Mahatma Gandhi's grandson spreads message of peace in Boston
The grandson of spiritual and political leader, Mahatma Gandhi, is carrying the family's message of peace and non-violence to Boston. Arun Gandhi says the world is being consumed by too much violence, and it's time to break down barriers. He says about his grandfather, "Gandhi's very famous quotation is: that we must become the change we wish to see in the world. And I have added onto that: and I said, we must not only become the change we wish to see, we must also become the agents of change that we wish to see."
Gandhi's lecture will focus on nonviolence and his experiences while living with his grandfather and will be followed by a Q & A. It will take place at the Regis College Fine Arts Center in Weston, MA at 4 PM on Sunday, October 21 as part of the 3rd Annual Boston Yoga and Chant Fest. Individual tickets for Gandhi's lecture are available (see below)
Born in Durban, South Africa, and discriminated against both by whites and blacks, Arun's childhood produced an obsession for revenge - anger that was only cooled after an 18-month stay with his grandfather. In 1946, Arun traveled to India with his parents to live with Mahatma Gandhi who taught him how to rechannel his hate and anger into love for others and himself.
Despite his grandfather's preoccupation with India's tumultuous transfer of power, Arun Gandhi said that Mahatma Gandhi set an hour aside each day to teach him the principles of nonviolence - forever changing the course of his life.
At 23, Arun returned to India to work as a reporter for the Times of India where he founded the Center for Social Unity to alleviate poverty and caste discrimination by teaching members of the "untouchable" class how to start their own dairies and other businesses.
In 1991, four years after traveling to the United States to compare prejudices with those in South Africa and India to find nonviolent ways to improve human relations, Arun founded The M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence at the Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tenn. The Institute, founded with funds raised through the sale of Gandhi's original letters to Arun's parents, is dedicated to teaching the philosophy of nonviolence.
For the past five years, Arun has participated in the Renaissance Weekend deliberations with President Clinton and other eminent Rhode Scholars at Hilton Head, S.C.
The author of four books written in India between 1969 and 1983, Arun also contributed to the first "Encyclopedia of Nonviolence" and edited the anthology "World Without Violence - Can Gandhi's Vision Become Reality?" published in 1994.
He also is the editor of the book, "A Testament to Truth" -- a collection of Gandhi's writings on nonviolence, women's issues, international relations, religion and human relations being released this fall by HarperCollins. Gandhi is currently working on a biography of his grandmother, Kastur, who died while in prison with her husband.
www.arungandhi.org
www.gandhiinstitute.org
You can buy individual tickets for the lecture with Arun Gandhi without attending the Fest
FREE ADMISSION WITH A COLLEGE ID (Just come at the door)
