Gandhi

I know that in embarking on non-violence I shall be running what might be termed a mad risk. But the victories of truth have never been won without risks--Mahatma Gandhi

I am in a Gandhi place right now--he's fresh in my mind because I just watched the movie with my children this past weekend. They were moved by him too, especially my little man--at least, his reaction was more visible. He was stung by how Gandhi was killed, bothered that Gandhi died thinking he had done something wrong in his quest, especially in his expression of that quest to the masses and their subsequent interpretations/actions--a general 'lost in translation' somber falls over Gandhi in the final scene.

I know bits of Gandhi's story but in my 'past life' resistance to all things male/masculine as I sought the female/feminine counterparts, I resisted knowing too much, I resisted inspiration.

This weekend, watching the movie with my children, my hard shell of resistance dissolved and I saw past his 'maleness', all the way through to his message, to his simplicity.

If only we could emulate his simplicity in our daily life--show courage, emanate love, congregate with all and by that, accept all.

In one scene, Gandhi is being questioned by a photographer about his stance on nonviolence. She asks, "Do you think you can win a war against a man like Hitler with nonviolence?", to which Gandhi replies, "Not without pain and defeats but that's just like your war with weapons and violence--it is not being waged without pain or defeat." (Loosely delivered from my memory).

Unaffected profundity--how do we make life so difficult when, there is, just below the surface a bareness awaiting our discovery, pining to be sourced.