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... unit that when one is pushed towards injustice, one must simply refuse and not fight back. To take the blows of their oppressors and not become servants would have both moral and practical value. Morally, violence and hatred are wrong by most, if not all, religions. Often though, some form of self-defense is considered excusable. Gandhi said I cannot intentionally hurt anything that lives, much less human beings, even though they may do the greatest wrong to me (Logue, 23).
He also said of cooperation with Britain that non-cooperation with evil is a duty, and British rule of India is evil (Gandhi, np). That gave a moral basis for non-cooperation, and non-violence against Britain. Practically, the cause for liberation was to be most purely sought through the course of non-violence. Gandhi believed that in order to overcome injustice one must make injustice visible (Gandhi, np). Fighting back does not allow for such. He encouraged his people to fight against anger, not to provoke it (Gandhi, np).
Even more practically was the concept of earning Indias independence. He reminded his followers that terrorism only justifies their regression and to have courage to take the opposing anger. He urged for peaceful non-violent non-cooperation and attained it through most of his life (Gandhi, np). The phrase is echoed, an eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind (Gandhi, np). Gandhi's belief in the principle of non-violence did not end with people. He believed that all beings deserved respect and care.
He believed in vegetarianism for reasons of non-violence as well as its values towards simple living. If there is less grain grown for cows, there is more grown for the use of people directly (McKibben, 64). I do feel, stated Gandhi, that spiritual progress does demand at some stage that we should cease to kill fellow creatures for the satisfaction of our bodily wants (The Higher Taste, 28). Although he learned vegetarianism from his mother, Gandhi came to this belief on his own terms after studying the issue while earning his law degree in London (Gandhi, np). As Gandhi called for liberation of the soul, he taught forgiveness. Just as his father had forgiven him, Gandhi longed to have no hard feelings towards others.
To achieve forgiveness, people must forgive themselves as well and take effort to correct their wrongs. This is why when a Hindu came to Gandhi after killing a Muslim boy in revenge for the Muslim killing of his son Gandhi told the man to find a Muslim around the age of the boy he killed and raise him as his own son, only Muslim (Gandhi, np). When Gandhi refused to pay a tax in South Africa that was unjust, a man by the name of General Smuts put him in prison. Gandhi did not have hard feelings after he was released. Instead, he made General Smuts a pair of sandals he had made while in prison as a sign of forgiveness (Logue, 13). Gandhi also urged the people not to be bitter with the British, despite their unfair rule over the country.
He said Weve come a long way with the British. When they leave wed like to see them off as friends (Gandhi, np). The strongest example of Gandhi's forgiveness can be seen in the very last moment of his life. Gandhi said to one of his followers that if someone were to kill him, he would say Gods name with his last breath, forgiving the person that killed him.
Three days later, a Hindu who blamed him for the division of India (to India and Pakistan) shot Gandhi. As Gandhi died, he spoke Gods name, forgiving the man that killed him (Logue, 22 - 23). Gandhi was called Mahatma, meaning great soul, as well as Back, meaning, father (Chadha, 506). Over the course of time, many have taken parts of his wisdom and made a difference in their lives and in the world. The Farm Workers Protest of California Central Valley, the Anti-Apartheid movements in South Africa, as well as the Civil Rights movement by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
all owe a great debt to Gandhi. Sit-ins, going limp, and boycotts were all concepts inspired by Gandhi's Satyagraha movement (McKibben, 62). He was the father of many movements, and of a philosophy not only believed, but lived. A principle is a principle. And in no case can it be watered down because of our incapacity to live it in practice.
We have to strive to achieve it, and the striving should be conscious, deliberate and hard (Quotes, np). Gandhi's principles of simple living, non-violence and forgiveness were not watered down in his life and are not to be watered down in the lives of future generations. He calls everyone everywhere to lead peaceful, loving lives. It is evident not only in what he did, but who he was. Thesis: Gandhi promoted simple living, non-violence, and forgiveness as a way to unite all people peacefully. I.
Gandhi's religious instruction as a child B. To unite women and the Untouchables C. Non-violence towards all creatures Chadha, Yogesh. Gandhi.
New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. , 1997. Gandhi. Dir. Richard Attenborough. With Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen, and Martin Gandhi, Mohandas K.
The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Beacon Press, 1963. The Higher Taste. U. S. A. : The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1991.
Leigh, Angela. Gandhi Living in Peace. 7 May 2000: n. pag. On-line. Internet.
Available: web Logue, Mary. Forgiveness: The Story of Mahatma Gandhi. U. S. A. : The Childs World, McKibben, Bill. Joys R Us.
Unte Reader. March-April 2000. No. 98: 60 - 64. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Encyclopedia of World Biography V. 6 Quotes. Gandhi, Mohandas K. Available: web Bibliography: Works Cited Chadha, Yogesh.
Gandhi. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. , 1997. Gandhi. Dir. Richard Attenborough.
With Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen, and Martin Sheen. Columbia Pictures, 1982. Gandhi, Mohandas K. The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Beacon Press, 1963.
The Higher Taste. U. S. A. : The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1991. Leigh, Angela.
Gandhi Living in Peace. 7 May 2000: n. pag. On-line. Internet. Available: web Logue, Mary. Forgiveness: The Story of Mahatma Gandhi.
U. S. A. : The Childs World, 1998. McKibben, Bill. Joys R Us. Unte Reader.
March-April 2000. No. 98: 60 - 64. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Encyclopedia of World Biography V. 6 Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1998. Quotes. Gandhi, Mohandas K. Available: web
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Research essay sample on Gandhi A Man Of Principle
