May/June 1999 Featured Stories
Ghandi Visits Hindu Temple in Portland
In his recent visit to MahaKali Mandir, a Hindu Temple in Northeast
Portland, Arun Ghandi, the 63-year-old grandson of legendary Mahatma
Ghandi of India, said to the audience that his grandfather's dream was
not only for today but for the future.
Mahatma Ghandi, like Buddha, awakened India. He, like Mohammed, freed
his people and like Jesus, forgave the one who killed him. For the first
time in history, he won victory against the mighty British Empire using
non-violence movement for a disarmed nation. Gandhiji, the strongest
man of India and wisest voice of the world, worshipped God by serving
human beings according to Sanatan Dharma, the universal religion. He
lived like a Yogi without a yellow robe, accepting and integrating into
his life India's primitive wisdom, natural medicine, environmentalism
and village living close to nature.
Before his assassination in 1948, the Mahatma (great soul) prophesied
that from each drop of his blood a new Ghandi would be born on earth.
His dream came true when we witnessed present world leaders like Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, Lech Walesa,
Corazon Aquino and Aung San Su Kyi, who successfully followed Ghandi's
model of non-violent movement as the solution of today's socio-political
and religious problems.
Even though more than 400 biographies and eighty volumes of literature,
each ranging from 500 to 600 pages, have been written on the life and
work of Mahatma Ghandi, the light of the modern world, only he and his
family members can best describe the Ghandi phenomenon. It is important
to know that twelve years ago, Arun Ghandi undertook to bring his grandfather's
unfulfilled mission to America. Today it has touched American lives
in almost all major cities.
This year, the Ghandi peace volunteers are celebrating "the season
of non-violence" by commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Ghandi's
assassination along with the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Martin
Luther King Jr., the two great martyrs of the world's non-violent movement.
The end of this historic occasion will be honored with a grand peace
march in Portland, where thousands of participants will chant for world
peace. "I have slept only five or six days on my bed in the last 6 months,"
remarked Arun Ghandi, emphasizing his hard work to promote Mahatma Ghandi's
vision of non-violence and peace in various parts of the world.
In Portland, there are organizations including Living Enrichment Center
and MahaKali Mandir who promote Mahatma Ghandi's non-violent movement
through a series of regular seminars and workshops conducted by Arun
Ghandi and other famous Ghandian scholars from India. "I cannot change
all lives," said Arun Ghandi, "but if I can change one person's life
with Mahatma Ghandi's vision, my dream will be successful."
Arun remembers his grandfather as the most highly respected spiritual
and political leader of our time. "Simplicity and humility were the
two most remarkable characteristics of my grandfather," recalled Arun
Ghandi, who spent a year and a half of his young life with the Mahatma
just before his assassination. "He was the dream of the future and the
voice of human conscience." Mahatma Ghandi's last word to humanity is,
"No matter who you are or what you do, realize God here and now."
Sri Kalki, a Himalayan Yogi, worldwide spiritual teacher and professor
of Ghandism, will lead the peace march for non-violence in Portland
on May 15 at 10 am from Grant Park in Northeast Portland. For more information
about the Ghandi peace march or yoga meditation and classes on Hindu
and Buddhist scriptures, call 503-284-8729.