Our visit with Mae Stella De Oxossi | Salvador, Brazil
Mae Stella De Oxossi
10-Year Anniversary Brazil Gandhi Tour
June 24, 2012 – July 2, 2012 – Bahia, Brazil | Sao Paulo, Brazil
During our visit to Salvador Bahia June 2012, Arun and I went to the Municipal School of Eugenia Anna Santos, in Sao Gonçalo. This organization works on the grounds of Ile Axe Opo Afunja, led by Mother Stella Oxossi. The Minister of Education and Culture of Salvador, John Carlos Bacelar arranged a meeting and tour at the school which is in the center of the community and property of Mae Stella De Oxossi‘s home.
Upon arrival we were greeted with drumming, and smiles as it began to lightly rain. The property had the look and feeling of an Ashram school in India.
Accompanied by the Municipal Secretary of Education, John Carlos Bacelar, we were introduced to Candomblé and the history of the property led by Mother Stella Oxossi.
It was explained to us that Brazil honors all forms of religious worship. In Bahia more than 50% of the population’s roots are from Africa. The largest African-Portuguese community lives in Salvador, the 3rd largest city of Brazil. The old African indigenous religious practices are still carried out there till this day.
Gandhi Legacy Tour of India ‘The Book’
AUTHOR: LYNNEA BYLUND
– CLICK AVAILABLE FORMATS –
8.5×11 Paperback / $29.95
ISBN: 979-8-9855271-1-7
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ISBN: 979-8-9855271-0-0
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ISBN: 979-8-2102056-4-3 – Click to Order
PAGES: 120 (all editions)
Contact: [email protected]
Download or Print: Sales Sheet
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“His was a challenging journey –
– and it changed the world.”
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He was a delicate and fragile man with glasses and a customary Hindu waistcloth, used a bamboo walking stick, and had a near-toothless smile. His outward appearance was that of a humble unassuming holy man; and fortified only with terrific bravery and an unshakeable dedication to nonviolent resistance Gandhi persevered and ultimately prevailed over one of history’s greatest empires.
Gandhi Legacy Tour of India does not focus on places of tourist interest, but rather places of human interest. It is designed to educate in the essence of Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence and how individuals may apply it to bring about socio-economic change.
Journey with us as we recreate the Tour through words and pictures!
“The opportunity to travel with Arun and Tushar Gandhi on the
2009-2010 Gandhi Legacy Tour of India was life-changing;
as an American working on behalf of nonviolence, I gained a new
sense of depth, connection and vitality for carrying the Mahatma’s
work into future generations.
This captivating book captures the essence of these tours!”
– Kit Miller / Director Emeritus –
M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lynnea Bylund has a degree in holistic health and nutrition from the legendary and controversial health researcher, educator and activist Doctor Kurt Donsbach; She is the former Managing Director of Gandhi Legacy Tours; Emeritus Director of Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute; Founder of Catalyst House; and has over three decades of knowledge in corporate administration marketing and business development. Through the 90s she was a nationally recognized spokeswoman for emerging broadband video and information delivery industries. Lynnea is the founder of two not-for-profit small business-based wireless trade associations and has lobbied on Capitol Hill and at the FCC where she has spoken out strongly against the cable TV monopoly, illegal spectrum warehousing and congressional schemes to auction our nation’s precious airwaves to the highest bidder.
Lynnea is enthusiastically available to give her well-received talks and presentations about Gandhi Legacy Tours of India and South Africa AND Gandhi’s vision of a future “Sarvodaya” society — where everyone enjoys a good standard of living with attendant rights & privileges.
Every sale of the Gandhi Legacy Tour of India ‘The Book’ benefits under-privileged children. For more information, or to make or consider your gracious direct donation to any of the groups featured in ‘The Book’, a list of organizations links is maintained for your convenience at our website – www.catalysthouse.net/donations.
Arun Gandhi – UN Keynote Address
A New Culture of Peace
Arun Gandhi is often asked during his speaking engagements and legacy tours what he says in “high-level” meetings to political leaders and he responds, “the same things I’m saying to you.” The following webtv video provides a perfect example of this during his recent address at a high-level United Nations forum in New York.
In Arun Gandhi’s opening remarks, he said there is need to stop “exploiting people, religion, to gain our goals and ambitions. That is only the way we can bring peace through non-violence.” World peace cannot be achieved unless individuals accept non-violence as a way of life, according to Arun Gandhi, grandson of the late Mahatma Gandhi.
Arun Gandhi was invited by UN General Assembly President Sam Kutesa to address a high-level UN forum declaring a New Culture of Peace on September 9, 2015 in New York.
Ban-Ki Moon sat next to Arun Gandhi during his address. “Mahatma Gandhi proved that the culture of peace can change the course of history. Let us carry on this legacy until we end the terrible suffering in our world and establish lasting peace,” the UN Secretary General said in his remarks to the General Assembly high-level forum on Culture of Peace.
Ban-Ki Moon recalled his visit to India in January this year, during when he had visited the Sabarmati Ashram. “It was a privilege to tour the ashram…I recalled Gandhi’s stern warning that, ‘There will be no lasting peace on earth unless we learn not merely to tolerate but even to respect the other faiths as our own’,” the UN Chief said.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to share a message of peace with you all today,” said Arun Gandhi
See video and hear Arun Gandhi’s full remarks at:
UN WebTv: Mahatma Gandhi’s 5th Grandson Arun Gandhi Gives Keynote Speech at India: General Assembly 69th Session High-Level Forum on a Culture of Peace
To find out more click here
Lynnea Bylund is managing director of Gandhi Legacy Tours, Director of Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute, founder of Catalyst House and has nearly three decades of experience in administration, marketing and business development. She was a nationally recognized spokeswoman for the emerging alternative video and information delivery industries. She has a degree in holistic health-nutrition from the legendary and controversial health educator and activist Dr. Kurt Donsbach, she is the founder of two not-for-profit small business-based wireless trade associations and has lobbied on Capitol Hill and at the FCC where she has spoken out strongly against the cable TV monopoly, illegal spectrum warehousing and ill-conceived congressional schemes to auction our nation’s precious airwaves to the highest bidder.
Ms. Bylund is a founder and former CEO of a Washington DC telecommunications consulting and management company with holdings in several operating and developmental wireless communications systems and companies. In 1995 Lynnea became the first female in the world to be awarded a Broadband PCS operating permit – she was one of only 18 winners, along with Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon in the biggest cash auction in world history, raising a whopping $7.7 billion. Lynnea also spear-headed the successful effort to launch the first cable TV network in the South Pacific islands.
… > Follow Lynnea on: +LynneaBylund – Twitter – LinkedIn – FaceBook – Pinterest & YouTube
GWEI Accepted by UN Economic and Social Council
“United Nations Economic and Social Council chamber New York City 2”
by MusikAnimal – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Commons.
Gandhi Worldwide Accepted by United Nations Economic and Social Council
Special Consultative Status Bestowed on Gandhi Children’s NGO by UN
WACAUNDA, Ill., Aug. 25, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — “The UN Consultative Status for our organization will enable us to actively engage with ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies, as well as with the United Nations Secretariat, programs, funds and agencies in a number of ways,” stated Arun Gandhi, the organization’s founder and 5th grandson of the Mahatma Gandhi.
In a letter dated July 23, 2015 the UN ECOSOC acting Chief Alberto Padova wrote: “The new status entitles the Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute to designate official representatives to the United Nations Headquarters in New York and the United Nations offices in Geneva and Vienna… and you may designate authorized representatives to sit as observers at public meetings of ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies, General Assembly, Human Rights Council and other United Nations intergovernmental decision-making bodies.”
“This status will help future fund raising efforts and open up GWEI’s voice at the UN. GWEI will be allowed to host this status at our website and make it part of our grant detail, exec summary, business plan and press release narrative,” said Lynnea Bylund the GWEI director who marshaled the ECOSOC appointment initiative and application process over the past two years.
The ECOSOC Special Consultative Status is reserved for non-profit organizations. GWEI was approved by the United Nations department’s special committee to apply in August 2013. GWEI’s application and work was subsequently scheduled for review by 17 representatives from UN member countries On May 29, 2015, GWEI was officially recommended for Special Consultative Status.
“GWEI now has the option to attend meetings, provide written statements, make oral statements, organize parallel events, and participate in debates, dialogues, panel discussions and informal meetings. Human right issues, peace, security, poverty, status of woman’s issues, trafficking, child rights to education, sustainable development, social development, and technology are some of the issues GWEI will address,” added Lynnea Bylund.
In addition to the ECOSOC appointment Arun Gandhi has been invited by UN General Assembly President Sam Kutesa to address a high-level UN forum declaring a New Culture of Peace on September 9, 2015 in New York.
About Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute
The Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute, a 501c-3 charitable organization, has embarked on an ambitious multi-pronged program to help eradicate the scourge of poverty and human degradation. “Poverty is the worse form of violence,” Mahatma Gandhi said. The priority of the GWEI is to rescue children from the poorest sections of Indian society, those who are the first to become victims of criminal gangs; the second priority is to build local institutions that serve as shelters and learning centers, where the rescued children will receive essential nutrition and education – nourishment for body, mind, and soul. Visit Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute website and blog at www.gandhiforchildren.org for further information and/or to place a donation.
SOURCE: Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute
KonectIDY Interviews Arun Gandhi
“We must bring solace to suffering humanity!”
KonectIDY sat down with Arun Gandhi to learn more about the motivation behind this extraordinary man’s lifetime of service as an ambassador of peace and non-violence, and why he believes it is important for all people worldwide – to buy, wear and share his “Gandhi For Children” bracelet.
Q – Who was Mahatma Gandhi to you? What did Gandhi mean to you personally? Please share a story or experience in how your grandfather most influenced or inspired your life?
Arun Gandhi – Personally, Gandhi was my Grandfather and a “light” that guides me in my quest for the purpose in my life. He taught me the value of humility and simplicity the two hall marks of his own life. I think the most important lesson he taught me was that we commit violence in two forms — physical and passive. Physical is the kind of violence where physical force is used, examples, fighting, kicking, wars, murders, rapes etc. Passive violence is more insidious since it hurts people emotionally, economically, spiritually, morally etc. Often without any contact. Examples — exploitation of all kinds, racism and prejudice of various kinds, wasting resources, greed, etc. For instance the US alone wastes $120 billion worth of food every year when half the world dies of hunger. This attitude has given rise to a Culture of Violence that dominates all aspects of our lives — sports, entertainment, economics, religion, relationships etc. It is impossible to build peace if we continue to subscribe to the Culture of Violence. Importantly, Peace is not the absence of war. 
Q – Who was Mahatma Gandhi to you? What did Gandhi mean to you personally? Please share a story or experience in how your grandfather most influenced or inspired your life?
Arun Gandhi – He taught me that the Culture of Violence can be overcome if we recognize and bring forth our inherent compassion, love, respect, understanding and positive aspects of our emotions and suppress the hate, prejudice, anger, frustration, greed etc which seems to dominate us because we prefer the Culture of Violence. Civilization does not mean that we humans be good and compassionate selectively, it should dominate our life.
Q – Children unify us. Tell me a story of when you forgot yourself by virtue of loving or helping a child.
Arun Gandhi – When we are dominated by love, compassion and respect then the self merges into life, all life. Then the important thing is to remove the pain and distress of others and not be obsessed with the self. The agony of children moves us more than the agony of older people because children are helpless. Read more
Happy Birthday, Grandfather!
Original Post Source by Arun Gandhi: Gandhi Day Message
Artist Gary Manson from Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Gandhi Day Message
Gandhi was born October 2, 1869
One hundred and forty-five years ago Mohandas K. Gandhi was born in an innocuous town in Western India and no one imagined he would become an Apostle of peace, love and humanity. He was killed 66 years ago leaving the world a legacy of goodness, compassion and the way to achieve true civilization.
Instead the world decided to go in the opposite direction, the direction of materialism and militarism, both antithetical to the concept of civilization. The result is in 1914 the world was embroiled in the first World War which devastated scores of millions of lives. Now, coincidentally, in 2014 we are tottering on the brink of World War III?
Materialism and militarism, the twin evils, have led humanity to a life of crime, violence and wars causing the deaths of more than 300 million people in one century. Yet, we refuse to learn anything from the dehumanizing and devastating way of life and behave as though we are trapped in a downward spiral and can do nothing about it
After a lecture on Nonviolence In The 21st Century a 17 year old high school student asked me: What do you think your grandfather would have done if he was alive today? It is a difficult question to speculate on but I do know grandfather had an immense store of compassion and confidence in the goodness of human beings. If he was alive today he would have started all over again working to change humanity. He firmly believed that a society will change only when people change. Which is why he repeatedly reminded us: WE MUST BECOME THE CHANGE WE WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD!
The philosophy of nonviolence that he left as a legacy is not, I repeat NOT, simply a peaceful way of resolving conflicts. If understood in depth, it is a means of personal transformation. So, to paraphrase President John F. Kennedy: Ask not what the world can do for you, ask what you can do for your world!
Happy Jayanti Bapu!
Original Post Source: Gandhi Legacy Tour Blog
Today, October 2nd, is Gandhi’s Birthday…
To all my personal friends and friends of my late grandfather Mohandas ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi I send warm regards and best wishes from my home in Rochester, New York. I have been encouraged by many to continue writing an annual message on the day of Grandfather’s birthday, October 2nd (1869 – 1948). This date is now know as the United Nations International Day of Nonviolence which was designated by the U.N. to acknowledge Mohandas ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi each year.
I continue to write this annual message and I now share this with you and those who hold dear the wisdom, and benefit from the philosophy and message of Mahatma Gandhi.
[Editor’s note: The Gandhi Legacy Tour 2013-14 led by Arun Gandhi still has only a few remaining openings that will be available for a very short time – less than 14 days from this publication. Don’t miss out!]
Bapu, we still love you!
On a previous Gandhi birthday I received a letter from an Indian friend who lived for many years in Britain and San Diego and recently decided to go back to India to take back home the Gandhi legacy “Become the change you wish to see in the world.” Like millions before him he is disillusioned. He has not been able to find Gandhi in the new India. Of course, Gandhi’s image adorns all the currency notes, there are statues in town squares and every city and town has a “Mahatma Gandhi Road.” Lip service is paid to Gandhiji’s memory on his birthday and his death anniversary.
>> Continue reading at Arun Gandhi’s blog
Arun Gandhi & John Wayne: A Lesson on Lying
Original Post Source: Gandhi Legacy Tour
I was 16 years old and living with my parents at the institute my grandfather had founded 18 miles outside of the city of Durban, South Africa, in the middle of the sugar plantations. We were well within the country and had no neighbors, so my two sisters and I always look forward being able to go to town to visit friends or go to the movies. One day my father asked me to take him to the city to attend a conference that lasted the whole day and I jumped at the chance.
As he went to town, my mother gave me a grocery list of things I needed and my father asked me to take care of some outstanding things like taking the car serviced. When I left my father, he told me: See you here at 5 pm and we will go home together.
After quickly completing all the assignments, I went to the nearest cinema. I focused so much with the film, a John Wayne movie, I forgot the time. It was 5:30 pm when I remembered. I ran to the garage and got the car and hurried to where my father was waiting. It was nearly 6 pm.
He anxiously asked: Why are you late? I felt bad about it and I could not say I was watching a John Wayne movie in Durban. Then I told him the car was not ready and had to wait. I said this without knowing that my father had already called the garage.
> Continue reading at Gandhi Legacy Tour
Never Forget Hiroshima and Nagasaki!
This is the planet we exist on and in, yet we continually avoid the truth about atomic weapons; we close our minds to their monstrous reality – 100s of 1000s or even millions of innocent civilians incinerated in a sudden flash and many more to die slower. Nuclear weaponry is a reflection of our nightmare-shadow side. It must be faced head-on and discharged. The atomic bomb lies within us all.
According to the Great Sage Adi Da Samraj, “ … the explosion of great nuclear bombs merely represents the archetype of anger itself. And it is for this reason that the possibility of a nuclear holocaust, in the extreme moment of the now rising political confrontations, is an irrational—and, therefore, entirely possible, if not inevitable—event.”
Never Forget Hiroshima & The “World’s Greatest Bomb”
Most Americans 68 years ago on August 6, 1945, got their news from the radio, which transmitted the copy from Truman’s statement shortly after the historic first atomic war event. Immediately after the radio announcements, newspapers’ banners proclaimed:
“America’s Atom Bomb, World’s Greatest, Hits Japs!”
Greg Mitchell at HuffPost notes: “Hiroshima did contain an important military base, used as a staging area for Southeast Asia, where perhaps 25,000 troops might be quartered. But the bomb had been aimed not at the “Army base” but at the very center of a city of 350,000, with the vast majority women and children and elderly males…. Indeed, a U.S. survey of the damage, not released to the press, found that residential areas bore the brunt of the bomb, with less than 10 percent of the city’s manufacturing, transportation, and storage facilities damaged.”
President Truman’s first words on the subject set the narrative:
“Sixteen hours ago an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima, an important Japanese Army base. That bomb had more power than 20,000 tons of TNT. …The Japanese began the war from the air at Pearl Harbor. They have been repaid many fold….It is an atomic bomb. It is a harnessing of the basic power of the universe.”
Takapart.com’s Oliver Lee debunks the 3 overriding myths of U.S. justification for such a heinous act of barberism – Read more
Code 723: Da Shift Has Hit The Fan!
The Buddha said, “Of all relationships, the best is trust.” But recent NSA revelations have demonstrated that we are attempting to build a world of distrust in a mistaken search for security. Let us begin by dismantling that premise. Where do we start?
On this day, July 23, 2006, World Friend Adi Da declared a decisive moment in human history for the sake of global cooperation, tolerance, and peace. In His book, Not-Two Is Peace, Adi Da Samraj, speaks to our planet’s violent human situation with a clarion call for global change in the form of a “Global Cooperative Forum”, a unique global institution founded in the inherent truth of prior unity.
From His essay “723: The Free Declaration of The Universal Moral, Social, and Political Laws of True and Necessary Civilization” (pp 251 in Not-Two Is Peace):
This Free Declaration is the Seed-Utterance of that new and necessary true and right (and truly globally, totally, and universally cooperative) order.
This moment in human-time—July 23, 2006—is the precise and decisive moment of the uniquely new human necessity for all of humankind.
One and all, consider this Free Declaration of your possibility on Earth.
One and all, Be of this Free Wisdom Blessed and made all right—together and at once.
Something new must emerge ….. A new mode of social contract …. an ego-less mode …… based on cooperation, tolerance and universal participation and accountability.
Peace is not only about encouraging peace between nations and governments but is also about you and me and nonviolence in our homes, communities and schools, hence – “Be the change you wish to see in the world!”
You are invited to participate in the initiation of the Global Cooperative Forum, the universal representative body for all of humanity via global conference on Tuesday July 23rd 2013 @ 6:30PM.
Arun Gandhi: A Peace Tartan Interview
Our friend and associate, M.K. Gandhi grandson Arun Gandhi, may seem odd as a runway model, but he recently strutted the runway wearing a kilt and ‘Peace Tartan’ for charity.
Arun was born in the apartheid South Africa. During his early teen years he lived with his Grandfather in India where he received one-on-one daily instruction from ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi on understanding violence, its causes and nature and the opposite living philosophy of nonviolence.
Following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Arun is a true social activist who transverses the planet regularly, lecturing on nonviolence and introduces himself as a “Peace Farmer.”
Arun founded and stewards the Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute, which champions against child labor and poverty and rescues Indian children from human traffickers. (disclosure: I am am honored to be a Board member of that organization)
Source: NY Times India Ink Blog –
On Monday, Mr. Gandhi donned a World Peace tartan kilt designed by Victor Spence, a Scotsman who has created a line of tartan clothes and accessories to promote world peace at the “From Scotland With Love” fashion show at Stage 48 on the West Side. The annual charity event was started 11 years ago by the actor Sir Sean Connery and the Scottish businessman Geoffrey Scott Carroll to promote Scottish culture in the United States. This year’s theme, “The Scottish Lion Meets the Asian Dragon,” included a mix of Asian and Scottish clothing from designers around the world. Proceeds will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project, a nonprofit group that helps injured American soldiers when they return home from war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr. Gandhi was joined on the runway by the host of ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Josh Elliott, and Lt. Colonel Martha McSally, who is the first female fighter pilot in history, among others.
He spoke with India Ink before the show over tea at the Pierre Hotel, just after the fitting of his kilt, about strutting down the catwalk, lessons his famous grandfather taught him and how anyone today can join the movement for nonviolence and world peace.
A Quest for Peace & Nonviolence: Video by Matthew Evans
Here is an outstanding film by a teenager that Arun Gandhi met in San Luis Obispo, CA. Matthew J. Evans takes a look at one of the most pressing issues in our modern society: violence among religions. Through discussions with Arun, and local religious leaders from the Central Coast of California, Matthew learns powerful lessons about nonviolence, acceptance, and cultural understanding. As my grandfather has said, ‘We must become the change we wish to see in our world!’ This film helps us understand how we can make these changes.
Hi Arun! Below is a link to the documentary I made featuring you called “A Quest for Peace: Nonviolence Among Religions” I think it came out really well, and I can’t wait to hear your feedback. Thanks so much for allowing us to interview you, and give us such amazing material to work with. You did such a great job in the interview, and in your talk later the evening. I am so grateful for the opportunity to meet you. Thanks again, Matthew
Remembering Sunanda Gandhi 1932-2007
Editor’s Note: Sunanda Gandhi’s birthday was today, 1932. This article originally appeared at www.GandhiForChildren.org October 10, 2010
Sunanda Gandhi (1932–2007) was an author, researcher, nurse and, along with her husband Arun Gandhi, co-founder of the M. K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence presently located at University of Rochester
Prior, Sunanda and Arun, along with friends, organized India’s Center for Social Unity which developed self-help, economic models for India’s rural poor, assisting in breaking the cycle of poverty and keeping children at home and in school.
Between 1985 and 1987, Sunanda helped edit The Suburban Echo, a news weekly from Bombay.
Sunanda met Arun Gandhi while he was in the hospital. As a young nurse, Sunanda cared for Arun after surgery in India; a romance bloomed and their shared domestic life and work in nonviolence began.
Sunanda Gandhi’s family were advocates of British rule and opposed to Gandhi, so the couple had many obstacles to overcome.
God Without Religion – a forward by Arun Gandhi
Arun Gandhi
The question “What is God?” has baffled humankind for eons and will continue to defy logical understanding as long as we live with the concept that there is a heaven up above, where God sits judging all of humanity and punishing those who misbehave. Eminent thinkers throughout history have tried to find a logical answer to this vexing question, with little success. On the other hand His Holiness Gautama, the Buddha, did tapasya (Sanskrit for asceticism) under a banyan tree and, like some others, found that God exists within every human heart in the form of love, compassion, understanding, and other positive attributes humankind is capable of but often chooses to suppress. It seems that instead of trying to assert strict logic or put a solid image to our concept of God, we ought to follow their example and devote greater energy to intuitively understanding the meaning of God.
This book, God Without Religion: Questioning Centuries of Accepted Truths by Sankara Saranam, helps us do just that. It offers a refreshing attempt to provide humankind with a modernized spiritual road-map for use in our eternal quest to comprehend God.
Since the identity of God is so inscrutable (if not the best-kept secret in the world) and the philosophy surrounding this power so impenetrable, religious leaders of various faiths have defined God in ways that raise more questions than they answer. The easiest and most accepted explanation is to see God in the shape of those who are considered God’s messengers-among Jews, Moses and the Hebrew Prophets; among Christians, Jesus; among Muslims, Muhammad; among Hindus, Krishna; and among Buddhists, Gautama.
My Two Cents on Aurora
Dr. Arun Gandhi
My heart goes out today to the people of Aurora who have suffered this immense and mindless tragedy. To those who have lost their loved ones and to those who escaped with injuries this incident will never make any sense.
The question WHY? will always haunt them. Already the nation is screaming for more protection, more security. And, yes, the Government has already set the security apparatus in motion and we will gladly surrender more of our freedom so that we can feel safe or, at least, enjoy the illusion of safety.
As much as this is the time for sympathy and healing for those who suffered this tragedy it is also a time for national soul-searching. It is easy to isolate this incident as an evil act of a madman and tighten security and move on with life. We have done this over and over again but the scourge of violence refuses to disappear. Why will it, when we find so much joy in violence that we will suffer any inconvenience to see one set of madmen brutalize and destroy another set of madmen?
Arun Gandhi and Brazil’s Filhos de Gandhy
When Appaji and I met with the President, Professor Agnaldo Silva, of the Filhos de Gandhy (Sons of Gandhi), Appaji asked him, “Why do you call yourselves the Sons of Gandhi and not the People of Gandhi?” The Professor replied, “We do have a movement called the Daughters of Gandhi that walk alongside the Sons of Gandhi during Carnival.” Appaji replied that Bapu did not discriminate between genders, he held them equal and empowered women. It would be more in line with Bapu’s philosophy to be all inclusive i.e., the People of Gandhi! The Professor turned to his colleague and said, “We have some work to do!”
As the conversation continued the Professor asked if Appaji would consider coming back next Opening of Carnival to join the Sons of Gandhi, it would be a big moment for them. This was the first time that a Gandhi had visited Salvador Bahia, Brazil. Appaji responded that if they would consider changing their name to the People of Gandhi, he would consider returning for the Salvador Bahia Carnival.
Also, in the course of the dialogue Arun explained to the professor that he is not a “peace builder” per’se, as some in Brazil had described – he emphasized that he is a “Peace Farmer”, planting his seeds around the world.
The photos with the Professor are at the end of the photo album.
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Lynnea Bylund is managing director of Gandhi Legacy Tours, Director of Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute, founder of Catalyst House and has nearly three decades of experience in administration, marketing and business development. She was a nationally recognized spokeswoman for the emerging alternative video and information delivery industries. She has a degree in holistic health-nutrition from the legendary and controversial health educator and activist Dr. Kurt Donsbach, she is the founder of two not-for-profit small business-based wireless trade associations and has lobbied on Capitol Hill and at the FCC where she has spoken out strongly against the cable TV monopoly, illegal spectrum warehousing and ill-conceived congressional schemes to auction our nation’s precious airwaves to the highest bidder.
Ms. Bylund is a founder and former CEO of a Washington DC telecommunications consulting and management company with holdings in several operating and developmental wireless communications systems and companies. In 1995 Lynnea became the first female in the world to be awarded a Broadband PCS operating permit – she was one of only 18 winners, along with Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon in the biggest cash auction in world history, raising a whopping $7.7 billion. Lynnea also spear-headed the successful effort to launch the first cable TV network in the South Pacific islands.
… > Follow Lynnea on: LynneaBylund – Twitter – LinkedIn – FaceBook – Pinterest & YouTube
Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson visited Salvador Bahia and Sao Paolo Brazil
Rochester New York July 7, 2012 — Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, Dr. Arun Gandhi, visited Brazil the last week of June 2012. He spent his seven-day tour visiting Salvador Bahia and Sao Paulo as well as talking with leaders from the Salvador Ministry of Education, Culture and International Relations, the Center for Support of Children with Cerebral Palsy (NACPC) a project recognized by UNESCO and UNICEF, Teodoro Sampaio (Bairro Santa Cruz), Sons of Gandhi (Filhos de Gandhy), Residents de Sao Miguel Paulista, Institute of Democracy and Sustainability, and Fundacao Tide Setubal.
While in Brazil, Dr. Gandhi also enjoyed separate visits with Salvador Municipal Secretary of Education, Juan Carlos Bacelar and the leadership of Institute of Democracy and Sustainability and Fundacao Tide Setubal to discuss the current situation in Brazil and begin a dialogue on how Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophies of nonviolence and education can be implemented in the ongoing development work there. Dr. Gandhi gave a 20 minute interview with the Redo Record de Televisiao News Network and held several press conferences.
Arun’s Interview on Brazilian Record News TV
Arun Gandhi was invited by Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDS) to Sao Paulo to address the residents of Sao Miguel Paulista. During his time in Sao Paulo, he was invited to give a 20 minute interview on Record News, one of two Brazilian 24 hour news channels modeled after CNN. At one point, I was on the news production floor, typing in copy for the staff, real time.
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Lynnea Bylund is a Director of Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute, founder of Catalyst House and has nearly three decades of experience in administration, marketing and business development. She was a nationally recognized spokeswoman for the emerging alternative video and information delivery industries. She has a degree in holistic health-nutrition from the legendary and controversial health educator and activist Dr. Kurt Donsbach, she is the founder of two not-for-profit small business-based wireless trade associations and has lobbied on Capitol Hill and at the FCC where she has spoken out strongly against the cable TV monopoly, illegal spectrum warehousing and ill-conceived congressional schemes to auction our nation’s precious airwaves to the highest bidder.
Ms. Bylund is a founder and former CEO of a Washington DC telecommunications consulting and management company with holdings in several operating and developmental wireless communications systems and companies. In 1995 Lynnea became the first female in the world to be awarded a Broadband PCS operating permit – she was one of only 18 winners, along with Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon in the biggest cash auction in world history, raising a whopping $7.7 billion. Lynnea also spear-headed the successful effort to launch the first cable TV network in the South Pacific islands.
… > Follow Lynnea on: +LynneaBylund – Twitter – LinkedIn – FaceBook – Pinterest & YouTube
Three video interviews of Arun Gandhi in Brazil
What a whirlwind trip this was! Whew!
Arun Gandhi Keynote at the Teatro Castro Alves theater in Bahia, Brazil
Arun Gandhi on the Cycle of Poverty in India
Arun Gandhi Interview in Sao Paulo, Brazil June 2012
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Lynnea Bylund is managing director of Gandhi Legacy Tours, Director of Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute, founder of Catalyst House and has nearly three decades of experience in administration, marketing and business development. She was a nationally recognized spokeswoman for the emerging alternative video and information delivery industries. She has a degree in holistic health-nutrition from the legendary and controversial health educator and activist Dr. Kurt Donsbach, she is the founder of two not-for-profit small business-based wireless trade associations and has lobbied on Capitol Hill and at the FCC where she has spoken out strongly against the cable TV monopoly, illegal spectrum warehousing and ill-conceived congressional schemes to auction our nation’s precious airwaves to the highest bidder.
Ms. Bylund is a founder and former CEO of a Washington DC telecommunications consulting and management company with holdings in several operating and developmental wireless communications systems and companies. In 1995 Lynnea became the first female in the world to be awarded a Broadband PCS operating permit – she was one of only 18 winners, along with Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon in the biggest cash auction in world history, raising a whopping $7.7 billion. Lynnea also spear-headed the successful effort to launch the first cable TV network in the South Pacific islands.
… > Follow Lynnea on: LynneaBylund – Twitter – LinkedIn – FaceBook – Pinterest & YouTube
Brazil Highlights: Salvadore Bahia Day One
Highlights from Brazil trip, arrival in Salvadore Bahia, Monday June 25th –
Appaji (Arun Gandhi) was welcomed at the Airport upon arrival with a big greeting from the ‘Filhos de Gandhy’, or Sons of Gandhi , a non-violent activist group that began 3 decades ago as striking dockworkers and who are most famous for their Carnival street dancing and parades and striking blue and white attire.
As we got off the plane, we were greeted by our translators, they had a team, who went and gathered our luggage for us as the Sons of Gandhi approached with celebratory music and cheers for the Arrival of Appaji!
We were immediately ushered into a room at the airport for a press conference, and Appa began by acknowledging the Sons of Gandhi as family. What a moving moment for the whole room.
Salvador Bahia, one of the oldest cities in all of the Americas, was settled in 1534. It is known as Brazil’s capital of joy and happiness. Salvador is declared a world heritage site by UNESCO.
The architectural landscape, culture, traditions and activities make the city a great tourist destination. The Carnival in Salvador is the most popular festival of the world (bigger than Rio’s) joining nearly three million people.
That evening we dined Alfredo’s di Roma, arguably Salvadore’s best Italian restaurant, with Emilia Queiroga, executive director of Education in the First Place Forum and Bahia’s Secretary of Education & Culture João Barcelar
Alfredo’s has been around since the 1920s. Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks honeymooned in Bahia and dined there. Many photos grace Alfredo’s wall of famous Brazilian and international celebrities, including Pele, JFK, Frank Sinatra, Sophia Loren, etc. They wanted Appaji’s photo too, so they brought out a faux plate of pasta for the wall photo… So now his photo will be in this historical restaurant.
… more to come!
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Lynnea Bylund is managing director of Gandhi Legacy Tours, Director of Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute, founder of Catalyst House and has nearly three decades of experience in administration, marketing and business development. She was a nationally recognized spokeswoman for the emerging alternative video and information delivery industries. She has a degree in holistic health-nutrition from the legendary and controversial health educator and activist Dr. Kurt Donsbach, she is the founder of two not-for-profit small business-based wireless trade associations and has lobbied on Capitol Hill and at the FCC where she has spoken out strongly against the cable TV monopoly, illegal spectrum warehousing and ill-conceived congressional schemes to auction our nation’s precious airwaves to the highest bidder.
Ms. Bylund is a founder and former CEO of a Washington DC telecommunications consulting and management company with holdings in several operating and developmental wireless communications systems and companies. In 1995 Lynnea became the first female in the world to be awarded a Broadband PCS operating permit – she was one of only 18 winners, along with Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon in the biggest cash auction in world history, raising a whopping $7.7 billion. Lynnea also spear-headed the successful effort to launch the first cable TV network in the South Pacific islands.
… > Follow Lynnea on: +LynneaBylund – Twitter – LinkedIn – FaceBook – Pinterest & YouTube
Arun Gandhi to provide Keynote for Brazilian Education Conference
Mahatma Gandhi Grandson to provide Keynote Address at Brazilian Education Conference
Arun Gandhi to speak at Salvador Bahia Annual Forum: Education in the First Place
Dr. Arun Gandhi
Dr. Arun Gandhi, noted peace and human rights activist and president of the Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute (‘GWEI’) has accepted an invitation introduced by Catalyst House, to provide keynote address from the Brazilian City of Salvador Bahia (Salvador da Bahia) at the City’s annual Education in the First Place Forum, it was announced today by Emilia Queiroga Barros its Executive Director. Dr. Gandhi’s keynote opening entitled: ‘Education, a Legacy of Love will be given on June 26, 2012 at the Teatro Castro Alves complex.
Arun Gandhi, the fifth grandson of Indian leader Mohandas K. Gandhi, aka Mahatma Gandhi, is an advocate for nonviolence and has been a Washington Post columnist, has worked for 30 years as a journalist for The Times of India, and is the author of several books, including “A Patch of White” (1949) and Legacy of Love (2002). In 2011 Dr. Gandhi provided the keynote address to a gathering of 30,000 attendees at Dali Lama’s birthday event in Washington DC.
Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute
In May of 2008, the Institute was founded in the United States by Arun Gandhi, grandson of M.K. Gandhi, to promote community building in economically depressed areas of the world through the joining of Gandhian philosophy and vocational education for children and their parents. Gandhi Worldwide has embarked on an ambitious multi-pronged program to help eradicate the scourge of poverty and human degradation. Gandhi said: “Poverty is the worse form of violence,” and must be tackled on all fronts to ensure human rights and human dignity to those who are victims of societal exploitation. The priority of the Institute is to rescue children from the poorest sections of Indian society who are the first to become victims of criminal gangs; the second priority is to build an institution that serves as a shelter as well as a learning institution where the rescued children will receive basic education.
Arun Gandhi’s Message of Peace in U.S.
Preaching the message of peace and nonviolence at the recent Peace Conference in Palm Spring, California, Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson Arun Gandhi said, “Over the years we have been feeding the wrong wolf in us, and so we have seen this escalation of violence.” The conference was hosted by Rotary International at the Palm Springs Convention Center on November 13th.
Arun Gandhi at Palm Springs Convention Center. Photo credit: Wade Nomura
“Experts say 80 percent of violence we experience stems from anger,” Gandhi said, and “If you want to learn nonviolence and practice nonviolence, learn how to understand your anger and control it. Anger is like electricity. It’s just as powerful and just as useful, but only if we use it intelligently.”
Talking of the conference, Denise Wadsworth of Rotary International stated, “The goal is to give opportunities for people of many cultures to come together in a beautiful setting to promote peace and understanding.”
The inconsistencies of terror & religion
Western democracies proclaim that in politics they keep church and state separate but in reality this is not always true. How many of our nation’s policies and laws have religious overtones and are a result of the majority party’s religious affiliations?
It seems virtually impossible for any average politician to act contrary to his or her religious background.
ARUN GANDHI | WASHINGTON POST –
The same rule applies to terrorists. In reality terrorists are quite simply mass murders. But when an individual commits murder we don’t associate religion with the act because the murder is an act of passion and not an act motivated by religion.
Terrorism, like politics, has its roots in religious beliefs and individuals, or collectives, are motivated by their warped understanding of their religion. But, whether this justifies branding a nefarious act of terrorism as “Islamic” or “Christian” is debatable. We all know that religious scriptures are ambiguously written so that anyone can interpret them to mean whatever they want it to mean. This should not be construed to mean that the essence of any religion is evil. Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, misinterpretation of religion is the act of an insane individual or a group.
Arun Gandhi on Monotheistic ‘Dormancy’
Our dear friend Arun Gandhi posted a critical piece on monotheistic “dormancy” religion and politics at his Washington Post blog, which we are moved to repost here. Arun examines the grossly apparent hypocrisy of the primary monotheistic traditions in his typical humble and insightful manner.
Arun Gandhi at Washington Post –
I have never been able to reconcile the Catholic notion that the life of an unborn child is of greater value than the life of a living adult. They are willing to go to extremes to stop abortions but they have never, in living memory, called upon Catholics not to participate in any wars where innocent lives of adults are freely taken. This is justified by the notion of “Just War.” When is a war “Just?” The popular argument is that when it seeks to eliminate an evil personality like Hitler or Stalin or, in modern times, Saddam Hussein. This line of thinking implies that people who do bad things can be summarily eliminated to make the world a better place. But what of the millions who are killed in the process of eliminating one evil leader? Can it be said that all who follow orders of one evil leader automatically become evil themselves?
BBC: Gandhi Institute Fights Child Trafficking & Poverty
Gandhi Institute’s Efforts against Child Trafficking and Child Labor Examined in BBC Special Report
Mahatma Gandhi’s Grandson Combats Forced Child Labor and Child Trafficking – Featured on This 
Week’s BBC World News – the Fast Track Series
View BBC report here – Gandhi’s grandson helps India’s poor
WAUCONDA, Ill.– (EON: Enhanced Online News)–Dr. Arun Gandhi, President of the Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute (‘GWEI’) www.gandhiforchildren.org, announced today that his organization’s efforts to combat forced child labor and child trafficking will be one of the featured examinations on this week’s BBC World News – the Fast Track series.
“Poverty is the worse form of violence”
Photo: Scott Kafora / Teysha.net / Click to enlarge
Part of a week-long exploration of organizations involved in a commonality of efforts to improve the plight of children, fight child labor and child trafficking and to promote a greater well-being around the world, the Gandhi segment will include footage taken in India in December 2009 with Dr. Arun Gandhi and Tushar Gandhi (grandson and great grandson, respectively, of Mahatma Gandhi) examining GWEI’s efforts in rescuing, educating and feeding children living in the slums of Kolhapur, 200 miles south of Bombay.
“There are many evils still rampant in our 21st Century world, not the least of which are the three malignant sisters of child malnutrition, child trafficking and forced child labor, and continued lack of child education. As planetary awareness builds around these issues we hope to see these destroyers of childhood promise eradicated,” adds Dr. Gandhi.
The Gandhi Fast track segment may be viewed online here – Gandhi’s grandson helps India’s poor
Arun Gandhi (April 14, 1934 – May 2, 2023)
Interfaith, Peace & Ahimsa
Born in 1934 in Durban, South Africa, Arun Gandhi is the fifth grandson of India’s legendary leader, Mohandas K. “Mahatma” Gandhi. Growing up under the discriminatory apartheid laws of South Africa, he was beaten by “white” South Africans being too black and “black” South Africans being too white; so, Arun sought eye–an-eye justice. However, he learned from his parents and grandparents that justice does not mean revenge, it means transforming the opponent through love and suffering.
Grandfather taught Arun Gandhi to understand nonviolence through understanding violence. “If we know how much passive violence we perpetrate against one another we will understand why there is so much physical violence plaguing societies and the world,” Gandhi said. Through daily lessons, Arun says, he learned about violence and about anger.
