S1E98 - Perry Garfinkel - Gandhi was a Great Marketeer
We spent a recorded hour with esteemed journalist and editor Perry Garfinkel author of the bestselling Buddha or Bust and the recently published Becoming Gandhi. Perry spoke of his quest to find morality in Gandhi's life and work and Gandhi's six principles and the differences between being and becoming – the latter presupposing the infinite in practice. Perry spoke of the Mahatma's lack of understanding of his own sexuality as well as his belief in goodness, which Perry labeled "pollyannaish." He was able to mix criticism of Gandhi and his principles, including naivete about social violence in man's nature and less sophistication in Gandhi than in the Buddha, with high respect for Gandhi's deep understanding of human suffering and the need for compassion and empathy with an enduring belief in passive resistance as a means to change. Perry spoke of religious differences in India and Gandhi's letters to Hitler, which went unanswered, and the media's overplay of an incident involving the Dalai Lama, who wrote the foreword to Perry's book, and a young boy. Michael and Perry also discuss the efficacy in today's world of passive resistance and links to Thoreau and Martin Luther King, as well as fasting and the impact of Richard Attenborough's famous film about the Mahatma and the Mahatma's essential twin pillars of truth and non-violence. Perry concluded by calling himself a cynic by profession but one who felt heartened as a result of being changed by studying Gandhi and striving to be "Perry 2.0."
Biography
This interview will NOT be recorded live but you can still submit your questions. Please send your questions in here: www.greymatter.show. Questions must be received by 10:00am September 7th.
Perry Garfinkel is a Bay Area-based veteran journalist, editor, frequent speaker, writing instructor, and author of the bestselling "Buddha or Bust," three other books on male psychology, travel writing and his latest, "Becoming Gandhi." He has contributed to many sections of the New York Times since 1986 and has written for National Geographic Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, the Huffington Post, and others. He has co-authored 4 books for Rodale Press and has ghost written books for three leading psychologists, a rabbi and a celebrity chef in India. He has appeared on CNN's "Faces of Faith" and "CBS This Morning."
Conversation recorded on September 7, 2024.