The Views of Kelly and Gandhi - Essay Example

? A Passion for Peace: The views of Kelly and Gandhi College Petra Kelly and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi were two leaders who greatly believed that the people of the world could achieve nonviolence. Though both of them have lived in two different periods and situations a passion for non violence and peace overruled their lives. The present essay attempts to analyze the background of these two leaders and find out how they could enrich the compassionate elements even from their childhood. Gandhi was an extra ordinary in the ordinary world and his life was exactly a message of what he had spoken in his life time. In the same manner Petra Kelly lived for others with intense compassion and consideration for others in the oppressed and suppressed world. She raised her words against war, violence and injustice in any form. Gandhi was a prophet of the non violence who took South Africa and India as his areas of work whereas Petra Kelly, a true disciple of Gandhi, mainly worked in America and Germany. The various elements like the people who influenced them and the persons who were influenced by them are precisely given in the article. Further the article aims to speak out the major views of these two leaders in association with their non violence movement. Petra Kelly and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi can be compared in many ways; especially in their passions for non violence. It has been noted that Kelly was a true disciple of Gandhi while Gandhi has been called the prophet of non violence. Though both these leaders had different missions their enthusiasms for peace were the same. Kelly and Gandhi had something in common as both devoted their lives to the missions of helping others. Despite them having many followers and inspiring many people in human rights and nonviolence their lives came to an end through violence. Kelly and Gandhi came from different cultures; however they shared similar values on peace and human rights which inspired many to connect to their vision of how the world should operate. Kelly had her own vision of different countries and the people within them should deal with one another. Kelly was born in Gunzburg, Bravia, Germany in 1947. She came to America as her mother married an American army officer in 1959, when she was twelve. She remained in America until 1970. During her life in America she came in close contact with the views of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Dali Lama. It is likely that this was when she became an ardent follower of non violence movement. Her mother had been making in her the mind of an activist. Her step father Lieutenant Colonel, John E. Kelly had greatly influenced her life. The disciplined life of an army officer and his national spirit had affected in the young girl. Kelly had a desire to lead a lifestyle of a leader. Her educational influences contributed to her ability to do just that. Her early education in Germany and later her higher education in Political Science from American University in Washington D.C. created the stepping stone in her life of an environmental activist. She worked for the presidential campaign of Robert Kennedy and Vice- President Hubert Humphrey. She was an active member of the “International Week” at the university. Her attention turned to environmental and women’s issues as she was a student in America. This led her for the founding of the renowned Green Party. Petra Kelly in her academic tenure was an active participator of environmental activities. It is said, “Like many Americans in college during the 1960s and early 1970s, Kelly distrusted the U.S. government’s involvement in the Vietnam War” (Kuhlman, E.A., 2002, p.180). She had a unique ability to not only care but get others involved. Kelly was an extraordinary woman who had extended her concern for the World peace and environmental tranquillity. After reaching Germany she joined with Social democrat and started to work at the European Commission (EC). Here she realized the problems of women and stood for the rights of them. Her disillusionment with Social democrat witnessed the birth of German Green Party in 1979. It worked as a strong platform for her activities like peace, non-violence, environment, feminism and politics. “Kelly believed it was a woman’s duty to raise against violence that masculine society perpetrates.” So she used non violence as a strong step towards the injustice and atrocities of the world just like Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Dali Lama. “She used the German Green Party to organize non-violent protest of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) decision to deploy cruise missiles, capable of carrying nuclear warheads” (Kamrar, n.d.). Much like the life of Gandhi, Kelly made some astonishing contributions to human rights and non violence. Gandhi was born in a Hindu community, on 2nd October 1869 at Porbandar, Gujarat, British India, and the aspect of truth was predominant in young Gandhi. His autobiography, My Experiments with Truth, tells how the family had given importance to truth and the good way of life. His mother, Putlibai was one with strong Jain beliefs and so the Jain ideologies had been inherited in the young Gandhi. His father, Karamchand Gandhi was a high officer in Porbander state. He was a man that stood for rights and truth in his life; which contributed greatly to Gandhi’s desire to be truthful and help others. Gandhi commonly known as Gandhiji, was the man that stood for the independence of India with his watch word, Ahimsa, non-violence. He was a barrister by profession but he was so keen with people’s rights and freedom. He used non violent civil disobedience when he was in South Africa working as an expatriate lawyer. He took the word ‘Ahimsa’, equivalence for non violence in Sanskrit language as something to inspire his soul to do good for others. He came to India in 1915 and actively participated in the freedom struggle. He also spread the campaign for women’s rights, economic reliance, political unification, poverty eradication, religious amity and above all the independence of India from the British Rule. He achieved it in 1947 but he was killed by a religious fanatic on 30th of January, 1948. Throughout Gandhi’s life he had a desire to learn and follow truth. His early education was done in his home. The stories of the king Harischandra (one who was the epitome of truth and righteousness) had made a deep impact in Gandhi’s’ life. He states in his autobiography, “'Why should not all be truthful like Harishchandra?' was the question I asked myself day and night. To follow truth and to go through all the ordeals Harishchandra went through was the one ideal it inspired in me” (Desai, 2012, p.4). As other leaders inspired Gandhi he greatly influenced the thoughts of others. Gandhi influenced others through his philosophy of life. He was both an ascetic and a politician. He had strong compassion to all things including trees, animals and even to the colonial rulers. His weapon was ‘Satyagraha’ (hunger strike) and ‘Ahimsa’ and with these he could win his opponents. He attained many followers all over the world through his way of life. Gandhi even inspired Kelly to take on a mission of helping others. She had concentrated her works on four realms- peace and non-violence, environment, feminism and human rights. She was an ardent believer in non-violence and participated in many civil disobedient movements in many places. Her work, Fighting for Hope (1984) expressed her views about non violence. She wished for a world free from violence all over the world and she necessitated this peace between human beings and nature. Bonnie G. Smith, states that “ Petra Kelly, who participated in the founding of the German Green Party, was among those who sought to understand the fundamental processes of the natural world and , on the basis of the oneness of all life, to let them be” (Smith, 2008, p.516). Despite Kelly’s ability to inspire she did have struggles of her own. Kelly had gone through many critical issues in life. Her early life in Germany and her journey to America confronted her lot of problems. Her perseverance and mental stability gave her strength to keep going. A tragic incident of the death of her step sister took a toll on her life. This led her to fight against the environmental prolusion leading to cancer and related diseases. Her activities at first caused much opposition and later through her words were given great support. The Independent comments on the life of Kelly as, “For nearly 20 years she had lived a life of extraordinary intensity, a politician with no time for political parties and little for the art of compromise, a woman for whom there was no visible line between public and private concerns. “She was like Joan of Arc,” said one prominent politician (The independent, 1992). The issues she faced during this period were the steps for her ardent endeavors for global peace and non violence. Kelly always stood for peace and human rights. She expresses her views that only peace and non violence can save the planet. Glenn D. Paige in his book, Nonkilling Global Political Science makes the statement of Kelly as, “Her call to action encompasses every critical issue from disarmament through economy and human rights to worldwide cooperation to save the planet” (Paige, 2009, p.109). She objected war in any forms and stood for the rights of people. Her motivations were taken from many great leaders. Gandhi stands as the supreme one in influencing Kelly to carry out her activities with non violence civil disobedience. Gandhi’s life based on ‘Ahimsa’ has been well captured by Kelly in a true sense and its reflections were evident in her works. It is said, “Petra Kelly, cofounder of the German Green Party and active participant in the American civil rights movement, made sure that Gandhian nonviolence was enshrined as one of the “four pillars” of the Party’s official platform” (Steger, 2008). Furthermore, Jesse Jackson was an inspiration for the activities of Kelly. His attempts for the civil rights of African Americans earned world acclaim. He was also a candidate for the Presidential election in 1984 and 1988. When Kelly was in America the protests of Jesse Jackson captured her eyes and this helped her to work as a civil rights activist both in America and in Germany. Badruddin states that on 6th June 1982 an organisation named “Peace Sunday” with the speeches of Jesse Jackson and Delores Huerta became a success by the support it was given by Petra Kelly and P.Avis (Badruddin, 2003). In addition to these great leaders Kelly’s life in America is highly marked with the influence of Martin Luther King Jr. She believed in the equality and fraternity of the people in America. The speeches of Martin Luther King created a social activist in Kelly. His works and speeches against social discrimination and apartheid attracted Kelly very much in her early life. As these others were providing her inspiration she too was inspiring others. The founding of German Green Party and the various other activities against social discrimination and atrocities earned her many followers throughout the world. Her undue death was a blow for all the followers of the organisation. She stood as an arch angel for the spread of peace and love. For Kelly the words of Gandhi, “My Life is my message,” were really true. Gandhi had given his life a message for the world. Churchill called him ‘half naked Fakir’ for his scarcely clothes. Though he could wear high profiled dress he gave up this for the poor humanity in front of him. He wanted to be one among them. He expressed his views of self reliance through his works. He always stood for the morals in life and spent his life for the poor and the needy. He wanted to make religious amity and he ransomed his life for this. Gandhi was an ardent believer of self reliance and human freedom. He wished for the social equality among the people in India. So he started ‘swaraj’ (Self independent) programs for the women folk and he demanded for the religious tolerance among the different communities in India. Like his follower Kelly, He was strongly against the aspect of war. He dismissed this as this carried violence and bloodshed. He knew that complete freedom cannot be achieved through arms. He pleaded with the non cooperation weapons based on non violence. He gave high demand for human rights and justice. He was a person who never stood against truth and righteousness. Ghandi had the right inspiration in life to lead people in the direction he thought was best. Both Raychandbhai and Gopal Krishana Gokhale had a magical spell on Gandhi. It has been said, “Raychandbhai's impression as a spiritual guide on Gandhi's mind was unrivalled and Gandhi implicitly believed that Raychandbhai would never willingly lead him astray and in turn Raychandbhai would always confide in Gandhi his inner most thoughts” (mkgandhi.org). With Gokhale, Gandhi could make a deep friendship and political refuge. Whenever Gandhi was in deep trouble he approached Gokhale for guidance and opinion. “In the sphere of politics the place that Gokhale occupied in Gandhi's heart was absolutely unique. Gokhale embodied the goal of spiritualizing (i.e. values of life) in politics and Gandhi steadfastly adhered to it by enriching it” (mkgandhi.org).   Furthermore, Tolstoy was another influential person for Ghandi. Gandhi and Tolstoy were in close contact until Tolstoy’s death in 1910. Tolstoy commented that only love and passive resistance could make a change in the colonial rule in India and these words captivated Gandhi very much. Gandhi considered himself as a disciple of Tolstoy. They both dismissed violence and colonialism and both stood for the rights of the people. Both Gandhi and Tolstoy had exchanged their views on non violence through a couple of letters and this led Gandhi to move to his nationalistic goals. In addition, Ruskin’s renowned book, Unto this Last was a stimulating force in Gandhi’s life. He considered this book as the most motivational one of all the books he had read. It is Ruskin who inspired him to live a severe life in Tolstoy Farm and in Sabarmati Ashram. Without doubt the leaders in Ghandi’s life set him up to make amazing changes. Gandhi’s inspiration to others is without any boundary. He has been considered as a major inspiration to many of the social activists in the world. He had inspired leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Einstein, Dalai Lama and Aung San Suu Kyi. Though his words of wisdom were great it was through action that he spread the Gandhianism. It makes sense that Kelly would be inspired through his actions even though she came from a different walk of life. People do not have to come from the same place to have similar values. They can develop values and beliefs that can help others without being exactly the same. No matter where people are in the world or what culture they come from helping and inspiring others can be done. Kelly and Gandhi came from different cultures; however they shared similar values on peace and human rights which inspired many to connect to their vision of how the world should operate. References Badruddin. (2003). Global Peace And Anti-Nuclear Movements. Mittal Publications. Desai, Mahadev (n.d.). M. K. Gandhi: An Autobiography or The story of my experiments with truth. Navajivan Publishing House: Ahmedabad. Retrieved 4 May, 2012, from http://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/M.-K.-Gandhi-An-Autobiography-or-The-Story-of-my-Experiments-with-Truth.pdf Kuhlman, E.A. (2002). A to Z of Women in World History. Illustrated Edition. Infobase Publishing. Kamrar, Josh. (n.d.) Petra Kelly. Retrieved 4 May, 2012, from http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/imow-Kelly.pdf mkgandhi.org (n.d.). Gandhi's Source of Inspiration. mkgandhi.org. Retrieved 4 May, 2012, from http://www.mkgandhi.org/articles/inspiration.htm Paige, Glenn D. (2009). Nonkilling Global Political Science. 2nd illustrated edn. Center for Global Nonkilling. Steger, Manfred B. (2008). The Rise of the Global Imaginary: Political Ideologies from the French Revolution to the Global War on Terror. Oxford University Press. Smith, Bonnie G. (2008). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History. illustrated edn. Oxford University Press. The independent. (1992). What killed Petra Kelly? The independent.uk. London. Retrieved 4 May, 2012, from http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/what-killed-petra-kelly-they-had-been-heroes-of-our-time-she-was-like-a-modern-joan-of-arc-his-political-journey-from-wehrmacht-to-green-almost-defied-belief-they-were-together-in-life-why-were-they-together-in-death-isabel-hilton-reports-from-bonn-1559264.html Read More