Gandhi, Satyagraha, and the Western Mind
analytical Essay
952 words
Gandhi, Satyagraha, and the Western Mind There is much that can be said about such a great leader like Gandhi. He had many skills that were needed to make a difference in the world. Perhaps the most important quality that he possessed was the attributes of knowledge and common sense. These attributes made him a very levelheaded man who knew how to treat his opponent with respect while stating the issue at hand. Gandhi achieved many accomplishments throughout his life. Overall, the most significant was that one man could make a difference within his own country that received worldwide recognition. One of the reasons as to why Gandhi was such a success is in order to be a great leader, one must possess a great deal of inner peace. He was very capable of doing so, and in return, the opposing side listened to what this man had to say. The philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi is very different than those of Martin Luther King Jr. or Malcolm X. Gandhi took philosophy to a further level, which allowed people to understand themselves before trying to take on the opposing side. One of the main terms used in Gandhi's philosophy is Satyagraha, which is the force of truth and love (Chadha, 112). This term can be applied to many different situations. Satyagraha has many different meanings, which is good because it allows people to interpret it in their own way. Webster's dictionary defines Satyagraha as "insisting on" or "the strong and obstinate inclination for" (280). Satyagraha can be used in both political as well as domestic situations. The individual must use his or her inner soul to achieve peacefulness, which is brought on by Satyagraha. The term Ahisma is the second principle of Gandhi's philosophy, which means "nonvio... ... middle of paper ... ...ndia was able to show to the world that nonviolent resistance can make a difference. It is peaceful and the enemy is able to step back and see what the opposing side is trying to accomplish. In conclusion, the works of Gandhi were very successful. He was able to prove that the country of India, which was thought not to have power, did indeed possess an enormous amount of power. He showed that this power was different, because India's power did not lie in the use of weapons or money. Rather India's power was found within Satyagraha, the "soul-force" power. What Gandhi accomplished was inspiring and he showed Westerners a new way to deal with conflict. It is very hard to prove a point to another culture with extremely different thoughts and beliefs. Yet it is a great accomplishment to make others acknowledge a new way of resolving conflicts with their enemies.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that gandhi had many skills that were needed to make a difference in the world. he was levelheaded and knew how to treat his opponent with respect.
- Explains that gandhi achieved many accomplishments throughout his life, including making a difference within his own country that received worldwide recognition. gandhi's philosophy is different from those of martin luther king jr. or malcolm x.
- Explains that satyagraha is the force of truth and love in gandhi's philosophy. it can be used in both political and domestic situations.
- Explains that the term ahisma is the second principle of gandhi's philosophy, which means "nonviolence to all living things."
- Analyzes how gandhi used satyagraha to help others understand how not to fight back with force.
- Explains that satyagraha is a method for resolving conflict. it uses the readiness to suffer and not fight back.
- Explains the four main weapons used by the satyagrahai are sympathy, trust, patience, and the willingness to suffer. when this type of relationship is obtained, conflict and tension will be resolved.
- Analyzes how gandhi takes great ease in dealing with the enemy, and gets his followers to put in extreme amounts of effort to achieve peace.
- Explains that the practice of satyagraha aides three different situations: self, family, and work. once a true understanding of the term is developed, conflicts within these situations can be resolved.
- Explains that gandhi's hunger strikes, marches, and civil disobedience acts were crucial towards his accomplishment of peace. the principle of satyagraha worked well in a country such as india because of its strong religious spirituality.
- Analyzes gandhi's success in showing the world how nonviolent resistance could make a difference. he disagreed with the methods put forward by western civilization.
- Analyzes how the british overstayed their welcome in india, imposed their views onto another culture, and introduced social darwinism into indian culture. gandhi taught the world nonviolence and its positive results.
- Explains that the term satyagraha is complex and accompanied with great dedication. to fight back without violence takes a huge amount of inner self control and peace of mind.
- Concludes that gandhi's works were very successful. he proved that india, which was thought not to have power, did indeed possess an enormous amount of power.
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- gandhiexplanatory essayGandhi Essay Natalie Vanderpool Is there something about a legends childhood that prepares them for greatness? Gandhi didn’t seem to have an abnormal childhood but he grew up to be a hero. He believed that if he followed God he was on the right path to where he was supposed to go. The youngest of his sibling he indulged in childish pastimes.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that he was able to talk to huge crowds and convince them to join him.
- Narrates how he burned the western clothes they were forced to wear and got marriage laws revoked.
- Explains how gandhi grew up to be a hero. he believed that if he followed god and was on the right path, and indulged in childish pastimes. gandhi was inspired by his mother's commitment and devotion to fasting.
- Explains that gandhi left his family to go to law school in london because he thought of his life as a search for ultimate truths.
- Narrates how indians in south africa refused discrimination and had an epiphany when he was thrown off a train multiple times for being indian despite having first class tickets. the humiliation sparked his desire for change.
- Explains that gandhi believed that to change the laws you must change behavior. he was bound and determined to get everyone to live as equals.
- Explains gandhi recoiled from the british and collected the bodies of men left to die in agony. gandhi thought that if he was pure then there would be no violence.
- Explains how gandhi vowed to god that he would go to prison before obeying a muslim merchant's law.
- Narrates how he planned to walk 240 miles to the arabian sea to make salt against the british government. the national congress begged him to do so.
- Explains that gandhi started off with 80 followers but 240 miles later he had hundreds of thousands of followers.
- Opines that animal testing should be banned all together. if a product might potentially be harmful to humans, it should not be manufactured anyway.
- Concludes that gandhi was one of the main reasons the british left india. the magnetism of his actions brought freedom to the indian people.
765 wordsRead More - Gandhi's Changeexplanatory essayThroughout history, societies have had troubles due to religion, war and racism. From within each society or religion there are those who have fought for the correct and moral solution for the entire people. One person who fit these ideals and tried to make life great and equal for the many people in his home was Mohandas Gandhi. Gandhi lived a very interesting life and moved to create equality throughout the country of India and the world.
In this essay, the author
- Explains how gandhi understood his position and his current standing in the nation. he would meditate and reflect with his time of wait until he saw the opportune moment to for another major movement.
- Opines that gandhi was wrong about the separation of pakistan from india when the freedom of india was realized. gandhi used his life as a reason to stop the fighting and arguments that were continuing to rise in their new nations.
- Explains that molloy, michael, experiencing the world's religions: tradition, challenge, and change.
- Describes mohandas gandhi as a person who fought for the right and moral solution for all people in his home.
- Opines that gandhi's work and life-long message would change the lives of many and influence many more great men.
971 wordsRead More - Gandhi as an Outlaw Leader and his non-violent Movementsexplanatory essayOutlaws! The word often haunts us, as we sit and ponder over it. Usually it brings with it, a sense of insecurity and fear. Sometimes after watching a movie or after reading a crime story, we are scared about going out alone, or sometimes, even in the house we have a feeling, as if someone is watching us.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the word outlaw brings with it a sense of insecurity and fear.
- Explains why we are scared in our own house? we don't want to take a chance with our lives after watching so many movies, reading the papers and being aware of the crimes happening all around us.
- Opines that people who commit crimes are not aware of their actions. they come from the same kind of society as us, but in a way are very different from us.
- Explains that there are different kinds of outlaws, such as martin luther king and mahatma gandhi.
- Describes gandhi's role in the fight against the british for the independence of india.
- Explains that gandhi preached and practiced non-violence and gave it a new name, he called it "satyagraha".
- Explains that spin and weave was one of the many acts practiced by him. he asked the indians to stop buying british clothing and make cotton for themselves.
- Explains gandhi's article that the indians will no longer be submissive to the wants of the british empire, and that it was time for them to fight back. gandhi was sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment.
- Explains that gandhi's prison life ended in 1924 when he developed acute appendicitis and had to be admitted into the hospital. gandhi planned a march to dandi to defy the salt law, which provided that all salt should be taxed.
- Describes how gandhi marched at the head of the procession and made frequent stops in villages, enlightening the people with his thoughts and spiritual ideas.
- Explains that gandhi and his followers were playing for the highest stakes- swaraj in a few weeks or months. non-violence, which had been aimless, without focus, now at last possessed an definite aim and an overwhelming focus.
- Narrates how gandhi reached dandi on april 5 after a march of 241 miles in twenty-four days, and broke the law.
- Explains that gandhi and his followers planned to raid the british salt factory, but before the raid gandhi was arrested and sent to prison. the factory was still raided under the supervision of sarojini naidu.
- Opines that gandhi was able to force the british out of india. the british considered him and every person fighting for independence as an outlaw.
- Explains that these kinds of people are considered as outlaws because they fight for a cause, whether it's religion, freedom, racial discrimination, or injustice.
1186 wordsRead More - Throughout history most national heroes have been warriors, but Gandhi was a passive and peaceful preacher of morals, ethics, and beliefs. He was an outsider who ended British rule over India without striking a blow. Moreover, Gandhi was not skillful with any unusual artistic, scholarly, or scientific talents. He never earned a degree or received any special academic honors. He was never a candidate in an election or a member of government. Yet when he died, in 1948, practically the whole world mourned him. Einstein said in his tribute, “Gandhi demonstrated that a powerful human following can be assembled not only through the cunning game of the usual political maneuvers and trickery but through the cogent example of a morally superior conduct of life”. Other tributes compared Gandhi to Socrates, to Buddha, to Jesus, and to Saint Fancis of Assisi.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that gandhi was a passive and peaceful preacher of morals, ethics, and beliefs. he was not skillful with any unusual artistic, scholarly, or scientific talents.
- Explains that mahatma gandhi's life was an extraordinary life, poking at the ancient hindu religion and culture and modern revolutionary ideas about politics and society.
- Explains that gandhi's life was devoted to a search for truth. he believed in nonviolence, purity, poverty, scripture-reading, humility, honesty, and fearlessness.
- Explains how gandhi was inspired by leo tolstoy's christian writings, which stated that all government is based on war and violence, and that one can attack these only through passive resistance.
- Explains that gandhi developed a method of direct social action, based upon principles of courage, nonviolence, and truth, called satyagraha (holding on to truth).
- Explains that in 1884, he founded the natal indian congress to fight for indian's rights and used and perfected the tool of satyagraha (nonviolent resistance) in demanding and protecting the rights of the indian community of south africa.
- Narrates how tolstoy started two ashrams in south africa, one named phoenix and the other, to teach people about fearlessness, self-reliance and suffering. once educated, they could practice brahmacharya, satyagraha, and ahimsa.
- Explains that he believed in manual labor and simple living. he spun thread and wove the cloth for his own garments and disagreed with those who wanted india to become an industrial country.
- Describes how gandhi's experiences of open, racial discrimination moved him into agitation. his interest soon turned to the problem of indians who had come to south africa as laborers.
- Describes how gandhi began his peaceful revolution in 1906, declaring he would go to jail or die before obeying an anti-asian law. he started protest campaigns and organized demonstrations, but never used violence.
- Narrates how gandhi began his last protest on january 13, 1948, at the age of 78. on january 18, their leaders pledged to stop fighting and gandhi ceased his nonviolent attack.
- Opines that mahatma gandhi was an astounding example of someone who was pass and misunderstood, but had great determination and beliefs. he brought attention to his beliefs of equality and nonviolence, two main factors of world peace.
- Opines that gandhi's true intention could result in a powerful effect on humanity, resulting in rebuilding of government and society and in effect - world peace.
940 wordsRead More - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And His Way Of Non-Violenceanalytical essayGandhi taught the world that wars could be won without violence. His teachings of peace are seen in his movie when he convinces the Indians in Africa to go on strike. They were planning to attack the Europeans, but instead went the peaceful route and protested. Gandhi became a hero once the Europeans granted the Indians a more fair treatment. Martin Luther King Jr. used his way of non-violence during his protests.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how gandhi taught the world that wars could be won without violence. his teachings of peace are seen in his movie when he convinces the indians in africa to go on strike.
72 wordsRead More - Prison: A Life Of Privilegeopinionated essayMohandas Gandhi was an intensely spiritual man. He used his spirituality to help reform the unfair policies of the world and even businesses focusing on the oppressed people on such a personal level. During his life span he influenced many people and to this day people live by his leadership strategies
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how louis fischer describes gandhi's experience while in yeravda jail, and how many themes based around individualistic improvement arise.
- Argues that prison should be a place of correction because punishment makes crimes more persistent.
- Opines that it is impossible to eliminate the chaos of the world all in one so first we must focus on what is possible and that is improving ourselves.
- Opines that we should not indulge in useless thinking because it is waste of time and there's no purpose for the thoughts developed through useless thought.
- Opines that prison should be a house of correction and not punishment because punishment will not improve one's behavior. everyone should learn for their misfortune so that they may improve themselves.
- Explains that prison is a life of privilege. many people of the world are busy going through the motions of life and never have the opportunity to stop and think about the improvement of their world and even themselves.
- Analyzes how louis fischer relays gandhi's messages exactly, but it seems as though he takes bits and pieces and put them into place where each message flows together. fischer also edits some of gandhi’s quotes, which helps readers understand the message gandhi is trying to relay.
- Explains gandhi's teaching of the litmus test, which is a proposed question on an action by an individual, but the answer would determine whether or not one would proceed with the action.
- Opines that the philosopher's method of explaining gandhi ideals was helpful because the way he edited certain words made it more relatable and easier to comprehend.
- Opines that prisoners are confined to the space provided for them and locked away from the world. they would find it useless to worry about the outside world and about themselves.
- Explains that a follower of the gita dharma [duty] trains himself to do without things with happiness. does it relate to satyagraha, when one reaches the level where they must seclude themselves?
- Explains that mohandas gandhi was an intensely spiritual man who used his spirituality to help reform the unfair policies of the world and even businesses focusing on the oppressed people on a personal level.
- Opines that self-improvement is the best thing for an individual. it is merely training to reach a superior state.
819 wordsRead More - Biography of Mohandas Gandhiargumentative essayMartin Luther King, Jr. once said, “If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable… We may ignore him at our own risk.” King cited Gandhi as one of his biggest inspirations, which should come as no surprise, as Gandhi helped end racism towards as many if not more people than King himself. Gandhi pioneered the use of what he called satyagraha, or political change through nonviolence, and helped bring millions of India’s oppressed to equality. Lord Mountbatten, the last British ruler of India, is quoted as saying, “Mahatma Gandhi will go down in history on a par with Buddha and Jesus Christ.” There is no denying the truth in this statement because of the way he had a profound impact on the lives of those around him, just like these other two famous figures of history. Gandhi may have been very small man, relatively speaking, but he grew to be a giant in the eyes of the world.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that martin luther king, jr. cited gandhi as one of his biggest inspirations, which should come as no surprise, as gandhi helped end racism towards as many if not more people than king himself.
- Explains that mohandas gandhi began life as the fourth son in his family — hardly expected to bring about greatness, even though his father was the small state's diwan.
- Explains that gandhi decided to study law to become the successor to his father's position of diwan. while his mother had doubts, he went to a law school in london.
- Narrates how gandhi set up a law firm in bombay after returning from england. he remained in south africa for twenty-two years, developing more of his religious beliefs than in london.
- Compares gandhi's civil disobedience to rosa parks' refusal to give up her bus seat.
- Narrates gandhi's speech in front of the indians of pretoria, asking them to join in his quest against the racism and hate instigated by the british.
- Analyzes how gandhi's followers became more and more firmly entrenched in his spiritual beliefs. he shed his pompous business attire and wore a simple white cloak and loin cloth.
- Explains that gandhi was assassinated on january 30th, 1948 at the age of 78. the killer was a radical hindu named nathuram godse, who believed that his support of peace with the muslims was traitorous.
983 wordsRead More - Mohandas Ghandi Imperialismanalytical essayMohandas Ghandi, a man not only known for his overlying message to be the change you wish to see, is also arguably the greatest leader India ever had. Ghandi was a man who found himself, by getting lost in his service to others. He lived his whole life as a simple Gujarati man in a self-sufficient environment always in high hopes to help other people and his country be the best they could. Regardless of the extensive list of achievements Ghandi has, the most prominent in history would be how he won a sliver of Indian independence against British imperialism. Not only considering the effect of the civil unrest he caused, it showed how the momentum of civilians coming together for a single goal in mind could promote great change in a country.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that mohandas ghandi is arguably the greatest leader india ever had. he won a sliver of indian independence against british imperialism.
- Explains that ghandi and the salt march were one of history's greatest examples of resistance and effective civil disobedience.
- Analyzes how the british government realized that europe was losing its former dominance in india. they learned that india was ready to be their own country and that it was possible to not confine to the rules made by britain.
606 wordsRead More - How Did Gandhi Impact A Free Societycomparative essayGandhi is the universal face for peaceful resistance. He devoted much of his life to improving the world without any use of violence. He helped India fight for economic independence from Britain and did so by boycotting textiles from Britain. He instead had the people of India manufacture khaddar, otherwise known as homespun
In this essay, the author
- Explains that civil disobedience positively impacts a free society in many ways.
- Describes gandhi as the universal face for peaceful resistance. he helped india fight for economic independence from britain by boycotting textiles and manufacturing khaddar.
- Describes how martin luther king jr. led a movement that forever changed america. he didn't like that african american men and women were treated differently than those that were white.
- Narrates how rosa parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in montgomery, alabama, because she was tired. she boycotted the bus service and led the way for many african americans to speak up.
- Concludes that all three peaceful resistance leaders, martin luther king jr., rosa parks and mohandas gandhi used civil disobedience to aid their resistance movement.
567 wordsRead More - Genius In Ralph Waldo Emerson's Essayanalytical essayHe believed in the peaceful method which he used to bring freedom to India and its people. His belief was that he could achieve independence for India through nonviolent means and so he did, but only by staying true to his cause and belief of peaceful disobedience. His genius comes from the fact that he achieved his goal without raising arms against the oppressors, where as many others would’ve seen war as the only solution, and that’s where Gandhi’s genius reveals itself. Only a fool would think that there is only one way to go about everything to be sure, but surely you would agree that it is foolish to believe so, but would attaining to those thoughts and beliefs make you a genius? Well, in the right light, butter is unmistakably gold and carrot cubes are unmistakably topaz crystals.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how emerson's philosophy, diction, and overall meaning refer to man being able to express genius only if he remains true to his thoughts and beliefs.
- Analyzes how jon snow, in the novel a storm of swords by george r.r. martin, takes vows which become part of him, and receives orders from a superior, which imply breaking them.
- Opines that genius is a decision and how man's thoughts and beliefs conjoin to form the definition of genius.
- Explains that gandhi believed in peaceful disobedience and achieved his goal without raising arms against the oppressors.
- Opines that man's genius is yet to be fully measured, but for the time being let it be limitless potential in which no matter how ambitious it may seem, genius can come from it.
732 wordsRead More