LECTURE AT YSU Gandhi points to passive violence

More than a hundred people attended the lecture.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Restraining from the use of physical force is not enough to create a society of peace and happiness, says the grandson of Mohandas K. "Mahatma" Gandhi.
A true peaceful society also prohibits the use of passive violence, according to Arun Gandhi, co-founder of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence of Memphis, Tenn.
"Passive violence fuels the fire for physical violence," Gandhi said during an hourlong lecture held Saturday at the Kilcawley Center at Youngstown State University. "We need to realize how many acts of passive violence we commit all the time and change."
Gossiping and labeling people by race or their religion are examples of passive violence, Gandhi said.
Lessons
He explained that from the age of 12 to 14, he lived with his grandfather in India and learned many valuable lessons about passive violence.
"One day while I was living with my grandfather, I noticed that my pencil was getting very tiny and I thought I should have a new one so I threw it down on my way home," Gandhi said. "I asked my grandfather for a new one and he began asking me questions as to why I threw it away. He sent me out with a flashlight to find the pencil."
After the pencil was found, his grandfather explained that wasting natural resources, such as those used to make the pencil, is passive violence against nature.
"Because we are affluent we overconsume resources, depriving others of these resources," Gandhi said.
Audience
More than a hundred people listened to Gandhi give the keynote address at the conclusion of YSU's three-day event titled Searching for a Nonviolent Future: Gandhi & amp; King.
Gandhi noted that in some instances a small amount of violence may be necessary.
"If a gunman came in here and threatened to kill all of us, then some amount of violence would be needed to disarm him, but we wouldn't want to destroy the person," Gandhi said. "We want reform, not revenge. Never submit to anger."
Gandhi suggested that people channel their anger and use it in a positive fashion.
"Keep an anger journal," Gandhi said. "When you write the journal, make sure you commit yourself to find a solution to handling the anger, solving the problem."
sinkovich@vindy.com