Program Overview

Introduction to the Season for Nonviolence

The Season for Nonviolence, inspired by the memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, is a national educational and grassroots campaign. It aims to demonstrate that nonviolence is a powerful way to heal, transform, and empower personal lives, communities, and global society.

Mission of the Season for Nonviolence

The mission is to articulate and practice the principles, values, and skills underlying nonviolent living in three areas:

• Self: personal growth and transformation (psychological self)
• Others: fostering meaningful and intelligent relationships (social self)
• World: aligning culture with nature and fostering collective awakening and a world that works for the greater good (eco-cultural/global self)

Understanding Nonviolence

Nonviolence is a powerful method to harmonize relationships among people (and all living things) for the establishment of justice and the ultimate well-being of all parties. It draws power from awareness of the profound truth to which the wisdom traditions of all cultures, science, and common experience bear witness: that all life is one.

Definitions of Nonviolence

Today, people use the term "nonviolence" in three different ways:

1. The mere absence of violence: In this usage, allowing oneself to be abused can be called "nonviolence", while Gandhi and others have considered this a form of violence.
2. The avoidance of recourse to physical violence as a strategy: Without reference to a philosophical or spiritual foundation for that avoidance. Often this form of NV is conditional.
3. Principled nonviolence (PNV): A positive desire for the well-being of others even when opposing their actions or policies. Just as peace is more than the absence of war, it is more than the refusal to use physical violence.

Mohandas K Gandhi Principles of Non-Violence

Mohandas K Gandhi, known as the "Mahatma" or "Great Soul", brought about the emancipation of India in the 1940s through his skillful strategy of nonviolence combined with a humanitarian vision.

Gandhian Principles of Non-Violence

• Oneness: All life is one/interconnected. Our oneness calls us to work for the well-being of all.
• Satyagraha (force of truth/Soul Force): NV is the pursuit of truth - living with integrity and willingness to confront untruth.
• Ahimsa (non-injury): Nonviolence as practice of ahimsa is the development of love and selfless service - helping others, especially adversaries to avoid suffering - essence of all religions.
• Absorbing Suffering: NV takes on without complaint any suffering that results from my confrontation with untruth and accepts that all forms of violence cannot be totally eliminated.
• Trust/Release of Fear: NV living is a trust in life and the journey of becoming increasingly free from fear.

Seven Social Evils

Gandhi identified seven social evils:

1. Wealth Without Work
2. Pleasure Without Conscience
3. Knowledge Without Character
4. Commerce Without Morality
5. Science Without Humanity
6. Worship Without Sacrifice
7. Politics Without Principles

Martin Luther King Jr. Principles of Non-Violence

Martin Luther King Jr., one of Gandhi's greatest disciples, inspired and organized an explicitly nonviolent mass movement to awaken social conscience, challenging racial discrimination, violence, injustice, and militarism in America.

King's Principles of Nonviolence

• Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice, not people.
• Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate.
• Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding.
• Nonviolence holds that suffering for a cause can educate and transform.
• Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.
• Nonviolence holds that the universe is on the side of justice and that right will eventually prevail.

Conclusion

The Season for Nonviolence, from January 30 to April 22, is a dedicated time to learn and practice the powerful teachings of Gandhi and King, focusing on personal growth, meaningful relationships, and collective awakening towards a more just and peaceful world.