StephenGill, Dr.
Email: stephengill@cogeco.ca. Site: www.stephengill.ca
Ansted Poet Laureate; Dean, Peace
Studies at
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GANDHIAN WAY TO PRODUCE A SYMPHONY OF HEARTS
Dr. Stephen Gill
Some persons come into this world to write a new chapter in
human era. As Moses, they lead the leaderless
mobs through the
Mahatma Gandhi, the heroic figure that produced a symphony of human hearts,
was able to produce this symphony to achieve his goal of peace through
peaceful means. Karamchand Gandhi initiated the practice of
nonviolent protests to achieve political and social changes. He led protests across India for the removal
of poverty, to free women, for unity among different religions and ethnic
groups and to end untouchability, caste discrimination, for the economic
self-sufficiency of the nation and above all for the freedom of India from the
British rulers. He never wavered in his conviction in
nonviolence.
Before Mohandas Gandhi, the ideology of nonviolence was
confined to the gospel of Jesus in the West and to the teachings of Gotama Buddha
in the East. In social and political fields it was not a popular and acceptable concept. With the exception of a few books and
pamphlets here and there, this ideology never gained the momentum of a serious
movement. Politicians now have started talking about the technique of nonviolence in
depth. It is encouraging that there are
organizations and schools to focus on its strategies.
Yet,
the world needs more such institutions to let the citizens
know that through violence the darkness
of evil keeps spreading, even more
rapidly. The only way to overpower that darkness is the light that is without
the traces of the darkness of violence. Violence has never been able to solve
problems in history. If it has ever solved one problem, it has created many
more. Violence is for animals and humans are above animals, because humans have
intellect and consciousness, or a higher level of consciousness. The
goal of violence is to
destroy. Violence is an aggressive behaviour
that destroys even those who
practice it. Jesus was right when he said that those who use the
sword are killed by the swords themselves.
There are persons who presume that the nonviolence is doing
nothing, or it is a state of mind. For
them, nonviolence is inaction that is for cowards, or it is just an intellectual exercise. Contrary to their belief, nonviolence is a deliberate course of
action—it is to spread awareness of nonviolence to create a healthy
atmosphere. Nonviolence is creative,
provocative, challenging,
an active force of the highest order. It is the force that
represents God. Its main purpose is to respect life that is based on compassion and
openness. It works wonders and brings
incredible results. It is not mechanical. Nonviolence is a conviction— a faith
that is based on the principle that every life is sacred and every
being is a child of the Supreme Power. Therefore no one has
any right to kill anyone. Nonviolence suggests peaceful means to achieve peace. Nonviolence
is based on the conviction that truth will prevail, because hatred brings more hatred and violence
brings more violence.
Mahatam Gandhi gave a hope to humanity by proving that
nonviolent strategies work. He proved
that nonviolence is a creative force. His ideology has influenced several great minds
of the world, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He practiced tolerance and
pluralism that are
adored in
It has been proved in the laboratory of the world that the
communities and countries that understand the values of nonviolence and
practice these values prosper economically and their citizens prosper physically, mentally
and artistically.
This is what
The Ojibway people believe that every thing on earth is
connected. In one of their mythologies,
their elders had a good life when they lived in harmony with plants, animals and all living beings.
Bad days followed when they began to fight due to jealousy, hatred, fear and
anger. They believe that all humans are one and they are separated only by
tongues. In one
of their their prayer, Ojibway people ask: Sacred
One/Teach love, compassion, and honor/That we may heal the earth/And heal each
other.
This is all about harmony. In one of their hymns, titled
Grandfather Story, the
Ojibways people say that this harmony has been broken. They ask
Grandfather, a word that refers to God, to look at the brokenness. They lament
that among creatures; only human family has strayed from the
The Government of Canada through its legislations, projects and
fundings are strengthening the links for harmony among different cultural
groups.
Live and let live is the gospel in which Canada believes and propagates; this is what a native nation of Canada has been believing
for centuries; this is the way to survive and prosper in the complex world
of violence of today; this is what the
global village needs; this is what
Mahatma Gandhi taught and practiced; and this is the gospel in which I believe and write about it in my poetry and prose.
Violence begins in the minds of people and that is the area to be
focused. It is time to recognize and
study the advocates
who believe that peace can be achieved through peaceful means. Among these advocates, the names of Mahatma Gandhi,
Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandella, Aung San Suv Kyi from
Pope John Paul 11 said in 1982 on the Day of Peace that
war is “the least effective way of resolving conflicts.” His successor, Pope Benedict XV1, said on
Mahatma Gandhi condemned violence, and so did Mr. Pearson, a
child of
This is the time to recognize the sources that advocate nonviolence, study and analyze their ways
to apply in the global village of today to achieve the peace that
is the palpitation of the meaningful
prosperity and happiness.
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©copyright
Stephen Gill