PEACEMAKING

SATYAGRAHA

The summer of 2003 brought a new incarnation of the play Satyagraha. This rendering actually brought Gandhi to life. Instead of a narrator reading about Gandhi’s life, Paul Blosser told his stories and read from Gandhi’s "diary" thus revealing the man, his thoughts and his life. I have watched Paul Blosser absorb Gandhi into his being and it is an inspiration to behold. He has such esteem for Gandhi and is devoted to learning from him. Bringing Gandhi to life is natural to him.

Pairing Gandhi with each of the Nobel Peace Laureates was natural for me. There were physical ties to several of them revealed through their own references to Gandhi’s influence on their lives. Martin Luther King’s life took shape after attending a lecture about Gandhi. H.H. the Dalai Lama speaks of Gandhi as his mentor in his peace prize acceptance speech. The year Gandhi died is the same year Mother Teresa came to India. Seven years later, Alva Myrdal served as ambassador to India from Sweden. I tried to bring these connections to light in how we worked with the interaction between Gandhi’s life stories and those of the laureates. What is most telling is how the final movement in the play came into being.

I am so blessed every time I think about the ending of Satyagraha. There is a moment when Gandhi is surrounded by the eight Nobel Peace Prize laureates. The connections between them have been revealed one by one and now, standing before you, are nine amazing souls who have walked on this Earth.

How to do justice to them all was the final question to answer, and that answer would form the ending of the play.

Gandhi walks out into history as the narrator describes his passing on the way to a prayer meeting when he was shot in the heart. When he died, Gandhi left a handful of possessions. The image of Gandhi’s possessions and others taking them away, one by one, was from the first incarnation of Satyagraha. It was poignant and meaningful. I wanted to keep it but had yet to envision how.

When we got to this part in the play, the thespians asked, "In what order will the laureates leave?"

As I had not made time to think it through, I didn’t have an answer. I did know that the laureates taking his imaginary possessions would symbolize that they had received from Gandhi though they never met him.

Matthew said, "Let’s go in the order we came."

And so we did. I was awestruck. It was Universal Law in action. The movement was absolutely perfect. Tears welled up in my eyes and emotion clenched at my throat as I read the lines and watched the laureates remove Gandhi’s treasures.

Jimmy Carter receives Gandhi’s tools: two spoons, two pots. Albert Schweitzer inherits Gandhi’s three monkeys. Martin Luther King picks up Gandhi’s three books: the Gita, the Koran, and the Bible. Tenzin receives the pocket watch, Linus, the eyeglasses, Betty the tin bowl, a souvenir from prison. Alva takes the desk set and Mother Teresa, Gandhi’s two pairs of sandals and his khadi. The connections are crystal clear.

In this moment it was as if the hand of God moved upon this play. Each laureate receives from Gandhi something they will find of value in their own life’s work. It brings amazing Light every time we perform it.

The lesson from Gandhi’s example which keeps revisiting my consciousness can be described as spirit is all and spirit is good. Gandhi said it so well in describing what satyagraha is. Satya which is truth, comes from the Sanskrit word sat meaning "that which is." Gandhi said truth is that which is. Anything else is temporary. The injustice, racial prejudice, hatred, and the like have no existence without our cooperation, meaning we empower such things. We, you and I, bring them into the world. If we want them to go away, we have the power to banish them from our own minds and hearts. This is the place to begin, at home. In the Self.

There is a song composed by my husband called Amen Om. The lyrics highlight the essence of man's destiny as described through spiritual scriptures from around the world. The melody is a satisfying blend of feminine and masculine principles. Recently, a line from the song has become my mantra – "My spirit knows only good." So simple. So direct. So inviting.

I have found that filling my consciousness with good is sometimes a difficult lesson, for the darkness is tempting. Yet I keep washing my brain of the old ideas of bad and evil. I can at last say I no longer believe in evil, I no longer fear it. I believe and know good.

Clearing the mind of illusion is a powerful medicine. The challenge in life now becomes holding onto truth. I hope in many ways the thoughts shared here help us all to do this.

Satyagraha. May peace be with you all ways."

–reprinted from the book PeaceMaking by Dr. Barbara Condron, ©2003, School of Metaphysics

The play your college put on about Gandhi was more than I ever could have expected. It made me want to go right out and share my love with the world. During the play I felt at peace and that peace continued on throughout my day. What a wonderful way to learn about such a great man. Thank you. --Amber

I felt love surrounding me. All the actors and actresses were very calm and peaceful. You could feel their love for this man. I felt extreme sadness for a man who did so much for mankind and in the end, his life was taken away. He had many people who followed him and his beliefs. He did many great things for all mankind. --Diana

The experience at the college on Sunday was one of the most powerful I had felt in a long time. Having grown up in India, I had several opportunities to witness Gandhi's greatness through education and the most wonderfully made movie- Gandhi. The most powerful realization that I had that day, was of the fact that true love is when you give more significance to another. Everytime I had a chance to study Gandhi, that was the very conclusion I came to. But, then was too afraid of being hurt to practice it. The play was a beautiful reminder of that realization and I hope, one day, that I learn to truly love. --Sukumar

It is somewhat hard for me to write in words how I feel about something. It's especially trying when one experiences something as powerful as Satyagraha. There were numerous times when I felt extremely connected to everyone in the room, as well as feeling the connection between the actors communicating in the play. Each actor played their part so well, I really felt like I was in the presense of all of these beautiful people. I think everyone was overwhelmed towards the end when Ghandi's death was described. I could feel the emotion of the room when everyone began to sing. Satyagraha was full of so much incredible
information. It was very motivating and inspiring; I only hope I can do half as much as all the people presented in the play. --Caitlin

I have for a very long time had a dream of creating performances that originate from Spirit. Collegiate theatre training destroyed my love for the craft and for the work. The show was a cry personal example of what I mean in terms of how a performance can affect the audience, how theatre is meant to be(in my opinion). I can't even speak of the show in technical theatre terms because it surpassed technical and embodied Sacred performance. I have even considered doing research (prior to seeing the show) on the people who supported those who are considered great, like Ghandi, Martin Luther King, etc. I was almost ashamed to realize I hadn't even considered Spouses and each other( as peers) as major support systems. I am blessed, I am grateful, and I will ever be in awe for having witnessed a truly great sacred performance. --Ashley

It was powerful experience. At times I could feel
compassion and love fill me almost like the energy was passed on to me by the characters in the play. Two phrases, "reverence for life" and "compassion" seemed especially important to me. At the sound of those words, I had a feeling of familiarity. I think I need to explore thses areas within me. --Manjari

Thank you for this wonderful experience that shifted our consciousness. --Jen Childers, Director of Springfield SOM