Gandhi was born 150 years ago today! What a concept– 150 years. In the 150 years since Gandhi was born, the world has drastically transformed, largely in part to Gandhi’s teachings and advocacy. Before I jump in and explain that one of the quotes may have actually been spoken by Jimmy Hendrix (or neither for that matter) and I still chose it anyway, I wanted to share something I had never heard or knew about Gandhi.
For the first half of his life, it has been discovered that Gandhi was racist against the black community. It wasn’t until he was in his 30s where his mindset and beliefs had transformed and he was advocating for complete equality of all people. When I read this on multiple articles, I was instantly reminded that Gandhi was a human, just like me and you.
I think sometimes we view moral leaders as perfect beings and even hold each other to incredibly high moral standards of right and wrong, just and unjust, and good and bad. Sometimes when we hear about the imperfections of moral leaders, our opinions might change of them and we start to judge their character… as we do with each other. People’s pasts are peoples pasts and to me, what matters is what they do with the future. While Gandhi may have been racist for 30+ years of his life, he spent more of his life being anti-racist and advocating for equality. He learned from his shortcomings and biases and used those experience to bright light to millions of people in our world.
I guess the point of me saying this is– there are always going to be things in our past that represent an older, uneducated and informed, version of ourselves. Instead of viewing those shortcomings as regrets or something to be ashamed of, look at them as evidence of the growth you have made and the type of person you have become. The past is the past and every one makes “mistakes” but it’s what we doing going forward and who we are today that counts… same with our students.
Who would have ever guessed such a beautiful human being such as Gandhi was considered a racist and made many racist statements and actions… and then went on to lead the world towards nonviolence and acceptance? Change and growth are pretty freaken amazing. And on that note– Happy Birthday, Gandhi! Thank you for modeling imperfection, growth, and being the light.
To celebrate this wonderful mans birthday, I’ve created 4 free Gandhi posters for your classroom (or whatever use:))! Click here to download!
I shared in the beginning of this post that the quote, “the day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace.” may or may not have been said by Gandhi or Jimmy Hendrix. The internet is torn. However, in the spirit of imperfection, I’m sharing it anyways. Especially because it connects on such a deep level with my current state. Maybe he said it, maybe he didn’t… but it’s not always about being right… and based on 50 different websites, the verdict is still out.
When you print, make sure each image is scaled to fit 🙂 ENJOY!
with kindness | ashley