Gandhi And Thoreau
Gandhi / Thoreau
There are multiple similarities between Thoreau’s philosophies and Mahatma Gandhi’s beliefs. For example, Gandhi believed that all men were created equal and he was completely against the idea of slavery. Thoreau would have completely agreed with him because he too thought that everyone was created equally in their own uniqueness under god. Gandhi also stated that Indians were children of god just as everybody else.
Gandhi was a very brave individual and he believed that respect would come with courage. He knew that the laws the British were making were completely unjust, and he wanted to change them. Thoreau had a similar philosophy that unjust laws were meant to be broken. Although Gandhi persisted to resist the British government and preach to other Indians, he insisted that the resistance must be non-violent if they want to make the strongest impression possible to get their feelings and ideas across. He also thought that resistance must be active and provocative.
Thoreau took a “vacation” so he could accomplish a few things. One was to increase the amount of leisure time he had compared to his work time. Another, which I really admire, was to escape the “dehumanizing” effect of society during his time, which was the Industrial Revolution. He also believed that you can transcend best through nature. Gandhi was similar in that he felt you should simplify your life, exactly like Thoreau had stated, “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!” Gandhi crafted his own clothes because he felt it was more of a simple appearance as compared to buying something from another land and wearing it. He wanted to be proud of wearing his own form of clothing rather than conform to the trends of another nation.
My favorite Gandhi quotes are “If you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth”, “An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind.” My favorite Thoreau quote is a simple yet powerful one, “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!”
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