Grandson of Gandhi gives address at Cornell Tradition convocation

By Robert Sullivan III '04

Peace was at hand Friday night, March 7, in Cornell's Statler Auditorium, as Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas K. "Mahatma" Gandhi, delivered the keynote address for the eighth annual Cornell Tradition convocation.

Arun Gandhi gives an autograph to undergraduate Miriam Pinsker, a member of the Cornell Tradition advisory council, after his talk at the Tradition's annual convocation in Statler Auditorium, March 5. Barry De Libero/University Photography

"He was determined to transform that culture of violence to nonviolence," said Gandhi, referring to his grandfather's liberation of India from British rule. In his address, titled "Lessons From My Grandfather," he recounted the teachings and principles that his grandfather bestowed on him during the 18 months they spent together.

Arun Gandhi's childhood was spent in apartheid South Africa, where he grew angry at the discrimination he received as an Indian youth. Fearing that he would succumb to violent methods, his family sent him to live in India with his grandfather, Mohandas Gandhi. They hoped Arun would learn from his grandfather's nonviolent example.

An important lesson that Arun Gandhi learned was the significance of wielding a strong mind, he said. "We need to build a strong mind to prevent us from doing the wrong thing," Gandhi told his audience. With a strong mind, he said, one is able to redirect anger to nonviolent means. "It helps me considerably to channel that energy or anger from negative action to positive action."

Gandhi warned that people should take more time to reflect before they act. "When we act in a moment of anger, we always act violently," he cautioned.

Gandhi mentioned that he is often asked what his grandfather might have done after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. He said that, first, Mohandas Gandhi would have found out why people hate America enough to commit such an act. Secondly, he would have gone to the United Nations and asked that every nation band together to collectively act against terrorism. To provoke change in society, Arun Gandhi said, "It has to come from us, not from somebody else. We will otherwise just wait for the other person to begin, and nobody does [anything]."

Gandhi concluded his lecture with a vision of world peace that he hoped the audience would keep with them: "If you allow the peace to interact with all the elements, you will then be able to respect the peace around, and it will multiply, and very soon we will have a whole world of peace."

Gandhi has committed his life to pursuing nonviolence. He helped found the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tenn., which promotes nonviolence through research and community service. Additionally, he recently published Legacy of Love: My Education in the Path of Nonviolence, an account of the lessons passed down to him from his grandfather.

Co-sponsoring Gandhi's lecture were Teach For America, the Cornell Public Service Center, the International Students' Programming Board and the Cornell Peace Studies Program.