{"id":2523,"date":"2021-10-01T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-01T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gooroo.com\/blog\/?p=2523"},"modified":"2021-10-01T09:15:22","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T13:15:22","slug":"pacifist-mahatma-gandhi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gooroo.com\/blog\/pacifist-mahatma-gandhi\/","title":{"rendered":"Pacifist Mahatma Gandhi and His Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"709\" height=\"488\" src=\"https:\/\/gooroo-blog.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/2021\/10\/01071435\/ishant-mishra-Ha4GZKWINdw-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"pacifist mahatma gandhi\" class=\"wp-image-2524\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gooroo-blog.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/2021\/10\/01071435\/ishant-mishra-Ha4GZKWINdw-unsplash.jpg 709w, https:\/\/gooroo-blog.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/2021\/10\/01071435\/ishant-mishra-Ha4GZKWINdw-unsplash-300x206.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 100vw, 709px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Extraordinary people continue to shape the world and they way we view it. Even after their death, it\u2019s important to remember the legacy and mark they left on society. In honour of his birthday tomorrow (October 2nd), we\u2019re touching upon the life of Mahatma Gandhi. Plus, we explore what it means to be a pacifist and activist.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-mahatma-ghandi\">Mahatma Ghandi<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer born in 1869.  He employed pacifist (aka nonviolent) resistance to lead the successful campaign for India\u2019s independence from British rule. In turn, this inspired movements for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gooroo.com\/blog\/citizenship-day\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">civil rights<\/a> and freedom across the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The title \u201cMahatma\u201d is a Sanskrit honour translating to \u201cgreat-souled\u201d. Gandhi earned this in South Africa in 1914.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"709\" height=\"484\" src=\"https:\/\/gooroo-blog.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/2021\/10\/01071458\/mick-haupt-D9CHd0Cdbr4-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gooroo-blog.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/2021\/10\/01071458\/mick-haupt-D9CHd0Cdbr4-unsplash.jpg 709w, https:\/\/gooroo-blog.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/2021\/10\/01071458\/mick-haupt-D9CHd0Cdbr4-unsplash-300x205.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 100vw, 709px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"h-a-brief-history\">A Brief History<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Born and raised in Gujarat, India, Gandhi moved to Inner Temple, London, to study law. He received \u201ccall to bar\u201d the summer of 1891. Unable to start a successful law practice in India, he moved to South Africa where he stayed for 21 years. During this time, he raised a family and first employed pacifist resistance in a campaign for civil rights.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1945, Gandhi returned to India with the goal to organise peasants, farmers, and urban labourers to protest against excessive land-tax and discrimination. In 1921, he assumed leadership of the Indian National Congress. He used this position to lead nationwide campaigns for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>easing poverty<\/li><li>expanding women\u2019s rights<\/li><li>building religious and ethnic amity<\/li><li>ending untouchability<\/li><li>achieving self-rule<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Also during this time, he opted to live and dress modestly and ate simple vegetarian food.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Imprisoned many times, India finally received its independence in 1947. However, Gandhi\u2019s dreams of religious pluralism were squashed by the portioning into two dominions: the Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. Again, Gandhi continued to be a pacifist and undertook hunger strikes to stop religious violence. However, some viewed these tactics as too accommodating thus leading to Gandhi\u2019s assassination in 1948.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"709\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/gooroo-blog.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/2021\/10\/01071506\/raghavendra-v-konkathi-8m3FMEjqvyg-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2526\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gooroo-blog.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/2021\/10\/01071506\/raghavendra-v-konkathi-8m3FMEjqvyg-unsplash.jpg 709w, https:\/\/gooroo-blog.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/2021\/10\/01071506\/raghavendra-v-konkathi-8m3FMEjqvyg-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 100vw, 709px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-pacifist-principles-and-practices\">Pacifist Principles and Practices<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Religion, ethics, and philosophy influence a lot of Gandhi\u2019s thinking. As well as great writers such as Leo Tolstoy. Ghandi saw himself a disciple of his work because they both hated violence and preached the importance of being a pacifist. Other influences include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Shrimad Rajchandra. <\/strong>A poet and Jain philosopher, Rajchandra served as another counsellor for Gandhi. Their correspondence was a \u201crefuge in moments of spiritual crisis\u201d. Rajchandra advised patience and the studying of Hinduism.\u00a0<\/li><li><strong>Religious texts. <\/strong>During his stay in South Africa, Gandhi read translated texts of <a href=\"https:\/\/courses.gooroo.com\/courses\/how-to-know-the-bible\/102\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Christianity<\/a> and Islam. This studying, and additional discussion with scholars, led him to respect all religions. What\u2019s more, he had concerns about the imperfections and frequent misinterpretations of them.\u00a0<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"h-on-wars-and-being-a-pacifist\">On Wars and Being a Pacifist<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Surprisingly, despite his pacifistic nature, Gandhi supported wars. He formed the Indian Ambulance Corps in the South African War on the British Side in 1899. His reasoning for this was that if he were to demand rights as a British citizen, then it was his duty to participate in defence of the British Empire.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gandhi continued to show this support for war by rallying Indian troops for both WWI and WWII. In his writings about it, he states:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>\u201cWhere there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Later, he would add that being a pacifist is effective and true forgiveness only when one has the power to punish. Not, when one decides not to do anything because one is helpless. The concept of non-violence has a long history in Indian religious thought \u2014 it is considered the highest dharma (ethical value virtue). However, Gandhi was the first to apply it in the political field on a larger scale. This method proved to be palatable to those who did not want an uncontrolled and violent social revolution which could create losses for them.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Extraordinary people continue to shape the world and they way we view it. Even after their death, it\u2019s important to remember the legacy and mark they left on society. In honour of his birthday tomorrow (October 2nd), we\u2019re touching upon the life of Mahatma Gandhi. Plus, we explore what it means to be a pacifist [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":2524,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2648,16],"tags":[2675,2674,2673,2672],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v16.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mahatma Gandhi is a famous pacifist and civil rights activist. 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