Arun Gandhi visits university

Arun Gandhi spoke about nonviolence in a world of terrorism Friday in his speech at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.

Students, faculty and staff filled the 321-seat theatre to capacity, and some had to be turned away, a Quick Center spokeswoman said.

Gandhi is the grandson of the late Mohandas Gandhi, the activist who was paramount in the liberation of India from British rule.

Gandhi began the evening with an experiment among the students, faculty, staff and community members in the audience.

"I want you to partner up with the person sitting next to you," he said. "I want one of you to make a tight fist and pretend you have the most precious diamond in the world in it. I want the other partner to try and open it."

After members of the audience attempted to pry their partners' fists open, Gandhi asked how many requested their partner to open their fist. The audience laughed. "See how violent we are?" Gandhi asked.

Gandhi said violence is as much a problem now as it was during his grandfather's campaign from the turn of the century to his assassination in 1948.

He discussed how the people of India responded to the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in 1919, when British troops fired into a crowd of unarmed Indians.

"The people of India were furious with this indignity," he said. "If any leader had given them a spark, there may have been a war. However, we realized the British needed to be liberated from their imperialism as much as we from their colonization."

This example was not followed by America, Gandhi said.

"On 9/11, 2001, when that dreadful thing happened in New York City, I hoped we wouldn't seek revenge," he said. "I prayed we could channel our anger, but instead we've been plunged into war. We don't know how to save ourselves or our souls from destruction."

Gandhi asserted that non-violence is an active philosophy, despite common misconceptions to the contrary.

"I don't agree that (non-violence) is a negative philosophy," he said. "Love, respect and compassion need to dominate so we can practice it effectively."

Gandhi was sent from South Africa to live with his grandfather in India at a young age.

"I was beat up by white kids and then black kids," he said. "I wanted to grow strong to get revenge, so I started exercising and pumping iron. My parents sent me to India because it was important for me to learn how to deal with anger."

Once he arrived, Gandhi learned many lessons from his grandfather, often when he didn't expect to.
"I was walking home from school carrying my pencil, which was three inches long," he said. "I thought I deserved a better one and was sure my grandfather would get me a new one if I asked for it, so I threw it away in the bushes. When I told him I needed a new one, he began to ask me questions like how did it become small and why did I throw it away. He told me to look for it."

After he found it, Gandhi's grandfather explained the importance of conservation.

"When you waste natural resources, you're committing violence against nature," the elder Gandhi had told the younger.

Gandhi addressed the audience, saying, "If you over-consume, others must live in poverty, and you are committing violence against human beings. Ask yourselves honestly how many perfectly good things you throw away. Even in this country, millions go to bed hungry. An imbalance exists all over the world."

Gandhi said people respond with crime and terrorism when they are forced into poverty.

"Hate, oppression and greed exist in a culture of violence," he said. "I don't know what the next step will be. We must stop the process. It's important we learn to deal with anger. We need to use it intelligently for the good of humanity rather than destruction."

After his speech, Gandhi opened the floor to questions. Freshman Shivani Sharma asked what students without political power can do to create positive changes in the world.

"There are many examples, such as Buddha, of people who made a difference without political power," Gandhi responded. "If he and other religious leaders had waited, we wouldn't have those religions today. Instead, they have been spread all over the world. We can't wait to grab political power because it will never happen."

Sharma said she was happy with the answer she got.

"I thought it was good," she said. "It was inspiring.