Mahatma Gandhi Speeches

The clash of swords; the twang of bowstrings. The whistle of bullets. Bodies span the ages and litter the lands of the nations. Their blood cries from the ground upon which they fell, calling for vengeance on the governments and societies that so wronged them. This was the pattern that existed since the beginning of time, until the world met one man. With one mission. Now, there are generations upon generations that will never forget him. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world” (“Mahatma Gandhi Quotes”). He admirably exemplified this in his own life and showed the world that peace is possible. Mahatma Gandhi rose from a world of intense social boundaries and taught the world that every person is equal.

Gandhi learned in South Africa that “an eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind” ("Mahatma Gandhi Quotes.") The first real moment for Gandhi was when he personally realized just how unfair the world treats those who are lesser. He had purchased a first class ticket on a train. When he tried to board, however, and refused to go to the “poor” section he was kicked off the train because of his skin color. They beat and left him (Rosenberg, Jennifer). That finally put everything together in his mind and thus was born the Gandhi the world knows. Once when he visited India again during his stay in South Africa, a breakout of the Black Plague swept through the country. Gandhi volunteered to do the necessary tests to find the source. He checked both the rich and the “untouchables” because “Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent than the one derived from fear of punishment” ("Zen Habits : Breathe."). He found that the source of the disease was in the latrines of the rich and he also gained the love of the common people who had previously been showed nothing but hatred (Rosenberg,

They imposed high taxes and unfair laws. Gandhi taught the people “What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?” ("Zen Habits : Breathe."). Dead is dead and the blood of the fallen will cry because of the loss of life, not because of the reason. It is better to live and fight to another day, than allow thousands to die before the bodies pile so high that the stench is finally at the level of the nobility’s high noses. But when British soldiers entered a meeting of 400 Indians and proceeded to massacre them, Gandhi called off the resistance for some time (Rosenberg, Jennifer). He was arrested, found guilty of sedition as well as disrupting the peace, and consequently sentenced to prison for the next six years. Because of a necessary operation for appendicitis, he was released early ("Manas: History and Politics, Mahatma Gandhi."). He was quiet in politics for a time until 1930 when he organized the Great Salt March (Rosenberg, Jennifer.). The idea was similar to that of the early American colonies’ Boston Tea Party Act. The British government made some concessions to Gandhi, and again he left the eyes of the