From outside India, these reflections are found.

1. Contemporary Perspectives on Peace ...
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Some Reflections on Gandhi and Non-violence
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel
The testimony of the life of Mahatma Gandhi illuminates
humanity. He discovered the path of non-violence in the old sacred
books, and decided to take on the challenges of the struggle for the
liberation of his people and the country, India.
At that moment, many young people were impressed by this
man, who decided to strip himself of all worldly goods, in order to be
free and to dedicate his life to his neighbour.
I would like to share a small story of my life, when I was young,
how he touched my life? My father was a fisherman who, as many
other immigrants did, immigrated to Argentina. He had to work and
survive in an unknown environment. He knew of ships and fishes, of
nets and winds, of stillness and tempests. But, everything that was
from the past. He had to survive in poverty. Some people can find the
beauty in life, while others are broken by it; but life goes on and the
present and the future are influenced by these things.
I had to start working when I was 10 years old, selling
newspapers on the streets, trams and street corners. I used to do it
joyfully, and it was fun to have my little profit. At that time, in the
“Plaza de Mayo" there were places where used books were sold, and
I liked visiting them and sometimes buying a book to read with my
friends in Parque Lezama.
There was a bookseller – I never knew his name and he never
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knew mine either -- we communicated using "Don" and the "pibe"
(kid). One day this man said to me: "Pibe, I have two books for you,
one of them is a gift for you and for the other one, you can pay me as
you can". These books were: "The Story of My Experiments With
Truth,” the Autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi and the other one
"The Seven Storey Mountain," by Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk of
the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani.
I had read news about Gandhi and his struggle in India. The
bookseller "Don" told me who Gandhi was and his non-violent
struggle for the liberation of India under British rule. He told me that
Gandhi had to suffer imprisonment and abuse for defending his
people. I was impressed by the history and life of this Hindu.
I read Gandhi´s book several times. It was like discovering a
new dimension between spirituality, social and political action. The
thing that impressed me most was his humility. A man who could
have used his ability as a lawyer to live comfortably, chose to refuse
that, and chose to live only with the most basic necessities and
nothing more. This man not only struggled against British domination
in India; he also was aware of the need for a deeper change of heart
and conscience of his people, in communities and at work, in non-
violent education. He worked for unity between Hindus and Muslims
But non-violence was beyond a simple tactic against the
empire, it was a way of life for Gandhi, and according to him one
must practice non-violence in all relationships, not only between
individuals but also between peoples.
The mystique of prayer and spirituality, his commitment to the
people and his courage and decision touched me throughout my life
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and struggle in Latin America.
The second book, “The Seven Storey Mountain" by Thomas
Merton helped me to understand the meaning of spirituality and
oration. He was a monk who extensively studied non-violence and
relationships with other forms of spirituality.
Other people whom I knew personally and gave me their
friendship were Lanza del Vasto, Jean and Hildegard Goss Goss-Mayr,
also apostles of non-violence who preached the power of the Gospel
of non-violence.
I met Lanza del Vasto in Buenos Aires, when he came to give a
series of lectures on non-violence. We established a close
relationship and began to participate together in a group called
“Friends of Ark”. It was an extension of the European community
where the Gandhian message had rang true. The community life and
prayer; artisan work, solidarity and non-violent struggles
accompanied the actions of other peoples in France as well. Lanza
was touring Latin America and raising awareness about non-violence.
For several years I was part of the group of Friends of the Ark in
Argentina.
During the military dictatorship, I was in exile with my whole
family and spent a few days in the community of Ark in Montpellier.
Then we decided to return to Latin America, because we believed
that working together with the people was very important.
When I was arrested by the military dictatorship, on 4th April
1977, Lanza del Vasto was in Buenos Aires. The night before my
arrest, he had been in my house. When he knew what had
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happened, he protested against the military dictatorship, demanding
my release. He was the first person to do so.
Jean and Hildegard Goss Goss- Mayr began their work in Latin
America in the 60s, in Mexico, motivating bishops, pastors,
communities and unions through the preaching of non-violence.
They visited many countries and met with persons who have touched
the lives of their peoples and the path of the churches. Among them
were Don Helder Camera, Archbishop of Olinda and Recife, Cardinal
Paulo Evaristo Arns, Sao Paulo; Don Antonio Fragoso, Bishop of
Crateús, among many others, such as Msgr. Samuel Ruiz, Bishop of
San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas; Bishops of Evangelical
Churches, which included Bishop Federico Pagura of the Methodist
Church, and Argentine Mortimer Arias of Bolivia.
Jean Goss held a meeting in Colombia with the priest Camilo
Torres, who had taken up armed struggle. They established a
dialogue between the right to just war, armed struggle and the need
to seek liberation, and non-violence as a force of liberation. This
meeting demonstrated the meaning and understanding of life
choices and paths chosen to achieve the liberation of peoples.
Jean Goss and Hildegar were promoters of what is now the
‘Service for Peace and Justice’ in Latin America. It was in the year
1974, in Medellin, Colombia, where he assumed responsibility for
organizing the work across the continent.
In a troubled and violent world, in which we live today, it is a
great challenge to change the spiral of violence that involves the lives
of millions of people worldwide. At this 60th anniversary of the
assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, we must remember his struggle
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and we must intensify our efforts and think of specific options and
opportunities to build a more just and humane society.
Many years of resistance and struggle through non-violent
means, have built roads for social participation, where human rights
and non-violence values are indivisible.
The people of Latin America have a long experience of
nonviolent struggle. Indigenous people, peasants, trade unions, and
social organizations have developed forms of nonviolent resistance.
This same resistance is also in other continents and peoples, as in
Myanmar, with Aan San Suu Kyi, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize,
and Buddhist monks, who are opposed to the military dictatorship
that oppresses the people. This fight is similar to our fight against
military dictatorships in Latin America and especially in Argentina.
In the twentieth century it is necessary to build spaces of
resistance, and social, cultural, spiritual and political life, and it is only
possible to transform this reality through the generation of a critical
conscience and the upholding of values of the Gospel of non-violence
as a force of liberation. Every religion, every people must find their
understanding and sense of life.
I think it is necessary to delve into the political dimension of
non-violence and the social and structural changes that must be
achieved. Gandhi was very clear about the objectives of the struggle
for liberation.
Humanity is passing through roads plagued by wars, conflicts,
hunger and environmental destruction and loss of natural resources.
We must restore the balance between individuals, people and nature
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before it is too late and non-violence has much to contribute.
Gandhi converted non-violence into a comprehensive
transformation of life reinforcing the relationship between human
beings and Mother Nature. The struggle was ethical, spiritual and
political. His goal was the liberation of all persons and peoples.
At 60 years from his departure, there is still a long way to go. A
drop of the sea is also the whole ocean as the ocean is contained in
every single drop of the sea.
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