LESSONS FROM 'THE DREAM' OF MARTIN LUTHER KING Jr.

 LESSONS FROM 'THE DREAM' OF

MARTIN LUTHER KING Jr.

-         Dr.N.RADHAKRISHNAN

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia,  sons of former slaves and sons of former slaves owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood…. I have a dream my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today (Martin Luther King Jr., August 28, 1963).

      This speech of Martin Luther King Jr electrified

virtually not only those who listened and applauded him but those who read this later and even those who heard about it. It had such passion and power that humanity had seldom seen such an out-pouring of emotion. This historic speech and the marching song, 'We shall overcome, We shall overcome, some day' continue to inspire freedom fighters and human rights activists all over the world. Martin Luther King Jr inspires as one of the immortal leaders of humanity and has emerged as a living presence in the daily lives of both those who are able and unable to have a 'Dream'.

  This speech which has become one of the inspiring

speeches ever delivered could be described by no stretch of imagination as sketching of a Utopian picture. He stressed that "the word nonviolence' is no longer an option for intellectual analysis; it is an imperative of action".

Parallels in Gandhi and King

What King said about Gandhi offers very valuable insights in to his understanding of Gandhi. He wrote,

     Gandhi was probably the first person in history to lift

the love ethic of Jesus above mere interaction between individuals to a powerful and effective social force on a large scale, Love for Gandhi was a potent instrument for social and collective transformation. It was in this Gandhian emphasis on love and nonviolence that I discovered the method for social reform that I had been seeking for so many months.

        The intellectual and moral satisfaction that I failed to

gain from the utilitarianism of Bentham and Mill, the revolutionary methods of Marx and Lenin, the social contract theory of Hobbes, the 'back to nature' optimism of Rousseau, and the superman philosophy of Nietzsche, I found in the nonviolent resistance philosophy of Gandhi. I came to feel that this was the only morally and practically sound method open to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom.

Homer A. Jack pointed out certain obvious parallels

in the lives of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. during the birth centenary of Gandhi in 1969. Jack is a famous American Quaker and peace activist. He argues that both Gandhi and King were well educated. Both married and had four children (all sons for Gandhi, two for King). Both led large political movements, using the method of Satyagraha. Both held no public office, yet both exerted more power and gained more adulation than most elected statesmen of their time. Both were charismatic. Votaries of nonviolence, both ironically, died by the bullet. Both were acknowledged in death, and even in life, as the greatest humanitarians of their time. The world truly grieved at the passing of both. Both died in the very midst of their work for harmony and amity, both feeling a sense of disappointment and not of victory.

There are more resonances in the lives of Gandhi and

King. Gandhi was an Asian, although he spent two decades in Africa. He never visited America. King was born in 20 century. They never met and they never corresponded. They had mutual friends, including Stuart Nelson and Amiya Chakravarty, although Gandhi never knew about the existence of King. , who was 20 when Gandhi died. Gandhi was a Hindu and King was a Christian. Gandhi was a lawyer and King was a clergyman. Gandhi lived to 78 years; King died 39. Gandhi was the leader of the majority of his nation; King was the leader of a minority. Gandhi was revered the world over, yet only King received the Nobel Prize. While neither man had a successor, Gandhi had groomed none. A decade later, Vinoba Bhave emerged as a kind of spiritual successor to Gandhi. King had provided for succession in the office of president of the Southern Christian Leadership conference, and Dr. Ralph David Abernathy immediately assumed the presidency on King's

death.

      It may also be remembered how Gandhi learned

deeply from life around him. He learned from books and from the teachings of others. He learned chiefly from his parents and thinkers and writers such as Ruskin, Thoreau and Tolstoy. He was modest enough to admit that he had nothing new to teach; truth and nonviolence are as old as the hills, he said. The difference was the manner in which he interpreted his own life which, he realized, was inescapably linked to the countless lives of men and women not only around him but elsewhere also.

Among the several attributes Gandhi acquired from

his various encounters with reality were his unflinching adherence to truth, his unshakable faith in God and his opposition to social or political structures which militate against basic human rights. In a sense, from the moment he resolved to travel across the seas in defiance of the excommunication threat by his own community to the last days of his life when he opposed the physical frisking of

those attending his prayer functions. Gandhi's epic life was one of a rebel who was prepared to suffer for others.

  Let it also be remembered that until recently, there

was a law in the statute books of 19 states in the United States which said that black could not marry white folks. King rebelled against this and other forms of segregation and injustice, just as Gandhi taught Indians in South Africa how to fight, politely and in a civilized way, restrictions like Indians and dogs are not allowed in restaurants and parks in South Africa. Gandhi and King are in good company in this respect also.

       If Gandhi demonstrated the infinite frontiers of

"freedom from fear" and stressed the importance of religion in everyday life, King amplified the power of human will to rise in revolt against unjust man-made barriers which denied fellow human beings their inalienable right to live in peace, with dignity and honour.

A deeper study of King would offer anyone further

valuable insights and encourage him to look at King as one of the foremost champions of human rights. Gandhi and King are complementary in several respects; both have influenced a large number of eminent men and women in different parts of the world. President Ikeda says about Gandhi and King:

       "Armed only with an unyielding faith in the power of

dialogue, Gandhi and King awakened people to the sublime dignity of their own lives, as well as the lives of others. In this way they worked to construct a spreading solidarity of peace and non-violence, one person at a time. The struggle waged by these two prophets of peace clearly demonstrates the path forward as we seek to create a world free from war and violence in the 21st century."

Very few analysts of Gandhi and King have viewed

the epic lives and gigantic achievements of these two prophets of peace and change from this extremely humanistic angle, as Ikeda has done. The achievements of both Gandhi and King are all-encompassing, and to take them further in an idiom and language that suits the temper of the people and the emerging political, cultural, economic and social situation requires the extraordinary power of a visionary. His roots must be fixed in tradition, but his understanding of the validity of tradition will have to be equal to his understanding of present-day life that is regulated by science and technology. While Gandhi was not against science and technology perse, he was suspicious of the way science and technology was used by vested interests to exploit human labor and perpetrate their domination over the underprivileged.

The remarkable line of communication that Gandhi

and King established with the masses seems to have inspired Ikeda too in the formulation of strategies for his numerous kosen-rufu campaigns and activities for world peace and awareness creation. Ikeda, like Gandhi and King, is a master in establishing instant communication with the masses. Ikeda's strategies are not copied from any textbook. Communication is a great art. Effortless communication with the masses is a gift. Ikeda revealed exceptional qualities as a communicator. In an age of cell phones, e-mail, internet and fax, when impersonal and mechanical devices dominate and control the entire gamut of the communication process, the social reformer, moral activist, religious and political activist find ways to create bonds with people and establish credible lines of communication of his message reach their hearts.

Nonviolence acquires new contours

King's passionate intensity and total involvement in

the cause he had identified, electrifying a generation of freedom-loving but justice-denied citizens who rallied behind him enthusiastically, opened the vast potential of social and political initiatives. With Gandhi and King, nonviolence particularly has come to be recognized as a significant and dependable way for groups, communities and whole societies to effectively tackle conflicts. Gandhi and King's various initiatives led the public to realize there are many new dimensions to resolving conflicts nonviolently. With Gandhi and King, nonviolence acquired new contours; it became a positive, creative, potent and effective instrument of individual empowerment and societal transformation.

    Great men radiate greatness just as iridium emits

light. Their creative minds absorb hidden or latent aspects of society and adapt them for the welfare of all people. This has been happening all the time. While Gandhi successfully grafted traditional wisdom to create new non-violent techniques, King adapted the Gandhian techniques of social and political mobilization in a new idiom and phrase to suit the temperament and aspirations of Black Americans. Gandhi provided the frame and King expanded it. King's philosophy and methods were so effective that he convinced both the white and the black population that violence was not a valid means of solving social problems. In this process, he emerged as the fountain-head of resolute determination as revealed in the marching song, 'we shall overcome... ' The translation of the song into most of the world's languages and the adoption of King's methods for conflict resolution are proof of the growing influences of King on humanity.

            King also concentrated his efforts on educating the

African Americans to shed their fear and share his "Dream." Both Gandhi and King adopted methods and strategies that not only attracted the attention and acceptance of a large section of people who were perceived to be in the "other group" but also involved "others" who were not originally part of the campaigns. Actually, their movements had no adversaries. or "enemies."

Theirs were essentially movements of self-discovery

and empowerment, leading to liberation and, thus, both Gandhi and King were essentially liberators. Gandhian initiatives attracted world-wide attention as various movements for freedom and human rights spread after World War II. King acknowledged his indebtedness to Gandhi, as Johan Galtung pointed out:

"There are many Gandhians, not only those who can be found in the historical Gandhi, by interpreting him in different directions, There are also local Gandhians on all continents, in all countries. Some of them have a name; most of them are unknown. There are traditions on which to be built."

    The conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize on King

signified both recognition of his electrifying leadership qualities and an admission by the international community of the injustice done to a large segment of African Americans and other groups. In a sense, though King's initiatives were local, the impact was global.

   In sharp contrast to both Gandhi and King, Ikeda

gradually expanded his activities and campaigns from Japan. The launch of world-wide kosen-rufu witnessed a new style and a new leadership. What Ikeda said about Gandhi and King truly applies to his own self:

"They (Gandhi and King) believed ceaselessly in the

capacities for good that reside in the human spirit. They uncovered and discovered the capacity for good in all people, equally and without exception. Committed first and foremost to the inner transformation of the individual, they worked with vibrant energy to inspire people to bring forth their very highest, their most noble potential."

Conscience of his generation

Calling Martin Luther King Jr. "the conscience of his

generation" US President Carter said, He made our nation stronger because he made it better.

Honored by kings, he continued to his last days to strive for a world where the poorest and humblest among us could enjoy the fulfillment of the promises of our founding fathers.

His life informed us; his dreams sustain us yet.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader who led from the front and he taught many lessons not only those who followed him but also to those who opposed him. Vincent Harding's assessment of King's contribution sums up the extra ordinary leadership qualities of the slain leader,

"King lives ... we saw him facing the tanks in Tiananmen Square, dancing on the crumbling wall of Berlin, singing in Prague, alive in the glistening eyes of Nelson Mandela... he lives within us, right here, wherever his message is expanded and carried out in our daily lives, wherever his unfinished battles are taken up by our hands." (Vincent Harding, Martin Luther King, The Inconvenient Hero (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1996) p. 136)

True Leadership

     King's life, though it was short, illustrated

eloquently what is true leadership. He learned rapidly and turned out to be not only a great leader, but a true leader- one whom most people followed easily, willingly and passionately as Donald T. Phillips described.

While describing what exactly is true leadership and

how does it differ from management or dictatorship Phillips quotes James MacGregor Bums, the author of the landmark book, Leadership:

   Leadership is leaders acting - as well as caring, inspiring

and persuading others to act-for certain shared goals that represent the values-the wants and needs, the aspirations and expectations--of themselves and the people they represent. And the genius of leadership lies in the manner in which leaders care about, visualize, and act on their own and their followers' values and motivations. (P23)

King himself said the following on leadership

The road map for your movement may change, but your final destination should remain the same.

Your organization will prosper or die as a result of your ability to create, embody, and communicate a vision.

An effective vision may provide an effective mechanism that can truly overcome the natural human tendency to resist change.

Leadership is more inspiration than administration.

People derive inspiration from their involvement.

You can't get people to resend to anything if they aren't stimulated.

Tie your vision to the human desire for a better tomorrow.

Call your vision "a dream". It will be more meaningful, more simplistic, and more symbolic.

Make sure your dream taps into the emotions of the people.

Your role, in part, is to guide and give direction and philosophical under building to your movement.

If you can't stop for an average person in your organization, then you don't need to pursue your lofty goals.

Tell the people that you either go up together, or you go down together.

The question is not "What will happen to you?" The question is "What will happen to them?" (Donald T. Phillips, Page No: 330)

Beloved Community

  Creation of the beloved community was the core of

the Dream of King. Bernard LaFyette Jr, a colleague of King and David C. Jehnsen 'a Kingian trainer' have summed up the salient features of the Beloved Community dream of King as follows:

1. The goal is not to humiliate the opponent but to win the opponent over to a new view and new pattern of behavior. Every human being can contribute to change.

2. The concept of the Beloved Community appeals to the common denominator of justice, that which everyone can agree is right or wrong in a particular situation.

3. In nonviolent campaigns, Dr.King identified two dimensions: first, the educational and developmental period; and second, the political and more visible direct action phase. However, now we understand that these phases were aspects of a large context that also had two phases; the first dealt with correcting injustice and the

second with producing as positive force in society to prevent the problem from ever re-occurring.

4. Through history, the Beloved Community was always the over-arching goal. For example, Tolstoy wrote that the Kingdom of God is within you. Other faiths and traditions have described a state in which the hearts and souls of those who seek change and use nonviolence to achieve change.

5. The Beloved Community concept means that we must begin living now as we think society ought to live in the future.

6. Dr. King used the scriptural phrase "the word became flesh and dwells among men" to describe the concept. The living word governs our relationship[s, including those with our opponents.

7. The "ends and means" issue is dealt with by this principle. You cannot achieve just ends by unjust means, nor can you use just means for achieving unjust ends.

8. We cannot write off persons as scapegoats for whatever reasons; they might have something significant to contribute. They did not create the problem. The opponent is also a victim of the conditions.

9. The values of the Beloved Community are the values of our history and tradition. Dr. King was effective because he believed in the democratic Judeo-Christian values of our nation and in the universal values of a free and just social order.

10. The Beloved Community, a framework for developing framework for developing the future, is a context in which one can deal effectively with unjust conditions.

(The above assessment  is excerpted from the 2^nd chapter of Ikeda Study Series-3 ‘Leadership Lessons From Gandhi, King Jr & Ikeda’ by Dr.N.Radhakrishnan).