Augusta, GA – Hundreds packed Trinity on the Hill United Methodist Church on Saturday to hear Arun Gandhi, a grandson of Indian independence leader Mohandas Gan­dhi, plant his seeds of wisdom in an interfaith program. Arun Gandhi’s arrival is timely with Martin Luther King Day just around the corner. Saturday he held a special press conference to spread the teachings of peace, equality, and justice. Gandhi was also the guest speaker for the 7th Annual MLK Interfaith Worship Service.

Mahatma Gandhi’s famous words still resonate in the hearts and minds of many: “We must become the change that we that wish to see in the world.”

Arun Gandhi said he spent a lot of time growing up with his grandfather learning the teachings of peace and nonviolence. Decades later, at age 79, he continues to spread the word to all nations about what good can come when one person makes a change—something Martin Luther King Jr. also preached.

“My message here in Augusta is how we need to use religion to bring people together instead of dividing people,” Gandhi said before the service. “Unfortunately, we have been dividing and killing in the name of God, which is not a part of any religion at all. We need to create an atmosphere where all of us can live together with proper understanding.”

“We are still a long way away from the dream that he cherished, and unless we take these small steps to make that dream become a reality, it will never become a reality.”

Gandhi has worked to make that a reality for more than 15 years, creating a 64-day nonviolence season in honor of the two leaders’ legacies.

“I just went out into the country and spoke to people and inspired them to do whatever they could in a small way to take us a step closer to the dream that both Gandhi and King shared,” said Gandhi.

He said more than 250 communities in the United States now observe the season for nonviolence.

“We are on a course of destruction. We are destroying our humanity, we are destroying our earth, we are destroying everything,” said Gandhi.

He believes a big part of that destruction across America is guns.

“No civilized nation can behave the way we do where children are killed and guns are used by children. The things that go on here are not only savage, but inhuman,” said Gandhi.

He said he will continue to advocate international peace and justice keeping with his grandfather’s legacy.

“I came here to plant seeds, and I hope that the people will reflect on this,” said Gandhi.

Arun Gandh is presently making final arrangements to lead the inaugural ‘Gandhi Satyagraha’ South Africa Tour in May.

Sources: Nicole Snyder at WJBF.com and Travis Highfield at Augusta Chronicle

Mahatma Gandhi said: ‘what a civilized world needs is politics with principles.’ The British Parliament has demonstrated this effectively.  As the difficult issues of Syria challenge us the world needs to free itself from the military industrial complexes that stoke violence and make profits from the blood and lives of innocent people. President Eisenhower had warned us of the consequences in 1953 and we are now learning the lesson!

 Ultimately the British Parliament has shown the courage to reject military solutions to world problems.  I agree with the Nobel Peace Laureates Archbishop Tutu and Mairead Maguire and stand with them in their call for ‘human intervention’ and ‘dialogue’ to lead the way to peace and reconciliation in Syrian.  

Race and justice in the U.S. 

The Trayvon Martin case has once again highlighted two issues that have defied solutions in the United States.  There is no doubt that race is still a boiling pot and that the justice system has not yet been able to shake off the vestiges of the Wild West era when matters were settled in the streets and courts were there simply to endorse the action.

 In the 21st Century U.S. race is increasingly transcending the historic prejudices against African Americans to include all people of color.  For someone of color life in the US is not the same as it is for a person who is White.  I am an Indian but I have been mistaken for a Latino and an Asian.  Not that I mind the universal identity but it is unpleasant when there is fear attached to it.

 I have been warned by circumstances and by well-meaning friends never to trespass on private property, whatever the emergency, because a white man with a gun could justifiably shoot and kill you even before talking with you.  Consequently, when driving around the country I pray I do not face an emergency that would force me to seek help from a white home-owner.  When looking for an address in a residential area I have had to drive miles out of the way to a gas station for instructions.  I am never sure of the response from a white person to an enquiry or simply to a greeting.  Of course, that sometimes is the case with African Americans too. 

 There is no doubt that a large part of the fear that non-white people have to live with is because of the private ownership of guns and the right that people have to protect themselves.  During the 80 years of my life I have lived in South Africa, India, England and now in the United States but in no other country did I have to live with the fear of losing my life for something as silly as walking in a neighborhood.  I lived through riots in South Africa and in India but we did not have to live in fear because it was understood that the police and the army are meant to protect the nation and the people.  It seems ironic to me that the citizens of the most advanced and the most civilized nation in the world lives in the greater fear than people in any other country. 

 This dilemma that the United States faces today is because of the over dependence on the law to set things right.  There are issues in the lives of people that cannot be corrected by law.  They can only be corrected by love and respect.  The law can only enable integration but cannot bring about understanding.  This is why the racial pot keeps boiling because no one is making an attempt to bring about respect and understanding between races and cultures.  Aggression only aggravates the problem.