Biography Of Mahatma Gandhi: The Leader Of Nonviolence

The legacy of the biography of Mahatma Gandhi, whose real name was Mohandas K. Gandhi, still survives among us. He was the man who, with his humility, wanted to start a peaceful revolution to defend the civil rights of his country.

He stood up as a political and spiritual leader capable of inspiring far more than an entire country, as his vigilance and non-violent disobedience conquered the entire world.

October 2nd is the day of non-violence. It is this moment that we have to reflect on what the leader of India’s independence movement left us in the mid-twentieth century.

In addition to his political and social goals, what Gandhi offered for our contemporary history was a style of thought, a philosophy of life.

During his nearly three decades of peaceful activism, he not only wanted to free his people from the British Raj. His goals were higher.

It defended social justice, aspired to the transformation of economic structures and laid the foundations for a more active ethics for human beings. He taught us that harmony between religions could be possible between different peoples.

Mahatma Gandhi Biography: From Naive Lawyer to Brilliant Activist

Mohandas K. Gandhi was born in Porbandar in 1869. He belonged to a distinct Indian caste in the late 19th century.

His father was the prime minister of Gujarat and his mother, a practitioner of Hinduism, was a woman distinguished by her tolerance and defense of peaceful coexistence between all religions.

He grew up in a privileged environment in all aspects, for the economic well-being, harmony and the spirituality that, from an early age, was instilled in him in almost every way. He was a vegetarian, fasted and was very committed to all the traditional knowledge of his culture.

However, his family chose him, over his two older brothers, to improve his academic background. So he was sent to London in 1888 to study law.

This phase of his life away from India lasted nearly two decades, and was crucial in building his identity, social activism and philosophical conviction.

In England, he had contact with the circle of Theosophists who initiated him into the Bahagavad Gita, the sacred book of the Hindus, which decisively inspired him in their religious ideals and principles.

After getting his degree, this inexperienced lawyer went to South Africa, a divided and unstable country made up of several colonies ruled by the British and the Dutch.

It was in this context that a decisive stage in his life began. The young lawyer suddenly became a strong advocate of equality and freedom.

It was in South Africa that these four characteristics that defined Mahatma Gandhi developed:

• Defender of freedom.
• Social Reformist.
• Defender of tolerance of all religions.
• Spiritual guide.

India’s struggle for independence

When Gandhi returned to his country in 1915, things had taken a turn for the worse in India. A law was about to be passed to ban Hindu suffrage.

It was at this point that he began to apply the same social activism that he had already started in South Africa. He called his people to resistance and Satyagraha (the creed of non-violence).

The world, in turn, brought the echoes of World War I, and it began to lay the foundations for a peaceful independence from India. To do this, he resorted to a tactical and intellectual approach that was as innovative as it was inspiring for several generations.

Mahatma Gandhi created a farm in the city of Ahmedabad to gather his disciples. He became a spiritual leader who inspired many communities. Little by little, more peaceful settlements emerged, which in turn ignited the engines of a great revolution.

An effective strategy was to stop the production of cotton, an essential piece for the British textile industry. Then he would do the same with the British salt monopoly.

Civil disobedience campaigns took thousands of lives to the fore and cost him and his people several years in prison. However, the goal was achieved: India’s independence as a British colony arrived on August 18, 1947.

Just a few months later, on January 30, 1948, Gandhi was assassinated by Hindu extremist Nathuram V. Godse in the midst of a crowd. He was 78 years old.

Gandhi’s Guidelines on Satyagraha (Creed of Non-Violence)

The Satyagraha was a word coined by Gandhi himself to represent his fight, which was based on that firm resistance should not resort to violence.

Thus, this humble and steadfastly obstinate man for the defense of social rights (to the point of being nominated five times for the Nobel Peace Prize) insisted that life is indivisible and, as such, it is inconceivable that one person could do any harm to another.

Therefore, every active struggle for the good and defense of the one who suffers must be based on satyagraha , a dimension that included the following principles:

• Make use of the truth.
• Don’t steal.
• Respect any religion.
• Believing in truth and non-violence and having faith in the intrinsic goodness of human nature.
• A civilian resister will not feel anger or hatred.
• It will withstand your opponent’s attacks, without retreating or feeling fear.
• Will accept being arrested.
• The resistant will refuse to surrender their properties.
• It will not retaliate or be vindictive.
• Will not use insults.
• A civilian resister will not salute the UK flag, but neither will he insult it.
• If there is a fight, the resister will protect the officers from attacks and insults.

Conclusions on the work and biography of Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi developed an undeniable shift in twentieth-century thinking. He left an inspiring trail, as did Martin Luther King in his day, or Mandela himself years later.

These types of legacies are, without a doubt, a challenge for our times. Taking your example and learning from these numbers is something we should all reflect on to improve the course of our civilization.