Mahatma Gandhi and the Crisis Conversion of a Nation
This article is written in honor of Lewis Rambo. It is as an expression of gratitude for his years of service to the field of pastoral theology and, at a more personal level, his many acts of kindness to me over the last few years. Inspired by Lewis Rambo’s Understanding Religious Conversion (1993),...
| Published in: | Pastoral psychology |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Springer Science Business Media B. V.
[2020]
|
| In: |
Pastoral psychology
|
| Further subjects: | B
Lewis Rambo
B Partition B Swaraj B Pakistan B British Raj B Crisis conversion B Ahimsa B Himsa B Mohandas K. Gandhi B India B Satyagraha |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Summary: | This article is written in honor of Lewis Rambo. It is as an expression of gratitude for his years of service to the field of pastoral theology and, at a more personal level, his many acts of kindness to me over the last few years. Inspired by Lewis Rambo’s Understanding Religious Conversion (1993), this article attempts to apply his idea of a “crisis conversion” to national and political crises in the history of India. Three moments of crisis are considered here. The first is related to the populist agitation for swaraj (self-rule) and the satyagraha (force of truth) movement. The second is the partition of British India into two new nations, India and Pakistan, that resulted in the displacement of millions of people. The third is a current and ongoing crisis, the advance of Hindutva—the fundamentalist Hindu state—and the abuse of minority religious groups. Mohandas K. Gandhi attempted to turn Indians away from the path of himsa (violence) and lead them to the path of ahimsa (non-violence). It is suggested here that Indian conversion to the way of Gandhi was sincere but incomplete, as evidenced by the events following partition as well as the current climate of religious intolerance. Indians need to periodically reconvert to the Gandhian path of ahimsa by responding to his call for acceptance and respect of “others.” |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1573-6679 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Pastoral psychology
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1007/s11089-020-00911-8 |