Sadae Naidoo, an MA Student in Political Science, writes about Perry Garfinkel’s powerful lecture on living Gandhi’s values and the challenges of applying them in today’s fast-paced world.

A talk by Perry Garfinkel
On Wednesday, October 22, 2025, our lecture room filled with students and faculty for a talk by Perry Garfinkel. He is a veteran journalist and longtime contributor to The New York Times, as well as the author of Becoming Gandhi: My Experiment Living the Mahatma’s 6 Moral Truths in Immoral Times. Garfinkel spoke with the calm assurance of someone who has spent decades exploring culture, belief, and morality. He shared how his latest book came from his attempt to live by Gandhi’s principles of truth, nonviolence, simplicity, vegetarianism, faith, and celibacy for one year. He told stories from his time in India, where he retraced parts of Gandhi’s journey, and reflected on what it means to live ethically in a world that often rewards the opposite. He described truth not just as honesty but as transparency with oneself and others. He explained nonviolence as something that begins with communication; it’s the action of choosing empathy over accusation, understanding over reaction.

At one point, he asked a question that hung in the air: Did Gandhi’s influence truly change the world, or has it become more symbolic than practical? He noted how modern India has transformed with paved roads where Gandhi once walked and how the world’s memory of Gandhi risks turning into monuments instead of movement. It was a challenge to everyone in the room to consider whether we are keeping those values alive or simply admiring them from afar. The audience was deeply engaged. Students and faculty asked about activism, faith, and whether Gandhi’s ideals could survive in today’s fast-paced, digital, and divided society. Garfinkel addressed these questions with humor and honesty; he spoke on his own interpretation of Gandhi’s life and teachings.

For me, the most powerful part was his discussion of nonviolent communication, a concept that feels desperately needed in our world today. His words reminded me how easily conversations can become confrontations, and how intentional language can build bridges instead of walls. However, I found myself disagreeing with one idea: Garfinkel suggested that faith can be practiced in solitude, but I believe faith requires and flourishes in community. Solitude can strengthen belief, but community gives it purpose. It is in shared faith that compassion becomes action.

In essence, Perry Garfinkel’s talk was a reminder that living truthfully and peacefully is a lifelong experiment, not a one-time achievement. His lecture invited us to embody the values we admire to be, in our own small ways, like Gandhi, by showing up, speaking kindly, and practicing simplicity and compassion wherever we can. The talk left me thoughtful, inspired, and reminded that change, like faith, begins with the courage to live differently.