Shanti Sena and OWS.

[Zorra]

Shanti Sena is one way we maintain peace and harmony at Rainbow Gatherings. It has been extremely effective for us for 4 decades. I'm not sure how this would work with OWS, but if outlined and discussed in General Assemblies, a consensus on some effective variant of Shanti Sena might be achieved and later implemented.

It may be the most effective method for identifying and containing the Black/Blackwater Bloc(s), and for preventing them from committing acts of violence and destruction as well.

Comments/Ideas/Suggestions kicked around here at DU could be very useful for discussion at General Assemblies.

Shanti Sena

The Shanti Sena or "Peace army" was made up of Gandhi's followers in India. Its non-violent methods have been adopted by other movements such as the World Peace Brigade, Nonviolent Peaceforce, Swaraj Peeth and the Rainbow Family of Living Light.

"Shanti Sena" is a term first coined by Gandhi when he conceptualized a nonviolent volunteer peacekeeping program dedicated to minimizing communal violence within the Indian populace. The words "Shanti" and "Sena" both come from Sanskrit. Shanti means peace and Sena means army, or a drilled band of men. The word "Sena" has been criticized for its connection to militarism, but for Gandhi, it had strong metaphorical and spiritual qualities connected to its use in the Hindu vedas.

In the aftermath of the Gandhian era, Shanti Sena has appeared in various incarnations. Two Gandhian followers developed separate groups based on their interpretations of it: Vinoba Bhave established a Shanti Sena that prioritized Gandhi's spiritual approach towards the program, while JP established a program that focused more on the political motivations of the program. The Shanti Sena program also became institutionalized into India's Gandhigram Rural University, where it was incorporated into the university's constitution. Currently Shanti Sena is also very active in Sri Lanka as a part of the organization Sarvodaya.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanti_Sena

In addition to the vibe that we are *all* responsible for keeping the peace, and the encouragement for everyone to be involved in what we Rainbows see as a community responsibility, it's important to know that there is also a Shanti Sena Clan that sees peacekeeping as being their primary volunteer service at a gathering. There is some consistency in networking and communications for more serious or ongoing situations, as well.

Just as with any volunteer service, some people don't want to do it at all. Others are happy to help out when the need arises. Others, such as myself, consider ourselves on duty 24 hours a day. Naturally, the degree of experience and competence varies, as does the degree to which people communicate with others about day-to-day or ongoing situations.

Many of the folks at the gathering carry radios. Not all of them are Shanti Sena. And not all Shanti Sena clan carry radios at all times. But if there is a serious situation that needs more than an on-the-spot intervention, anyone can go up to anyone with a radio and ask them to call for a major Shanti Sena effort or a Shanti Sena council.

Examples of when to put out the word gathering-wide that Shanti Sena help is needed would be an instance of a lost child, or a violent person who is out of control.

http://www.welcomehome.org/rainbow/tech/shantisena/carla02.html

Peace

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[Zorra]

2. kick

[Octafish]

3. Shanti Sena would be a GREAT idea...

...it would add strength and numbers to the OWS movement.

Thank you for the heads-up, Zorra!

[Zorra]

4. You're very welcome.

I'm very glad that you think that this is a good idea, Octafish.

Shanti Sena seems to me to be very much in the same spirit as OWS.

[Zorra]

5. kick

[Fire Walk With Me]

6. Is that where some peaceful folk surround any troublemaker and talk them down

for as long as it takes, and also separate them from the group as required? Coalition_Unwilling mentioned seeing this last week at #Occupy Los Angeles. It sounds wonderful, I had never heard of it before. Congratulations on having long since been practitioners!

[Zorra]

8. Pretty much. We adapt according to the situation.

I've never had to deal with anything except one persons bad LSD trip , and that was not at a Rainbow Gathering but at different event and was the only time I ever volunteered for Shanti Sena.

With OWS I imagine we would surround anyone with a black mask dressed in black and take photos/videos of the person immediately and then take it from there. Some folks are very experienced at Shanti Sena, I hope some of them show up at some General Assemblies for discussion.

Many of the "elders" (I don't know what else to call them, they're not "leaders") that help coordinate Rainbow Gatherings are amazing, very experienced, intelligent, and wise. I imagine a few of them are involved with OWS in different places. For 4 decades at national gatherings we have remained a successful leaderless, peaceful group of around 10,000 people with few serious problems, largely because of the effectiveness of Shanti Sena, as well as the overall belief in non-violence held by the family in general.

[coalition_unwilling]

9. At Occupy Los Angeles, a Rainbow Family person introduced the

proposal to use Shanti Sena to the General Assembly on October 23. The OLA GA passed it by consensus then. The next weekend, I saw it in use against a Disruptor. Although no violence took place, the Disruptor (a mentally disturbed individual) was able to derail the GA for 30 minutes before regular business could resume.

So that's why I say it has had a mixed track record so far, at least at OLA.

[Zorra]

10. Non-violent peacekeeping can take some serious patience.

It's awesome that Shanti Sena is being tried out at your occupation.

It is an alternative to using violence. We can't legally use violent methods for disruptors, and IMO it's really not cool to hurt people anyway.

Was there, in your opinion, another more effective peaceful way to deal with the disruptor?

Something else you would have done to remedy the situation?

Maybe we can come up with an improvement.

[coalition_unwilling]

11. Well, let's just say that the Disruptor shit all over the collective

rights of everyone who was there for GA for about 30 minutes we'll never get back.

I've been carrying on this same dialogue with someone on Daily Kos. He takes a very hard line, saying that the Disruptor should have been muscled away from the GA, violently if need be, and turned over to the LAPD.

I think more training in it will help but I was a bit taken aback to see what I consider the sacrosanct GA derailed for 30 minutes by one lone nut.

[coalition_unwilling]

7. It's actually in use at Occupy Los Angeles, with mixed results so far. - n/t

[Fire Walk With Me]

12. AH! AH! AH!

When the earth is ravaged and the animals are dying, a new tribe of people shall come unto the earth from many colors, classes, creeds, and who by their actions and deeds shall make the earth green again. They will be known as the warriors of the Rainbow -- Old Native American Prophecy

http://www.welcomehome.org/rainbow/

[Party Line]

13. My experiences w/ the

Shanti Sena at national gatherings have always been positive. I can see them being a force for good at OWS. The one thing I think that people people who take up this role at Occupy locations need to be aware of is the greater chance of legal ramifications for them than what they have to worry about at gatherings.

[SpiralHawk]

14. Shanti Sena

yes