| 
| Top
Mahatma
Gandhi
by Janina DeJesus
The still, small voice of Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi has defied time and has spoken
through the ages, whispering into the ears of Martin
Luther King, Jr., Lech Walesa, Cesar Chavez, and
Nelson Mandela, urging them to peacefully revolt
against what was unethical and to work for what
the human spirit held to be true and right. Gandhi
is the "Most Important Peace Hero of the 20th
Century" because he taught the world that freedom
from the oppressor could be obtained through nonviolent
means.
"I am spinning the destiny
of India," he said, but he has woven much more
into the blanket of peace. Hundreds of others, inspired
by his faith and dedication, would lead uprisings
of civil disobedience - revolutions that would shake
history and upturn mainstream opinions: the Civil
Rights movement, Solidarity, the United Farm Worker's
hunger strike, and anti-apartheid. But before that,
there was merely the man, Gandhi.
An advocate of simplicity, he is
etched into our minds as a tiny figure, rich of
terra-cotta color, seemingly fragile and breakable,
with a delicate frame balanced upon his nose, dressed
in only a white loincloth, a bamboo stick in his
hand - the Moses of India, the peace leader of the
twentieth century, a man who would come to believe
Henry Ward Beecher's axiom: "Compassion will
cure more sins than condemnation." His compassion
would not only affect the lives of his Indian brethren
but also leaders around the world, and from one
generation to the next.
Gandhi's revolution began on a
train to South Africa. There, in a first-class compartment,
he tasted the bitterness of racial discrimination.
Ordered to move to the "colored" section
of the train, he refused and was removed. This humiliation
gave him the will to fight for social justice. In
1906, he discovered passive resistance, which would
secure political rights through non-violent demonstrations
proclaiming peace and love. Knowing how powerful
his message was, Gandhi devoted himself to Indian
self-rule, hind swaraj, which meant much more than
mere independence from Britain; it became a symbol
of individuality, self-reliance, and social justice.
Through the next thirty-three years,
Gandhi led moral crusades against the all-encompassing
British Raj. His gentle influence over the Indian
people and his pacifist ideals of mass non-cooperation
caused British officials to negotiate with him though
he held no formal office nor title, save the one
given to him by the people - Mahatma, or Great Soul.
He pursued the aspirations of human
equality, human dignity, self-respect, freedom from
exploitation, injustice, and violence. Gandhi taught
that it was indeed possible to have peace on earth
if one could settle differences with a handshake
instead of a gunshot. Gandhi's impact on India as
well other countries around the world spanned over
years and oceans, transcending what was known about
freedom and equality.
"The name Mahatma Gandhi has
become synonymous with right and justice,"
spoke Haile Selassie. "Towards this end it
has become an inspiration to millions of oppressed
people and has kindled the light of liberty. Today,
when world peace is threatened with atomic and nuclear
weapons capable of annihilating the human race,
Mahatma Gandhi's teachings of love and truth and
of respect for others' rights have become even more
meaningful than at any other time."
They will forever call him a hero,
a modern-day saint, a legend, an icon, a present-day
Joan of Arc or St. Francis of Assisi, but Gandhi
was simply doing what he felt needed to be done.
That is the mark of a true leader - someone who
sees beyond what is there and looks to improve it
for not only his betterment, but for everyone else's
as well. He served as the inspiration to some of
recent history's most revered and respected revolutionaries,
but one does not need to be a national hero to appreciate
the values and intrinsic rights that he advocated.
One must only be fearless against what seems to
impede his or her aspirations or rights.
"Nonviolence," said Gandhi,
"is not to be used ever as the shield of the
coward. It is the weapon of the brave."
What bravery lies then in the hands
of those who agree to use power and supremacy to
degrade one's dignity, which is perhaps the dearest
of our hearts' possessions? What bravery lies then
in the hands of those who agree to fight what oppresses
them in a manner that involves forgiveness, peace,
and love? Gandhi knew the difference. Thanks to
his work and dedication to what was morally right,
we now know it too.
Speak words of love and one will
hear echoes. Gandhi's voice, speaking words that
entailed more than just love, has been echoing through
the hearts and minds of every oppressed being and
has inspired the greatest of leaders and the humblest
of hearts. Never does one stand so tall as when
he forgoes revenge and dares to forgive an injury.
Mahatma Gandhi, small though he was, towered above
those who could not dare to be brave - the ones
who hid behind a shield of control and command,
of weaponry and war.
Who now shall take the shield of
faith and courage, carry it into the fray, and display
it as the symbol of what brotherhood should be?
Who will listen to his voice in this nuclear age?
I will listen, and, dear friend, you must listen
as well, for an open ear is the door to an open
heart. As we hear echoes of his ageless words, it
is enough to know he has taught them to us so that
we might someday create echoes of our own.
Janina DeJesus is a 17 year-old
senior at Sacred Heart Academy in New Haven, Connecticut.
Janina is the Vice President of her senior class
and the Editor-in-chief of her school newspaper.
She is a volunteer at Yale New Haven Hospital and
a mentor in the Alpha program, teaching English
grammar and communication skills to inner cityunderprivileged
girls in her community. She is also a student youth
leader in the Philippine American Association of
Connecticut (PAAC), which works to benefit the Connecticut
community while at the same time broadening the
Filipino spectrum through traditional dances and
cultural exhibits. Janina has been a recipient of
the Who's Who Among American High School Students
for three consecutive years and she was twice awarded
the First Place Superior Blue Ribbon for Excellence
in Poetry from the Association of Christian School
International Creative Writing Festival.
Bibliography
McGeary, Johanna. "Mohandas
Gandhi." Time Magazine 31 December 1999: 118-128.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi: Man of Millennium. 30
January 2000. Institute of Advanced
Studies. 6 May 2001 <http://www.mkgandhi.org>.
Mahatma Gandhi Research and Media Service. GandhiServe.
6 May 2001
<http://www.gandhiserve.com>.
Nanda, R.R. Mahatma Gandhi: A Biography. London:
Oxford UP, 1981.
Rushdie, Salman. "Mohandas Gandhi." Time
Magazine: Asia Edition 13 April 1998.
<http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1998/int/980413/gandhi.html>.
|
