Today on 2nd October I couldn’t resist reiterating the principles of one of the greatest men to ever walk on earth, Mahatma Gandhi. His principles, which are even called Gandhism are relevant even in 2019. Such simple and effective are his principles. To Explain this let me focus on two principles and how they can impact today.
2 Principles of Gandhism
1. Ahimsa
This word is synonymous with Gandhiji.
An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind
– Mahatma Gandhi
In today’s hyperconnected world people fight with each other over a difference of opinion. This could be online on social media or in person. More and more people today use violence as an excuse to superimpose their views on others. Even people fighting for the right cause are opting for aggression & violence like we saw in the recent Hongkong protests.
But if you see everywhere around violence has only incited more violence. The best example of this is U.S force action on Afghanistan. After the 9/11 terrorist attack, the United States decided to launch an assault on Afghanistan under the pretext of finishing off the Taliban in 2001. It’s 2019 and there is still no stability in the region and the Taliban is as strong as it was ever. The US was even in the discussion with the Taliban for peace talks until President Trump backed off at the last minute. So a 19 year of aggression, assault couldn’t bring stability to Afghanistan.
Now take the example of African country Rwanda where there was a long civil war and genocide that killed more than 500000 people. But the people of Rwanda rather than taking up arms or violence to get revenge and justice decided to forgive (which is again a part of Gandhiji’s ahimsa principle) and focus on growth. Today Rwanda is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, the best example of Gandhism. Below is a video from Nasdaily that sheds some light on this.
2. Shakahari- (Vegetarianism)
Last week Greta Thunberg, a 15-year-old 9th class girl from Sweden gave a very intense interview that reiterated the global warming and its consequences and how acting on it is the need of the hour. So in that context again Gandhiji’s principle of vegetarianism comes into play. Consuming meat not only causes 40 times more carbon footprint than vegetarian but animal agriculture contributes to 15% of all the entire greenhouse gas emissions produced by the world. Below is the chart of the carbon footprint.
I can understand following all principles of Gandhism could be a daunting task but the least we can do is try our best to follow these 2 principles of Gandhiji as much as we can. This will go a long way in making the world a better place.
Happy Birthday Bapu and thank you for all that you have done for this world.Â
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