A Response to Laura Schlessinger Regarding Gandhi and Nonviolence

by Robert Wilkinson

It seems that my recent post saluting Gandhi has provoked a response over at The Gathering Place from Dr. Laura Schlessinger dismissing the Mahatma’s way of dealing with violent opponents. She uses the same tired argument to justify violence as a viable response to violence, while missing the point and true meaning of “ahimsa” and “Satyagraha,” the underpinnings of Gandhian philosophy.

Dr. Laura posted over there: “I'm sorry, Tricia, I'm not in agreement with most of this.  Had he gone up against Pol Pot, Hitler, Stalin, etc., you'd never have heard his name.  He went up against a decent civilization: England - that's what made the difference.  Force eliminated the extermination camps of Nazi Germany - not compassion ‘for the other side.’ With respect, Dr. Laura Schlessinger."

With all due respect, Gandhi never advocated rolling over in cowardly submission to authoritarian models. When asked if he approved of the Poles taking up arms against the Nazis, he publicly approved, on the basis that one must defend one’s life and loved ones against violent aggressors. However, in opposing violence, we must not yield to hatred, bloodlust or desire for revenge, or we become the enemy and have lost the higher battle.

Above all, his philosophy was founded on non-cooperation with any authoritarian entity or attitude that lessens our love, honor, and essentially non-violent higher nature. He was quite clear that his techniques worked well against the British because he considered them a “civilized society.” He was also very clear that his techniques would have to be adjusted to deal with Fascist barbarians (my term). However, to say “you’d never have heard his name” is a cheap shot and inaccurate at best, since his name was very well known internationally long before Hitler and Stalin plunged Europe into war.

His belief that we must come to understand an opponent, and be willing to go the distance to meet opposition halfway with dignity, strength, forgiveness, and a willingness to try to win them to another view, has never been fully tried by our modern moral pygmies. Of course, he had very powerful moral authority because he wasn’t a hypocrite and actually walked his talk, unlike most men and women in positions of social or political power today.

Approximately speaking, Ahimsa means “least violence,” and Satyagraha means “Soul Force.” Dr. Martin Luther King proved the viability of the power in these Divine forces when confronting the brutal totalitarian police actions of the Southern states during the Civil Rights movement. For Gandhi, these were not mere tactics to be used conveniently to provoke sympathy, but the very power of the Universe and God as manifest through humanity. He was also clear that unless we are totally committed to LIVING these in every way, they would fall short of the ideal as tools for social action.

Dr. Laura’s view, I suppose, is that force is the ultimate decider. I would state that while force does often achieve temporary results, they remain unsatisfactory in terms of our humanity, since we lose every time we yield to violent tendencies, for whatever reason. Even for righteous reasons, every time we choose violence over negotiation from a place of strength and compassion, we lose our humanity and become more barbaric.

Even when we must use force, it should be a tool of last resort. If we can come to understand the humanity of our “enemy,” we will not lose sight that we are one race, the human race. Except for a few very disturbed thanatophiles, all want a better world for their children and grandchildren, free of the violence that has plagued humanity since the first stone was thrown.

I’ll close with two of the Mahatma’s most known quotes: “An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind,” and

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall -- think of it, ALWAYS.”

More Gandhi quotes at this site.

More quotes on nonviolence from a great site:

“Ten years ago I saw peace as a tangible goal. Today I see peace a little differently. Peacemakers, I have gradually recognized, function in the world much like kidneys function in our bodies, constantly, unendingly removing the wastes and poisons which are an inevitable part of our lives. As long as we live, the poisons of hate, injustice, and misunderstanding will be produced, and peacemakers will be needed to clean up the mess.” —Barbara Stanford

“You think that good is hating what is bad. What is bad is the hating mind itself.” —Bon Kai (Buddhist monk)

“People try nonviolence for a week, and when it ‘doesn’t work,’ they go back to violence, which hasn’t worked for centuries.” —Theodore Roszak

© Copyright 2006 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[abacus]

i compare what the mahatma went through or his thinking process to what some would feel would be the appropriate response to the recent torture tactics scandal, my dad was an army colonel and went for 2-3 wars to defend a newly freed nation and during peace times went for emergency services, right through summer when flood prone areas would be flooded (obviously) we would miss having our dad around because he would b e busy building bridges somewhere in the remote parts of the world, i know were i to ever ask him that in fighting an enemy as evil as i believe the enemy is in the middle east, would he ever flout the geneva conventions ? i know he would say no, its the way ur wired, we know the enemy and we know how low below he can stoop but then is he more powerful than all of us who know so and believe so, all of us who give and take love and work towards making the world a better place, absolutely not. there is much power in nos. and they are outnumbered and just on that premise i think people can come together with a clear conscience and build a better society. whats wrong with the war in iraq is that rules are now being broken at our end, and when u defeat ur own conscience uv already lost the battle somewhere.

[dcu]

Robert: Thank you for mentioning Rapid City as being a Libra city. We just finished a very nice full moon meditation here. We connected with everyone all over the planet.
Abacus: Thank you for taking the time to write your thoughtful comments. You are right that it is critical for our nation to uphold the highest standards of human rights for all people everywhere. Ram Dass asked the question - Would you do this action to your uncle Leroy? If not, then don't do it to anyone, because everyone really is your uncle Leroy. You wouldn't water board him, would you? So let's not water board anyone.

Also, I was really touched by the Amish people as they publically stated that they have already forgiven the man who killed their children. The reporter who was interviewing them was of course incredulous, but these people are practicing true Christianity, based on Love and Forgiveness. While we abhor violence let us pray for the violent among us. Christ said to pray for your enemies.

Humanity's real enemy is hatred, revenge, and blood lust. If we want to diffuse the "Jihad" then let us quit acting like Crusaders, out to invade, rape, and pillage. I would suggest that Dr. Laura read "Man's search for meaning" by Victor Frankl, a survivor of the Nazi death camps. Today we have a corrupt government lying to us and trying to get us to believe that everyone in the Middle East hates us, which is absolutely not true. To say that is racist and war mongering. There are even Palestinian-Israeli peace groups who get together and march and pray for peace. Why isn't that on your nightly news?

Yesterday thousands of people all over America marched for peace. Let us be very careful about labeling another human being as the "enemy." And let us all be inspired by the wisdom and courage of the Amish people. To be a bully in the schoolyard or in the international community is not the American way. Our highest calling as individuals and as Americans is to lead the world in human rights and to treat others as we would like to be treated.

This full moon of Libra tonight is the Harvest Moon. I see our great nation and our planet turning around and embracing the highest good for all sentient beings. Let us harvest goodwill and right human relations for all. So Mote It Be. And So It Is.
dcu

[Juliet]

Perhaps if Stalin, Pot Pol, or Hitler had been influenced in any way by the teachings of someone like Ghandi, we might never have experienced a holocaust or some of the other terrible things humans have been exposed to over the years. Then again, that's history...something to learn from.

May each of us just strive to BE the world we would like to see.

Happy Harvest Moon everyone!
Juliet :-)

[Robert]

Hi abacus - You're right, in that Gandhi would never approve of torture for any reason, even with a fight for the survival of his nation, which you will recall was his cause and what he was willing to fast to the death to preserve. Sorry your dad wasn't around as much as you'd have liked, but he sounds like he was a courageous and compassionate being doing all he could to lessen the suffering in his world.

No violent beings could ever be as powerful as those who demonstrate absolute love and integrity; violence is truly the last refuge of the incompetent. And you're so right regarding us breaking the rules of civilization and becoming barbaric - we lost the war the moment we became torturers. Too bad there's no distinction in the world's eyes between the illegal war criminals temporarily ruining our government and the American people, who on the whole do not approve of torture despite being told it's a necessity. We will never build a safe Iraq (or America, for that matter) if we choose to ignore or violate the rules of civilized nations.

[Robert]

Hi dcu - Gotta love Ram Dass. One of the best of any century, playful, kind, profound, compassionate. Agree Christ and Buddha probably wouldn't have approved of waterboarding under any circumstances, so we shouldn't either. The Amish prove that our media lust is ridiculous by their gentle dignity and forgiveness.

You're right that Muslims have no particular reason to trust us, given a thousand years of warmongering on our part. Though they also are guilty of spreading their gospel by sword, we have no business doing the same, since it just perpetuates hard feelings across the centuries. And vendettas, once started, usually wind up hurting innocents down the line who had nothing to do with the original beef or obsession.

Dr. Laura's a bloviating small minded parrot of outworn philosophies, a publicity hound of gas-baggism. You are right she needs to read Victor Frankl, and Elie Wiesel and the red letters too. Don't recall St. Issa ever told us to torture our enemies. Or to fear other races. And you're right on to bring it all home to the one rule, the Golden Rule. We have no business doing unto others anything we would not want done to us. Something about the law of karma comes to mind....

Hi Juliet - The problem with all dictators is that they usually surround themselves with yes men in an echo chamber of self-reinforcing delusion. Bush springs to mind here. It is we the people who witness the better way, despite the men of small minds and hearts currently on their way to historical disgrace. And yes, it was Gandhi who said something to the effect of being the change we want to see in the world. Aum and blessings in this time when many are being freed from "a narrow destiny."

[crawl or fly]

My favorite Ghandi quotation:

" I am opposed to violence, because even when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary, and the evil it does is permanent."

Robert, thank you for honoring someone whose words we need to heed now, more than ever.

[Robert]

Hi again Crawl or Fly - Great quote. I believe the Mahatma's words will prove to be one of the sanest bulwarks against humanity's insanity in the short term, and probably be required reading for many educational disciplines after 2025.