110 years of freedom - Harley Davidson

 

Ahimsa Harley now has a customized Harley-Davidson 110th Anniversary Graphic on the offical H-D.com, please visit the link below and VOTE ... Thanks

http://110.harley-davidson.com/en_US/graphic-maker/logo/9215


How the Ahimsa Harley was created:

Reading Gandhi

 

The copper coin was most intriguing. On one side it read – MAHATMA GANDHI 1932 and the other it displayed the emblem of the British Raj. So a coin minted by the British in the name of Gandhi 15 years before independence , right after the failure of the famous round table talks in London. It could not be further from the truth … but what was the truth.  Reading Gandhi does not always mean reading volumes of pages written by him and hundreds of others, the world has been at it for a long time, Reading Gandhi according to me is reading between the lines, understanding this man we made the Mahatma, understanding his life, understanding events around him and far away from him and then learning from them for the 21^st century. But is it relevant …… Before I delve into that, let me tell you where the 1932 coin came from. It was minted in New York in 1935 by a Magician – Frank Ducrot as he had created a magic trick called the Mahatma. So how intriguing a man do you have to be to have a magic trick in your name, 10,000 miles away, in a land you have never visited in a time where Facebook, Twitter or YouTube did not exist. The story gets even more interesting where we learn that in 1901 Frank Ducrot was the editor and publisher of a magazine on magic called the MAHATMA …. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was called the Mahatma – Great One only from 1915 …. I am still reading to unravel this!!!!

Going back to the relevance of Gandhi in the 21^st century and if learnings from his life would cause change. Gandhi has been invoked by the most powerful even today, President Obama stated him when stumped by a question from an elementary school girl, Pop star Shakira invoked him in her award acceptance speech at the ILO, a bikers group in the United States – BAAC – Bikers against Animal Cruelty quotes him on their website, 10,000 people a city in brazil march in his honor every year, in 2011 a nation got democracy in 18 days using the weapon (SATYAGRAHA) created by him…….. Reading Gandhi is a book that gets written every day in some part of the world and the process never stops.

My journey on reading Gandhi began a few years ago when I started on my book – PEACE TRUTH AHIMSA – a photo biography of Mahatma Gandhi; it was launched in a form of a Limited edition on the 29th January 2010, a very cold day in London, the venue Nehru Center did not offer parking, but the crowds overflowing into the street of Mayfair proved without doubt that Gandhi still lives between us. The next 36 months have been a high speed adrenaline ride across continents, from the Tolstoy farm in Johannesburg, South Africa, to the United Nations and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The book got invited to the international book fair in Beijing, was honored in Tokyo, and recently was at Cairo in the midst of all the turmoil, hope and change. It’s like riding a hi speed bike of change.

Speaking of bikes, I got an opportunity to engage with 900 teenagers who had gathered from multiple countries as a part of the Harvard Model United Nations, I was to speak to them on “Mahatma Gandhi in the 21^st century” for an hour before the start of a social evening.  Needless to say the excitement was not very high. The evolution I witnessed that night was motivating as I attempted to inspire the children with the life of Gandhi. At the end to express their energy they all transformed a Harley Davidson by signing their names and messages, creating a symbol of peace truth and ahimsa. This single act reconfirmed to me that the youth of today are ready to embrace the path that created the most powerful weapon known to mankind – Satyagraha (Truth Force).

That night I started on a path that has a destination / a goal, a goal to inspire the new generation with Peace Truth & Ahimsa (nonviolence) and create the next Gandhi in the world. The world needs another Gandhi and needs him fast, in fact the true need is a Gandhi in every continent, country, city, town and village. The need is so immense that it’s in our blind spot and my task is to show to the world why we need him in the 21^st century. The destination is clear but the route is mapped by people, people who provide the opportunity to speak to the world.

As I continue reading Gandhi, I attempt to rewrite it for the 21^st century at the Museum of PEACE TRUTH AHIMSA, at Bapu Ghat, Langar Houze in Hyderabad. On most days the Ahimsa Harley is parked inside along with a host of memorabilia – Time magazines from 1930, 31 and 47 featuring Gandhi on the cover, a signed book by Sir Richard Attenborough, and the 1932 coin from New York … the list goes on. The Museum also features the largest image wall on Gandhi, its 76 feet long and 10 feet high with over 400 images. The digital zone attached has the voice, letters and films of the Mahatma accessible on I-pads, touch screens and projectors. The - I AM GANDHI student program at the museum allows children to touch and read Gandhi in a unique way, hoping to find the next Gandhi.

As a footnote to this article: The Ahimsa Harley was recently displayed at the India Bike Week in Goa, the bike invited maximum attention and got the maximum likes on the Facebook page of the event. People Reading Gandhi.

Birad Rajaram Yajnik

Feb 2013

CHANGE Happens on Facebook - Ahimsa Harley

 

The first-annual India Bike Week in Goa, India was an amazing milestone event that took place January 31 - February 3, 2013 to help celebrate Harley-Davidson's 110th Anniversary.

The Ahimsa Harley was displayed at the venue along with a ton of bikes and events.

BikeWale review on Ahimsa Harley

"Called the Ahimsa Harley, this is not a normal Harley. This motorcycle has been signed by over 900 students. The concept was to kick start a revolution of Peace Truth and Ahimsa and create a symbol that would announce to the world that this generation is ready to embrace Mahatma Gandhi. The 900 students supported this by signing on a Harley Davidson turning into it a Ahimsa Harley."

On the Harley Davidson Facebook page it was a treat to see the Ahimsa Harley get the Maximum "likes" in the India Bike Week album….. MK Gandhi would be smiling …..

The legacy of Mahatma Gandhi TODAY rests on the shoulders of the Egyptian people

 

 

The legacy of Mahatma Gandhi TODAY rests on the shoulders of the Egyptian people; two years ago they lead a peaceful revolution. Over the last week the news around the world shows violence and the protests from most parts of Egypt.

I have spent the last week in Cairo and would like to state that it is a peace loving proud country of young people, young people who have aspiration to evolve in a democratic peaceful nation. They are proud of their 5000 year history and hospitality is at their core.

It’s a country that has potential to grow into a modern yet traditional, a futuristic yet historical, proud yet peaceful nation …. One that Gandhi would be proud of…….