Gandhi Passes Grandfather’s Wisdom To Others Nonviolence Institute Founder Helps People Use Anger To Find Solutions

The boy couldn’t control his anger - he wanted to hurt the kids who beat him. He collected stones to protect himself.

He went to see his grandfather, the late Mohandas K. Gandhi.

Arun Gandhi was 12 years old when he traveled to India in 1946. He grew up in South Africa, where he was beaten by both whites and blacks.

He was filled with hate and humiliation, but India’s spiritual leader taught him to change.

“Grandfather taught me how to deal with anger,” Arun Gandhi said during a phone interview from his office in Memphis, Tenn. “He taught me how to use that energy positively rather than destructively.

“Once you understand violence,” he said, “you are able to change the situation.”

Gandhi, founder of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, will spread that message Wednesday in Pullman. His speech will be part of Washington State University’s Martin Luther King Day celebration.

King and Gandhi’s grandfather both advocated nonviolence. Both also were assassinated for their beliefs - King died in Memphis 30 years ago, Mahatma Gandhi was shot in New Delhi 20 years earlier.

Arun Gandhi spent 18 months with his grandfather traveling all over India and living in a mud hut.

To help his grandson control anger, Mahatma Gandhi asked him to draw a tree of violence. On that tree, Arun Gandhi had to write about his rage and the injustices that were committed against him. He also had to recall his feelings in a journal, while working toward a healthier solution to dealing with his rage.

His grandfather spoke of two kinds of violence: physical, which involves the body; and passive, which includes the pain people commit through economics, politics, religion and other non-physical means.

Anger translates into physical violence, Arun Gandhi learned.

The boy eventually found peace and was able to control himself, even after the assassination of his grandfather.

“I was very angry and very frustrated at first,” said Gandhi, who returned to South Africa a few months before Mahatma Gandhi was killed. “I couldn’t imagine anyone killing someone so gentle and kind and loving.”

But Arun Gandhi took his grandfather’s advice.

Instead of being vengeful, he used his anger to create India’s Center for Social newspaper reporter, Arun and his wife, Sunada, helped the poor with loans and other “self-help methods,” he said.

The Gandhis moved to Memphis, Tenn., in 1987 to study prejudice in the United States.

In 1991, the two founded the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence. They started the nonprofit organization by selling original letters written by Mahatma Gandhi to Arun and his family. The institute is part of Christian Brothers University, a private, Catholic school in the area. Through workshops, lectures and example, the Gandhis teach people how to deal with anger.

“We have to learn about the violence in ourselves,” said Arun Gandhi, 64. “You have to learn to not act in the moment of madness. …If we don’t respond in anger, we find solutions.”

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MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: HOLIDAY EVENTS Martin Luther King Day is next Monday. Several related events are happening in the following weeks. Most are free: Wednesday Arun Gandhi, grandson of the late Mohandas K. “Mahatma” Gandhi, will be the keynote speaker at Washington State University’s Martin Luther King celebration. The event starts at 6 p.m. with a Unity March beginning at the Glenn Terrell Mall, followed by Gandhi’s speech at 7 p.m. in the Gladish Community Center auditorium. Soul Food Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. at Spokane Falls Community College’s SUB Lounges A, B and C. Sponsored by the Multicultural Club and African American Association, lunch includes fried chicken, collard greens, baked potatoes, potato salad, cornbread and sweet potato pie. Tickets are $4 and must be purchased todayin the SUB from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday The African American Forum is hosting the Martin Luther King Jr. Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. at the Ridpath Hotel. A $20 donation is requested. Dr. James H. Williams, president of Spokane Community College, will be the keynote speaker. “A Celebration of Peace,” reflections on the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., starts at 7 p.m. at Gonzaga University’s Jesuit House. The event will feature the Bethel AME Choir and the Rev. Lonnie Mitchell. For more information, call Bob Bartlett at 328-4220, ext. 4108. Friday Kickoff event for Spokane Community College’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day events, 11:30 a.m. at the Lair-Student Center. Sunday African-American resource fair and community celebration, 3 to 5 p.m. at Spokane Community College’s Lair-Student Center. “Remember, Celebrate, Act: A Day On, Not a Day Off,” presentation by Dr. Lee Jones, associate dean at Florida State University, 5 p.m. at SCC’s Lair-Student Center. Part of a citywide celebration. Monday, Jan. 19 The annual Martin Luther King Day Unity March, from the Federal Courthouse to the Spokane Opera House, 10 a.m. Call 455-8722 for more information. Tuesday, Jan. 20 “How to Be Politically Incorrect in a Politically Correct Society,” a presentation by Dr. Lee Jones, associate dean at Florida State University, 11:30 a.m. at Spokane Community College’s Lair-Student Center. Repeats at Spokane Falls Community College’s SUB, Wednesday 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21 The Rev. Happy Watkins will deliver speeches and readings by Martin Luther King, noon to 1 p.m. at Eastern Washington University’s Monroe Hall, Women’s Center Lounge. For more information, call 359-2205. Friday, Jan. 30 to Saturday, Jan. 31