Gandhi - 100th anniversary of Sept 11th protest

Hi vinsan - Sorry it's a late reply - I've been away a while - just saw your post.

Thanks for the link -really interesting

It's a good question, isn't it? Why didn't Gandhi get the peace prize? What's a man got to do? Probably, they didn't want to piss off the British by giving the prize to a 'rebel insurgent' that the Brits had imprisoned four ? times.

I like to think - well, they gave one to Henry Kissinger - a racist warmonger - so perhaps Gandhi wouldn't have wanted to be recognised in such a fashion anyway.

He'd probably have been happier, presented with a healthy goat!

Anyway, it doesn't matter what the judges think - it's what WE know that's important. When I look at the picture above, taken in London - I see Gandhi being recognised.

I'm drinking Cobra beer tonight (never would have guessed huh?) imported from India and mighty fine. So while I'm pissed enough,
Here's my first Gandhi poem

The Goat Man

They didn't honour him
But that was their dishonour
They didn't understand him
In their strict ignorance
Some ridiculed him
And brought down ridicule
On themselves
Some raged against him
And so raged
Against themselves
Because deep down inside
Beyond their stupid pride
Even they loved him

But some feared him
And they were the ones
That killed him

Endymion 2006

*******************************

Thanks for bringing me back here vinsan

Peace,
Endy

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ENDYMION wrote:

Hi vinsan - Sorry it's a late reply - I've been away a while - just saw your post.

Thanks for the link -really interesting

It's a good question, isn't it? Why didn't Gandhi get the peace prize? What's a man got to do? Probably, they didn't want to piss off the British by giving the prize to a 'rebel insurgent' that the Brits had imprisoned four ? times.

I like to think - well, they gave one to Henry Kissinger - a racist warmonger - so perhaps Gandhi wouldn't have wanted to be recognised in such a fashion anyway.

He'd probably have been happier, presented with a healthy goat!

Anyway, it doesn't matter what the judges think - it's what WE know that's important. When I look at the picture above, taken in London - I see Gandhi being recognised.

I'm drinking Cobra beer tonight (never would have guessed huh?) imported from India and mighty fine. So while I'm pissed enough,
Here's my first Gandhi poem

The Goat Man

They didn't honour him
But that was their dishonour
They didn't understand him
In their strict ignorance
Some ridiculed him
And brought down ridicule
On themselves
Some raged against him
And so raged
Against themselves
Because deep down inside
Beyond their stupid pride
Even they loved him

But some feared him
And they were the ones
That killed him

Endymion 2006

*******************************

Thanks for bringing me back here vinsan

Peace,
Endy

hey endy-- interesting that i returned from LA last night, having attended an excellent play, called "Sammy!" performed by a group of young actors from India. it was a theatrical interpretation of gandhi's dialogue with his inner voice. stellar performance, and the subject matter so powerful. what was particularly interesting to me, is that in deconstructing the man, one is brought face to face with Gandhi's all-too familiar vulnerabilities - those that would plague any among us, making his evolution as one so great (the "Mahatma" of Great Soul) even more astounding. the world has so much to learn from one so humble.
they say that only in India do they honour greatness in rags. maybe that is what robbed Gandhi of the nobel peace prize. the commitee was looking for the wrong thing.

and, i have to say that i agree with your sentiment, that perhaps a tag such as the nobel prize would have tainted one so brilliant.

happy to run into kindred souls that remember and are moved by this great man.

thanks for sharing the thread.

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here's another tid bit from wikipedia...

Ekla chalo re meaning walk alone (or jadi tor daak shune keu naa aashe) has been one of most quoted songs of Rabindranath Tagore.

It was a favourite of Mahatma Gandhi who sometimes felt himself isolated. The song inspires those who feel they have been abandoned by all, yet they must go on on their mission.

(jodi tor daak shune keu naa aashe, tobe eklaa cholo re)

Translation by Tagore himself:
(although IMO 'O thou of evil luck' should be substituted by 'O thou of blighted fate' -- but who am I to argue with the poet laureate)

If they answer not to thy call walk alone,
If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall,
O thou of evil luck,
open thy mind and speak out alone.

If they turn away, and desert you when crossing the wilderness,
O thou of evil luck,
trample the thorns under thy tread,
and along the blood-lined track travel alone.

If they do not hold up the light when the night is troubled with storm,
O thou of evil luck,
with the thunder flame of pain ignite thy own heart
and let it burn alone.

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Hi heartofthesun

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and the poem (which has given me new strength after a tough few weeks).

I was on a peace demo on Saturday (RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire) where my photograph was taken several times by both uniformed and plain-clothed 'police' - along with everyone else there that day.

At such times, I feel a deep depression for the state of democracy in my own country where peaceful protesters are subjected to intimidation at every turn and many have to cover their faces for 'protection' against those who choose to abuse their powers.

The poem I found here on Sunday was a tonic I desperately needed - so apt as to be symbolic to me

I shall put it on my 'Revolution' thread - when I write about the demo.

Many thanks

Peace
Endy

0 Replies

ENDYMION wrote:

Hi heartofthesun

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and the poem (which has given me new strength after a tough few weeks).

I was on a peace demo on Saturday (RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire) where my photograph was taken several times by both uniformed and plain-clothed 'police' - along with everyone else there that day.

At such times, I feel a deep depression for the state of democracy in my own country where peaceful protesters are subjected to intimidation at every turn and many have to cover their faces for 'protection' against those who choose to abuse their powers.

The poem I found here on Sunday was a tonic I desperately needed - so apt as to be symbolic to me

I shall put it on my 'Revolution' thread - when I write about the demo.

Many thanks

Peace
Endy

congratulations on having the strength within.

(that strength will move mountains, even as you go at it alone)

classical indian literature is peppered with characters that have found their conscience, carved their path, and walked it with single-minded purpose, while inspiring others. gandhi's an incredible example of the power of one man's conviction and strength.

btw, there are many of us in your corner of things, so never lose heart!

best wishes in your endeavors. will keep a lookout for an update from you.

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Good luck to you too, heartofthesun

Peace
Endy

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Let us
Let us not degrade Gandhi to the preent day culture.

If any of you wish to know about Gandhi's view
here is a link.
http://www.mkgandhi-sarvodaya.org/epigrams/contents.htm

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I read one of you guys here writing about Kissinger winning the Nobel peace prize and Gandhi never winning it. This reminds me of a true story that speaks volumes about the worth of the Nobel prize.

Israeli physicist Asher Peres, when asked to suggest a possible name (among the Israeli Physicists) for the Nobel prize, replied: Menachem Begin. When asked what his criterion for this particular choice was, Peres replied that Begin deserved the Nobel prize in Physics for the same reason (and following the same criterion) as he had deserved it for Peace (Begin won the Nobel Peace prize in 1979, if I am not wrong).

And it is not only the peace prizes that are controversial. William Golding's prize for literature (or Churchill's for that matter), for example, is equally confusing to the rest of us lesser mortals, to say the least.

I may sound very cynical here, but I can almost bet that one day George W. Bush will definitely win the Nobel peace prize. I am actually pretty surprised that Stalin never won it, in spite being one of the victors of the WW II.

Nobel Prize is awarded on the basis of number of nominations a candidate receives, and then on some deliberations within the committee (if I am not wrong). And if I am eligible to nominate, I can name anyone including my grandmother.

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Gandhi - 100th anniversary of Sept 11th protest

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