Day 358

Thus, the lynching ultimately proved to be a blessing for me, that is, for the cause. It enhanced the prestige of the Indian community in South Africa, made my work easier, and the experience prepared me for the practice of satyagraha. 

-Gandhi, My Early Life, 1869 to 1914

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Transcript

First of all, let's clear this up. Obviously, he does not mean the kind of lynching that we have, unfortunately, witnessed in our country in past centuries where you actually, you know, kill a human being. He must be referring here to some kind of concerted attack against him for something that he said or wrote. And that is to see it as a lynching was not too great of an exaggeration.

It's the same impulse carried out in drastic practice that leads to those destructive acts. But the important point, really, that he's making here is that when you are involved in a right cause with the right means even apparent setbacks can help drive you forward. That's really encouraging and inspiring for us to be aware of.