You Must Be the Change You Want to See in the World

Gandhi’s words always seemed simple enough. If you see something wrong, don’t complain about it. Take initiative. If you see an injustice, don’t wait for another person to act. Start it yourself.

I was wrong.

Reading the book, The Essential Gandhi, a collection of Gandhi’s writings and speeches, I realized my understanding of his words was too shallow. I missed the depth of Gandhi’s petition.

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I see the weakness in another’s heart
I see that he does not love his brother
I see his hatred showing from the start
I see that he despises the other
I see the darkness in another’s soul
I see that she does not show kindness
I see her cruelty start to take its toll
I see her eyes are filled with blindness
What I see is but a clear reflection
Casting back to me my darkness within
I am left with only one direction
To triumph o’er the world’s injustice and sin
If I desire to change what I see
The changes must all begin with me

For each of the changes that Gandhi brought to India and to the world, he brought them first to himself. If he expected another to do something, he was willing to do it too.

When he called upon others to love their enemies, he loved them first. To those that wished harm upon him, he wished them well. Even to the British, he showed respect.

When he called upon others to willingly endure imprisonment for non-cooperation, he was also willing and eager to do so. Over the course of his life, Gandhi spent seven years in jail.

Instead of thinking of improving the world let us concentrate on self-improvement.

If you want to change the world, improve yourself. Raise your character beyond reproach. Notice what is inside of you that does not belong. Replace it with the qualities you value.

A man is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks he becomes.

If you want to change the world, study and reflect. Look to your heroes. See their methods and habits. Then apply them to yourself.

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How is it that I can fall so asleep
When great injustice walks across the land
How is it that I don’t fall to weep
When hatred raises its destructive hand
How is it that I can live out of peace
When men and women are in chains to war
How is it that I find my strivings cease
When the oppressed can bear their pain no more
Will I rise up and become hope to all
Will I stand up and become love to you
Will I become words and bring grace’s call
Will I become story and bring what’s true
The questions always return unto me
Will I become the change I want to see

From the change of your heart comes action. You act out of what you believe in. You strive to make it a reality.

Gandhi embodied his beliefs. He didn’t just speak out against the injustice that he witnessed. He worked to eliminate those injustices. It was a full time work. He didn’t just show up on the weekends or evenings. He lived it all the time.

When the Indians in South Africa were oppressed by the Apartheid government, Gandhi labored for twenty years for justice. By appealing to the government officials, organizing the Indian community, and leading protests of non-violence, he succeeded in repealing the unjust laws.

When he saw the fighting between Hindus and Muslims, he labored to restore unity. Instead of sending letters from Delhi, he walked village to village across India to encourage people to show love to their brethren. With their divisions remaining, he fasted until the community leaders pledged to a peace agreement.

It is better to allow our lives to speak for us than our words. […] Faith does not admit of telling. It has to be lived and then it becomes self-propagating.

If you want to change the world, let your actions speak. Do good. Help people. Treat others with love. Your deeds shall give depth and strength to the change.

Do you think that anything on earth can be done without trouble?

If you want to change the world, work hard. Make the effort. Face the opposition. Anything worth doing requires a struggle.

Suffering cheerfully endured ceases to be suffering and is transmuted into ineffable joy.

If you want to change the world, embrace the effort. Count each hardship as a joy.

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Let love cover over all of your fear
Over worry may love rush as a flood
To the way of love let your walk adhere
See the other as more than flesh and blood
Let truth illuminate all of the lies
In confusion may truth shine a light
To the way of truth may you be wise
See wisdom shine throughout the darkest night
Let non-violence cover all of your hate
Over wars and argument let peace prevail
To the way of peace let your work create
See the cowardice that you will unveil
With each of these may you ever supply
To each of these may your life testify

Gandhi doesn’t fit into a single definition. He did many great things, but they do not, by themselves, define him. Rather, I think of the principles that he embodied: love, truth, and non-violence.

Love is the strongest force the world possesses and yet is the humblest imaginable.

Gandhi stood for love. He loved the untouchables. He loved Indians. He loved the British. He loved Hindus. He loved Muslims. He loved his friends. He loved his enemies.

If you want to change the world, love those you wish to change and love those who will resist the change. For love always has the interests of the other in mind. It takes on the attitude of a listener. It is humble but powerful.

It is a million times better to appear untrue before the world than to be untrue to ourselves.

Gandhi stood for truth. He sought the truth of who he was in the midst of his silence. He opened his heart to the truth of others by listening and striving to see the world through their eyes.

If you want to change the world, find the truth. Know yourself and the people you want to affect. From that knowledge you can know how to serve them.

But I believe non-violence is infinitely superior to violence; forgiveness is more manly than punishment.

Gandhi stood for non-violence. He did not resist when the authorities came to arrest him. He opposed any form of armed struggle against the British. He fought against the principle of war. He spoke out against the violence of poverty. He did not impose his beliefs on another.

If you want to change the world, don’t bring your change by force. Win people with love and truth. Give generously.

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In judging myself I shall try to be as harsh as truth […].

The words of words and life of Gandhi are a challenge.

They challenge my commitment to the mission of the Bright Army. Am I willing to embody it? Am I willing to give my life to it? My answer right now is yes, but I know that the answer is one I must choose again tomorrow.

They challenge us to become someone greater than we are – not greater because we are superior to another, but because we know and act from truth.

How do they challenge you?

***

My life is my message.

I hope that I can say those words with the same truth that Gandhi did. And I hope that for you.

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PS: Each of the above quotations is from Gandhi.
Shine a light of truth and love. I made this photo in Lokichogio, Kenya.