Gandhi After 9 11

9/11 marked the beginning of a century that is defined by widespread violence. Every other day seems to be a furthering of the already catastrophic present towards a more disastrous tomorrow. With climate change looming over us, frequent economic instability, religious wars, and relentless political mayhem, life for what we have made of it seems more and more unsustainable. Douglas Allen insists that we look to Gandhi, if only selectively and creatively, in order to move towards a nonviolent and sustainable future. Is a Gandhi-informed swaraj technology, valuable but humanly limited, possible? What would a Gandhian world—a more egalitarian, interconnected, decentralized—of globalization look like? Focusing on key themes in Gandhi’s thinking such as violence and nonviolence, absolute truth and relative truth, ethical and spiritual living, and his critique of modernity, the book compels us to rethink our positions today.

Comparative philosophy and religion can help us to understand the violence and terrror that often dominate our world. These new, creative studies - ranging in scope from ancient Biblical, Greek, Indian, and Chinese formulations to recent religious and philosophical positions - broaden and deepen our understanding of terror and present new possibilities for greater nonviolence, peace, and true security.

This set is an unprecedented examination of religion's influence on modern life, an honest assessment of how religion can either destroy us or preserve us, and a thorough exploration of what steps might be necessary for all religions to join together as a force for good. Convening on the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, the global congress The World's Religions after September 11 explored the negative and positive possibilities of the religious dimensions of life. The presentations from the congress have been pulled together in this set, which addresses religion's intersection with human rights, spirituality, science, healing, the media, international diplomacy, globalization, war and peace, and more. This comprehensive set includes contributions from such well-known scholars of religion as Arvind Sharma and a host of others from all the world's religious traditions. This set is an unprecedented examination of religion's influence on modern life, an honest assessment of how religion can either destroy us or preserve us, and a thorough exploration of what steps might be necessary for all religions to join together as a force for good. Because of the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, the very concept of religion underwent a paradigm shift. Instead of standing for virtue and piety, peace and harmony, the word religion also came to be inextricably associated with evil, aggression, and terror. People around the world began to question whether the religious and secular dimensions of modern life can be reconciled, whether the different religions of the world can ever coexist in harmony. Indeed, the very future of religion itself has sometimes seemed to be uncertain, or at least suspect.

In 1908 Mohandas Gandhi spoke to a crowd of 3,000. Together they protested against an unjust law without guns or rioting. Peacefully they made a difference. Gandhi’s words and deeds influenced countless others to work toward the goals of freedom and justice through peaceful methods. Mother and son team, Anne Sibley O’Brien and Perry Edmond O’Brien, highlight some of the people and events that Gandhi’s actions inspired. From Rosa Parks to the students at Tiananmen Square to Wangari Maathai, these people have made the world sit up and take notice. The provocative graphics and beautiful portraits accompanying these stories stir the emotions and inspire a sense of civic responsibility.

Ramachandra Guha’s India after Gandhi is a magisterial account of the pains, struggles, humiliations and glories of the world’s largest and least likely democracy. A riveting chronicle of the often brutal conflicts that have rocked a giant nation, and of the extraordinary individuals and institutions who held it together, it established itself as a classic when it was first published in 2007. In the last decade, India has witnessed, among other things, two general elections; the fall of the Congress and the rise of Narendra Modi; a major anti-corruption movement; more violence against women, Dalits, and religious minorities; a wave of prosperity for some but the persistence of poverty for others; comparative peace in Nagaland but greater discontent in Kashmir than ever before. This tenth anniversary edition, updated and expanded, brings the narrative up to the present. Published to coincide with seventy years of the country’s independence, this definitive history of modern India is the work of one of the world’s finest scholars at the height of his powers.

Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson tells the story of how his grandfather taught him to turn darkness into light in this uniquely personal and vibrantly illustrated tale that carries a message of peace. How could he—a Gandhi—be so easy to anger? One thick, hot day, Arun Gandhi travels with his family to Grandfather Gandhi’s village. Silence fills the air—but peace feels far away for young Arun. When an older boy pushes him on the soccer field, his anger fills him in a way that surely a true Gandhi could never imagine. Can Arun ever live up to the Mahatma? Will he ever make his grandfather proud? In this remarkable personal story, Arun Gandhi, with Bethany Hegedus, weaves a stunning portrait of the extraordinary man who taught him to live his life as light. Evan Turk brings the text to breathtaking life with his unique three-dimensional collage paintings.

This book develops a critical understanding of Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy and practice in the context of contemporary challenges and engages with some of his key work and ideas. It highlights the relevance of Gandhi’s legacy in the quest towards peace-building, equity and global justice. The volume examines diverse facets of Gandhi’s holistic view of human life – social, economic and political – for the creation of a just society. Bringing together expert analyses and reflections, the chapters here emphasise the philosophical and practical urgency of Gandhi's thought and action. They explore the significance of his concepts of truth and nonviolence to address moral, spiritual and ethical issues, growing intolerance, conflict and violence, poverty and hunger, and environmental crisis for the present world. The volume serves as a platform for constructive dialogue for academics, researchers, policymakers and students to re-imagine Gandhi and his moral and political principles. It will be of great interest to those in philosophy, political studies, Gandhi studies, history, cultural studies, peace studies and sociology.

The twenty-first century has seen violence thunder back onto the stage of history. Religious, political, social, cultural, and economic constituents and interests thus contribute to the local and global manifestations of violence in our interconnected and contracting global world. Firmly embedded within the field of religion, the authors of this volume concede that religious motifs and impulses are alive and well in this unfolding of bloodshed. It is no wonder then that in our volatile historical age, religious fundamentalism and illiberal nationalism have emerged as dominant contemporary movements. Against this backdrop, the contributors to this edited book look back in order to move forward by reflecting upon the truth-force (Satyagraha) that grounded and guided Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948). On the heels of several commemorations in 2019 of the 150th anniversary of Gandhi's birth, we reexamine the truths of his philosophy and nonviolent strategy to resist religious and political fundamentalisms. Embracing truth was, for Gandhi, the only way to achieve complete freedom (poorna Swaraj). The goal of freedom, which Gandhi conceptualized as profoundly personal, expansively communitarian, and organically ecological, emanates from a firm grasp of truth.