Chetna discusses how love is the one element that can overcome fear. Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. exemplified this triumph over fear through ahimsa, love, and complete faith in their beliefs. They proved this through risking their lives for their beliefs. Additionally, they never lashed out in violence against their oppressors, further proving the truth they had found through their beliefs. They followed the rule of Ahimsa stating “you should be prepared to lose joyfully even your life in the cause of Truth. The Ultimate Truth can be attained only through Ahimsa” (115). Martin Luther King Jr. said himself “In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds” (122), which directly relates to Ahimsa.

Ahimsa as a combination of many elements—one of which is peace.

I found Ahimsa to be a combination of many elements—non-injury, love, truth, selfless service, sacrifice, forgiveness, and strength. Ahimsa calls for purity in our actions as well as our thoughts and true Ahimsa is acquired with “perfected souls” (114). It is impossible for a person to be pure one hundred percent of the time, but the will to be perfect is what keeps us from doing evil in the world. Through Ahimsa, one will “not only attain Salvation, but also to enjoy uninterrupted peace and bliss,” (114). Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. certainly realized this; their lives serve as examples of compassion and a search for truth. They inspired people too join them and follow in their footsteps.

(left)This image of Gandhi came up when I searched for ‘Ahimsa’ on Google images. (right) Martin Luther King, Jr’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.

Eric brings up the question of innate goodness. Though the Ahimsa article said man is bestial in nature, I think all humans are capable of great evil as well as great goodness. One of my favorite quotes from Steinbeck’s East of Eden says:

Humans are caught—in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too—in a net of good and evil. … A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean question: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well—or ill?

Thus it is the way we live our lives, the choices we make, the selfish desires we either pursue or repress, that lead us to be stamped with the label of “good” or “evil.” While anyone who is “good” can be seen as a role model, it takes something more to truly become a hero. Today, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. aren’t forgotten activists. As Garrison said, they were martyrs for their beliefs. Today they are icons. They represent an ideal, they made a difference in our world. They are true heroes. Pallavi described Martin Luther King, Jr. as an inspiration who “gave hope to those that felt lost and defeated.” The fact that these two icons followed the path of Ahimsa as closely as possible, inspired others, and made a difference in our world, proves that they are heroes.