Passive Violence Fuels the Fire of Physical Violence

Arun Gandhi

Four lessons in passive violence Arun Gandhi learned from his grandfather, Mohandas Gandhi.

Lesson #1: Violence against humanity through a single 3-inch pencil

When Arun Gandhi was 13 years old he lived with his grandfather, Mohandas Gandhi. One day while walking home from school young Arun discarded a 3 inch butt of a pencil which his grandfather had given him. Arun felt the pencil was too small and that he deserved a bigger pencil. That evening he asked Gandhi for a new pencil. Gandhi questioned him about the 3-inch pencil, asking why he discarded it, how it became small, and where Arun had thrown the pencil away. Gandhi then told Arun to go an look for the pencil. Arun search for the pencil at night with a flashlight for two hours before finding it and returning home with the pencil. Gandhi then taught him two lessons Arun says were invaluable to him. The first lesson was that even the making of something as simple as a pencil uses the world’s resources. To throw it away is to throw away the worlds resources and that is violence against nature. The second lesson was that because we can afford to buy many things in bulk we use them indiscriminately and thus, over-consume the resources of the world. When we over-consume we are denying these resources to people elsewhere who live in poverty and this is violence against humanity.

Gandhi taught that the little things we do everyday are acts of violence and that only by taking care of these little things can we begin to take care of the big issues of violence.

Lesson #2: Violence Family Tree

Gandhi taught young Arun that we must first understand violence before we can understand nonviolence. He felt this was necessary so that we first understand how much violence we practice everyday.

Gandhi suggested to Arun that he draw a "Family Tree of Violence" with violence as the grandparent and physical violence and passive violence as the two offsprings. He then explained that physical violence is understood because we can see it, because it hurts. However, passive violence, like oppression, repression, hate, name-calling, and prejudice can’t necessary be seen. However, passive violence, which we create all the time, generates anger in the victim, which leads to physical violence. Thus, passive violence fuels the fire of physical violence. Therefore, Gandhi taught to cut off violence we logically must cut off its fuel supply, passive violence.

Gandhi taught Arun that we each must be the change we wish to see and that this was possible only by knowing how violent we are. He further taught that if we live in denial of our violence we only allow violence to go on.

Arun shared that this acknowledgement came to him at a young age through making the violence family tree. He was required to write down on the violence tree, on a daily basis, all his feelings, all the things he did and said to other people and even the things he saw. Arun Gandhi says from this he came to realize how violent he was and through this exercise he began to change his behavior.

Lesson #3: Trusteeship & Constructive Action

Gandhi taught that each individual has talent, which they either acquire or inherit. However, each person believes this talent is their own to do with as he or she pleases. Gandhi felt we do not own this talent, but rather are trustees of the talent. Thus, the talent must be shared for the good of society. This means more than just giving away things, which is merely action out of pity. Activity out of compassion is different in it that it require us to stop what we are doing and find out about another. It requires us to find out why the situation exist and to aid in a way that helps that person use his or her talent to change the situation. This requires a sacrifice of time to get to know the person and to find ways together with them to solve the problem.

Lesson #4: Anger Journal

Gandhi taught that anger was a very good thing if understood and channeled effectively and intelligently. He said anger was like electricity, which if abused can destroy us all. But, if channeled intelligently can be used for the good of all society.

Gandhi suggested that Arun keep an "Anger Journal" in which he would write every time he was angry instead of taking action based on the anger. However, Gandhi was insistent that the journal be written with the intent to find a constructive solution to the anger, not with the intent of keeping the anger alive.

Mr. Arun Gandhi shared these an other lesson at the SGI-USA Santa Monica Community Center in December 1998.

M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence
see listing in the resource section
or go to www.cbu.edu/gandhi

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