Gandhi: Miroljubive misli

Mahatma Gandhi: Peaceful thoughts

Born as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi was one of the most influential spiritual and political leaders of his time. He was honorably called the "father" of India.
He studied law in London and tried to work as a lawyer in India, before joining an Indian company in the Republic of South Africa, where he was inspired to change. He helped lead the Indian civil rights movement in South Africa, advocating peaceful protest and nonviolence. He believed that everyone, including those in the government, legislature and army, should adhere to the principle of non-violence. He advocated democracy based on peaceful negotiation and alternative forms of ensuring order in society. He called himself a philosophical anarchist, because he believed that everyone should rule himself. Non-violent conflict mediation and non-violent solution are the way society should be maintained in his ideal world. His radical views on self-government, peace and non-resistance are celebrated around the world on October 2 as the International Day of Non-Violence.
Gandhi considered all religions to be valid and equal, but he considered Hinduism to be the most favorable for him. He believed that everyone has their own right path, and refused to convert to another religion, although some tried to persuade him to do so.
He was brought up as a Hindu and, like most Hindus, he and his family were vegetarians. Although in his youth he tasted meat out of curiosity, as an adult he strictly adhered to a vegetarian diet. And not only because of religious beliefs, but also because he considered it more economical and practical.
Gandhi devoted his life to his search for a greater understanding of the truth. He also titled his autobiography The Story of My Experiments with the Truth. He used to say that God is Truth. And then he went a step further, as he himself said, and concluded that for him Truth is God. He was extremely influenced by the philosophy of Brahmacharya. It is associated with spiritual and practical purity, and vegetarianism helped him to stand firm in his conviction and exercise complete self-control. Celibacy for Gandhi was a path to self-realization.
He practiced, and tried, celibacy so that he could learn to love and at the same time control his own lust. He was thirty-six years old and married at the time he took that vow. In later years, he would share a bed with younger women, as a test of self-control and part of practicing the principles of brahmacharya. He spent one day a week in complete silence, and for three and a half years he did not want to read newspapers to preserve his inner peace.
Gandhi believed in simplicity. He believed that everyone who works in public services should lead a simple life. His clothes were handmade, and he encouraged others, especially in India, to sew their own clothes. This idea became popular, so most clothes in India today are often handmade.
He had many followers, and his non-violent tactics were also used by some civil rights fighters in the United States, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and James Lawson. Albert Einstein, John Lennon, Al Gore and Barack Obama mention with great respect the influence that Mahatma Gandhi had on them.
In 1930, Time magazine named him Person of the Year. In 1948, the year he died, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He was killed before the prize winner was chosen. The day of his murder, January 30, is known as Martyrs' Day in India, and the country celebrates him as well as all those who died serving India.  - Zvonimir Obran