Gandhi

Many out rest of Muslim and Indian rioting broke out and Gandhi went back to fasting until peace was accomplished. Gandhi's advocacy of nonviolence, known as ahimsa, which means in Sanskrit “noninjury”, was the expression of a way of life implicit in the Hindu religion. He lived a spiritual and ascetic life of prayer, fasting, and meditation. By the Indian practice of nonviolence, Britain too would eventually consider violence useless and would leave India (Bedekar, 1975). Refusing earthly possessions, he wore the loincloth and shawl of the lowliest Indian and subsisted on vegetables, fruit juices, and goat's milk (Bedekar, 1975). As a remedy for such poverty, Gandhi advocated revival of cottage industries; he began to use a spinning wheel as a token of the return to the simple village life he preached, and of the renewal of native Indian industries (Bedekar, 1975). Gandhi was arrested, but the British were soon forced to release him. As World War II broke out the British parliament wanted India to participate with its fighting but the Indian congress and Gandhi rejected it until they were granted independence. Gandhi was again arrested and released later. Implications for my own Heroic Journey: Mohandas Gandhi is a great inspiration to my life because I want to go into politics and help people to make the best of what their lives can receive. “Return” journey: sharing “vision”, “new life” and wisdom gained: Gandhi reached his goal of Indian independence in 1947, but India was separated into two countries, India and Pakistan. When Gandhi was released he lead the people again with civil disobedience, he encouraged the people to stop paying taxes, particularly on salt. After the war he returned to his campaign for Indian rights.