Interactive Seminar with Mohandas K. Gandhi’s Grandson, Arun Gandhi

Grandson of the legendary Mohandas K. Gandhi, Arun Gandhi presented a 60-minute interactive seminar entitled “Lessons Learned from My Grandfather” on Tuesday, November 14, 2006. The seminar, was conducted LIVE via satellite broadcast. We had the opportunity to call-in or email questions to Mr. Gandhi.

Arun Gandhi was born in South Africa and raised in an environment wrought with the difficulties and humiliation of apartheid. At the age of 12, he was sent by his parents to stay with his grandfather during a turbulent period in India’s struggle to free itself from British rule. Viewing firsthand the effects of his grandfather’s national campaign for liberation through nonviolent means, he was set on a course for life. After leading successful projects for economic and social reform in India, he traveled to the United States to study racism in America. In 1991, he and his wife founded the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence in Memphis, Tennessee. (source: http://www.ptk.org/)

Arun Gandhi described his grandfather’s concept of a nonviolent way of life. He explained what his grandfather meant by “nonviolence” and provided examples of nonviolence in practice. Ultimately, he argued that the U.S. should not resort to violence and fear to solve problems. Rather, the world needs to see the U.S. as a super-power in terms of her moral strength.

It was a true priviledge for me to be able to watch the seminar, while I was at home in Romania. Some of my notes from the lecture will share with you 3 of the most important lessons Mr. Gandhi learned from his grandfather:

• 1st lesson – Understanding anger is an effective tool to produce good.
• 2nd lesson – Meditation is good (Sit in a room quetly a few minutes with a flower in hand and focus on the flower for a minute and than shut the eyes and keep the image on the flower for as long as possible. This is a mental exercise meant to improve concentration and mental focus generaly)
• 3rd lesson – Writing and anger journal with the intention of finding a solution and commiting yourself to the solution is a practice that helps you control your feelings.

The program, which is co-produced by Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society and the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC), was the fourth installment of a four-part Honors Satellite Seminar Series entitled Gold, Gods, and Glory: The Global Dynamics of Power.

Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, is headquartered in Jackson, is the oldest and largest honor society in American higher education with 1,200 chapters on two-year and community college campuses in all 50 of the United States, Canada, Germany, the Republic of Palau, the British Virgin Islands and U.S. territorial possessions. More than two million students have been inducted since its founding in 1918, with approximately 100,000 students inducted annually. (source: http://www.ptk.org/)