How Does Martin Luther King Use Ahimsa?

Improved Essays
In the world today violence occurs on a day to day basis. People tend to cause harm and violence to portray their strength and desire to be powerful; but in reality they are the ones who inwardly yearn for peace. Violence occurs when someone feels like they are in danger or under any other circumstances that requires gaining power. For example how Caucasians use power and violence to make the dark-skinned people look less worthy Therefore, in Hinduism the word ahimsa is certainly not cowardice; it is wisdom that is applied to all living and non-living things. Martin Luther King sets a considerable example of an activist who used true pacifism and nonviolence as a source of courageous confrontation of evil by the power of compassion. In society …show more content…
Not only can it be applied to the Hindis belief of reincarnation, in can also have a new dimension to it in modern times. Martin Luther King can be identified as a resolute human being who used ahimsa to gain freedom against the oppressors and to change the way of how African American slaves were treated. About three centuries ago African slaves were introduced to the New World and immediately were put into slavery. But Martin Luther King did not agree on such injustice and decided to take immense action towards this. From the beginning of his childhood Martin resisted anything getting harmed. During his life time, King was involved with many of the most well-known activities of the civil rights movement. He bought publicity to major civil rights activities and efforts, emphasized and encouraged the importance of non-violent protest and resistance and provides leadership to the African-American civil rights movement. In the year of 1955, Martin Luther King Jr. was selected by the NAACP to head a city-wide boycott against the Montgomery bus system after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man. After this incident King advertise non-violent demonstrations to raise awareness of African-American rights and organized peaceful marches as well as sit-ins. This caught everyone’s attention of how Martin averted the use of violence as a way to rule. King always lived out his principle of non-violence by declining to engage in violent actions against his oppressor. He chose not to use armed bodyguards despite threats on his life, and reacted to violent experiences, such as the bombing of his home, with compassion. Furthermore, King sets an unbelievable example of a nonviolent person. He avoided all sort of disturbance, suffered pain and embraced life without conditions. Ahimsa became a part of his life as he called the doctrine of nonviolence resistance the ‘‘guiding light of our

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    This all started after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The march that took place on April 9th 1968 was supposed to be a peaceful one. Veron Thompson, one of the marchers said, “The kids were peaceful, but demanding, before the cops got there.” Once Phase II was announced by the Police Chief things started to get out of hand.…

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr. presents many different ideas and thoughts on the actions taken against him and his fellow friends for insignificant actions that the black community did to stand up for themselves. First in the “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” King validates his actions and strategies to stop the injustice against the black community that was going on at the time. Second King states in the “Letter” his discontent with different groups in society. Finally in the ”Letter” King gives examples of how corrupt the government is, how unjust laws were made, and how ignorant people are. Being a social activist Martin Luther King Jr.’s name was known countrywide by 1958 for enforcing riots like marches and sit-ins in order to help the Negro community.…

    • 1366 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta on January 15, 1929. Dr. Martin Luther King’s early life has many different events that happened. Michael Luther King changed his son’s name in honor of the 16th century german church. His maternal grandfather A.D. Williams, was a pastor at Ebenezer from 1894 to 1931. Martin Luther King spent most of his early life in his family home at 501 Auburn Avenue, one block from the Ebenezer baptist church.…

    • 174 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Martin Luther Martin Luther was a man that has changed many lives in his time made many people’s lives less stressful by writing 95 theses. Martin Luther was the one that changed the ways of the Catholic Church back in the Middle Ages, which is around the 1500’s. Martin Luther was born into a copper mining family in 1483 in Saxony, Germany. Growing up people knew him as a bright child. In 1505 he received a Master of Arts Degree from the University of Erfurt. However, his father wanted him to become a lawyer so he sent Martin to study.…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the leading figures in the Civil Right Movement. He led thousands of African American people though nonviolent protests on the streets. One nonviolent protest was a sit-in that was against the unjust treatments of Blacks in Birmingham. Birmingham was used as an example to symbolize society at the time. Dr. King was arrested and trialed for boycotting in Birmingham, since it was deemed illegal during this time.…

    • 1309 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    “We must act now! It is a trite yet urgently true observation that if America is to remain a first-class nation, it cannot have second class citizens” (Martin Luther King Jr.) Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. words generated the idea of restoring the community. Many people don’t realize how his determination inspired his words and his actions that affected the community in a positive way. He dedicated time and work and put forth a community that stood up for justice and freedom.…

    • 141 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    These white people are arrested for the voice they put out there, kicked from their church or disowned by their church’s authority. King says they have preserved the true meaning of gospel. Furthermore, King does not doubt that change for the better is coming; he believes that over time freedom will reach the entire nation. Martin Luther’s approach for change also mentions the end of police brutality.…

    • 215 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Work for Civil Rights The fight for equality has been a consistent theme in our country. From the start of slavery, to the early 1950s, and continuing on until the 1960s, the work towards civil rights was one of the most important events in our nation’s history. People worked extremely hard throughout this time period to bring equal rights to African Americans. One of the most famous civil rights leaders is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. For much of his life he dedicated his work to the lives of fellow African Americans, in the hopes that one day they would be seen as equal to the white man.…

    • 1141 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout the history of this nation change has been brought about by acts of civil disobedience, violent and non-violent. In the 1960’s many social changes were made, particularly in the treatment of Negro Americans, due to Non-Violent civil disobedience. You have to wonder, given the current culture in America of looking out for one’s self, how effective those methods would be today. Some believe that it would not be effective because we are a country that tends to follow the status quo instead of what he might feel is right. I am in agreement with Dr. Martin Luther King’s idea that we have a duty to disobey laws that are unjust and to use non-violent methods to get the attention of the oppressors.…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Almost everyone knows who Martin Luther King is , but do they know what he went through, throughout the Civil Rights Movement . Martin Luther King fought for rights for African Americans but he also fought for others as well . Throughout his career and went through a lot of situations that he wanted to believe that his dream was not probably. Martin Luther King showed confidence which helped him overcome obstacles and emerge as leader .…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Martin Luther King Don’t you guys think that Mr. King would be president if he was still alive? People all over the nation believe he would’ve been the best president we would have ever seen. Martin Luther King was the youngest male to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Martin Luther King was one of the biggest Civil Rights leader long ago. After His terrific heroism he was assassinated on April 4, 1968.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    When Rosa Parks refused to cooperate, she was then arrested for non-violent civil disobedience, a tactic that Martin Luther King, Jr. was most famous for. Martin Luther King, Jr. took Rosa’s incident and appealed to the black community to boycott the bus line until they agreed to desegregate their buses. Their boycott lasted a little under a year, until the bus company finally decided to give in and desegregate their buses. The bus company served mainly blacks and with their boycott, the bus company would soon close if they did not comply. Martin Luther’s theory of non-violent civil disobedience spread like wildfire throughout the whole black…

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The thesis of this paper is to discuss the obedience of Martin Luther despite the ridicule and distain of the public. His love and respect for God was unshaken during the reformation despite his feelings towards himself. God created us to serve and worship him. Many individuals have a problem with obedience and keeping Gods commandments, yet they claim to love him. Martin Luther loved God yet, he struggled with his own spirituality.…

    • 1309 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    MLK Changes the World MLK went down in history as one of the only revolutionary to have ever changed the world from past, to present, to future. Martin Luther King started as a baptist when he was 19. King then used his faith in god and helped out with creating equal rights for every person no matter their skin tone. King is one of the most influential American revolutionaries due to his involvement in the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King changed America for the better when he helped form different segregation laws.…

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr presents the Beatitude of peace excellently. King fought for racial equality in the United States because he believed that it went against God’s will to not have equality. Martin’s fight for equality led him as well to try to make peace within the races. King believed in a non-violent approach to making change within a community. Throughout his civil rights movement, he promoted this peaceful idea.…

    • 706 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays