Dr. Alessandro Paolo’s Post of Sevagram Ashram Visit
Reflections and Photos of the Ashram
Dr. Alessandrao Paolo, Lanza del Vasto scholar from Italy who visited Sevagram Ashram , Library and Research Centre in the last week of March 2024 wrote his reflections on a post . He wrote “Although tired from the frantic 'battle of colours' in the streets of Vrindavan and from over a thousand kilometers by train, I arrive in Sevagram, Wardha, at the height of emotion. Gandhi and Kasturbai lived here for years, together with their countless guests and collaborators; Lanza del Vasto arrived and served here in '37; here I meet the Prof. Siby Joseph, director of the Sri Jamnalal Bajaj Memorial Library and Research Center for Gandhian Studies (https://sevagramashram.org.in/index.php/library-and-research-centre), emeritus and witty intellectual of international depth, translator and custodian of various writings by/about Shantidas, among the few in the entire Asian continent.”. To read the whole text click the link in Italian.
https://alessandropaolo.substack.com/p/viaggio-alla-scoperta-dellindia-gandhiana-937
He also shared photos he clicked during the ashram visit .
The link of his thesis on Lanza del Vasto
https://iris.unimol.it/handle/11695/127192
Non-violence according to Lanza del Vasto and the Ark: philosophical, socio-political and juridical implications for possible paths of intercultural pedagogy
La non-violenza di Lanza del Vasto e
dell'Arca: spunti filosofici, socio-politici e giuridici per percorsi di
pedagogia interculturale
PAOLO,
Alessandro
2023-05-03
Abstract
Goals • Retracing the biography of Lanza del Vasto (1901-1981)
and the history of the Ark; • Examining the broad and deep philosophy of the
author; • Assessing non-violence in Vedic, Upaniṣadic and Jain visions, as well
as in Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave and Satish Kumar; • Exposing a contemporary paradigm
of non-violence under a triple juridical, negotiating and communicative lens; •
Offering an overview of pedagogical approach within the Ark; • Comparing the
thought of Lanza del Vasto and the Ark with spiritually oriented non-violent
anarchisms. Mathodology This research has been carried out during three years
of bibliographic and ethnographic research, including readings, translations,
selections, summaries, comparisons, reformulations, revisions of hundreds of
books, essays, magazines, articles in Italian, English, French and Spanish,
found in Italy, Switzerland, France and the United Kingdom during three periods
of fieldwork abroad. The methodological posture has been generally
(self)critical, reflective and interpretative. The interconnection between
reflection and research underlying this thesis, which stemming from a
biographical and intellectual reconstruction deals with multiple speculative
and practical implications concerning the broad topic of non-violence, follows
both a deductive approach and an inductive one. Therefore, the research has
been empirical, with the 'naturalist' care to minimize the artificial means for
collecting data and testimonies; longitudinal, attentive to changes over a
prolonged period of time; trans-cultural and comparative, focused on the
examination of different case-studies. Results and impact Giuseppe Giovanni
Lanza del Vasto, direct disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, has been one of the most
prominent and prolific thinkers, authors and living witnesses of non-violence
in the 20th century. As an insightful critic of violent structures (state,
capitalism, authoritarian socialism) and a mentor for thousands of women and
men from all around the world, affiliated with the Ark since late forties,
Shantidas, ‘servant of peace’ as Gandhi named him, can be considered a
pioneering figure for contemporary reflections, discourses and practices
connecting the galaxy of non-violence with anarchism, deep ecology,
yogic-ecumenical spirituality and decoloniality. His ‘Gandhian tribe’ has never
lived entrenched in its strongholds, locked up in private happiness, oblivious
to social struggles: its non-violent campaigns, actions and initiatives have
rather been key milestones in the history of non-violence in the West, worthy
of consideration for all those scholars and activists who engage themselves in
struggles for justice, freedom and peace. Therefore, this thesis also examines
the complexity of non-violence and its implications from socio-political
historical, pedagogical, juridical and economic perspectives, suggesting many
paths for debates and experimentations. Interviews to key protagonists,
relevant analysis and unpublished translations are also included.
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