Reverend James Lawson on Truthtelling and Satyagraha-7/20/09

9/11 Blogger:

Jeremy William Rothe-Kushel: Would you describe your own experience with Satyagraha, in terms of where you learned about it?

Reverend James Lawson: Gandhi can be called the father of “non-violence,” as a science for social change that can create positive effects. And that could well help the world to move towards justice and peace, if it wanted to.

And he is also the one who introduced- about 1909 it was- that he introduced the term “non-violence.” So, “non-violence” is a 20th century word, though some authors are saying, you know, that much of the theory and practice of “non-violence” is to be found in the written annals of human history that go way back.

But the term nonviolence is a Gandhian intervention on describing at that time what he was trying to do in South Africa to stop the racist attacks upon the Indian community by the government.

Then after he finished that major campaign, he didn’t like to call what he was doing “non-violence,” so he had a contest in which he asked for suggestions to the Indian community in South Africa- What should we call this?

And from that, he got suggestions for the two words, which he put together to form “satyagraha;” Satya, meaning “truth, but Gandhi also made the term “God” synonymous, and “love” synonymous, and “spirit” synonymous. He might have also gone so far as to say that “faith” is synonymous. And then, “graha,” meaning tenacity, strength, firmness, force. So, his translation is the one that I love- “soulforce.”

Continued. . .