping her under my roof even for a never allow my wife to be given meat or beef, even if the single day.’ So we decided to leave the place at once. It denial meant her death, unless of course she desired to was drizzling and the station was some distance. We had take it.’ ‘You are welcome to your philosophy. I tell you to take the train from Durban for Phoenix, whence our that, so long as you keep your wife under my treatment, I Settlement was reached by a road of two miles and a half. must have the option to give her anything I wish. If you I was undoubtedly taking a very great risk, but I trusted in don’t like this, I must regretfully ask you to remove her. I God, and proceeded with my task. I sent a messenger to can’t see her die under my roof.’ ‘Do you mean to say that Phoenix in advance, with a message to West to receive us I must remove her at once?’ ‘Whenever did I ask you to at the station with a hammock, a bottle of hot milk and remove her? I only want to be left entirely free. If you do

31 one of hot water, and six men to carry Kasturbai in the Manu. I did not like his carrying on this disputation in the hammock. I got a rickshaw to enable me to take her by presence of my wife, but I suffered him to do so out of the next available train, put her into it in that dangerous courtesy. I knew the verses from the Manusmriti; I did condition, and marched away. Kasturbai needed no not need them for my conviction. I knew also that there cheering up. On the contrary she comforted me, saying: was a school which regarded these verses as ‘Nothing will happen to me. Don’t worry.’ She was mere interpolations: but even if they were not, I held my views skin and bone, having had no nourishment for days. The on vegetarianism independently of religious texts, and station platform was very large, and as the rickshaw Kasturbai’s faith was unshakable. To her the scriptural could not be taken inside, one had to walk some distance texts were a sealed book, but the traditional religion of before one could reach the train. So I carried her in my her forefathers was enough for her. The children swore arms and put her into the compartment. From Phoenix we by their father’s creed and so they made light of the carried her in the hammock, and there she slowly picked Swami’s discourse. But Kasturbai put an end to the up strength under hydropathic treatment. In two or three dialogue at once. ‘Swamiji’, she said, ‘whatever you may days of our arrival at Phoenix a Swami came to our place. say, I do not want to recover by means of beef tea. Pray He had heard of the resolute way in which we had don’t worry me any more. You may discuss the thing rejected the doctor’s advice, and he had, out of sympathy, with my husband and children if you like. But my mind is come to plead with us. My second and third sons Manilal made up. and Ramdas were, so far as I can recollect, present when the Swami came. He held forth on the religious Source: Gandhi Samarak Nidhi (Gandhi Memorial Trust) - harmlessness of taking meat, citing authorities from www.gandhi-manibhavan.org. Meera Behn (Madeleine Slade) 1892 - 1982

with attractive Meera Behn features, a sharp was born as hooked nose and Madeleine beautiful eyes. She Slade in 1892 was much sought in England. after by young men Her father, but she felt bored by Admiral Sir the London society. Edmond Slade, She did not like to came of an go dancing and aristocratic instead enjoyed conventional being with nature. family and was She loved music. a typical Beethoven roused in English her a spiritual gentleman, hunger. She made a affectionate but pilgrimage to Bonn strict, reserved and always correct. Her mother was and Vienna, the places of Beethoven’s birth and death. beautiful, artistic and came of aristocratic but She read ‘Jean Christophe’, a novel based partly on the unconventional parentage. In her family there was a strain life of Beethoven, written by Romain Rolland, and went to of gypsy blood, which according to Meera Behn was meet the French philosopher. In order to talk to him in responsible for her wander lust. French, she first went to live in France in order to master Madeleine was a solitary child who hated school and was the language. educated at home by a governess. She learnt to read and Romain Rolland introduced Madeleine to Mahatma write, could not master mathematics, but loved flowers, Gandhi. She read his book ‘Mahatma Gandhi’ at one birds, trees and animals. She studied Botany and Anatomy sitting and it changed her life. “Now I knew what that and developed appreciation for the beautiful and the something was, the approach of which I had been feeling.” artistic. She was fond of riding and gardening and learnt “It was to go to Mahatma Gandhi who served the cause of French, German and later Egyptian. She was six feet tall,

32 oppressed India through fearless truth and non-violence, a and she felt like a foreigner in England. She joined the cause, which though focussed in India, was for the whole Satyagraha movement later on and was in prison along of humanity.” In order to prepare herself to come to with Kasturba once and twice by herself. She tried to Gandhiji, she gave up alcoholic drinks, became a settle independently in several villages to serve them, but vegetarian and studied the Bhagvad Gita. She wrote to every time she fell ill and came back to Bapu. In 1934 she Gandhiji congratulating him at the end of his 21-day fast started work at Segaon, a village near Wardha. Bapu told in 1924 and sent him L20 from her pocket money for the her that if she left Segoan, he would have to go and settle cause. She wanted to join him. He welcomed her and she there. She did leave it and Bapu had his last Ashram at landed at Bombay on 6 November 1925 and was at Segoan which he named Sevagram. Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad, on 7 November. Life in During the Second World War, Bapu sent Meera to the Ashram was hard but she made an adjustment, adopted Orissa, Assam and Bengal and it was on the basis of her Indian dress, learnt Hindi and mastered spinning and reports that he worked out a scheme of non-violent civil carding. defence, non-violent resistance against possible Japanese She never married though she fell in love twice, once in invasion. She went to see the Viceroy, but he would not England with a married Pianist whom she was helping to meet her. His Secretary, Mr. Laithwait, met her instead. get established, and once in India. She took a vow of She told him that the time had come for the British to end Brahmacharya, shaved off her head and in later years their rule in India. They should quit India. adopted saffron robes. She wanted to become a Hindu. Bapu sent her to the A. I. C. C. at Allahabad with a draft Gandhiji dissuaded her. All paths lead to the same God, he on Quit India Movement which was later accepted at the said, there was no need for anyone to change his or her Bombay A. I. C. C. meeting in August 1942 as the Quit religion. India Resolution. She was arrested along with Bapu on the Asked about her religion in London, she said, she morning of 9 August and was in the Aga Khan Palace followed Gandhiji’s religion, but was not a Hindu. “There Detention Camp from August 1942 to May 1944. She kept was a Christ and a Buddha. Now there is Gandhi,” she a little ivory statue of Balkrishna in her room and made said. To a New York representative she said, “You have beautiful floral decorations around it which all inmates of your Christ. To me Gandhi is Christ.” She studied the the detention camp loved to see. She played carrom, Vedas, the Upanishads and the Puranas. She writes, “As badminton and table tennis in the detention camp. She had the days went by, I became more and more devoted to the many discussions with Gandhiji which she has narrated in Vedas. They entered into my innermost being through the her book ‘The Spirit’s Pilgrimage’. medium of the very elements which had drawn them out After her release she started a centre for the services of of the human heart thousands of years ago.” the villagers and old cows and bullocks near Rishikesh, Gandhiji gave her the name of Meera in view of her called Kisan Ashram. She later named it Pashulok. She devotion to him and her dedication to the service of India. worked as an Honorary Adviser to the U.P. Government in Soon after she came to India, she was sent to the Kanya connection with the newly-launched. “Grow more food” Gurukul, Dehradun, where she had to choose between campaign for some time. Later she did similar work in receiving visitors or letters from Bapu. She chose the Kashmir for a short while. latter. In the Gurukul she taught English, spinning and After Bapu’s death, however, the pull for India was not carding and studied Hindi and the Scriptures. the same. It was on 18 January 1959 that she left India for At first Gandhiji did not allow her to join the political good and settled in a small village about 30 miles out of struggle. She toured Bihar, Bengal and Madras to Vienna. Here she spent her time in listening to propagate Khadi and to teach improved methods of Beethoven’s music, fraternising with nature. She went for carding and spinning. The poverty in Bihar distressed her. long walks and was called by the workers and farmers She taught the villagers sanitation and nursed the sick miles around as “The Indian Lady”. when she was free from fever in between attacks of malaria. - www.vandematarma.com She accompanied Gandhiji to the Second Round Table Conference in 1932 and acted as his interpreter on the Continent on his way back. She said India was her home

33 The Political Gandhi and the Whole Gandhi

Our knowledge of the life of Mahatma Gandhi, when it does not come from Attenborough’s landmark film, is generally provided by popular biographies. The biographies tend to be political biographies. Gandhi is the main player in India’s freedom struggle, the eventual “father of the nation”. His fight for the rights of Indians in South Africa and his struggle for India’s independence are generally the main focus of the story. The central narrative of the India phase of his life focuses on the three main political campaigns that he led: the 1921-22 Noncooperation Movement, the 1930-33 Civil Disobedience Movement and the 1942-43 Quit India Movement. The lengthy periods between these campaigns, spent on self-discovery or anti-untouchability and other social work, are glossed over, seen as lulls in Gandhi’s life. This however gives a very limited view of the Mahatma and different biographies of Gandhi could be written. How about a spiritual or constructive work biography in which the political campaigns are mere extensions to these more fundamental projects? A different picture of Gandhi would emerge, and certainly not a less accurate picture. Gandhi’s own autobiography, The Story of my Experiments with Truth, is not a political autobiography. Gandhi’s talk of swaraj, that is independence or freedom, is generally interpreted merely as independence for the Indian nation from British rule. However, for Gandhi political activism had a more elemental role. It was to a large degree educative, helping to train the soul and develop character so as to aid the quest for individual perfection. Swaraj means self-rule and to limit this to political self-rule is to largely miss the point. The three campaigns are not three isolated bursts of political activity, but examples of a lifelong quest for swaraj temporarily focussed at the macro narrowly defined political level. Narayan Desai, one of the few remaining Gandhians who knew the Mahatma intimately (his father was Mahadev Desai, Gandhi’s chief personal secretary, and he grew up in Gandhi’s ashrams), was a leading figure in the post-Gandhi Gandhian movement and is the most recent Gandhi biographer. He notes that Gandhi gave three great gifts to humanity. Satyagraha, Gandhi’s nonviolent activism, representing the political Gandhi, is only one of them. Gandhi held before himself, and attempted to place before the masses, a picture of an ideal society that was to be the goal of collective endeavour. The approach towards Truth was to be the goal for the individual. This vision was summed up in the word “Ramrajya”, the “Kingdom of God”, where there were equal rights for princes and paupers, where even the lowliest person could get swift justice without elaborate and costly procedures, where inequalities that allowed some to roll in riches while the masses did not have enough to eat were abolished and where the sovereignty of the people was based on pure moral authority rather than coercive power. Political independence for the country may have been a step towards Ramrajya, but was certainly no guarantee of it. Gandhi firmly believed that all forms of exploitation and oppression rested to a large degree on the acquiescence of the victims. With this in mind, he noted that “exploitation of the poor can be extinguished not by effecting the destruction of a few millionaires, but by removing the ignorance of the poor and teaching them to non-cooperate with the exploiters”. It was again partly for the educative purpose of pointing this out to the oppressed that he instituted what he called the “constructive programme”. Although this programme was tied to India’s independence struggle, it was not merely a tactical adjunct to assist in achieving that seemingly larger and more important goal. The constructive programme involved future leaders in the struggle and put them in contact with the masses (working not just for the people, but with them), helping to bring about the society Gandhi envisaged in a future free India, and indeed a future just world. In fact, Gandhi claimed that the wholesale fulfilment of the constructive programme “is complete independence” because if the nation was involved in the very process of rebuilding itself in the image of its dreams “from the very bottom upwards”, it would by definition be free. The programme, in its original context, dealt mainly with the problems of communal unity and the uplift of the rural masses. This approach aimed to produce “something beneficial to the community, especially to the poor and unemployed” and provided “the kind of work, which the poor and unemployed can themselves do and thus self- respectingly help themselves”. In situations of social conflict and mass satyagraha campaigns, Gandhi made it a point to couple constructive work to civil disobedience, sometimes seeming to say that constructive work was an aid to the civil disobedience campaign and at other times reversing the formula. Perhaps it could even be said that large oppositional satyagraha campaigns cannot be fully nonviolent if they are not accompanied by some form of positive constructive programme. The constructive programme, in Desai’s scheme, is the second of Gandhi’s great gifts. For Gandhi this constructive work offered replacement for what the nationalists were opposing at the very time they were opposing it. Without it, because fundamental changes would not have been made, civil disobedience - if it

34 succeeded in overthrowing a set of oppressors - would merely exchange one group of leaders with another similar group. Contrasting himself with the “born politician” Sardar Patel, Gandhi claimed that “I was born for the constructive programme. It is part of my soul. Politics is a kind of botheration for me”. Further, during one of his major political campaigns, Gandhi remarked that “the work of social reform or self-purification ... is a hundred times dearer to me than what is called purely political work”, and during another, following pressure to launch civil disobedience, Mahadev Desai records Gandhi as having said that “in placing civil disobedience before constructive work I was wrong ... I feared that I should estrange co-workers and so carried on with imperfect Ahimsa [nonviolence]”. Gandhi was well aware that political freedom was easier to achieve than economic, social and moral freedom in part because they are “less exciting and not spectacular”. Political biographies also seem to be more exciting and spectacular than those focussing on the social and moral aspects of Gandhi’s life. Desai points out that there was a third gift from Gandhi: his eleven vows, a set of rules which established the code of conduct for his ashram inmates and which are key to understanding Gandhi’s religious quest. Gandhi firmly believed that life could not be compartmentalised, that actions and the reasons on which they are based, whether they be political, economic, social or spiritual, are interrelated, and that these actions have a direct bearing upon the achievement of the ultimate aim of life. Gandhi himself named this aim as “moksha”, a liberation of the self, and claimed that his life, including his “ventures in the political field are directed to this same end”. Again, although the spiritual Gandhi does not fit too comfortably in primarily political biographies except to set up the Mahatma as the conscience of humanity, without understanding Gandhi’s spiritual quest, we do not understand Gandhi. As he is secularised into an understandable actor on the political stage we are left with no easy way of coming to terms with a more whole Gandhi. For Gandhi the vow was a powerful tool in the spiritual quest because vows enable acts that are not possible by ordinary self-denial to become possible through extraordinary self-denial. Through his eleven ashram vows, Gandhi turned personal virtues into public values. The vows were to adhere to truth, nonviolence, celibacy, non- possession, non-stealing, control of the palate, fearlessness, equal respect for all religions, bread labour (the dignity of manual work), the removal of untouchability (as an institution and from one’s own heart), and swadeshi (the favouring of locally produced goods, neighbourliness). Gandhi spent a lifetime struggling with these vows. And how could he have done otherwise? They constituted the road map of the spiritual quest that was the great endeavour of his life of which even his political activities were in reality only a sub-branch. For Gandhi, applying a set of techniques may have meant that nonviolent political activism was more likely to achieve its immediate political goals. However, living within the rules required for a successful satyagraha campaign, as Gandhi understood it, also constituted the type of life that is worth living. If we look at the whole Gandhi, instead of just Gandhi the saintly politician, we see a person struggling very publicly to discern the meaning of life, someone who not only knew that there was something more to human existence than the mundane, but had the courage to reach out for it and admit to failure. Perhaps the importance of Gandhi is best characterized by Louis Fischer when he perceptively remarked that it “lay in doing what everyone could do but doesn’t”, and by George Woodcock when he noted that the Mahatma, “with an extraordinary persistence ... made and kept himself on of the few free men of our time”, rather than by merely pointing out that he helped to disband the greatest empire ever known and was instrumental in freeing a large section of humanity from colonialism. A very human Mohandas Gandhi struggled with the same existential questions about what it is that constitutes a good and worthwhile life that so many of the rest of humanity at times feel the necessity to confront. And many have asked (and still do ask) these questions when they try to discern their place in the larger world, or when they ponder the meaning of peace, when they even perhaps dimly perceive that having may not be as important as being, when they see their lives dominated by machines which were supposed to be their servants, when they realise that so-called progress is diminishing the habitability of the planet, their only home, or when they see injustice in the world and ask why it exists. Perhaps this leaves the sneaking suspicion that maybe, just maybe, the person hailed as a mahatma could have been right when he said that “All mankind in essence are alike. What is, therefore, possible for me, is possible for everyone”. In this lies a large measure of the significance and personal challenge of the whole Gandhi, not merely Gandhi the famous Indian politician we so often read about. Thomas Weber lectures in Politics at La Trobe University. This is the summary of part of an article titled “Reading Gandhi: The Political Gandhi and the Whole Gandhi”, that appeared in La Trobe Forum, 2003, no.23, pp.46-50.This paper was previously published by Bhavan Australia in October 2005. Prof Thomas Weber

35 MAHATMA GANDHI’S SPEECH ON THE EVE OF HIS LAST FAST (12-1-1948)

My Fast as a Protest

One fasts for health's sake under laws governing health, fasts as a penance for a wrong done and felt as such. In these fasts, the fasting one need not believe in Ahimsa. There is, however, a fast which a votary of non-violence sometimes feels impelled to undertake by way of protest against some wrong done by society, and this he does when he as a votary of Ahimsa has no other remedy left. Such an occasion has come my way. When on September 9th, I returned to Delhi from Calcutta, it was to proceed to the West Punjab. But that was not to be. Gay Delhi looked a city of the dead. As I alighted from the train I observed gloom on every face I saw. Even the Sardar, whom humour and the joy that humour gives never desert, was no exception this time. The cause of it I did not know. He was on the platform to receive me. He lost no time in giving me the sad news of the disturbances that had taken place in the Metropolis of the Union. At once I saw that I had to be in Delhi and 'do or die'. There is apparent calm brought about by prompt military and police action. But there is storm within the breast. It may burst forth any day. This I count as no fulfilment of the vow to 'do' which alone can keep me from death, the incomparable friend. I yearn for heart friendship between the Hindus, the Sikhs and the Muslims. It subsisted between them the other day. Today it is non-existent. It is a state that no Indian patriot worthy of the name can contemplate with equanimity. Though the Voice within has been beckoning for a long time, I have been shutting my ears to it, lest it may be the voice of Satan otherwise called my weakness. I never like to feel resourceless, a Satyagrahi never should. Fasting is his last resort in the place of the sword—his or other's. I have no answer to return to the Muslim friends who see me from day to day as to what they should do. My impotence has been gnawing at me of late. It will go immediately the fast is undertaken. I have been brooding over it for the last three days. The final conclusion has flashed upon me and it makes me happy. No man, if he is pure, has anything more precious to give than his life. I hope and pray that I have that purity in me to justify the step. Worthy of Blessing I ask you all to bless the effort and to pray for me and with me. The fast begins from the first meal tomorrow. The period is indefinite and I may drink water with or without salts and sour limes. It will end when and if I am satisfied that there is a reunion of hearts of all the communities brought about without any outside pressure, but from an awakened sense of duty. The reward will be the regaining of India's dwindling prestige and her fast fading sovereignty over the heart of Asia and there through the world. I flatter myself with belief that the loss of her soul by India will mean the loss of the hope of the aching, storm-tossed and hungry world. Let no friend, or foe if there be one, be angry with me. There are friends who do not believe in the method of the fast for the reclamation of the human mind. They will bear with me and extend to me the same liberty of action that they claim for themselves. With God as my supreme and sole counsellor, I felt that I must take the decision without any other adviser. If I have made a mistake and discover it, I shall have no hesitation in proclaiming it from the housetop and retracing my faulty step. There is little chance of making such a discovery. If there is clear indication, as I claim there is, of the Inner Voice, it will not be gainsaid. I plead for all absence of argument and inevitable endorsement of the step. If the whole of India responds or at least Delhi does, the fast might be soon ended. No Softness But whether it ends soon or late or never, let there be no softness in dealing with what may be termed as a crisis. Critics have regarded some of my previous fasts as coercive and held that on merits the verdict would have gone against my stand but for the pressure exercised by the fasts. What value can an adverse verdict have when the purpose is demonstrably sound? A pure fast, like duty, is its own reward. I do not embark upon it for the sake of the result it

36 may bring. I do so because I must. Hence, I urge everybody dispassionately to examine the purpose and let me die, if I must, in peace which I hope is ensured. Death for me would be a glorious deliverance rather than that I should be a helpless witness of the destruction of India, Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam. That destruction is certain if Pakistan ensures no equality of status and security of life and property for all professing the various faiths of the world, and if India occupies her. Only then Islam dies in the two Indias, not in the world. But Hinduism and Sikhism have no world outside India. Those who differ from me will be honoured by me for their resistance however implacable. Let my fast quicken conscience, not deaden it. Just contemplate the rot that has set in beloved India and you will rejoice to think that there is a humble son of hers who is strong enough and possibly pure enough to take the happy step. If he is neither, he is a burden on earth. The sooner he disappears and clears the Indian atmosphere of the burden the better for him and all concerned. I would beg of all friends not to rush to Birla House nor try to dissuade me or be anxious for me. I am in God's hands. Rather, they should turn the searchlights inwards, for this is essentially a testing time for all of us. Those who remain at their post of duty and perform it diligently and well, now more so than hitherto, will help me and the cause in every way. The fast is a process of self-purification. Harijan, 18-1-1948, p. 523 Sourced from: The Selected Works Of Mahatma Gandhi Vol. V The Voice of Truth; pp 74-77

THE LAST ACT

The first day after the fast Gandhi was carried to prayers in a chair. In his speech, - which was only faintly audible, he reported that an official of the Hindu Mahasabha, which believed in Hindu supremacy and was the parent of the militant anti-Moslem R.S.S., had repudiated the-Delhi peace pledge. Gandhi said he was sorry. The second day he again had to be carried to prayers. In the course of his usual remarks, he declared he hoped to recuperate rapidly and then go to Pakistan to pursue the mission of peace. At question time, a man urged Gandhi to proclaim himself a reincarnation of God. 'Sit down and be quiet,' Gandhi replied with a tired smile. While Gandhi was speaking, the noise of an explosion was heard. 'What is it?' he asked. 'I don't know.' The audience was agitated. 'Don't worry about it,' he said. ‘Listen to me.' A hand-made bomb had been thrown at the Mahatma from the nearby garden wall. The next day Gandhi, having walked to the prayer meeting, told the worshippers that congratulations had poured in on him for remaining unruffled during the incident. He said he deserved no praise; he had thought it was military practice. 'I would deserve praise,' he asserted, 'only if I fell as a result of such an explosion and yet retained a smile on my face and no malice against the doer. No one should look down on the misguided youth who had thrown the bomb. He probably looks upon me as an enemy of Hinduism.' The young man, Gandhi continued, should realize that 'those who differ with him are not necessarily evil'. He urged the supporters of such 'young people to desist from their activity. 'This is not the way to save Hinduism. Hinduism can only be saved by my method.' Sikhs visited Gandhi and assured him that the would-be assailant was not a Sikh. 'What does it matter,' Gandhi asked, 'whether be was a Sikh or a Hindu or a Moslem? I wish all perpetrators well.' An illiterate old woman had grappled with the grenade-thrower and held him till the police came. Gandhi commended 'the unlettered sister on her simple bravery'. He told the Inspector General of Police not to molest the young man. Instead, they should try to convert him to right thinking and right doing. Nor should the worshippers be angry with the 'miscreant'. 'You should pity him,' Gandhi said. The young man's name was Madan Lal. He was a refugee from the Punjab, had found shelter in a mosque in Delhi and been evicted when the police, under pressure of Gandhi's wishes, commenced clearing Moslem places of worship. 'I had seen with my own eyes horrible things in Pakistan,' Madan Lal testified at his trial. 'I had also been an eye-witness to the shooting down of Hindus in Punjab towns and in Delhi by troops from the south.' Aroused, Madan Lal had joined a group of men who were plotting to kill Gandhi. When the grenade failed to reach its target

37 and Madan Lal was arrested, his fellow conspirator, Nathuram Yinayak Godse, came to Delhi. Godse, age thirty-five, was the editor and publisher of a Hindu Mahasabha weekly in Poona. In Tilak's Maratha country and he was a high-degree, Chitpawan Brahman. Subsequently, Godse, Madan Lal and seven others were tried together. The trial lasted more than six months. Among other things, Madan Lal said he was angered by the Indian Union's payment of 550,000,000 rupees to Pakistan. This exasperated Godse. 'I sat brooding intensely on the atrocities perpetrated on Hinduism and its dark and deadly future if left to face Islam outside and Gandhi inside,' Godse testified, 'and ... I decided all of a sudden to take the extreme step against Gandhi.' The success of Gandhi's last fast especially infuriated Godse. He resented the Mahatma's insistence that refugees be evacuated from the mosques. He was bitter because no demands were made on the Moslems. Godse began hovering around Birla House. He wore a khaki jacket. In a pocket of the jacket he kept a small pistol. Gandhi's prayer meeting on Sunday, January 25th, 1948, had an unusually heavy attendance. Gandhi was pleased. He told the people that they should bring straw mats or thick khadi to sit on because the ground in winter was cold and damp. It gladdened his heart, he continued, to be told by Hindu and Moslem friends that Delhi had experienced 'a reunion of hearts'. In view of this improvement, could not every Hindu and Sikh who came to prayers bring along 'at least one Moslem?' To Gandhi this would be concrete evidence of brotherhood. But Hindus like Madan Lal and Godse and their ideological sponsors were incensed by the presence of Moslems at Hindu services and the reading of selections from the Koran. Moreover, they seemed to hope that the death of Gandhi might be the first step towards the violent reunification of India. They wished, by removing him, to make the Moslems defenceless, little realizing that his assassination would have the opposite effect by showing the country how dangerous and undisciplined extreme anti-Moslems could be. Despite the relaxation that followed his fast, Gandhi knew the great difficulties facing the new, inexperienced Government. He had lost confidence in the ability of Congress. Much, very much, now depended on the two top government leaders: Prime Minister Nehru and Deputy Prime Minister Patel. They did not always see eye to eye. They were temperamental opposites. There had been friction between them. It worried Gandhi. Indeed, things had come to such a pass that Gandhi wondered whether Nehru and Patel could work together in the Government. Forced to make a choice, the Mahatma might have preferred Nehru. He appreciated Patel as an old friend and skilled administrator, but loved Nehru and was sure of his equal friendship for Hindus and Moslems. Patel had been suspected of political pro-Hinduism. In the end, Gandhi decided that Nehru and Patel were Indispensable to one another. The Government would be seriously weakened if it lost either. Gandhi accordingly wrote Nehru a note in English saying he and Patel 'must hold together' for the good of the country. At 4 pm on January 30th, Patel came to see Gandhi in" Birla-House to hear the same message. At 5.05 pm Gandhi, troubled because he was late, left Patel and, leaning his arms on Abha and Manu, hurried to the prayer ground. Nathuram Godse was in the front row of the congregation, his hand in his pocket gripping the small pistol. He had no personal hatred of Gandhi, Godse said at his trial, at which he was sentenced to be hanged: 'Before I fired the shots I actually wished him well and bowed to him in reverence.' In response to Godse's obeisance and the reverential bows of other members of the congregation, Gandhi touched his palms together, smiled and blessed them. At that moment, Godse pulled the trigger. Gandhi fell, and died murmuring, 'Oh, God.'

- Adapted from Mahatma Gandhi His Life & Times, Louis Fischer, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 2003, pp 645:649

38 It's just not cricket

The national sport has always had an ugly side, but it can still ennoble the spirit, writes John Huxley. quickly accepted the umpire's decision, right or wrong. Jeff "Thommo" Thomson, landscape gardener, Greenacre- born wiseacre and famously tearaway fast bowler, once The former captain Steve Waugh, whose squad introduced tried to explain why he and many fellow Australians could their Spirit of Cricket code of behaviour, said he was never cop Poms. Especially cricketing Poms. saddened by the slanging match between former team- mates Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist, which he "I dunno," he reflected at the top of his mental run, before attributed to their "media commitments". And the breaking into his stride. "Maybe it's that tally-ho lads commentator and former captain Richie Benaud and attitude. You know, there'll always be an England, all that others joined the NSW Governor, Marie Bashir, in empire crap, about making men of boys, bringing celebrating the generous, carefree approach of players civilisation to bloody colonials." such as Keith Miller. Looking through English cricket literature, which dates They are missed. But, sadly, to imagine that there was a back to the 16th century and beyond, it is easy to find time when cricket was trouble-free, to search for halcyon, examples of the sort of manure Thommo had in mind. pre-professional, pre-commercial days - when the game In Tom Brown's Schooldays, published in 1857, Thomas lived up to its "stiff upper lip", English standards - is Hughes wrote of cricket: "The discipline and reliance on futile. one another which it teaches is so valuable … it merges As early as 1743, The Gentleman's Magazine in London the individual in the eleven; he doesn't play that he may was already questioning the sport's civilising influence. win but that his side may." Cricket, it noted "is certainly a very good and wholesome Charles Box, writing 20 years later, compared the game to exercise, yet it may be abused if either great or little liquor: "exhilarating and exciting is it, like champagne; people make it their business". It is a reminder that many beneficial, cordial and fortifying to the system even and sports, including cricket, were first "organised" to provide likened in its infinite variety … to old-fashioned port." a forum for gambling, and that commercial pressures have Just the stuff to serve up to young chaps in Britain's always been a part of the game and the spirit in which it is burgeoning empire, along with cucumber sandwiches, played. white trousers and expressions such as "sticky wicket", W.G. Grace famously refused to leave the crease after "straight bat" and the ever-topical "just not cricket". being dismissed, explaining that the crowd had come to Cricket may, as one subcontinental writer put it, be "an see him bat rather than the bowler bowl. Like Bradman, Indian game accidentally discovered by the English", but who clashed with officials over media contracts and Thommo was surely correct in identifying the cultural advertising deals, Grace cashed in on his fame. baggage that came with bat and ball for two centuries. The world's first true "shamateur", Grace probably earned So when did cricket cease to be a civilising influence? about £120,000 (the equivalent of modern millions) When did it turn into a game played for "obscene sums of between 1870 and 1910 through testimonials, ghosted money" by packs of "wild dogs", using "foul and racist books and newspaper articles, and match fees. slurs" - to employ just a small selection of comments from A century ago, the Indian-born K.S. Ranjitsinhji's the Bollyline controversy? selection for England, for whom he qualified, was This week at the Sydney Cricket Ground there was no originally blocked by selectors not, they claimed, because shortage of enthusiasts taking refuge from the events, of his race but because he was a "bird of passage". which escalated beyond the expectations of any of the When he was finally chosen, one MCC member attacked participants, by harkening back to happier, more another for having "the disgusting degeneracy to praise a harmonious times. dirty black". While a third complained that "a nigger had Keith Mathews, a member at the SCG for more than 70 shown us how to play cricket". years, turned misty-eyed at the memory of the grace and - No doubt there have been countless other examples of Bodyline excepted - good spirit shown by teams of Don racist comments - the English cricketers Freddie Trueman Bradman's era. Neil Harvey, a member of Bradman's 1948 and Geoffrey Boycott denied allegations of insulting team of Invincibles, recalled the days when players and Indians - and still more cases of rivals being patronised by public, unencumbered by TV replays and technology,

39 their "betters". civilising influence? The annual, multicultural, six-a- side Cricket Masala competition has been a force for In the absence of television, bad behaviour on the pitch community good in Sydney. tended to stay there. Crowds were probably worse. The Herald reader Philip Levy, of Bardon, in Queensland, Further afield the Compton Cricket Club in Los Angeles is recalled this week how his late father, Roy Levy, captain using the principles and ethics of cricket "to teach people of his state's Sheffield Shield team, was routinely how to respect themselves and respect authority so they subjected to anti-Semitic abuse. "On the SCG one of the stop killing each other". Significantly, it believes players leading barrackers would call out, 'here comes Rabbi should earn no more than umpires. Levy: get a slice of stick it on a fork and give it to the Jew As Hugh Snelgrove, the Sydney-based project manager boy' - far worse than what [Andrew] Symonds was for a proposed Australian tour later this year, says, "If subjected to. cricket can change the lives of gangsters in south-central "My father responded by waving his cap to the barracker LA, it can still change the world." but admitted he would have liked to have hit the first ball John Huxley, down his mouth." Associate Editor, Sydney Morning Herald How much more civilised, despite bigger rewards, bigger Published in Sydney Morning Herald on January 12 2008 temptations, closer scrutiny, is cricket today? Despite this week's disturbing goings-on at the highest John Huxley was born in Birmingham, England, and worked as a senior editor on The Times and ... He is now associate level of the game, has cricket today ceased to be a editor of the Sydney Morning Herald

Mother and Motherland are more sublime than heaven Swami Sudarshanananda supreme goddess. We spend "Janani huge amounts on pilgrimage. Janmabhoomischa But we become poor to spend Svargadapi Gareeyacee" a little money to serve our - Mother and mother. Then how can we Motherland are superior expect happiness? If we are to even Svarga -heaven, genuinely interested to get is an oft - quoted saying. happiness, we must worship What is heaven and why our mother first before are Mother and worshipping any other God. Motherland more Acharya Sankara, the greatest sublime than heaven? spiritual genius the world has Heaven, explains the ever known, had deep Oxford Advanced devotion to his mother. He left Learner's Dictionary as, home to take sannyas, but "A place or state of very promised that wherever he Swami Vivekanada Rani Nehru great happiness. A place might be, he would be present believed to be the home of God and good people after at her deathbed. As promised, he arrived just before her death." Should we go to heaven to get happiness? Can't we death. After her demise, he performed the obsequies . get it here itself? We can get greater happiness here if we Swami Vivekanand's love and devotion for his mother, serve our Motherland and Mother in the true spirit. Our Bhubanesari Devi was well known. He left home. He scripture says, "Matridevo Bhava." Let our mother be our became a sanyasin. He became famous. He established God. Do we serve our Mother like God? We visit temples. the Sri Ramakrishna Mission. But he remembered his Our devotion to God in the temple is superb. We make an mother till the end of his life. He used to say, "He who annual pilgrimage to holy places with a view to getting cannot worship his/her mother can never become great." peace and happiness. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Netaji Subhash Chandra, But in the temple of our home we neglect our mother, the Mahatma Gandhi and Lalbahadur Shastri and a host of

40 others were great distressed and the despised, was the never-ceasing source because of their of all his activities. devotion to their Shivaji, the Mahratta hero, made many sacrifices because mothers. Sri for him his Motherland was supreme heaven. Rana Pratap, Ramachandra, Sri the Rajput hero, fought tooth and nail to uphold the Krishna, Bhagavan prestige of his Motherland. Patriotism, heroism, love of Buddha, Jesus Christ, fellow beings, spirit of valour and uprightness of the Sri Chaitanya, Shivaji, freedom fighters of our Motherland are unparalleled and and Sri Ramakrishna unique. They were unselfish even unto death. They were had phenomenal sincere to the core. They had no fear of death. The dictum, respect for their "Motherland is superior to heaven" united them all mothers. They had together and they put their best to free our Motherland shown in their life that from the clutches of the British rule. They all gave their to adore mother is the hearts' blood for independence. Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji, Jawaharlal Nehru best means to achieve Sardar Va11abh bhai, Jawaharlal Nehru Lai Bahadur and a peace, bliss and host of other freedom fighters worked hard and they had happiness. no time even to sleep to free our Motherland. They Gargi, Maitreyee, Sita, Savitri, Damayanti, Mirabai, renounced everything and sacrificed their lives for our Sarada Devi and many other women had shown in their country's sake. life how to esteem the mother. All great women of India Now, when we are independent, let's us all take the oath had become great because of their devotion to their that like our freedom fighters we must remember the mothers. The question now is how Motherland is superior dictum, 'Mother and Motherland are superior to heaven.' to heaven. When we study the life of Swami Vivekananda We must feel for the poor, the ignorant, and the we find that his love for the Motherland was unique. After downtrodden. his signal success at the Parliament of Religions, Swamiji became universally and immensely popular. But in the Swami Vivekananda midst of all his popularity the Swami's heart continued to has said, "I consider bleed for India. that the great national sin is the neglect of On the day of his triumph, a masses, and that is wealthy man invited Swamiji one of the causes of to his home in a fashionable our downfall. No part of Chicago. The most amount of politics luxurious room, a royal would be of any avail treatment and the spectacular until the masses in care could not give him India are well sleep at night. He was lost in educated, well fed, thoughts of India's and well cared for. predicament. The bed of They pay for our Rajiv Gandhi down seemed to him to be of education, they build thorns. The pillow was our temples, but in return, they get kicks. They are Indira Gandhi drenched with his tears. He practically our slaves. If we want to regenerate India, we cried out, "O Mother, what must work for them." do I care for name and fame when my Motherland remains sunk in the utmost poverty! To what a sad pass have we, If our national leaders and the enlightened citizens of poor Indians, come when millions of us die for want of a India work on the line suggested by Swami Vivekananda, handful of rice, and here they spend millions upon their our Motherland will become superior to heaven. personal comfort! Who will raise the masses in India! Who will give them bread? Show me, O Mother, how can - Bhavan's Journal December 31 2007 I help them." Often we find the same deep love for India shining out in his outpourings and actions. The intense and spontaneous love that poured forth in his heart for the poor, the

41 Growing Trees a Boon to Society

river is 1,000 to The United 2,000 km away Nation's and large environment amount of funds programme, are to be spent Global for bringing Environment water, this will Outlook - 4, has help the people warned that the of the drought- consumption hit area. levels are fast Growing of trees depleting world in abundance resources as can solve the regeneration has problem faced been outpaced by the people of by what humans Bundelkhand of are burning up. Uttar Pradesh Report's have and Marathwada indicated that of Maharashtra 45,000 square State, and other miles of forest drought-prone are being lost states in India across the world each year, 60% of the world's major and of Mara of Kenya and other countries. rivers have been dammed or diverted, fresh fish The climate change taking place in the world is due to population has declined by 50% in the last 20 years and large-scale cutting of trees. If trees are grown in one in 10 of world's large rivers are running dry every abundance, like Mumbai City at present, there will be no year before reaching the sea. Being a senior citizen and a climate change anywhere in the world. It is now for the life member of the National Society of the Friends of the UNO to advise all the countries to construct two lakes in Trees of Mumbai City for the past fifty years, and before the drought-prone villages, one with filter plant for the writing the real world solution to this problem faced by supply of drinking water and the other for growing of humankind of the world, I thank the Garden Department trees in abundance. This can bring heavy rains in these of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai for areas within ten to fifteen years of growing the trees. growing trees in abundance in Greater Mumbai in association with the National Society of the Friends of the Concluding with a forecast that India will have north-east Trees for the last fifty years. monsoon in December 2007 and January 2008 in Tamil Nadu and some other States, and since Tamil Nadu has The Mumbai newspapers published the census of the trees been growing trees in abundance for the past many years, under the heading ,"Huge Growth in Mumbai's Green it will have flood during this period. Flood is a blessing in Cover" on September 1, 2007. Another report appeared in disguise, as underground water table will go up Mumbai newspaper about the increase in the rainfall: Now considerably and there will be no shortage of drinking my solution to the world problem is, grow more trees to water in the area. Flood time of the world should be get more rain and reduce warming, and solve the drinking converted to a fun time for young people and they should water problem of planet earth. I also propose to UNO the learn swimming wherever possible. Scientists should action programme to be undertaken by all the countries of discover portable and folding boats so that the young the world: The governments of countries which are people who learnt swimming can carry their own folded experiencing large drought should construct two lakes in boats to participate in boat races. the centre of the village—one with filter plant for the supply of drinking water and the other for supply of water for growing of trees in the village in abundance. Pumping - K.K. Krishnan, Bhavan’s Journal January 15 2008 stations by the side of the nearest river should be built and water brought to the lakes through pipelines. Even if the

42 Mahatma Gandhi’s Life Sketch GANDHI'S EARLY LIFE (1869-1893) Mahatma, the great soul, epitomizes the meaning of a man who was possibly the greatest human being the 20th century has seen. Mahatma Gandhi was a modern messiah whose life became the message to the world. The message was truth and freedom through non-violence. Non violence is the most beautiful gift mankind has received since the existence of civilized evolution. Violence, wars, terrorism and human injustice are the focus of the central issues of world problems. The constructive aspects of Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy can regenerate a world bordering on the chaos. Gandhiji's altruistic philosophy may appear to be an utopian ideal. However, if we want to find permanent solutions to life's problems, it is essential to adopt universal welfare as a central precept. Only an individual with considerable self- respect, unshakable faith in human nature and detachment can find sanity where alienation, soaring crime and unmitigated violence are ripping the society apart. Today Mahatma Gandhi is no more a person, he has become a phenomenon. In his lifetime he fought for many causes; colonialism, racial discrimination, economic exploitation and India's Independence, but predominantly he fought for human rights which was the pivot of his existence. His weapons were Satya (truth) and Ahimsa (non-violence). Gandhiji's entire life was a powerful message for mankind. His every breath was dedicated to the pursuit of truth (god), in its most pristine manifestations, justice and liberty for man. FROM PORBUNDER

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbunder, India. He later became known as `Mahatma' - the great soul. Born in an illustrious and distinguished family, Gandhiji married Kasturba at the age of 13. Gandhiji's experiments with truth reflect his early childhood. Mundane incidents which otherwise would have been relegated to posterity are the foundation of his future trials. Meat-eating being sacrilegious, as a boy Gandhi dared to defy this profanity only to be convinced of its sacrament. Similarly, his confession of stealing, refusing to `cheat' at the behest of his revered teacher, trying to reform Sheikh Mehtab, his school friend, are all evidence of a mind confronting an introspective conscience. However the incident which haunted his entire life was his inability to be present at his father's deathbed. A privilege which he felt he lost owing to his `lustful pangs' towards his young wife. After completing his school education, he left for England to study law. In England, apart from studying law, he became an ardent supporter of vegetarianism. Gandhiji also devoured theosophical and mystical works. He read the Koran, the Old and New Testament and Indian religious books, of which the Gita was to have a profound influence on his life. The Bhagvad Gita is a Hindu religious book based on moral discourses and practice of yoga. Gandhiji was called to bar in 1891, whereupon he immediately retuned to India. In 1893 he was hired by a law firm to fight a case in South Africa. GANDHI IN SOUTH AFRICA (1893-1914)

While traveling by train to Pretoria, Gandhiji experienced his first taste of racial discrimination. In spite of carrying first class ticket, he was indiscriminately thrown out of the train by the authorities on the instigation of a white man. Gandhiji's reaction was that of `David confronting the Goliath of racial discrimination. Instead of fleeing from the seen, Gandhiji stayed back - for 21 years to fight for rights of the Indians in South Africa. By May 1894, he had organized the Natal Indian Congress. In 1896, he returned to India and enlisted support from some prominent Indian

43 leaders. He then returned to South Africa with 800 free Indians. Their arrival was met with resistance and an inflamed mob attacked Gandhiji physically. Gandhiji exercised `self-restraint'. His philosophy of winning the detractors with the peaceful restraint had begun. It yielded fruit. Under pressure from the British government the attempt to disfranchise Indians in South Africa was abandoned. With the outbreak of the Boer war in 1899, Gandhiji enlisted 1100 Indians and organized the Indian Ambulance Corps for the British. In spite of the Indian support, the Transvaal Asiatic Department continued its anti-Indian regulations. Gandhiji chose to support the British as he felt, "The authorities may not always be right but as long as the subjects owe allegiance to the state, it is their clear duty to...accord their support". Gandhiji was now the recognised leader of South Africa's Indian community. By1901, he returned to India with his family. He travelled extensively in India and even opened a law office in Bombay. However, South African Indians refused to part with their crusader of justice. He had to return to South Africa on the request of the Indian community in 1902. By 1903, Gandhiji had begun to lead a life of considerable discipline and self-restraint. He changed his dietary habits, he was his own doctor, he embraced the Gita and he was confronting Untouchability. By 1906, after undergoing many trials and tribulations of self-abnegation and eventually brahmacharya (celibacy), he had become invincible to face the South African government. Except God, Gandhiji feared nothing. Influenced by John Ruskin's preaching of rustic life, Gandhiji organized Phoenix Farm near Durban. Here he trained disciplined cadres on non-violent Satyagraha (peaceful self-restraint), involving peaceful violation of certain laws, mass courting of arrests, occasional hartal, (suspension of all economic activity for a particular time), spectacular marches and nurtured an indomitable spirit which would fight repression without fear. In Sept 1906, he organized the first Satyagraha campaign in protest against the proposed Asiatic ordinance directed against Indian immigrants in Transvaal. While in June 1907, he organized Satyagraha against compulsory registration of Asiatics (The Black Act). In 1908, Gandhiji had to stand trial for instigating the Satyagraha. He was sentenced to two months in jail (the first time), however after a compromise with General Smuts he was released. Out of jail he was attacked for compromising with General Smuts. Unfortunately, Smuts broke the agreement and Gandhiji had to relaunch his Satyagraha. In 1909, he was sentenced to three months imprisonment in Volkshurst and Pretoria jails. After being released, he sailed for England to enlist support for the Indian community. In 1913, he helped campaign against nullification of marriages not celebrated according to Christian rights. He also launched his third Satyagraha campaign by leading 2000 Indian miners across the Transvaal border. By December, he was released unconditionally in hope of a compromise. Gandhiji's ahimsa (non-violence) had triumphed. Victory came to Gandhiji not when Smuts had no more strength to fight him but when he had no more heart to fight him. Much later General Smuts declared that men like Mahatma Gandhi redeem us from a sense of commonplace and futility and are an inspiration to us not to weary in well doing....' GANDHI BACK IN INDIA (1914-1948)

Gandhi left South Africa forever and returned to India in July 1914. Initially he stayed at Shantivan ashram of Noble Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. By 1917, he had established Satyagraha ashram on the banks of Sabarmati river. In 1917, Gandhiji led a successful Satyagraha campaign fighting for the rights of the indigo planters at Champaran. Champaran was a turning point in India's freedom struggle. For the first time with peaceful means, Gandhiji declared that the British could not order me about in my own country'. Simultaneously, he tapped the power of the present masses and awoke their spirit of dignity and self-reliance. In 1918, Gandhiji fought for the rights of the textile mill workers of Ahmedabad. Here for the first time he introduced a method of arbitration - fasting. Gandhiji felt this method eliminated violence and the compulsion which may present even peaceful struggles. `I fasted to reform those who love,' stated Gandhiji. After considerable arbitration and negotiations, the mill owners agreed to the demands.

44 In March 1918, Gandhiji led a Satyagraha for peasants of Kheda. While in April, he appealed for a nationwide hartal protecting the enactment of the barbarous Rowlatt Act. However violence broke out and for the first time Gandhiji had to suspend the Satyagraha calling it a Himalayan miscalculation. Gandhiji realised that a peaceful agitation could only be led by trained satyagrahis (non-violent soldiers). In 1920, Gandhiji was elected the president of the All India Home Rule League. With no freedom in sight, he urged a resolution for Satyagraha campaign of non co-operation. Gandhiji decided upon an experiment of mass civil disobedience at Bardoli in 1922. He had to suspend the campaign owing to the outbreak of violence at Chauri Chaura. (The second campaign was extremely successful). Subsequently, he was arrested for seditious articles in `Young India'. Gandhiji was sentenced to six years in jail at the `great trial' in Ahmedabad under Judge Broomfield. In 1929 he was arrested for burning foreign cloth under the non-co-operation movement. In December, the Congress session at Lahore voted for complete independence (Sampoorna Swaraj). January 26 was proposed as Independence Day and Gandhiji launched the third all-India `satyagraha campaign'. On March 12 1930, Gandhiji, 61, set off from Sabarmati with 79 satyagrahis on the historic Salt March to Dandi. Gandhiji and his followers covered 100 miles in 24 days to defy the `nefarious' Salt Act. Such publicized defiance required imagination and dignity. Technically, legally nothing had changed, except that British imperialism suffered a moral defeat. Gandhiji was arrested and sent to jail without trial. By 1931 January, he was released unconditionally and by March he signed the historic Gandhi-Irwin pact, which also ended civil disobedience or non-co-operation on a mass scale. By August, he sailed for London to attend the second round table conference. After returning from England, Gandhiji renewed the Satyagraha campaign, the fourth nation- wide effort. In 1932, against widespread opposition, Gandhiji began his `fast onto death' protesting the British action of giving separate electorate to the untouchables. The fast ended after the British accepted the `Yeravda Pact'. By 1933, Gandhiji disbanded Satyagraha Ashram and converted it into a centre for removal of Untouchability (the oppressed class). Then he toured India to help end Untouchability. He also founded the All India Village Industries Association. In 1940 Gandhiji protested against Britain's refusal to allow Indians to express their opinions regarding World War II by launching an individual civil disobedience campaign. 23,000 people were arrested in connection. The year was 1942 and `Poorna Swaraj' (complete independence) was still not in sight. The Congress passed the `Quit India' resolution-the final nation-wide `Satyagraha campaign' with Gandhiji as the leader. Before the campaign was launched, all the Congress leaders including Gandhiji were arrested. They were imprisoned at Aga Khan Palace where Gandhiji began his fast to end deadlock between viceroy and Indian leaders. On Feb 22, his wife Kasturba, 74, died in prison. By May, Gandhiji was released unconditionally from the prison owing to decline in health. This was his last imprisonment. Gandhiji had already spent 2,338 days in jail during his lifetime! In 1946, at the age of 77, Gandhiji began his four-month tour of 49 villages in East Bengal to quell communal rioting over Muslim representation in provincial government. In the subsequent year, he also travelled in Bihar to lessen Hindu-Muslim tensions. Although Gandhiji participated in talks with Lord Mountbatten and Jinnah, he opposed the division of the country in India and Pakistan. However, the country was partitioned and India granted independence. Riots broke out. Gandhiji prayed, fasted and travelled extensively to stop people from rioting. After 1946, Gandhiji's efforts were devoted to Hindu-Muslim unity. Jinnah proclaimed August 16, 1946 as Direct Action Day. It was never clarified what it involved. But the Muslims responded to this call with vengeance. The great Calcutta killings followed. Gandhiji visited Noakhali and other areas to restore peace. In 1948, Gandhiji undertook a fast for 5 days to bring communal peace in the country. On January 30, 1948, while holding a prayer meeting in Delhi, Gandhiji was shot dead by a Hindu fanatic Vinayak Nathuram Godse. He was totally opposed to Gandhiji's efforts to bring about Hindu-Muslim amity. Thus ended the eventful life of the greatest apostle of peace the world had ever seen. Source: Gandhi Samarak Nidhi (Gandhi Memorial Trust) - www.gandhi-manibhavan.org.

45 Bhavan’s Children Section Vikram Betal Story

It was raining cats and dogs and streaks of lightning rent the surroundings as Vikram boldly made his way to the tree to yet again catch hold of the elusive Betaal. He advanced in the face of ghostly sights and eerie sounds and once again caught hold of the Betaal. As the Betaal perched on Vikram's shoulders, it cackled, 'You are very brave. I shall tell you a story and you should give me the correct answer.' He began: Raju and Anirban were very good friends. They were rank holders of Mumbai Vidyalaya, which was a very strict school. Offences like not doing homework were severely punished and this caused a lot of shame and disgrace. Coincidentally both Raju and Anirban of ninth standard were taken to task for not having done their Algebra and Geometry homework. Their teacher, Mrs. Rao, wondered what had happened as both were good students from middle class families and always were in the top ten. When asked to stay behind after school as part of punishment, they both broke down and said that they wanted to go home. She asked them to confide in her. Raju began crying and said that his grand father was on his deathbed. He was very sick and they had already spent a lot of money on medicines andhospitalisation. His parents had to go back to work as they had no leave. They now had no money left to even pay his school fees. Raju had taken a shift job at a call centre from 3 p.m to 8.30 p.m to earn some money. Hence he had no time to do his homework and could not also stay back in school after school hours as he had to report for work. It was now Anirban's turn to tell his reason for not doing the homework and refusing to stay back in school as part of the punishment. He sobbed and told the teacher that his mother was suffering from AIDS and she was in a very bad state, not expected to live for long. Anirban wanted to be by her side for the remaining days of her life and was spending all his time playing the casio for her, painting pictures for her and being by her bedside. He too requested his teacher to allow him to go home. The teacher was in a dilemma. She did not know what to do. The Betaal stopped his story and said,"Tell me, Vikram, if you had been the teacher what would you have done and why? Answer me immediately. If you know the answer and you do not tell me, your head will be smashed to smithereens. And if you speak I will go back to my tree". Vikram was in a tight spot and began thinking. Dear readers, can you answer for Vikram? What would you have done, if you were the teacher, and why? Send your answers to [email protected] having “Vikram Betal Story” as the Subject of the Email.

- Bhavan’s Journal January 15 2008

• Our children should not be so taught as to despise labour. • Basic education links the children, whether of the cities of villages, to all that is best and last- ing in India. • The law of love could be best understood and learned through little children. • The greatest lessons in life, if we would but stoop and humble ourselves, we should learn not from the grown-up learned men, but from the so-called ignorant children. - Mahatma Gandhi on Children

46 Holy & Wise Let noble thoughts come to us from every side - Rigveda, I-89-I

UNTO THIS LAST - Mahatma Gandhi I stand by what is implied in the phrase, 'Unto This Last'. That book marked the turning point in my life. We must do even unto this last as we would have the world do by us. Harijan, 17-ll-'46, p. 404 And I know that God is found more often in the lowliest of His creatures than in the high and mighty. I am struggling to reach the status of these. I cannot do so without their service. Hence my passion for the service of the suppressed classes. And as I cannot render this service without entering politics I find myself in them. Thus I am no master. I am but a struggling, erring, humble servant of India and therethrough of humanity. Harijan, ll-9-'24, p. 298 And He hath His footstool where live 'the humble, the lowliest and lost'. Spinning, therefore, for such is the greatest prayer, the greatest worship, the greatest sacrifice. Young India, 24-9-'25, p. 331 God alone is great. We his creatures are but dust. Let us be humble and recognize the place of the lowliest of His creatures. Krishna honoured Sudama in his rags as he honoured no one else. Young India, 26-12-'24, p. 423 Daridranarayan is one of the millions of names by which humanity knows God who is unnameable and unfathomable by human understanding, and it means God of the poor, God appearing in the hearts of the poor. Young India, 4-4-'29, p. 110 I read Ruskin's Unto This Last during a train journey to Durban and it gripped me immediately. I saw clearly that, if mankind was to progress and to realize the ideal of equality and brotherhood, it must adopt and act on the principle of 'Unto This Last'. It must take along with it even the dumb, the halt and the lame.- Harijan, 25-8-'46, p. 281 I have always held that social justice, even unto the least and the lowliest, is impossible of attainment by force. I have further believed that it is possible by proper training of the lowliest by non-violent means to secure redress of the wrongs suffered by them. That means is non-violent non-co-operation. Harijan, 20-4-'40, p. 97 I am working for winning Swaraj... for those toiling and unemployed millions who do not get even a square meal a day and have to scratch along with a piece of stale roti and a pinch of salt. Young India, 26-3-'31 p. 53 I think of the poor of India every time I draw a thread on the wheel. The poor of India today have lost faith in God, more so in the middle classes or the rich. For a person suffering from the pangs of hunger, and desiring nothing but to fill his belly, his belly is his God. To him anyone who gives him bread is his Master. Through him he may even see God. To give alms to such persons, who are sound in all their limbs, is to debase oneself and them. What they need is some kind of occupation, and the occupation that will give employment to millions can only be hand-spinning.... I have described my spinning as a penance or sacrament. And, since I believe that where there is pure and active love for the poor there is God also. I see God in every thread that I draw on the spinning-wheel. Young India, 20-5-'26, p. 187 I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, try the following expedient: Recall the face of the .poorest and the most helpless man whom you may have seen and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he be able to gain anything by it? Will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to Swaraj or self-rule for the hungry and also spiritually starved millions of our countrymen? Then you will find your doubts and your self melting away. This Was Bapu, (1959), p. 46

47