Upon his assassination on April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was hailed by The New York Times as “the leader of millions in non-violent drive for social justice.” Many around the world continue to consider King as the American Gandhi who through his method of non-violent direct action succeeded in arousing the American nation to the evils of racism and poverty and preparing the enactment of historic civil rights legislation.
Gandhi threw a direct challenge to the British ruling establishment in as much as he says that the Indians and the English could work together only if their interests were identical.
"If you act contrary to our will", he writes, "we shall not help you, and without our help, we know that you cannot move one step forward".
Each person, he believed, had to experience this conviction for himself and not wait for others to act, the time for action would come the moment each realised, If I do my duty, that is serve myself, I shall be able to serve others."
We should understand what is a martyr? A person killed for a particular reason is considered a martyr. Had Gandhiji not been assassinated and had died a natural death he would have probably not been considered a martyr. In that sense Lord Buddha and Mahavir are not martyrs. Martin Luthur King and Gandhiji are martyrs. Therefore being assassinated cannot be the criteria of being considered a martyr. It is the one who has sacrificed - surrendered his life - I have coined the term 'surrendered soul'.
In the beginning, Gandhi believed in God, the ultimate Reality or Supreme Power. He said, "God is Truth." But ultimately he said, "Truth is God." While God was denied by many, he observed, none dared deny truth. The truth of one's own perception and experience could not be denied; to deny it would be to deny oneself and one's existence and powers of perception.
As early as 1921, he inspired Hindi literature's most celebrated author, Premchand. In his novel Premashram (ashram of love), revolving around agrarian conflict in an Indian village, the central character Prem Shankar is an alias of Gandhi. The appellation, Mahatma, very well expresses the veneration in which he was held by his countrymen. In his close circle of friends and acquaintances he was generally called Bapu or father, which had an altogether different connotation. Gandhi's popularity has been such that whatever India's standing in any particular country, the very mention of the name of Gandhi is bound to earn some goodwill for India.
The British rule over India became a reality after the defeat of the Marathas in 1818. It was a difficult task for a handful of British to dominate a populous and vast country like India with only physical power. It was important to subjugate the minds of the Indians. This subjugation was an interplay of masculinities.
The British colonial masters launched a 'propaganda' to impress the Indians that they were weak, effeminate and unfit to rule themselves. They disarmed Indian men by passing the Arms Act of 1878. They called educated Bengali men who were aspiring for equal treatment as 'effeminate Bengali.' This term was later applied to all educated Indian men. Imperialist historians and journalists like Katherine Mayo played a major role
'AHIMSA' is derived from the Sanskrit verb root 'SAN', which means 'to kill'.
The form 'HIMS' means 'desirous to kill'.
The prefix 'A'- is a negation.
So 'A-HIMSA' means literally 'lacking any desire to kill'.
Literally translated, 'AHIMSA' means to be without harm; to be utterly harmless, not only to oneself and others, but to all living beings.
The concept of 'AHIMSA' extends to all living beings, and therefore, protection of environment, natural habitats and vegetarianism are its natural derivatives.
"For a bowl of water give a goody meal;
For a kindly greeting bow thou down with zeal;
For a simple penny pay thou back with gold;
If thy life be rescued, life do not withhold.
Thus the words and actions of the wise regard;
Every little service tenfold they reward.
But the truly noble know all men as one,
And return with gladness good for evil done."
This poem, by Shamal Bhatt, about returning tenfold goodness to whatever is done to us has really attracted Gandhi's childhood mind.
Gandhi learned from this poem that, the real beauty consists in doing good against evil.
It gripped his mind and heart. Its precept-return good for evil- became his guiding principle.