Arun Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi's grandson, recently visited the Aadheenam and also held an event on Kauai honoring the "Season of Nonviolence." What struck Bodhinatha as most interesting was when his wife spoke for a few minutes and told everyone how her husband Arun has never even raised his voice to her or their children in the 45 years they've been married. That shows how the philosophy is working in their lives; it's not just something to talk about. TitleArun Gandhi on "Season of Nonviolence" CategoryGood Conduct Duration3 minutes, 56 seconds Date GivenMarch 11, 2002 Given byBodhinatha CybertalkArun Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi's grandson, recently visited the Aadheenam and also held an event on Kauai honoring the "Season of Nonviolence." What struck Bodhinatha as most interesting was when his wife spoke for a few minutes and told everyone how her husband Arun has never even raised his voice to her or their children in the 45 years they've been married. That shows how the philosophy is working in their lives; it's not just something to talk about.

Unedited Transcript:

We recently participated in an event with Arun and Sananda Gandhi. They were here on the island. The grandson of Mahatma Gandhi gave a lecture and before that there was a reception. We went to the reception. The Mayor was there and other people we know. We listened to him and his wife talk. They gave his wife a chance to talk at the reception because he, of course, was talking at the lecture. They wanted to hear from her as well and she had some interesting ideas to express.

The whole message of the evening was non-violence. So, one of the ideas that she put forth right away was that she had been married for 45 years and though on many occasions she had given her husband good reason to be angry with her, he had never raised his voice once in 45 years. Never said an angry word in 45 years, either to her or to the children, even though she felt she deserved it on occasion.

That was so sweet, the way she said it. It really showed the commitment to non-violence on both of their parts. It was not just something in the political arena. No satyagraha, where you motivate the British to leave India or something. It was something in their personal life, a core belief. That really impressed me.

We didn't have a chance to stay for the talk. We left at seven-thirty and he still hadn't started talking. That is about as late as we stay out. It is going to be on Awika television. In fact, they taped the interview with him on our property. It will be nice to listen to see what he says. We will try and record it for the monks, so we can all listen.

We invited him to write for 'Hinduism Today', some thoughts on the current violence in India. We hope he does and submits that.

So I was impressed that they were living their ideal. That is what struck me. It was not just the concept they were talking about but in their personal lives they were living this ideal. This time of year is called the 'Season of Non-violence'. It has been going, I think, since 1998. The Gandhi Institute and others have combined to have this activity in the United States which lasts 64 days. It is between two days that honor Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, a 64-day period. Every year, 64 days starting on the day that honors Martin Luther King. It is 64 days for non-violence and they have different activities throughout the country including on Kauai.

One of the sponsors is the Unity Church, which is very active in this period. We are hoping that a little more can be done on Kauai next year. Barbara Curl is working with the Unity Minister on Kauai to get more activities related to it present on Kauai next year.