Library Project: The Story of My Experiments with Truth by M. K. Gandhi

[Melissa Ruhl]

Hello everyone. My name is Melissa and I have recently started volunteering with Beyond War by helping Mora in the Eugene office and by helping Anne Millhollen with the library project. For Anne, I will be gathering data for the annotated bibliography as well as reading books to try and find the 12-15 core books. I am hoping that by making a blog of the readings I am doing for Anne, I can elicit discussion of these books whether or not those who find them interesting have read them. Beyond War members recommended many of the books, so I hope that they too can share why they think this is a book (or author) that is important to consider for Beyond War principles. If anyone else has read the book I am reading, I also hope you can contribute to the discussion. But this blog I hope will be especially for those who do not have the time to read extra books. I will try to explain as clearly as possible the things I find interesting and relevant and hopefully we can discuss the books based on those ideas as well as the other issues people may bring up.

The first book I have started is Gandhi’s autobiography titled The Story of My Experiments with Truth. I was hoping that this would be a deep discussion of Satyagraha or active nonviolent resistance, but it is filled much more with accounts of religion, vegetarianism, controlling sexuality, and his practice as a lawyer. So, I don’t think it would be a great book for one of the core books. However, it has many deep insights that have made me contemplate the idea of living my life as a constant ethical examination. That certainly is in no way unrelated to the core principles of Beyond War.
Unfortunately for the sake of discussion I am a little over half way into Gandhi’s book. The idea of doing a blog the for library books only just occurred to me during the quarterly meeting when we were brainstorming ways to more actively communicate the things we are all doing to help the Beyond War cause. So, I am sure I will need a lot of guidance and suggestions for how to best do this blog. When you have a thought about how I can better express myself, be sure to let me know! Thanks.

For today, I want to discuss a particular passage that I found provocative last night when I was reading. Gandhi almost never lets us know what year he is discussing, so I basically have to try and guess based upon the few times he does state the year. My guess is that today’s passage is around 1906. He has just started the self-sufficient community called “Phoenix.” The majority of the people in the community are those who are working on his journal the Indian Opinion. They are learning how to create a press with as little reliance on machines and as much reliance on each other as possible. All his life, he has included Indians and Europeans alike in his causes, but now, since it means literally living in a community together, the question of integration becomes an issue that the community has to try to continually overcome. He writes:
“And let it be remembered that mine would be considered an essentially heterogeneous family, where people of all kinds and temperaments were freely admitted. When we come to think of it, the distinction between heterogeneous and homogeneous is discovered to be merely imaginary. We are all one family” (309).
He tells us that we are all one family. How profound. And certainly not a simple comment to make in the society from which he wrote this. If an enemy is one whose story I have not yet heard, then it is essential that we think of ourselves as one giant family. There are so many ways in which this is a difficult concept to comprehend. How is it that my family are those who live in the Middle East, which my country is fighting? Is it really true that those are my family who have religions I cannot comprehend or am not familiar with? Who have different politeness norms? Who eat differently? Who govern differently? Who live in a different market place? Who live next door? Perhaps if Gandhi had seen the Indian cause as one for only Indians he would not have become the man that we all admire. Perhaps India would not have achieved independence in the manner it did. Perhaps, perhaps.

[Buddy Page]

Hello Melissa, Mora, and all,

"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -
  --  Mahatma Gandhi

This is my first post to Beyond War after joining several weeks ago. I am going to offer my views and articles on the pivotal importance of truth and justice, as well as a path that will actually result in one human family, instead of myriad competing factions.

Doctrine of Two Spirits
Forging New Human Paradigms

Remaining duped into expecting money, religion, and politics to solve problems, instead of causing them, is the primary barrier to ending the injustices that lead to all wars. These three ancient delusions are a primary reason why people are split into myriad competing and warring factions. Contemplate Machiavelli.

I know that my assertions and stances have been difficult for most to accept, so please just concentrate on the validity of the information presented. No great change in human affairs is ever forged by those who play it safe and follow the crowd. Keep this in mind as you explore what I have been saying in recent years.

My approach is different than that taken by others and consequently people are apt to scoff and write me off. I fully understand that this the lot of all who forge new paths in the face of the "status quo" embraced by most others, as the above Gandhi quote directly refers to.

“[People] occasionally stumble over truth, most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.”–Winston Churchill

Among my many activities, in recent months, has been delivering proof that the world financial systems were about to fail, at very specific time and set of circumstances. Mora was among those I contacted and gave the very specific warning of the then-impending and now currently unfolding global economic collapse. She is your trusted witness that I clearly and specifically warned her, before it finally became painfully obvious to everyone else. Now that the presaged scenarios are undeniably unfolding, and we all watch together, perhaps more people like yourselves will be willing to consider that I just might be able to help Beyond War and all others of like mind, to actually and finally bring an end to the great injustices and deceptions that are the precursors to all wars.

Over the last three months, I have been seeking help (and allies) to finish my ongoing project, to end all wars. Most people thought I was just another nut case. Now that the tables are undeniably turning, is there anyone here willing and able to help me find a quiet place to sleep and work so I can finish some critical writing and other related activities? Is there "room at the Inn" at this critical juncture in human civilization? My time and humanity's time is short and growing uncomfortably shorter by the day. If no one is willing to inconvenience themselves to help me now, after all that has transpired and after the mountains of proof I've delivered in recent years, why should I bother trying to help you, any longer?

Ask yourselves, would you have helped Gandhi, before you knew he was going to succeed? Anyone can safely support an agent of change after the fact. What about when he/she is a social pariah because of strident and radical stances that threaten an unjust (and now clearly failing) status quo?

Hope to be your ally soon,

Peace and Wisdom,

Buddy Page
aka
Seven Star Hand

[Melissa Ruhl]

Thanks for your reply Buddy! You gave us a lot to think about. In particular I want to address you question, "Ask yourselves, would you have helped Gandhi, before you knew he was going to succeed?" I have thought a lot about your question this week and it has challenged me quite a bit. I have to admit that reading through Gandhi's autobiography has been quite the challenge for me. Before I read this book I admired him greatly as a person and as a role model. Now, I find myself continually frustrated by particular issues that I feel I strongly disagree with him on and some about which I am absolutely horrified. Had I known Gandhi before he became famous, or even after he became the world figure that he eventually became, would I have let these things get in the way of working together for the cause? The other day Mora and I were discussing this and she reminded me that we all have more in common than we might think. The core principle of not dwelling upon an enemy does not have to be so dramatic as it initially sounds. It could be as simple as not letting something little about another person that one finds annoying get in the way of seeing that we can all join together for the cause of uniting. And we all need each other in this struggle. It was essential that my conversation with Mora and your post, Buddy, remind me about accepting all people. I do hope we can be allies in the cause to stop all wars and facilitate an environment of peace in our world. Thanks again Buddy.