MLK Jr. in Gandhi’s Footsteps

Even before the Pilgrimage of Peace to India I believe I had India in my blood. Father Anthony De Mello S.J., an Indian Jesuit, was my favorite spiritual writer; I consider Jesuits from India, whom I got to know when they were studying at Marquette University, good friends even though I have lost contact with most of them; I also have a particular interest in Eastern religions, especially Buddhism and Hinduism, and naturally I have been attracted to the life of Mahatma Gandhi, the grandfather of Nonviolence.

Now after our pilgrimage of peace to India in the footsteps to of Gandhi I find myself more closely drawn to India. I am constantly trying new recipes for Indian food; plan to work on a way to bring the value of cow dung to urban gardening; and am studying and learning more about Indian culture.

I usually have my cell phone with me 24/7 but today twice left it in another room when a call came in and the person had to leave a message. This morning it was from Ingrid, a fellow pilgrim to India telling me about a PBS show that was on early this morning called the Religion and Ethics Newsweekly. Today there as feature called MLK Jr. in Gandhi’s Footsteps. A group of present-day civil rights leaders recently traveled to India to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s pilgrimage to India in 1959. This pilgrimage to India was an important event in King’s growth and formation in nonviolence.

I watched the show when it was repeated this afternoon and the feature was excellent. The connection of Gandhi and King is important in India. In our recent Pilgrimage to India there were two of our members, a Lutheran minister and his wife, who had lived in the south and participated with King in the early civil rights movement. The fact they knew King was considered very special in India. However, as the show mentioned, while both Gandhi and King are honored in their own countries, what they preached is not practiced by most.

This brings me to the second missed call on my cell phone, tonight. I had left the cell phone in my office when I was watching TV in the living room. When I came to retrieve it I noticed I had missed a phone call from Prasad, the Gandhian leader who organized our pilgrimage in India. I have been waiting for a while to hear from him. He is not a person for much email, but said he would write me to discuss a few ideas of trade and sustainability we had talked about while I was in India. Now, without an internet phone, such as in an Internet shop across the street from Prasad’s home, I cannot inexpensively call him back. He also called my friend who had coordinated the pilgrimage with me on the USA side. Between her and me, Prasad and his wife, who does email, we should make contact soon.

I guess I’ve just got India in my blood, and like MLK (perhaps not as dramatically), will never be the same after the Pilgirmage to India in the Footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi.

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