“The Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need but not every man’s greed.” -Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi, hero of resistance, had early roots around Durban. From 1893-1914, he lived and worked in South Africa. This formative experience shaped his philosophies on racial conflict and injustice. There he attached himself to suffrage movements and the slog for equal rights.
It was in South Africa in 1906 that Gandhi first articulated his methodology of Satyagraha. It translates literally to a devotion to truth. It manifests as nonviolent protest. Gandhi was not the first to espouse Satyagraha, but was arguably the first to apply it to the political field.
Satyagraha seeks to eliminate antagonisms without harming the antagonists themselves. It arms the individual with moral power. It is the universal force.
Gandhi’s time in South Africa, a country that has seen war and resolution, informed the breath of his teachings worldwide. Civil disobedience, ahimsa, total nonviolence. Harm no one. Harm not the Earth.
Inside the conference halls in Durban, nations united, we will bear witness to the work of consensus. What is one thing we all can agree upon?
1 comment:
Gaby, What can we all agree on? I'd start with the Univ. Declaration of Human Rights, then go to the Occupy Movement, minus the anarchists and Adbusters who will push too far. Will spend much of them a m enjoying your new blog. Uncle Tom
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