Today would have been Mohandas Ghandi’s 150th birthday.
Ghandi was a major influence on Martin Luther King, Jr., and therefore, his ideas had impact in Memphis. It was Ghandi who taught King about the philosophy or nonviolence. For both of them, nonviolence was not a tactic to advance a cause, but a way of living that ultimately resides in the heart. Ghandi saw nonviolence as a way of thinking that would allow love to be put to work to heal problems and troubled relationships. Ghandi believed that the best way to change the world was to begin with your own personal relationships.
Fires of anger and hatred in the world must first be dealt with in our own hearts. He also felt that improving our health is far more likely to come about by resolving feelings of anger and hatred than through pills and technology.
Today, on Ghandi’s 150th birthday, it is worth your time to learn more about his views on nonviolence. You will be healthier for doing so.
This is Dr. Scott Morris for Church Health.