FIFTY SIXTH DAY REPORT GANDHI SWARAJ PADYATRA by Jeff Knaebel
FIFTY SIXTH DAY REPORT
GANDHI SWARAJ PADYATRA
by Jeff Knaebel, stateless, paperless sojourner free
13 October 2009
EXCERPTS FROM HIND SWARAJ
by Mahatma Gandhi, November 1909
• “There is no end to the victims destroyed in the fire of civilization. Its deadly effect is that people come under its scorching flames believing it to be all good. They become utterly irreligious and, in reality, derive little advantage from the world.
Civilization is like a mouse gnawing while it is soothing us. When its full effect is realized, we shall see that religious superstition is harmless compared to that of modern civilization. I am not pleading for a continuance of religious superstitions. We shall certainly fight them tooth and nail, but we can never do so by disregarding religion. We can only do so by appreciating and conserving the latter.” (From HIND SWARAJ: Chapter on “The Condition of India”).
• “History is really a record of every interruption of the even working of the force of love or of the soul.”
• “History, then, is a record of an interruption of the course of nature. Soul-force, being natural, is not noted in history.”
• “We simply want to find out what is right and to act accordingly.”
• “It is contrary to our manhood if we obey laws repugnant to our conscience. Such teaching is opposed to religion and means slavery.”
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Jeff here –
The above highlighted quotation of Gandhiji – combined with his teaching that thought, word, and deed must be in perfect alignment if one is to preserve his inner integrity – is exactly what led me to renounce my US citizenship and sever all relations with its government.
The US government is the greatest organized crime syndicate in the history of man. What could be more repugnant to conscience and manhood than to be forced to finance the mass murder of women and children, torture and rape, massive ecological destruction, and genocide of the mind of generation after generation of children turned into non-thinking human automatons in government schools?
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The insanity that can be seen in the glazed eyes of drivers of speeding motorbikes compared to the peace that radiates from the eyes and smiles of the tribal people of Jharkhand, making their way on foot.
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Today at 0751 hrs we got underway from Jubbal toward Hatkoti. At Hatkoti, the Pabbar River is flowing southeast to join the Tons River. Here the water is dirtied from earth moving construction of hydro power projects.
The hills we once ascended now once again tower over us. We are accommodated at the Mother Hateshwari Mandir, where Sri Siv Datt is our host.
On the way to our speaking engagement at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Maha Vidyalaya (457 enrolled students), I think about Mahatma Gandhi’s words on religion. He said that there is not enough love in our religious practice. It is a commercial bhakti that makes us think money donations and ritual cleans our sin – so that we can go and sin again.
I am now learning that there is no use trying to persuade someone else until you are doing the thing yourself. The rich and powerful are killing the planet with the most powerful weapon in their arsenal – our own minds. The truth of our minds is apparent only by our actions.
At the Maha Vidyalaya we are hosted and introduced by Principal Dr. Uma Randev and senior Professor Dr. Gopal Sharma. Staff members at our presentation included Dr. Ponam Mehta and Smt Raksha Mehta among others.
A signboard at the college office states “Pay no mind to those who speak behind your back. It simply means that you are two steps ahead.”
We had time to cover most of the Talking Points posted at this website, with emphasis on Know Thyself and What Am I Here For – What Is the Purpose of My Life? Jeff presented himself as a personal example of the destructiveness of western industrial civilization. Once a mining engineer, he asked what is the job of mining engineer?
It is to bulldoze roads through the forest, drill holes into the earth, fill them with high explosives, smash the earth to bits, grind and pulverize it to powder, add deadly metallurgical chemicals, and dump the rubble and poisonous waste into our rivers or their headwater basins.
He asked, “Who is more holy in the eyes of God? This man who with advanced technical education lays waste to the earth, or an illiterate Adivasi of Jharkhand who takes only what nature offers freely for one day of life at a time?”
The Q and A session afterwards lasted for an hour, we sold out all of our copies of Hind Swaraj, and Jeff was crushed by the crowd of students and staff seeking autographs. One young man bursting with excessive enthusiasm said, “Today is my birthday, and your group’s presentation has made it the best day of my life.”
To my view, some staff members expressed error by their strong support of Charles Darwin’s “Law” of survival of the fittest as applying to humanity. This places us under the law of the jungle, and negates the fact of the human spirit in ultimate union with the Divine.
Today we walked 17 km – tally 948.
— END OF DAY 56 REPORT —
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