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Word Gems
exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity
'Cosmic Voices'
Gandhi
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from https://www.cosmicvoices.network/gandhi
M.K. Gandhi (1869-1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist, who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule, and in turn inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi is best known as, "Mahatma" (maha-atma = great soul). The title was bestowed on Gandhi in 1915 by the Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore
via Jeanne Love, July 17, 2020
Where does unrest come from? From civil unrest to soul unrest…These are the things to consider. While I was in the world I was at first untouched by the paradigms of unequal treatment and behavior. But as I grew, travelled, studied, and participated in life, it was very clear that I did not fit the definition of a free soul. The color of my skin, the placement of my family’s name and the origin of my life was at an all-time question when I began to travel and practice the art of law. It was in those first beginning moments and experiences that I began to see and experience a world with which, until that time, I had had no real experience. It wasn’t until the train ride, with a first class ticket, that I was subject to the prejudices of a negatively shaped perception from another that my worth could not be seen even when I was able to pay my way. It was then, as so many know, that I awakened, and so my journey began.
I walked my life into understanding, and I took those with me who were ready to challenge a broken system of consciousness. I gave up the worldly ideas of wealth and standing in my own Indian community and reached for a broader scope of life for all those who suffered the original prejudice that I had experienced. We fought hard without raising a sword or brandishing a firearm. To many it seemed a weak position, one that would lessen in intensity and quickly move out of the public’s eye. But in reality it grew. It grew because people were sick and tired of being suppressed, judged and limited by others who knew nothing but the old ways of sorting and classifying citizens long influenced and ruled by those from another country -- a smaller one, but with a mightier military...
What is there to lose? It is as simple as that and as difficult as that. Unfortunately, governments are not the only structure to blame for this separation and indifference. Religions, in their attempt to unite, have become structures for contempt and manipulation. Our God has been twisted and reshaped a million times and placed into the outbox of a dark and restless humanity which feels no connection unless it is to subjugate another person, through their background, upbringing, gender choices, etc.
It is no accident that there are so many at this time working hard to rediscover their “roots’. But it would be well to understand that our “roots” do not come from our own culture, class or civilization. Our “roots” come from the connection to our soul and then to our God, or our "I am" Source, the Divine.
When our connection to the Grace of our Creation comes to light, all division will cease to exist, and the lines of prejudice will disappear. With the awakening to this knowing, when the organic experience of our own divinity really strikes at the core of who we are, then it is easy to be brave, courageous. To make decisions based on the "I am" center of life, on the creation energy which flows through us all, giving us all the potential for greatness in consciousness. Giving us the power to grasp our humanity as individuals and as the collective.
Mohandas K. Gandhi
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