Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Q:Who is the most admired, honored, and respected human being that ever lived?

A:Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, is the most admired, honored, and respected human being that ever lived. Not only can his visage be found on all rupee currency notes circulating in India since 1996, but his birthday is celebrated every October 2 as an Indian national holiday. India is home to about 1.13 billion people, which is a whopping one sixth of the entire world's population. That's a lot of admirers! But wait, there's more. For Gandhi achieved his status as “The Father of the Nation” of India in such a remarkable way, that he has been an inspiration to all subsequent non-violent civil rights activists and advocates throughout the world. Martin Luther King Jr. was a student of his ideas, using them to bring about dignified change here in the United States, as was Nelson Mandela in South Africa. Anyone who advocates changing social wrongs through non-violent actions is greatly indebted to Mahatma Gandhi for showing the world how humble and gentle action can overcome violence, prejudice, and power, and all who admire, honor, and respect them also indirectly admire, honor, and respect Mahatma Gandhi. From artists such as John Lennon to advocates of environmentalism such as Al Gore, Gandhi's message is spoken of and passed around. The Dalai Lama, Lech Walesa of Poland, Cesar Chavez, the migrant workers advocate, Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma,, Benigno Aquino Jr. of the Philippines, Desmond Tutu of South Africa, and many many lesser known heroes have honored Mahatma Gandhi with their peaceful protests and by speaking truth to power.

The people of this nation have just elected the first black man to become the president of the United States of America. This man, Barack Hussein Obama, has inspired the entire world with his strength of character and his gentle dignity. In fact, he may qualify as the most admired, honored, and respected human being that is alive right now. But even he is only mirroring what Mahatma Gandhi did, and surely, Mr. Obama was inspired by him when he went to work as a community organizer, for that was exactly what Gandhi did. He was a lawyer and a community organizer, and he changed not only the way that India functioned, but the way that people go about initiating change, without resorting to armed insurrections or hatred, but instead by showing that humans can learn to respect each other, despite our differences. That is Obama's message, but it is not a new one. It is a message whose time has finally come. Everyone in the world today who admires, honors, and respects Barack Obama is also doing so toward Mahatma Gandhi. To highlight this connection, I include this moving quote by Ramzi Kysia of the Free Gaza Movement, which begins with a reference to Gandhi and ends with Obama's call to action:

GAZA CITY, FREE PALESTINE (29 October 2008) - This morning I walked to the Indian Ocean and made salt in defiance of the British Occupation of India. This morning I marched in Selma, I stood down tanks in Tiannamen Square, and I helped tear down the Berlin Wall. This morning I became a Freedom Rider.

The Freedom Riders of the 21st Century are sailing small boats into the Gaza Strip in open defiance of the Israeli Occupation and blockade. This morning I arrived in Gaza aboard the SS Dignity, part of a Free Gaza Movement delegation of twenty seven doctors, lawyers, teachers, and human rights activists from across the world, including Mairead Maguire - the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

When I close my eyes, I still hear the crash of ocean waves, I still feel the warm sun on my face, and I still taste salt from the sea spray. When I close my eyes, I can still see the Israeli warship that tried to intimidate us when we reached the twenty-mile line outside Gaza, and I can still see a thousand cheering people crowding around our ship when we refused to be intimidated and finally reached port in Gaza City. Today, the proudest boast in the free world is truly, "Nam, Nehnu Nastatyeh!" - "Yes, We Can!"

In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adapted a resolution declaring October 2 to be “the International Day of Non-Violence.” I believe that this is an expression of the global yearning for violence and divisiveness to come to an end. The election of Barack Obama also signals this, because the symbol that this election sends is more than that our society is ready to accept a person of color as our leader. Obama's rise to the top of the Democratic ticket was in fact fueled by peace activists, because he was wise enough and strong enough to oppose the Iraq invasion from the very beginning. The world is ready for peace, and we can look to Mahatma Gandhi for inspiration again and again in our quest to bring about a more just and peaceful world. And by educating the younger generations, his influence can continue to grow in the world. In his words:

The science of war leads one to dictatorship, pure and simple. The science of non-violence alone can lead one to pure democracy...Power based on love is thousand times more effective and permanent than power derived from fear of punishment....It is a blasphemy to say non-violence can be practiced only by individuals and never by nations which are composed of individuals...