You see a group of protestors paused in the shade to cool off before resuming their journey. You stop to chat with them as the day has grown warm. One of the men in the group is telling a story of a neighbor of his that got very upset at the taxes and began to hurl heated insults directed at the British. The man recalls how he tried to calm his neighbor down, but the neighbor only became more agitated. He tried to reason with the neighbor by telling him of Gandhi’s rules and how he must not insult your opponents, their leaders or their flag. The man would not listen. Finally, a young woman had stepped in and reminded the angry man that Gandhi believes that:
“Anger is the enemy of non-violence and pride is a monster that swallows it up”.
The man began to protest, but she quieted him by reminding him that Gandhi felt that:
“My freedom from hatred – I would even claim for myself individually, my love- for those who consider themselves to be my enemies, does not make me blind to their faults”, but even so you must “Conquer the heart of the enemy with truth and love, not by violence”.
Finally, our storyteller tells us, the man had quieted, and insulted the British no more. The group you are stopped with begins to head back to join the marching crowd, lost in contemplation.
[/passster]