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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ001138A
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00:26 Mahatma Gandhi was shot and killed on this very spot by an 00:30 assassin's bullet on the 30th of January 1948. He was walking 00:35 from Birla House to the lawn where his evening outdoor 00:39 prayer meeting was held. When he got here he was approached by a 00:43 young man dressed in a khaki bush jacket and blue trousers. 00:47 Then man greeted Gandhi with the customary Hindi salutation of 00:52 Namaste, that is with folded hands. He smiled at him and said 00:57 a few words. The man then stepped forward and whipped out 01:02 a revolver from his inside pocket and fired three shots at 01:05 point-blank range. The bullets struck Gandhi in the chest. He 01:10 raised his hands in the same greeting as he fell to the 01:14 ground. He was carried back to Birla House where he died half 01:18 half an hour later. India was in a state of shock. There were 01:23 outpourings of grief, a state of public mourning followed. 01:27 Mahatma Gandhi the father of the nation was dead, assassinated by 01:33 a religious fanatic. India mourned the loss of it's 01:38 greatest healer. Gandhi was gone but his legacy lived on. He 01:44 brought down an empire by preaching brotherhood and 01:47 nonviolence. He was the catalyst if not the initiator of three of 01:52 the major revolutions of the 20th century: The movement 01:56 against colonialism, racism and violence. And he left a special 02:03 message for you and me. Stay tuned. You just must hear it. 02:07 It could change your life forever. 02:13 ♪ ♪ 02:31 Some of the most passionate debate and even trivial 02:34 conversations people have today center around the topic of 02:39 global influence and popularity. Who are the most popular and 02:43 influential people of all time? Who's had the most impact on 02:47 on the history of the world? There are even lists of the most 02:51 influential people in all of human history. These lists rank 02:56 people according to the significant impact they've made 02:59 on how we live our lives today and how big an influence they've 03:03 had on how modern society works. 03:07 No matter which list you look at the old or the new, Mahatma 03:11 Gandhi always ranks highly amongst the most important and 03:16 influential people in all of history. Gandhi was the leader 03:21 of the nationalist movement against British colonial rule of 03:25 India. He used nonviolent principles and peaceful 03:29 disobedience to gain Indian independence. Gandhi showed the 03:34 world that you didn't have to have a title or authority or 03:38 military power to change the world and make a difference. He 03:43 demonstrated that oppressed peoples should not put up with 03:47 their condition. They should stand up for their rights but 03:52 they should do it in a peaceful manner. Hate does not overcome 03:56 hate. War does not overcome war. He was an example that peace 04:02 overcomes hate. He was assassinated shortly after 04:06 achieving his life goal of Indian independence. In India 04:11 he's known as the Father of the Nation and today the name 04:16 Mahatma Gandhi is one of the best known names in the world. 04:20 Mahatma Gandhi, more commonly known today as Mahatma meaning 04:29 great soul was born on the 2nd of October 1869 in Porbandar, a 04:35 picturesque seaport on the Arabian Sea in the present day 04:40 Indian state of Gujarat in northwest India. It was here in 04:47 the family's three-story 300-year-old ancestral home that 04:53 Gandhi entered the world and spent his early years. 04:56 His father, Karamchand, was a local politician serving as 05:01 prime minister to a number of local Indian princes. His mother 05:06 Putlibai was illiterate but her common sense and religious 05:11 devotion had a lasting impact on young Gandhi and played a major 05:16 role in molding his character. Gandhi's mother was strongly 05:21 influenced by Jainism, an ancient Indian religion that's 05:25 main beliefs include peace and nonviolence, fasting, meditation 05:30 and vegetarianism along with the tolerance of other religions and 05:35 beliefs. These concepts would play a major role in Gandhi's 05:40 belief system and activities in later years. The family was 05:46 relatively well off by the standards of this rural region. 05:49 They owned this house and several others in the region 05:52 and were able to afford a nurse and a good education for the 05:56 young Gandhi. Gandhi was born and educated in the midst of the 06:01 Victorian era when the British empire was approaching the 06:05 height of its power. At the time it was said, The sun never sets 06:11 in the British Empire. Their empire spanned the globe. In the 06:16 year that Gandhi was born the British governed a quarter of 06:20 the world's land and population. More than the Roman and Spanish 06:24 Empires at their height. But India was the jewel in the crown 06:28 of the great empire. The British had replaced the Moguls as the 06:33 overlords of the entire region and established a system of 06:38 imperial rule. They ensured that the wealth of the subcontinent 06:42 flowed into Britain. At the age of 19, after his father died, 06:48 Gandhi left home and traveled to England to gain a degree in 06:51 in law at the Inner Temple Law School in London. Around this 06:55 time he became interested in world religions and was 06:59 introduced to the Bible for the first time. Gandhi was deeply 07:04 influenced by the teachings of Jesus, particularly the sermon 07:07 on the mount with its emphasis on humility, forgiveness and 07:13 peace. Jesus of the Bible became the major source of inspiration 07:16 for many of the concepts he promoted. Gandhi remained 07:21 committed to the Bible and its message of peace throughout his 07:25 life. On completing his degree in law Gandhi returned to India. 07:30 He set up a law practice in Bombay, but met with little 07:35 success. He soon accepted a position with an Indian firm 07:38 that sent him to its office in South Africa. Gandhi was 07:43 appalled by the discrimination he experienced as an Indian in 07:47 South Africa. When a European magistrate in Durban asked him 07:52 to take off his turban he refused and left the courtroom. 07:56 On the train journey from Durban to the national capital Pretoria 08:01 Gandhi was thrown off the train for refusing to move from his 08:05 first class seat to a third class even though he held a 08:09 valid first class ticket. Then he was beaten up by a white 08:13 stage coach driver for refusing to give up his seat for a 08:17 European passenger. That train journey served as a turning 08:21 point for Gandhi. 08:23 It was his moment of truth. No longer would he accept 08:28 injustice as the norm. He resolved to oppose racial 08:32 discrimination and defend his dignity as an Indian and as a 08:36 human being. Soon he began developing and teaching, the 08:41 concept of civil disobedience and protest. He called his non 08:46 violent protest satyagraha or passive resistance. It centered 08:51 around peaceful noncooperation with authorities. After 21 years 08:59 in South Africa, Gandhi returned to India in 1915. He landed in 09:04 Bombay is now known as Mumbai and began a relationship with the 09:08 city and its people that spanned decades and only strengthened 09:13 overtime. Whenever Gandhi visited Bombay in 1917 and 1934 09:21 he stayed here in this simple old style building on the Bruna 09:26 Road in the comparatively quiet area known as Yomdedi. It's now 09:31 been converted into a museum known as Manibabwan but the most 09:37 moving part of any visit to Manibabwan is seeing Gandhi's 09:41 simple room on the second floor. It's furnished only with a small 09:45 mattress on the floor, some low tables and his iconic spinning 09:50 wheel that's been immortalized in the center of India's 09:54 national flag. After landing in Bombay Gandhi traveled 400 km 10:00 north and settled in Ahmedabad the capital of his home state of 10:06 Gujarat with a small group of relatives and followers who were 10:09 with him in Africa. After two years he established the Ashram 10:15 a religiously oriented communal farm on 36 acres of peaceful 10:20 shady ground along the banks of the Subamate River. He chose 10:26 this quiet and peaceful location so that he could continue his 10:30 search for truth as well as try farming, keeping cows and 10:35 growing crops. He learned the art of spinning and weaving so 10:40 that he could make his own clothes. Gandhi lived here for 10:44 12 years and the Sabarmati Ashram became his 10:49 headquarters during the long struggle for Indian independence 10:52 It still contains some of Gandhi's furniture and 10:56 belongings including his writing desk and some of his letters. 11:00 His search for truth involved him providing lectures to his 11:05 followers and students from the Gita as well as the Bible, 11:11 especially the sermon on the mount. His teachings from the 11:14 Bible even led to accusations that he was a secret Christian 11:17 Gandhi gathered and combined the teachings of various 11:21 religions. He was deeply moved by the concept of sacrifice, 11:26 Yajna. He found the idea of sacrifice full of beauty and 11:33 power. He saw this ideal of sacrifice as a basis of all 11:37 religions. The chief example of this concept was Jesus Christ 11:42 But although he admired Jesus and his teachings, Gandhi never 11:47 did become a Christian. Something stopped him from 11:51 making that decision and taking that step. When Gandhi arrived 11:57 here in Ackminabad World War I was raging. Indian troops 12:03 Rajpal, Sikhs, Gathas and Punjabi Muslims were making a 12:07 major contribution to the British war effort. Indian 12:11 regiments sailed over seas and fought alongside their Canadian 12:16 and Australian counterparts. Indian nationalists who were 12:20 committed to independence loyally supported the British 12:24 government during the war fully expecting that British victory 12:28 would end with Indian self-rule on the dominion model. But 12:34 instead of self-rule India got repressive legislation. During 12:38 the war the British government of India enacted a series of 12:42 repressive emergency powers that were intended to combat 12:47 subversive activities. This allowed the British to imprison 12:51 anyone suspected of revolutionary conspiracy for up 12:56 to two years without a trial. When the war ended the people of 13:00 India expected that those measures would be removed and 13:04 that India would be given more political independence. But 13:08 instead the British Government of India passed what became 13:12 known as the Rowlett Act in early 1919 which essentially 13:17 extended the repressive wartime measures and aimed them at the 13:21 independence movement. This was met with widespread anger and 13:26 discontent among Indians across the country. The people detested 13:30 the new laws. Indian members of the legislative council resigned 13:35 their seats in protest. Mahatma Gandhi took the protest further. 13:40 In early April from Mit ashram he called for a one-day general 13:45 strike throughout the country as the first step in a full 13:51 scale campaign of nonviolent noncooperation against the new 13:55 laws. The first implementation of the new laws occurred on the 14:00 10th of April here in the heart of Punjab in the Sikh holy city 14:04 of Armrusta and the home of the spectacular golden temple, 14:08 Sikhism's most sacred shrine. The government arrested 14:13 prominent Indian leaders who had called for protest against the 14:17 new laws and banished them from the city without formal charges 14:21 or trials. This sparked violent riots in which a mob was on the 14:26 rampage killing several Europeans, leaving an English 14:30 female missionary for dead and looting banks and public 14:34 buildings. A force of several dozen troops commanded by 14:39 Brigadier-General Dyer were called into Amritsar to 14:43 restore order. They immediately banned all public gatherings but 14:48 despite this a crowd of over 10,000 Indians gathered herein 14:54 this enclosure called Jallianwala Bagh near the golden 14:58 temple. Dyer marched a force of 90 Gergedan Indian soldiers 15:03 into this enclosure and blocked off the exits. Then without 15:07 warning the troops opened fire on the unarmed crowd trapped in 15:12 the enclosure. The soldiers fired off 100s of rounds and 15:17 kept firing until they ran out of ammunition. According to an 15:22 official figure over 1500 unarmed protestors were killed 15:27 or wounded though other estimates suggest much higher 15:31 casualties. Many died when they leapt into a deep well to escape 15:36 the gunfire. After they ceased firing, the troops immediately 15:41 withdrew from the place leaving behind the dead and wounded. 15:47 Today Jallianwala Bagh or Martyr's Park attracts crowds of 15:52 visitors eager to revisit history. They walk down 15:56 Historical Lane along bullet wall where the bullet holes are 16:01 marked white. 16:02 They look down Martyr's Well where many jumped to their 16:06 death in an attempt to avoid the bullets They follow the sign 16:09 posts to the exact location from where the soldiers opened fire 16:14 on the people. The Amutsa massacre was a turning point in 16:19 India's history. It gave strength to the nationalist 16:23 campaign to oust the British. Indian outrage grew as news 16:28 of the shooting spread across the subcontinent. It had a huge 16:33 effect on Gandhi. He was initially hesitant to act but 16:38 now he decided that India should not accept anything less than 16:43 full independence. From the Subamate ashram Gandhi began 16:49 to organize his first national campaign of mass civil 16:54 disobedience across the country against the British. Gandhi 16:57 strongly encouraged the Indian people to boycott British 17:02 products. He advised them to start making their own clothes 17:05 rather than buying British clothing. His program of non 17:10 violent, noncooperation against the British government included 17:14 boycotts not only of British manufacturers but of 17:18 institutions operated or aided by the British in India. Courts, 17:24 schools, offices and legislatures. The impact on the 17:29 economy and the government was immediate and devastating. The 17:35 British retaliated by passing the Salt Act which imposed a 17:40 heavy tax on salt and made it illegal for Indians to make 17:44 their own salt punishable by at least three years in jail. 17:48 Gandhi decided to mount a highly visible nonviolent demonstration 17:54 against the repressive Salt Tax. He called for a salt march. They 18:02 set out from the Ahmedabad Asheram with a group of 18:05 followers to walk to the coastal town of Dandi. Dandi is located 18:11 about 385 km from Ahmedabad on the Arabian sea coast. After 18:17 each day's march Gandhi and his followers stopped in a different 18:21 village along the route where increasingly large crowds 18:25 gathered to hear Gandhi speak against the unfairness of the 18:28 tax on poor people. Thousands of people joined the march as they 18:34 made their way to Dandi on the sea. The march took 24 days. 18:40 When they arrived here in Dandi Gandhi and his followers picked 18:44 up handfuls of salt along the shore and so technically 18:49 producing salt and breaking the law. The march captured the 18:54 imagination and support of the Indian nation. Large groups of 18:59 the population joined in the protest and refused to work, sat 19:04 in the streets, boycotted the courts and more. This forced the 19:09 British to the negotiating table and they invited Gandhi to 19:14 London for a round table conference. Although Gandhi 19:18 received a warm welcome in England the conference foundered 19:22 on the issue of how an independent India would deal 19:25 with its Muslim minority and Gandhi withdrew from public life 19:31 but independence couldn't be delayed for long. The British 19:34 surrendered significant amounts of power to Indians. Mahatma 19:39 Gandhi is one of the most influential people in human 19:44 history. He was educated in India or in England and became 19:49 a serious student of the Bible. He admired and loved Jesus 19:53 Christ and yet he chose not to become a Christian and a 19:57 follower of Jesus. Why? Well Gandhi explained the reason to a 20:03 Christian missionary friend of he, E. Stanley Jones. Jones 20:08 asked Gandhi, Mr. Gandhi, though you quote the words of Christ 20:13 often why is it that you appear to so adamantly reject becoming 20:17 his follower? Gandhi's reply was clear. Oh, I don't reject your 20:24 Christ. I love your Christ. It is just that so many of you 20:29 Christians are so unlike your Christ. If Christians would 20:34 really live according to the teachings of Christ as found in 20:37 the Bible, all of India would be Christian today. Gandhi didn't 20:44 become a Christian because he was generally unimpressed by 20:48 what he saw in the lives of most Christians he knew. Gandhi 20:52 expected to see Christians demonstrating the qualities of 20:56 Christ like unconditional love, forgiveness, meekness and a 21:02 willingness to sacrifice. Gandhi's statements and 21:05 expectations carry a message for us today, because in our 21:11 contemporary world as in Gandhi's day, there's a 21:15 desperate need for genuine Christian witnesses. The Bible 21:20 calls all Christians to translate what they hear and 21:25 believe into what they practice and do. Please notice what the 21:28 Bible says in James chapter 1 and verse 22: 21:38 Christian means a follower of Christ or being like Christ. In 21:46 other words, a Christian is a person whose life is based on 21:50 the teachings and example of Jesus Christ and so people like 21:55 Gandhi and people in our modern world who read about the life 21:59 and teachings of Jesus in the Bible expect to see Christians 22:03 living according to those principles and following the 22:07 example of Jesus and when they don't see that happening in the 22:10 life of Christians, they get disillusioned just like Gandhi 22:14 did. Jesus himself said that his followers would be identified 22:19 by the way they behave and live. Please notice what Jesus said 22:23 about his followers in Matthew chapter 7 and verse 16: 22:32 The old saying is true, actions speak louder than words. Gandhi 22:38 understood this and had a message, four simple suggestions 22:43 for Christians: 1. Begin to live more like Jesus. 2. Practice 22:49 your religion without changing it or watering it down. 3. Put 22:55 your emphasis on love because love is the heart and soul of 23:01 Christianity. And 4. Respect other people's views and beliefs 23:06 They were suggestions from Gandhi. You see he recognized 23:11 that the Bible calls Christians to live as ambassadors for 23:17 Christ. Notice what the Bible says in 23:18 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 20: 23:27 An ambassador represents their king or country and that's what 23:33 Christians are called to do, to represent Christ to the people 23:37 around them. And here's the good news; when Christians accept 23:41 that responsibility they are not left alone to carry out their 23:46 task. In fact, they're so important to God's plan to share 23:51 the good news about Jesus and represent him and expand his 23:55 kingdom that all of heaven stand behind them, just waiting to 24:00 back them up, defend them, provide for them, help and 24:04 assist them. If you'd like to be a true ambassador of Christ to 24:09 the people around you and want heaven to support you, why not 24:14 make that commitment and claim God's help and blessing right 24:18 now as we pray. 24:20 Our dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for Jesus and for the 24:25 many blessings he gives us. Thank you for the privilege of 24:30 being your ambassador and representative to our families, 24:34 to our places of employment, and to our neighborhoods. Lord we 24:39 want to be good ambassadors for you. We want to represent you 24:43 faithfully and accurately in all we do and say. Please give us 24:49 the power and ability to do that We ask in Jesus' name, Amen. 24:56 The story of Mahatma Gandhi has encouraged and inspired people 25:02 all over the world. He brought down an empire by proclaiming 25:07 brotherhood and nonviolence. He influences men like Martin 25:11 Luther King and Nelson Mandela to fight for freedom through 25:15 nonviolent means. He protected the rights of the weak and 25:20 defenseless. He was the champion of the oppressed and downtrodden 25:24 Sometimes we can feel oppressed and downtrodden when struggling 25:30 with the challenges of life or frustrated because we can't be 25:35 the ambassador for Christ that we want to be and are looking 25:38 for ways to live a better life and find inner peace and true 25:42 happiness. If you'd like to get closer to God, live a better 25:46 life and be an ambassador for God then I'd like to recommend 25:51 a free gift we have for all our viewers today. The booklet 25:55 Seeing Through God's Eyes. This book is our gift to you and is 26:00 absolutely free. There are no costs or obligations whatsoever. 26:05 So make the most of this wonderful opportunity to receive 26:10 the gift we have for you today. Here's the information you need: 26:14 Phone or text us at 0436333555 or visit our website www.tij.tv 26:26 to request today's free offer and we'll send it to you totally 26:30 free of charge and with no obligation. So don't delay. Call 26:35 or text 0436333555 in Australia or 0204222042 in 26:45 New Zealand or visit our website www.tij.tv to request today's 26:56 offer. Write to us at: 27:13 Call or text us now. Be sure to join us again next week when we 27:19 will share another of life's journeys together and experience 27:22 another new and thought provoking perspective on the 27:26 peace, insight, understanding and hope that only the Bible can 27:30 give us. The Incredible Journey truly is television that 27:35 inspires and changes lives. Until next week remember the 27:41 ultimate destination of life's journey. Now I saw a new heaven 27:46 and a new earth. And God will wipe away every tear from their 27:50 eyes. There shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying. 27:55 There shall be no more pain, for the former things have 27:58 passed away. 27:59 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2020-11-04