Blog
Day One in Durban South Africa
May 31, 2014 Opening day of the first Satyagraha Tour of South Africa, we paid a visit to the Durban Institute of Technology, a school attended by Steve Biko, leader of the Black Consciousness Movement. Ela Gandhi formerly served as Chancellor of this University and responsible for organizing the event. The occasion was an annual speech and essay contest for seventh graders throughout the Durban region. The students were offered the opportunity to present essays and/or speeches either in Zulu or English. We arrived a bit late, the competition was already in progress. Satish (the son of Arun and Ela’s oldest sister Sita Gandhi) handled the media coverage,...
Read MoreSearching for Meaning in South Africa
Searching for Meaning in South Africa The first Satyagraha Tour of South Africa was, perhaps, wrongly billed. It was not so much a “pursuit of Truth” as it was a search for meaning and purpose in life. For instance, how was it that from this boiling cauldron of hate and prejudice two historic icons – Mohandas K. Gandhi and Nelson “Madiba” Mandela – emerged to show the world the path of nonviolence and forgiveness, while many millions silently suffer the ignominy. Ultimately, of course, what one gets out of a trip depends on ones reason for making the journey. A tourist will just see the sights while a searcher with an open mind and eyes will learn and grow. The trip...
Read MoreUthando (Love)
Today June 13, 2014 during our time in Cape Town, South Africa, we spent the amazing morning with UTHANDO (Love) South Africa, a unique and innovative non-profit and fair trade in tourism accredited company. The aim of UTHANDO is to raise funds and other forms of assistance for community development projects in South Africa. This special field trip gave us an insight into the remarkable stories that make life in South Africa so interesting, dynamic and very importantly, inspiring. The UTHANDO tours are interactive, meeting the people at the projects, learning about their work and way of life, firsthand. We visited a number of UTHANDO supported projects including the...
Read MoreFirst Satyagraha Tour of South Africa
Led by Arun Gandhi, Embarks This Week
(PRLEAP.COM) Dana Point, CA May 24, 2014: The inaugural Satyagraha Tour of South Africa enjoys organic synchronicity of critical historical dates of both Mohandas Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. Highlights include following the path of Gandhi’s travels, initially arriving in Durban, and ultimately departing from Cape Town for his return to India to begin the next phase of his legacy: Gandhi first arrived in South Africa as a fledgling lawyer in May 24, 1893. Our arrival to Gandhi’s first ashram, the Phoenix Settlement, occurs on the 97th anniversary of Gandhi’s family move there. We will board the sleeper train on the 121st anniversary of Gandhi’s...
Read MoreEnough is Enough!
Originally Posted: When is Enough, Enough? When is Enough, Enough? The senseless shooting at the Jewish Center in Kansas City yesterday, and the loss of three innocent lives, must not be brushed aside as yet another hate-monger gone mad. Hate is a sickness that is stoked by a society that continuously divides people by religion, nationality, economics, social standings, gender, philosophy, orientation, and every other means we can keep people apart. It is time we wake up to find a cure for this malady rather than brush such incidents under the carpet. The victims of this horrible crime deserve the sympathy of every human who believes in a civilized society....
Read MoreWhat does it mean to “Be The Change?”
A Conversation with Arun Gandhi 1) Regarding the concept of “change” What does it mean to you to “be the change?” ANSWER: BE THE CHANGE TO ME MEANS THAT WE MUST MAKE THE WORLD THE WAY WE WANT IT TO BE. I COULD HAVE SPENT MY LIFE HATING PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY HATED ME OR FIGHTING PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY ATTACKED ME BUT THAT WILL ONLY MULTIPLY HATE AND VIOLENCE AND HELP NO ONE. BY CHANGING MYSELF AND MY ATTITUDE I DECIDED TO SPREAD LOVE AND PEACE AND HELP MAKE THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE. 2) What would you tell a young person (14-18)? What could the South Africa tour mean to a young person who is looking for change? What in the tour and in the world would...
Read MoreGrandfather Gandhi Publication Day!
Originally Posted: Happy Publication Day! Thank you all, for working together, to help create this special publication gift of Grandfather Gandhi. May we all Live as Light. Love, Arun Happy Publication Day!! Through the team effort of all, but mostly the illustration and animation of the brilliant Evan Turk, we have a gorgeous book trailer! On Vimeo On YouTube Arun and Bethany, it has been a long journey to this day. Thanks for bringing us all on that journey one by one. Many Thanks & Read Well, Kirsten Cappy Curious City: Where Kids & Books Meet 8A Merrill Street Portland, ME 04101 kirsten(at)curiouscity(dot)net http://www.curiouscity.net ...
Read MoreBe The Change!
I remember the Catholic Archbishop, Dennis Hurley, as a very loving and mild-mannered person in a severely prejudiced South Africa. He was very close to my parents — he loved the discussions with my father and the cuisine that my mother served when he came to visit the Phoenix Ashram. He was much younger than my dad, Manilal, but genuinely interested in learning about Grandfather as a person and his philosophy of nonviolence. I was too young then and too immature to participate in the discussions but remember catching snippets that added to my own education and understanding of the philosophy of nonviolence. The Archbishop was not the only Christian leader who...
Read MoreFind Your Own Inner Strength!
Find Your Own Inner Strength! Not all my life lessons came directly from my Grandfather Gandhi. There were some that came through my parents, Manilal and Sushila Gandhi. Manilal was the second of grandfather’s four sons and the only one who devoted his life wholly to promoting and practicing his father’s philosophy of nonviolence in his personal and public life. When I left Grandfather Gandhi in 1947 to return with my parents to South Africa, grandfather’s parting words were that I must always endeavor to become a better human being. My parents built on this slender advice to show me how this should be done as a daily practice. Every morning upon...
Read MoreGrandfather’s Pursuit of Truth
GRANDFATHER GANDHI’S PURSUIT OF TRUTH `Perhaps the greatest tragedy is that most people during Grandfather Gandhi’s lifetime and after tend to follow his philosophy of nonviolence dogmatically and/or literally. To broaden people’s perspective he began to describe his philosophy as Satyagraha, or a Pursuit of Truth,instead of nonviolence. He believed life must be a constant and sincere pursuit of Truth. In simple terms, we must always strive to become better by being truthful to ourselves and the world. Two simple episodes made me aware of how much Truth meant to Grandfather. The first was when my parents, my younger sister Ela, who was five years...
Read MoreRemembering Kasturba Gandhi
Kasturba Gandhi born April 11, 1869, was married to M.K. Gandhi in an arranged marriage. Gandhi was thirteen and Kasturba fourteen years old at the time of their marriage in 1883. When Gandhi left to study in London in 1888, she remained in India to raise their newborn son Harilal Gandhi. She had three more sons: Manilal Gandhi, Ramdas Gandhi, and Devdas Gandhi. Working closely with her husband, Kasturba Gandhi became a political activist fighting for civil rights and Indian independence from the British. From 1904 to 1914, she was active in the Phoenix Settlement near Durban South Africa. During the 1913 protest against working conditions for Indians in South Africa,...
Read MoreSouth Africa Tour Announces Additional Guest Stops
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Gandhi Satyagraha Tour of South Africa Announces Additional Guest Stops Including Ahmed “Kathy” Kathrada. Now in its 15th year, led by 5th grandson, Dr. Arun Gandhi. PRLEAP: Dana Point, CA (February 21, 2014) Gandhi Legacy Tours announced today that it has confirmed additional special guests to its upcoming first-ever Gandhi-Mandela ‘Satyagraha’ tour of South Africa, led by Arun and Tushar Gandhi, grandson and great grandson of the Mahatma Gandhi. “The real practice of nonviolence is pivotal if we are to save this world and ourselves from destruction,” Dr. Gandhi said, “and South Africa, as the birthplace of Satyagraha,...
Read MoreGrandfather Gandhi’s Life Style
Grandfather Gandhi’s Life Style People often wonder why Grandfather Gandhi was mostly half-naked as the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, once described him. He chose this garb because he found that a large number of people in India were so poor that they could not afford to wear any more clothes than was necessary to hide their nakedness. Grandfather was emotionally devastated to see their plight and decided that if he was going to be their leader he should not wear any more clothes than them. When he became frugal in his attire he, naturally, adopted poverty in life as well. He established ashrams, which is an Indian term for a community living...
Read MoreGLT Continues to Support World Responsible Tourism!
World Responsible Tourism, in association with the UN’s World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), is a universal movement, helping to build a solid, sustainable future for responsible, philanthropic and eco travel and tourism. Since its introduction six years ago, World Responsible Tourism has captured the hearts and minds of responsible and philanthropic travel facilitators everywhere. Gandhi Legacy Tour (GLT) has received permission to proudly display the World Responsible Tourism emblem to emphasize commitment to “responsible travel” for a second consecutive year 2014. Responsible and philanthropic travel honors sustainable projects across the planet, underscoring a...
Read MoreGrandfather Gandhi’s India
GRANDFATHER GANDHI’S INDIA I first came to the United States in 1984 and when people found out my antecedents invitations poured in to come and share whatever I could of Grandfather. At the time they did not know that I belonged to the last generation who saw him in flesh and blood. My personal stories with Grandfather and my parents, who practiced his philosophy of nonviolence assiduously, became famous. People wanted to hear them over and over again, not only because the stories were interesting but more because I brought the philosophy down to the personal level and made people realize that unless we become the change we wish to see in the world nonviolence...
Read MoreAre Gandhi Ideals Thriving More in India or America?
Salaam alaikum! Good Morning friends! Is the Spirit of Gandhi Thriving More in India or America? Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid, host of Radio Islam, engages Dr. Arun Gandhi in a conversation this week: Malik welcomes Arun noting that he is a true friend of humanity. In this intimate interview Malik and Arun cover a wide range of topics from India and South African politics, MK Gandhi’s politics, and who is responsible for bringing about Gandhian social, economic and political change today in India. Malik asks Arun about the Gandhi Legacy Tours, why they were started, and the upcoming inaugural Satyagraha Tour of South Africa he will be personally leading this...
Read MoreMark Twain on Travel 1869
In 1869, Mark Twain (from ‘The Innocents Abroad’) stated the following… “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of people, and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the Earth all one’s lifetime.” Share us...
Read MoreTushar Gandhi Interviewed by Gary Null
Another remarkable person, Arun Gandhi’s son and co-leader of the Gandhi Legacy Tours, Tushar Gandhi, was on the air with Dr. Gary Null, Null’s ‘Conversations With Remarkable Minds series. Tushar is a controversial, irreverent and passionate activist known by millions in and out of India. Tushar is also my fellow director at Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute where he and his Mahatma Gandhi Foundation have provided major support and guidance. 1996 Tushar discovered an urn containing the ashes from Gandhi’s funeral pyre, forgotten in the strong room of the State Bank of India, Cuttack. He secured permission from the Supreme Court and immersed them in the Triveni...
Read MoreTourism: The World’s Biggest Peace Industry…?
“I believe that tourists are very valuable to the modern world. It is very difficult to hate people you know.” — John E. Steinbeck, Jr. (1902-1968) Share us...
Read MoreArun on Gary Null Show also Vandana Shiva
Two remarkable modern heroes, were on the air with Dr. Gary Null. Null’s ‘Conversations With Remarkable Minds series. Both on this same hour show, a great listen. Gary Null is known as a take-no-prisoners health activist and author of several books including the recently published Reverse Arthritis & Pain Naturally. Dr. Vandana Shiva is a renown environmental and social activist, and formerly one of India’s top nuclear physicists. She is regarded as the leading pioneer behind India’s ecological and ecofeminism movement. In 1982 Dr. Shiva founded the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, which led to the creation of Navdanya – an...
Read MoreGandhi, Father of the Nation, shot at 5:12 pm Jan 30, 1948
His last words: Raam Raam “If I’m to die by the bullet of a mad man, I must do so smiling. God must be in my heart and on my lips. And if anything happens, you are not to shed a single tear.”— Gandhiji, January 28, 1948 The Guardian ran the following article and series of photos breaking the news of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. 31 January 1948: Gandhi’s obituary | From the Guardian | theguardian.com | Read Story Here The New York Times ran the following story: Mohandas K. Gandhi: The Indian Leader at Home and Abroad By THE NEW YORK TIMES The assassin was a Hindu who disagreed with Gandhi’s ideology. Gandhi was shot at point-blank...
Read MoreGandhi Satyagraha South Africa Tour Filling fast!
Dr. Arun Gandhi has announced that Gandhi Legacy Tours has set itinerary dates for its 2014 inaugural South Africa Gandhi Satyagraha Tour, and is calling for all tour participates to finalize registration by mid February. Sign-ups for the inaugural South Africa Gandhi Mandela Tour are anticipated to be fully subscribed, don’t miss out! South Africa is new for the Gandhi Legacy Tours enterprise, which noted peace and human rights activist, Dr. Gandhi, a started with his late wife, Sunanda Gandhi, over 17 years ago as an annual Gandhian pilgrimage to important places in India where Gandhi developed and enacted his philosophy of non-violent activism that changed the...
Read MoreGandhi started a new fast on January 12, 1948
Gandhi started a new fast on January 12, 1948, declaring that he would continue until greater unity between Hindu, Sikh and Muslim communities was achieved. This fast was ended after five days, when Hindus and Muslim in Delhi agreed to live in peace. Gandhi fasting in 1924, and the young Indira, daughter of Nehru, who became Prime Minister of India decades later. Gandhi on Fasting My fast is a matter between God and myself. When a man fasts, it is not the gallons of water he drinks that sustains him, but God. My fast is among other things meant to qualify me for achieving that equal and selfless love. My religion teaches me that whenever there is distress which one can...
Read MoreA Bewitching Performance!
Brotherly Love Originally posted: A Bewitching Performance! By Arun Gandhi Fifty-two 16 to 18 year olds, black and white, rich and poor brothers all from the City of Brotherly Love were the greatest Ambassadors of the US. They captured the hearts of all those who had the pleasure to hear them sing in New Delhi over the New Year. These young people form the core group of more than 180 young men bound together as the Keystone State Boy’s Choir. I first heard them early last November when they invited me to help prepare them for their first ever visit to India. We assembled in a church that straddles the rich and poor zones of the city. The congregation is...
Read MoreGandhi’s granddaughter remembers Mandela
DURBAN – Like so many who knew Nelson Mandela personally, it’s been a painful time for Ela Gandhi, granddaughter of Indian independence movement leader Mohandas Gandhi. “I think each one made their own personal contribution.” The 73-year-old describes it as a surreal experience. “Even though he was ill and everybody expected this to happen, unlike with my grandfather who was assassinated and it was a shock, this too came to us as a real shock, so it feels like there’s an emptiness, there’s a vacuum,” Gandhi said. Madiba’s legacy has been compared to that of Ela’s grandfather, but she pointed out the two were very different....
Read MoreHappy New Year to Everybody!
Wishing everybody a healthy, happy, and awakened new year 2014! “Nonviolence is a plant of slow growth, it grows imperceptibly but surely.” MK Gandhi Share us...
Read MoreMandela’s Long Walk, Reviewed in Context
Preparing for the maiden voyage of the Gandhi Legacy South Africa tour while living during the historical imperatives of Mandela’s life and passing has been an uncanny quantum event for us. Time magazine called Mandela one of “Gandhi’s children” but when we set about initially to foster our Gandhi Satyagraha South Africa tour we did not imagine the increasing importance of Mandela and our melding of the two great statesmen of peace who would awaken there. The challenges of making effective biopics are many, from the trap of hero worship to the importance of capturing a great person’s life in just two hours. These challenges are magnified when the film is about Nelson...
Read MoreMK Gandhi Quote
“The only tyrant I accept in this world is the ‘still small voice’ within me. And even though I have to face the prospect of being a minority of one, I humbly believe I have the courage to be in such a hopeless minority.” MK Gandhi Share us...
Read MoreTribute to Nelson Mandela from Ahmed Kathrada
Media release Subject: Tribute to Nelson Mandela from Ahmed Kathrada Date: 6 December 2013 Distributed by the Nelson Mandela Foundation on behalf of Mr Ahmed Kathrada Madala, as you light-heartedly started calling me some years ago, it both grieves me and inspires me to write this to you now, with the hour of your death still a fresh wound in our peoples’ hearts. We called each other ‘Madala’ – old man – it became our standard form of informal address. To me it signifies mutual trust, respect, liking and close comradeship. In a wider sense, this one word brings out much more. It encapsulates the foundation of the very qualities that set you apart from other men....
Read MoreFarewell, Madiba!
Arun’s Farewell, Madiba blog was originally posted to his website: Farewell, Madiba Farewell, Madiba! By Arun Gandhi As the world mourns the death of President Nelson Mandela of South Africa, affectionately known as Madiba, it is important that we don’t get too embroiled in sentiments and, in our grief, make the mistake of consecrating his message with his physical body. Like the thousands whom we revere as great people, Madiba was not great by birth, but became great through commitment and dedication to moral values. All of us are endowed with the same measure of commitment and dedication but we tend to use it more for material aggrandizement rather than...
Read MoreSatyagraha Tour of SA 2014 led by Arun Gandhi
Gandhi’s Influence on Nelson Mandela Evident for New Satyagraha Tour of South Africa December 03, 2013 Travel News (PRLEAP.COM) Dana Point, CA December 3, 2013: Falling on the heels of last week’s epic biopic release, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, and commemorating 100 years ago last month when both Gandhi and his wife Kasturba led thousands of protesters into the Transvaal region of South Africa to protest a ban on Muslim and Hindu marriages, Kasturba Gandhi’s first march of nonviolent civil disobedience; Dr. Arun Gandhi, fifth grandson of Mohandas K. (Mahatma) Gandhi announced today that Gandhi Legacy Tours has set itinerary dates for its 2014...
Read MoreSwad, Indian Culinary Delight in Johannesburg SA
The beginnings of Swad at Melrose Arch was the inspiration of Madhu Pillai. With business interests in Africa and Middle East the concept was to pursue a dream of creating an Indian restaurant in Johannesburg that was different. (See – Gandhi Satyagraha Day 8) Madhu then partnered with Sunil Menon the former chairman of the Inland region of Fedhasa, who has been involved for more than 20 years in the South African hospitality industry. Ten days of intense work and toil transformed an empty space at Melrose Arch into a destination that would bring to South Africa the unique flavors, tastes and experiences of India. Madhu and Sunil both from “God’s Own...
Read MoreAfrica-Solidarity-Gandhi-Mandela-Biko-Music-Tribute
Africa-Solidarity-Gandhi-Mandela-Biko-Music-Tribute: The first video we would like to share honors Gandhi (Bapu) which was originally shared with us by his grandson Arun Gandhi and posted to his website here: “Enjoy one of my grandfather’s favorite Raga’s” – Arun Gandhi Ustad Bismillah Khan “raghu pati raghav raja ram..shenai” Mahatma Gandhi’s Favorite Raga Vusi Mahlasela’s tribute to Former President Nelson Mandela: “When You Come Back” To Tata Madiba We must give something to the world and not just take from it! ‘Mai Boo Ye Y Africa’ Sing Now Africa, Sing Loud, Sing to the People! Let them give something to the world and not just take from it. We...
Read MoreGandhi’s Granddaughter Ela Gandhi:
Gandhiji at Mariannhill Monastery
Satyagraha Tour of South Africa Plans to Visit Mariannhill Monastery Gandhi’s Granddaughter Ela Gandhi, in her own words and voice, describes the affect the time Gandhiji spent at Mariannhill Monastery in South Africa had in transforming his life. Video transcribed for the hearing impaired: “The inspiration of Mariannhill Monastery“ When he visited the Mariannhill Monastery he saw the monks, the nuns, the people who came there to learn all working together in their fields. What impressed him that everybody was doing all of the work whether it was cleaning of the yard, or cleaning of the toilets, or working in the farm, everybody got together and worked so...
Read MoreGandhi Tea Recipe
Mahatma Gandhi wrote in his book found online A Key to Health, why tannin, the compound that gives tea its astringency, was bad for human consumption. Gandhi liked to drink tea during the day. A friend of Gandhi’s once remarked ‘Mr. Gandhi you cannot be without this stimulant, tea! Gandhi thought for a while and from that day forward he gave up drinking tea. Tales from Mahatma Gandhi’s life includes a Tea Leela found HERE. Image of Gandhi having tea with Lord Mountbatten, 1947, from Wikipedia Commons Gandhi Tea Recipe from Arun Gandhi It is very simple Organic lemon juice full bottle (48 oz) Put two heaping teaspoons of ginger paste Mix ginger paste into...
Read MoreNew Film Sheds Light on Who Killed Gandhi?
How did M.K. Gandhi die and who killed him? These questions have never been adequately answered when looking at the life and biography of Mahatma Gandhi. Who Killed Gandhi? is the definitive documentary film inquiry into a deeply entrenched conspiracy that has remained only a footnote in history. It reveals an epic battle of clashing religious and political ideologies through interviews with historians, journalists, eyewitnesses and unprecedented access to the families of Mahatma Gandhi, his assassin Nathuram Godse, and the conspiracy that precipitated it. (Enjoy this short trailer featuring commentary from Gandhi Tour leader and great grandson Tushar Gandhi, author...
Read MoreArun Gandhi Leela: John Wayne, Durban
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...
Read MoreWhat Does India’s Youth Really Need?
India is a young nation, and a nation of the young. If pundits are to be believed, it is time to hand over the reins of the nation into the hands of the youth and let them forge a nation of their dreams and expectations. But is there a single, common, united face of young India? Like everything else Indian, unfortunately not, as Gandhi’s great grandson Tushar Gandhi explains passionately … Source: Tushar Gandhi Oped: Financial Chronicle India Columnists write about the power of the youth. In the recent past, youth power has been apparent on the streets of India and it even seemed as if the nation’s young were restless and ready to rise. However, if one...
Read MoreRemembering Sushila Gandhi
Source Original Post: Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute by Archana Prasad, Arun and Sunanda Gandhi’s daughter. Our Ba (grandmother), Sushila Mashruwala Gandhi was a lady of grace and beauty, a force to reckon with, (for the apartheid government of South Africa), a wizard in the kitchen, a fabulous story teller, dignified simplicity personified, had the funniest sense of humor and above all was the most loving Grandma ever. Every time she visited India from South Africa she naturally stayed in Mumbai with us. My brother, Tushar and I would spend every moment we could with her and around her. She regaled us with stories of our Dad and our 2 Aunts when they...
Read MoreThe Legacy of Gandhi Beckons
Welcome to a journey of discovery of the living legacy of Gandhi. Mohandas K. Gandhi, Mahatma, Bapu as we call him with affection said ‘My life is my message.’ The Legacy tour revisits the philosophy of Gandhi by visiting various places where the legacy and message of Bapu lives and thrives. It lives in the work being done to better the lives of the poorest of the poor and the weakest of the weak. It shows how 66 years after his brutal murder, the man continues to pose a challenge to all those working in the voluntary sector, those who live their lives such that others may be able to lead their better. Join Gandhi grandson Dr. Arun Gandhi as he explains the problems...
Read MoreGandhi Legacy Tour Twice!
Gandhi Legacy Tour Imagine, coming from the sterile and serene surroundings we all come from in the US and other developed countries, and landing in a place so foreign and different from anything you’ve ever known. Stepping off the airplane into an airport full of brown faces, many people just waiting and lying down on blankets or eating in groups, noise and chatter and disruption and wonderment and smells and sights and people dressed in clothes you only see in magazines and restrooms that challenge your very sense of what’s normal and words you do not recognize and money with a picture of Gandhi’s smiling face….Welcome to the first taste of the Gandhi Legacy Tour and...
Read MoreGujarat Birthplace of Gandhi
Birthplace of Gandhi and home to to the Mahatma for much of his formative years, Gujarat is also the location of the famous Salt March protest that changed both India and the world. In this short video we visit the fascinating old city, Gandhi’s ashram and the calico museum. [Editor’s note: Special thanks to Mahatma Gandhi great-great granddaughter Kasturi Gandhi for recommending this article and locating the video] Gujarat birthplace of Gandhi is the home for the India independence movement as well. The old city of Ahmedabad still retains in its old city a fascinating architectural charm. A visit to Gujarat’s largest city Ahmadabad is an opportunity...
Read MoreNelson Mandela Children’s Hospital
… a legacy of hope for the children of Africa
Today marks the 95th birthday of South Africa president Nelson Mandela. Among his many achievements, Mandela showed the world the power of forgiveness and compassion, taking Mohandas K. Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence up another notch. His desire to make this world a better and more peaceful place for future generations must inspire all of us to do whatever we can to make this dream a reality. On his 95th birthday today let us pledge to ensure that 450 million children of Africa can be ensured healthcare when they need it. Africa needs a caring, compassionate world. Can we step up to the challenge? I have been honored by an invitation from former South...
Read MoreRemembering My First Gandhi Legacy Tour
My first Gandhi Legacy Tour, was in 2000, only the third ever, and I didn’t have a grey hair then. India and Pakistan had a war in Kargil sector of Kashmir in the middle of the year. The hyper-sensitive tourist business took a nosedive. I, as a free-lance tourist guide, was out of work. Three precious months of tourism, starting October, in north India were gone but I hardly had any work. Then I heard from the Indian agency that was newly handling the operations of the Gandhian Legacy Tour. It was of such high importance that the owner of the agency was supposed to escort the group. However, closer to the date, he had to travel abroad during that period so he...
Read MoreThe Advent of Philanthropic Travel
In an era of increasing awareness of world issues and global humanitarian needs, there has been a recent surge in philanthropic travel, using travel as a means to give back. The problem many people face is that selecting a particular philanthropic travel mission or opportunity can seem overwhelming. Well-intentioned people who truly want to make a difference simply don’t know where to begin, or whether or not their efforts will really have an impact. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) states that if responsible practices are in place, “Travel Philanthropy is the natural interlocutor between the wealth and desires of...
Read MoreGandhi Samadhi Commemorative Ceremony
Friday Commemorative Ceremony Enjoy this beautiful virtual tour and panoramic view of the Raj Ghat, Gandhi Samadhi in New Delhi one of the places we visit on the Gandhi Legacy Tours of India. The Raj Ghat is a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, a beautiful sacred black marble platform that marks the spot of Mahatma Gandhi’s cremation one day after his assassination. A commemorative ceremony is held every Friday. “Join the tour and … Become the Change You Wish to See in The World!” Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence is like that of the iceberg – what is visible to the eye is only a fraction of what is hidden. “Nonviolence is a life style that one...
Read MoreWe Support World Responsible Tourism!
World Responsible Tourism, in association with the UN’s World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), is a universal movement, helping to build a solid, sustainable future for responsible, philanthropic and eco travel and tourism. Since its introduction five years ago, World Responsible Tourism has captured the hearts and minds of responsible and philanthropic travel facilitators everywhere. GLT has received permission to proudly display the World Responsible Tourism emblem to emphasize commitment to “responsible travel.” Responsible and philanthropic travel honors sustainable projects across the planet, underscoring a critical part that responsible and...
Read MoreSuperAdobe in Kolhapur India!
To commemorate Gandhi’s first civil resistance 120th anniversary we are happy to make the following exciting announcement about our Superadobe initiative… After three years of intensive research, architectural programming, design, development and budgeting by GWEI and AVANI (see Catalyst House October 22 2012 and GWEI January 5 2013) the first two of up to 16 Superadobe earthen-based dome structures take shape on a five acre plot of rural farmland just south of Kolhapur, India. The Times of India (The largest English language newspaper) featured an article on our Superadobe utilization on Saturday, June 1st. A group of four volunteers specialists in both...
Read MoreThe Attack on Gandhi that Changed the World
In its 16th year, and on the 120th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s first act of non-violent civil resistance, Gandhi Legacy Tours has announced two new philanthropic travel missions in India and South Africa to be led by Arun and Tushar Gandhi Dana Point, CA June 5, 2013: “It was exactly 120 years ago on June 7 that Mohandas K. Gandhi was thrown off a train in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, in a racist act that transformed a lawyer into a Mahatma — Great Soul,” said Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas K. (Mahatma) Gandhi today. To mark the occasion Dr. Gandhi, president of Gandhi Legacy Tours and Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute, announced two additional...
Read MorePhotographic Journey Through 6 Generations of Gandhi
Enjoy a wonderful photographic journey through six generations of M.K. Gandhi, posted to India social site Mere Pix. It spans from the mid-1800s to present times. Namaste, Arun Gandhi Photographic Journey Through 6 Generations of MK Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar, a coastal town which was then part of the Bombay Presidency, British India. He was born in his ancestral home, now known as Kirti Mandir. His father, Karamchand Gandhi (1822–1885), who belonged to the Hindu Modh community, served as the diwan (chief minister) of Porbander state, a small princely salute state in the Kathiawar Agency of British India. His grandfather...
Read MoreEducation is a Child’s Fundamental Right!
Support Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute and the Children of AVANI Education Can Light the Way! – Anuradha Bhosale The Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute (GWEI) has a vision to provide the imperiled children of India with a safe place where they will be housed and fed while they receive training to prepare them for a life outside the prison of poverty. GWEI works in partnership with AVANI and the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation in achieving this vision. Photo: Anuradha Bhosale of AVANI leads Gandhi Legacy Tour participants through a brickyard labor camp in Kolhapur, India. The tour participants are witnessing first hand the conditions AVANI is working in and...
Read MoreTushar Gandhi from the Heart!
Here is a video featuring Tushar Gandhi, great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. He shares with us from the heart. “My grandmother told me as a kid she told me that I was like a sapling that had taken root under the shadow of a massive tree and no matter what I did I would not be able to move out of that showdown and so it was up me whether I use the protection of that tree to flourish or treat it as a curse and be shriveled up and stunted.” Tushar Gandhi Speaks at Salisbury University April 2013 NOTE: To book speaking engagements with Tushar Gandhi or Arun Gandhi please email: Speaker Inquiry About Tushar A. Gandhi: Born on 17th January 1960. Tushar 1996 was appointed...
Read MoreBapu’s Favorite Raga
One of Bapu’s (MK Gandhi) favorite Raga’s “ ustad bismillah khan..raghu pati raghav raja ram..shenai” Share us...
Read MoreNine Great Quotes from Mahatma Gandhi –
Nine Great Quotes from Mahatma Gandhi – 1) “If we are to teach real peace in this world…we shall have to begin with the children.” 2) “By education I mean an all-round drawing out of the best in the child and man; body, mind and spirit.” 3) “Character alone will have real effect on the masses.” 4) “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” 5) “The principle of majority does not work when differences on fundamentals are involved.” 6) “It is much more difficult to live for non-violence than to die for it.” 7) “Ahimsa is one of the world’s great principles which no power on earth can wipe out.” 8) “Whatever...
Read MoreSalisbury University Student Tour Videos
A Celebration of Arun Gandhi
Join Mahatma Gandhi’s Grandson, Arun, as you travel across India during your winter break and visit place where Gandhi lived and worked. As well as people who continue to keep Gandhi’s image alive. Gandhi Legacy Tour of India – www.gandhitour.info/india Published April 6, 2012, Salisbury University More videos by Salisbury University student travelers. A Celebration of Arun Gandhi, the fifth Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. Share us...
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