Gandy and the Ahimsa Philosophy Essay - 844 Words

One of the most famous leaders of a non-violent movement was Mohandas K. Gandhi. Most of Gandhi’s intellectual, social and political ethics and beliefs developed in the search of truth and non violence, or ahimsa, the opposite being himsa. Ahimsa is simply defined as to not injure, and himsa defined as to injure. Ahimsa is also referred to as nonviolence, according to many religions (Indian) it applies to all living beings including. â€Å"Ahimsa is a comprehensive principle. We are helpless mortals caught in the conflagration of himsa. The saying that life lives on life has a deep meaning in it. Man cannot for a moment live without consciously or unconsciously committing outward himsa. The very fact of his living – eating,†¦show more content†¦I held then that India could only achieve her complete emancipation only within and through the British Empire.† This creates an inner struggle with the belief in Satyagraha. Satyagraha can be understo od as the vast inner strength required to perform non-violent acts. Gandhi created the word Satyagraha in 1908 by means of a contest in the Indian Opinion, meaning â€Å"truth force† and refers to Gandhi’s non-violent campaigns in South Africa. This personal conflict was again tested in the Zulu Rebellion of 1906, which Gandhi discusses in chapter XXIV ‘The Zulu Rebellion.’ Although he had no grudge against the Zulu, â€Å"I believed that the British Empire existed for the welfare of the world. A genuine sense of loyalty prevented me from even wishing ill to the Empire† Once again, Gandhi mobilized the Indian people of South Africa to form an Indian Ambulance Corps. His struggles with participating in war, any war, were only bearable because he felt he was truly doing God’s good work. â€Å"The Zulu ‘Rebellion’ was full of new experiences and gave me much food for thought. The Boer War had not brought home to me the horro rs of war with anything like the vividness that the ‘rebellion’ did. This was no war but a man-hunt, not only in my opinion, but also in that of many Englishmen with whom I had occasion to talk. To hear every morning reports of the soldiers’ rifles