The thing Gandhi did was fight. A kind of fighting based on ahimsa, the Sanskrit word for non-harming. To stand one's ground, to not be moved, to refuse to be fucked with, but to never strike back directly -- that is non-violent resistance. It can be applied to one's own life as well as to revolutions.
When people send out negative energy, the most actively productive thing one can do without violating ahimsa is to simply deflect it back. Keep the heart strong and clear, and from that clarity erect a field off which the negative energy will bounce back to the sender. Do not wish the sender harm. In fact, keep compassion in your heart as you erect this protection. The energy the sender projects is her own karma. You are deflecting it so that it doesn't get tangled up in your karma. Your compassion may defuse some of it and end up helping the sender, but really it's not your responsibility. It just Is. Deflect it and let the negative sender deal with her own consequences.
The other important protection is to always remain in Truth. If rumors, hurtful words, irrational actions, or other direct attempts at harm are levelled at one just remain in the center of Being that is Truth, and those words will be meaningless.
Non-violent resistance is not passive, nor pacifist. It is the impenetrable wall of pure intention.
