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Annotated autobiography about Gandhis life
The life of M. K. Gandhi
The life of M. K. Gandhi
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In Chapter titled as Simple Life in his autobiography Gandhi writes;
I once went to an English hair-cutter in Pretoria. He contemptuously refused to cut my hair. I certainly felt hurt, but immediately purchased a pair of clippers and cut my hair before the mirror.
. . . The barber was not at fault in having refused to cut my hair. There was every chance of losing his custom, if he should serve black men. We do not allow our barbers to serve our untouchable brethren. (Here, Gandhi refers to customs of untouchability in caste systems in India.) I got the reward for this in South Africa, not once, but many times, and the conviction that it was the punishment for our own sins saved me from becoming angry.
(My Experiments with Truth;
M.K.Gandhi)
When Gandhi was insulted by an English barber, he must have thought about how painful it is to be insulted by a fellow human being. The feeling of pain made him think about the cause. He found that the pain was caused by a custom that had no respect for humanity which, in turn, made him think about the custom of untouchability and discrimination of the lowly castes in his own country. However, the most important thing was being ashamed of inhuman deeds of one’s ancestors. This is what ‘sticking to truth is’.
We have already read about the incident given in Chapter ‘Stealing and Atonement’ (Part I, Chapter 8) of his autobiography. First confession, then asking for appropriate punishment, then committing not to repeat the mistake and finally requesting his father not to punish himself for misdeed . . . that was another example of ‘sticking to truth’.
It is not possible to stick to truth without penance. The entire world knows about frequent fasting by Gandhi. The word used for penance in Sansakr...
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...ghosts and spirits. This was of course short lived, but the good seed sown in childhood was not sown in vain. I think it is due to the seed sown by that good woman Rambha that today Ramanama is an infallible remedy for me.
[Note: Ramanama means name of Rama. For many Indians Ram means God himself although technically Rama is considered as incarnation of God born on this earth as a King. Here Gandhi is referring to taking God’s name repeatedly.]
God shows me the path I tread. He is my doctor also. He never makes any mistake. He is all powerful. If he wants some more work to be done by making use of my fragile body, He would get it done; irrespective of what these doctors have to say. I am in the hands of the God. Please believe me, I am neither afraid of death nor of living with a body with many handicaps.
(Speech in New Delhi: 01.16.1948 &
Haijan Sevak; 01.25.1948)
"Selections from Gandhi : Complete Book Online." WELCOME TO MAHATMA GANDHI ONE SPOT COMPLETE INFORMATION WEBSITE. Web. 01 Oct. 2011. .
In William Zinnser’s essay “Simplicity” he states that “clear thinking becomes clear writing; one can’t exist without the other.” He believes that people speak more complexly then they have to and that the key to good writing and speaking is simplicity. In his argument he goes on to say that often writers are not careful enough. They know what they are trying to say but do not know how to put it down on paper. They assume that the reader will understand what they are thinking even though their writing is not obvious to others. He does make several suggestions for improvement. Very easily one could make their writing easier to understand by simple corrections.
If someone were to have asked me at the beginning of the semester what is spirituality, I would not have answered correctly. Without a doubt, I am sure I would have answered the question as a synonym to religion, or part of a religion at least. In any case, that is not the right answer, and I now know that. After looking farther into the topic and reading works written by well-known spiritual leaders and authors, I am now confident I know what spirituality is as well as how to execute or practice it.
One way is to smash the head of the man who perpetrates injustice and to get your own head smashed in the process.” Gandhi said there are two ways to right a wrong, a violent route or a non-violent route. He chose the non-violent route and spoke for the people who could not. In his speech “On Civil Disobedience”, it says “But so long as there is yet life i these our bones, we will never comply with your arbitrary laws”. Gandhi represented the individuals that thought the laws were illogical and unreasonable, and said they would not obey these discriminatory rules. By Gandhi speaking for many other people, proves the importance of taking a stand, even if it is a non-violent
To begin with, Mahatma Gandhi was a man who stood up for the less fortunate people in the world. In passage one, it states that “ Mahatma Gandhi didn’t have to walk endless miles and go without eating for days.” The text is stating that , He didn’t have to abandon his daily life to declare to the world. He chose to stand up for the populations and tell them what was right. It also states that, he grew up in a rich and wealthy family. This
In the year of 1919, a crowd of 379 nonviolent protesters were murdered by British Indian Army troops. These protestors were killed because they were Indian. Racism was already existent in many countries that were colonized by Britain. Gandhi, a social reformer came to a realization that Indians deserve equal rights and that such acts were in humane and unacceptable. So what made Gandhi’s peaceful movement such a success? It was his civil disobedience practice, which he reached through nonviolent protests, embracing the enemy, and accepting jail time.
After the British empire separated itself from India, inner-country religious problems began to arise. The Muslims and Hindus of the liberated India released their pent up anger on each other and combusted into civil war right after they won the peaceful war against Great Britain. This war distressed Gandhi, who has insight into the unity of mankind, and encouraged him to go on a hunger strike until the brutality ceased. While on his near-death bed, he is approached by a Hindu who “killed a child” because the Muslims “killed [his] son,” and in response, Gandhi said that the way out of his “Hell is to “Find a [Muslim] child, a child whose mother and father have been killed and raise him as your own,” therefore the man would be able to see the equality in all religions. Throughout his entire life, Gandhi, though a Hindu, never prosecuted anyone for their religion and was able to see through everyone’s eyes as fellow brother’s and sisters, not enemies. This ability to empathize and recognize the general unity of the human population allowed Gandhi insight into the human
“Dead Men’s Path” by Chinua Achebe. In this short story “Dead Men’s Path,” Chinua Achebe gives the protagonist an exciting chance to fulfill his dream. Michael Obi was officially headmaster of Ndume Central School, which was backward in every sense. He had to turn the school into a progressive one, however the school received a bad report when the supervisor came to inspect.
In my view The Kite Runner is an epic story with a personal history of what the people of Afghanistan had and have to endure in an ordinary every day life; a country that is divided between political powers and religiously idealistic views and beliefs which creates poverty, and violence within the people and their terrorist run country. The story line is more personal with the description of Afghanistan's culture and traditions, along with the lives of the people who live in Kabul. The story provides an educational and eye-opening account of a country's political chaos. Of course there are many things that are unsaid and under explained in this tragic novel which, in my observation, is an oversimplification. There is also a heavy use of emotional appeal, and an underlying message. This is a flag for propaganda.
...ares Gandhi's Satyagraha to be similar to how Jesus would react towards nonviolence. He assumed that the ethics of Jesus were only effective in individual relationships (264). Gandhi preached about nonviolence and how we should not engage in violent behavior, no matter the issue. King,Jr felt like those claims were invalid until he read about Gandhi and immediately realized how wrong he was. He believed that Gandhi was the first individual in history to use the love ethics of Jesus on a larger scale. In the, "Negro Problem" article, Gunner states that the only way to resolve the problem was to better the conditions of the blacks. However, King, Jr stated that if the American Negro and other victims of oppression succumb to the temptation of using violence in the struggle for freedom, future generations will be the recipients of a desolate night of bitterness (265).
In “My Two Lives” Jhumpa Lahiri talks about her hardship growing up in America coming from two different cultures. At home she spoke Bengali with her parents, ate with her hands. According to Jhumpa’s parents she was not American and would never be. This led her to become ashamed of her background. She felt like she did not have to hide her culture anymore. When Jhumpa got married in Calcutta she invited her American friends that never visited India. Jhumpa thought her friends would judge from being part of the Indian culture and isolate her.However her friends were intrigued by her culture and fascinated. She felt like her culture should not be hidden from her friends anymore, and that coming from an Indian-American culture is unique. Jhumpa believes that her upbringing is the reason why she is still involved with her Bengali culture. Jhumpa says“While I am American by virtue of the fact that I was raised in this country, I am Indian thanks to the efforts of two individuals.” Jhumpa means that she is Indian, because she lived most of her life and was raised here. In the story Lahiri explains that her parents shaped her into the person she is. Growing up coming from two different cultures can be difficult, but it can also be beneficial.
Gandhi is motivated by religious means; he believes that everyone is equal in God’s eyes. He gets involved in several movements for equality, and he stresses non-violence very strongly. The Indians are very mad because British rule continues to limit their rights. They are supposed to all get fingerprinted, and their marriage laws are invalid. Gandhi’s followers vow to fight their oppressors to the death, but he discourages them from violence.
What should our goals be in life? Bill Strickland makes the point that no matter who you are you can do anything you put your mind too. In his book “Making the impossible possible” he explains his own struggle and how he made it through life to be able to help others. He explains his young childhood. He talks about how he had to live through riots and the racism. He talks about how he wanted to help people make their lives better. He explains his struggles with trying to maintain these buildings and how he made great connections. He tells about his love for pottery and his want to help others. His book was truly an inspiration and turned out to be more than I took his book for in the first few pages. His book made me think about my life and how I can relate to him.
Martin Luther King once said, “Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him”. Throughout history, people have committed numerous acts of crime from stealing to fighting, to war. These acts of violence had never done any good to mankind but had continuously harmed mankind. Mahatma Gandhi was a leader who had promoted and inspired people across the world to continue the acts of Ahimsa. Gandhi spread his acts of Ahimsa inspiring the American Civil Rights Movement, Nelson Mandela, and Harper Lee showing that Gandhi’s beliefs of non violence should be continued.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi- 2 October 1869 - 30 January 194 was the pre-eminent political and spiritual leader of India during the Indian independence movement. He is also known as Mahatma which means “The Great Soul”. He was committed to pacifism, that there should be no violence.(1) He had three concepts to follow in his life for independence of India: Satyagraha, Ahimsa and Swaraj.