You must have experienced this – a moment when the words on your page suddenly begin to seem more than words; they produce the feeling that something long shut has opened up to be aired out, cleaned up, emptied perhaps, for sunshine to flow in, unabashed.
I felt like this on a day in July 2013 when I read the following paragraph in the self-study course reader given to students of the Peace and Conflict Studies course offered by Kulturstudier.
“The central importance of Gandhi to nonviolent activism is widely acknowledged. There are also other significant peace-related bodies of knowledge that have gained such popularity in the West in the relatively recent past that they have changed the directions of thought and have been important in encouraging social movements – yet they have not been analysed in terms of antecedents, especially Gandhian ones. The new environmentalism in the form of deep ecology, the discipline of peace research and what has become known as ‘Buddhist economics’ very closely mirror Gandhi’s philosophy. This article analyses the Mahatma’s contribution to the intellectual development of three leading figures in these fields: Arne Naess, Johan Galtung and E. F. Schumacher and argues that those who want to make an informed study of deep ecology, peace research or Buddhist economics, and particularly those who are interested in the philosophy of Naess, Galtung or Schumacher, should go back to Gandhi for a fuller picture.”
This is the abstract that appears at the beginning of Thomas Weber’s essay titled ‘Gandhi, Deep Ecology, Peace Research and Buddhist Economics’ published in Vol. 36 No. 3 of the Journal of Peace Research in 1999. It seems fitting to revisit it today, on October 2, the birthday of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, now widely known as Mahatma Gandhi in India and elsewhere in the world.
When I read Weber, I felt like I had been given an opportunity to reclaim Gandhi for myself, in my life, overcoming the scornful criticism (not healthy critique) of his life, personality and ideas I had been subjected to during my years in college and at university. There is great value in examining things with a careful, discerning lens; however, choosing to focus only on what one sees as flaws is not perhaps the best way to learn.
I have not read much by Gandhi or about him but what stays with me is his powerful appeal: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
I have found this idea reinforced several times during our Peace and Conflict Studies course in Pondicherry, particularly by our Italian seminar leader Katya Waldboth. She has had field work experience in conflict situations and peace education contexts, and she often talks about how we must examine our own responses and reactions, judgements and preconceived notions if we truly want to grow as peace builders, as people.
This morning, Prof. Alpaslan Ozerdem, who is here from Coventry University in the UK, to teach a module on Peace building and Conflict Transformation, also expressed this idea in a different manner. “Changes in systems and structures take a long time but we must be aware of our responsibilities as individuals.”
That is a sobering thought, and an empowering one as well. It feels good to come away from a class hopeful and enthusiastic, with the knowledge that I too can participate in change, in a way that matters.
Chintan
