Arun was prone to violence. His parents did not know what to do so they sent him to his grandfather's ashram in the hopes of teaching Arun the philosophy of non-violence. His grandfather was later to become famous for defeating the British and securing independence for his country by using a form of non-violence called "Truth Force". [More about that later.] 

When Arun arrived at the ashram his grandfather was using a charka (Indian spinning wheel) to make his own clothing. His grandfather gave him a pencil to write down his ideas and experiences at the ashram.  

As he wrote down his feelings, he began to understand them better. He became so excited about writing he wore down the pencil and the eraser. When the pencil grew short, he threw it away, and asked his grandfather to supply him with another one. 

His grandfather explained: "To make a pencil, a tree was killed, a rubber plant was injured, and many people toiled to make the pencil.” 

To throw away a pencil that could still be used is a form of passive violence. Passive violence is when a person or persons (in this case, workers) are disrespected; when people are oppressed or used; when resources are wasted, and so on. 

Physical violence is born out of passive violence. To stop physical violence we must stop passive violence. 

Arun travels the world teaching others how to stop violence by beginning with stopping passive violence.

[I heard this account at an SGI youth division sponsored "Victory Over Violence" event from an SGI youth division member. There are more Arun stories to come. The next one is about how Arun learned the power of the "Truth Force".]