The Gandhi-King Award

Ron Alexander A little known fact Valerie Stiehl and Ra et. al. Gandhi's home state is in the center of India - Kerala with his famous farm and spinning wheel. One of his top officials was Buddhist, and he offered the leadership of Kerala to him and fellow Buddhists, after Independence was gained. 100,000 Buddhists moved there. The farm is free to stay for visitors in exchange for one hour of work or thereabouts!



Mahatma Gandhi didn’t just preach. He put his words into action. He dedicated his whole life to peace and non-violence. Even though he could have become the prime minister or president of India, Gandhi declined because he had no desire whatsoever for fame or power. In fact, at the stroke of midnight, when India was declared independent, Gandhi was found consoling the victims of a riot-affected area. Likewise, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was courageous like a lion, yet in his heart he was as soft as a flower. He risked his life for the sake of love, equality, and the other noble ideals he upheld. He had to struggle with great perseverance against the people of his own country.
It is easy to awaken someone who is asleep. You just shake the person once or twice. But you can shake a person who is pretending to be asleep a hundred times and it won’t have any effect. The majority of people belong to the latter category. It is high time that we all truly wake up. Unless the baser animal tendencies in people are subdued, our vision for the future of humanity will not come true, and peace will remain only a distant dream. Let us have the courage and perseverance, born out of spiritual practice, to realize this dream. For this to happen, each one of us needs to discover and bring to light our innate qualities of faith, love, patience, and self-sacrifice for the good of all." -Amma, on the occasion of being presented the 2002 Gandhi-King Award for Nonviolence at the United Nations in Geneva by UN Messenger of Peace Dr. Jane Goodall and the late UN Human Rights