The end of the beginning
July 1, 2024
Today is July 1, and it begins a new 30-day Gandhi challenge; if you’re willing to commit to sobriety from recreational intoxicants for the month and observe a 24-hour fast on July 15 and 30. There are some optional challenges as well; additional fasting, walking, a meatless diet, regular writing, cold showers, or make your own. Use the link below to see the details and sign up for tonight’s Zoom session at 7pm ET.
Days like this remind remind us of the cyclical nature of things, the patterns of death and rebirth. Martin Luther King saw the rebirth of civil rights for Blacks, 100 years after Reconstruction. Gandhi saw the end of British rule in his country and a cycle of self-rule begin.
As we enter the second half of 2024, the end is now closer than the beginning. Gandhi’s two decades in South Africa ended in July 1914, and he returned home to move into the second half of his life, nonviolently fighting for Indian independence. The weapon he carried, satyagraha, had been crafted and honed in South Africa in 1906.
In July of that year, Sgt-Major Mohandas Gandhi found himself on the battlefield during the Zulu Rebellion, managing a company of Indian stretcher bearers. The long marches across the frontier of Natal gave him time to think about his place in the order of things. It was the last time he would take the field as a soldier of the British army.
In July of 1913, Gandhi undertook his first week-long fast, developing another arrow in the quiver of tools he would bring home to India. In the decades to come, his fasts would enable him to motivate millions of his countrymen for social change. While these 30-day challenges always have an optional 3-day fast, July offers a 3-, 5-, and 7-day option for anyone interested. in commemorating his experience.
This month, I’ll be writing about Gandhi’s July experiences as well as others. In the United States, of course, we celebrate Independence Day on July 4. I’ve written elsewhere how that kicked off the first (violent) iteration of the Phoenix Cycle in the US, followed by the (violent) Civil War and the (nonviolent) New Deal. This year, as the country is caught up in the cycle again, the question arises—how will the nation be reborn for the fourth time? And will the mechanics of the change be violent or nonviolent? Both paths are possible.
If you’re a US citizen who’d like to steer things to the nonviolent path, the American Union needs your help to implement an innovative strategy using the tactics and lessons of Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. Sign up for the 30-day challenge, learn more about the organizer training program on our website, and bring your questions to tonight’s Zoom meeting at 7pm ET.
How will you have improved yourself or made progress on a goal by the end of this month?