Gandhian Perspective On "Convergence Of Values: Spiritual, Political And Economic" By M. P. Lele

Articles : On & By Gandhi

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Gandhian Perspective On "Convergence Of Values: Spiritual, Political And Economic"
By M. P. Lele

Mahatma Gandhi has been described as a very unique personality who combined saintliness with politics. His advocacy of spiritualization of politics was not intended to mix politics with religion. It was rather, a passionate appeal for moralizing the culture and practice of politics. Although Gandhi’s popular image was that of a statesman, who successfully used nonviolence as a tool in the struggle for his political objective i.e., independence for India, elementally Gandhi was a humanist, who ventured through out his life to seek Truth as God.

Philosophically speaking, Gandhi believed in affirmation of the essential unity of all existence, the indivisibility of truth and interrelation of truth and nonviolence. While the former was the end, the latter was the means to achieve that, in whatever field i.e., social, economic or political, he worked in the course of his life’s mission.

Gandhi’s concept of religion transcends the rigid framework of a sectarian approach. About religion he said that it binds one indissolutely to the truth within and purifies actions. It is the personal element in human nature, which leaves the soul restless until it has found itself.

Gandhi was a revolutionary in every field that he treaded. To the protagonists of pure religion, he advised, “Carry God to the poor in a bowl of rice rather than a bundle of high dogmas and logic.”

Religion provides the ethical framework for all social and political actions of Gandhi. Wither it was satyagraha (use of moral force) for pressing political demands or his multi-faceted constructive programmes like Hindu-Muslim unity, upliftment of the oppressed classes or his emphasis on Swadeshi and Khadis, there was an underlying spiritual urge. Many of his critics and even some of his closest colleagues felt that Gandhi’s views were utopian and antithetical to modernity. But as the dust settles down on his historical agenda of political work, it is evident that as a practical person he always tried to strike a balance between the political realities on the ground and his moral ideological pursuits.

About his vision of India as an independent nation, Gandhi said: “My notion of Poorna Swaraj is not isolated independence but a healthy and disciplined inter-dependence between nations. My nationalism is not exclusive, nor designed to harm any other nation. It is rather to promote international cooperation.” About party politics as a social instrument, Gandhi was very skeptical. He wrote, “Today politics pushes the individual into immoral and anti-social conduct. Mutual distrust and enmity result into conflicts and wars, which unleash the bases of human passions even under the moral guise such as—patriotism, bravery, self-sacrifice and altruism. For satyagraha, Gandhi put four essential requirements:

Faith and regard for Truth


Strict adherence to nonviolence


Purity of means, as the ends and means are inter-convertible terms


Fearlessness (Abhaya) where pain is voluntarily borne by a satyagrahi.

Although Gandhi’s basic ideas on economics were rooted in the oriental spiritual traditions of ‘Aparigraha’ (spirit of non-possession) and ‘Sanyama’ (restraint in consumption), his ideas on economics got crystallized as he went on analyzing the cause of the plight and poverty of poor nations like India, who had suffered due to the exploitative policies of capitalist and colonial powers. Gandhi’s views on economics reflect the common man’s perception about his well-being.

Modern Economics has taken its shape after the industrial revolution in the later part of the 18th century. The resultant craze for material progress put forth the Growth Oriented development model. Today, economic growth has become the standard measure of power, strength and virtue at all levels i.e., individual, national and international. The IMF and World Bank and their multi-faceted arms working in forums like WTO etc. are trying to impress upon nations that they should accelerate their growth rate in order to integrate themselves into the process of globalization, despite the fact that it has brought about ecological imbalances, environmental problems and increasing disparity of economic well-being among nations.

Today in retrospect, Gandhi appears to be prophetic in outrightly rejecting the growth model of economic development. In Hind Swaraj, his first exposition on the contemporary issues in the early 20th century, Mahatma Gandhi severely criticized the western model of development and its resultant civilization. He labeled it as “Satanic”, calling it a product of dark age, “Kaliyuga” of Indian mythology. Gandhi said that this civilization is enslaving men by offering temptation of money and the luxuries as its fruit. Alternatively, Gandhi propounded the model of “Sarvodaya”—the good for all. He said that economics has to be infused with spiritual values. It should create social prosperity in terms of cordial relationship, among different layers of society rather than accumulation of sheer material wealth in certain pockets only.

Today, it is a growing realization that even the so-called affluent societies created by the growth based economic model are experiencing isolation, emptiness and are loosing their own perspectives. At the personal level, it is causing acute stress, depression and insecurity. Gandhi said that an economy based purely on material considerations and totally devoid of any value base would not bring happiness to mankind. Only that economic system which is regulated by ideals rooted in permanent order of things would achieve the vision of a sustainable world.

Crucial features of Gandhi’s economic model could be summarized as follows:

All wealth is produced jointly and should therefore bye equally divided among those who have produced it.

Everyone should get enough to satisfy his needs as also reasonable comforts of life.

There should be limitation on human wants within certain reasonable limits. Gandhi said, “Nature produces enough for our day-to-day needs, and if everybody took just enough for himself and nothing more, there would be no pauperism in this world.”

For the use of accumulated wealth, Gandhi came up with the doctrine of trusteeship. Similarly, his Swadeshi movement was aimed at the rejuvenation of Indian Industry and Village Crafts which gave employment to rural folk in times when they had no farm work in hand.

Gandhi said that Science and Technology should be so regulated that they work for public good and not as tools to exploit hapless masses.

In Gandhi’s words, “True economics never militates against the highest ethical standards, just as all true ethics to be worth its name, must also be good economics”.

Mahatma Gandhi thus offers us an integrated approach and solution to the calls and cries of the present times. He believed that human life follows an integral unity in all its aspects and hence it could not be addressed in parts or dealt with in compartments like social, religious, political, economic and so on. In the Gandhian perspective of things, all life sustaining values converge into an integrated pattern. Gandhi firmly believed that for a sustainable world, the development model must have its roots in spiritual values. However, they must express themselves through the normal activities of life in all fields i.e., economic, social and political.

Source: Anasakti Darshan Vol.2, No.2, July-December 2006

Gandhi, Spirituality, And Social Action By Surendra Bhana*

Articles : On & By Gandhi

Gandhi, Spirituality, And Social Action
By Surendra Bhana*


Time magazine selected Indian social reformer Mohandas K. Gandhi the runner-up to scientist Albert Einstein as the Man of the Millennium. As Johanna McGeary said in her lead-article, “The flesh and blood Gandhi was a most unlikely saint. Just conjure up his portrait: a skinny, bent figure, nut brown and naked except for a white loincloth, cheap spectacles perched on his nose, frail hand grasping a tall bamboo staff. This was one of the century's great revolutionaries? Yet this strange figure swayed millions with his hypnotic spell. His garb was the perfect uniform for the kind of revolutionary he was, wielding weapons of prayer and nonviolence more powerful than guns.” Gandhi may have become a “towering myth” in the West, but it was one that mattered. His work and his spirit have awakened a moral beacon for all times.

At first glance, Gandhi's ideas may seem irrelevant to current struggles for social change. He railed at industrialism and material pleasures. He remained unpersuaded by the value of modernity and technology, and offered us instead a backward-looking romantic vision of a simple society. Much of his ascetic personal philosophy has lost its meaning for newer generations of people used to more hedonistic ways. His kind of pacifism would not be tolerated even in India where he is regarded as the Father of the Nation.

Despite Gandhi’s idiosyncrasies and the anachronism of some of his ideas, there is much to his beliefs that is relevant. For us, his enduring value lies in the power of love, peace, and freedom. Freedom and justice were ever his guiding light. His ecumenical approach to religion is a model of tolerance that we can follow; and his vision of non-violence as a basis of change provides lessons for resolving conflicts within our society.

We are particularly attracted by Gandhi's way that reform begins with an individual. Spiritualize and awaken the individual conscience, and we will have an easier road to peaceful change. A majority of one is all one requires to effect meaningful change.

Spirituality as the Basis of Change: The Context of Gandhi's Social Action

For Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948), religion was both, the formal where ritual practices diverged, and the eternal where all faiths had common goals. Prayers were needed to affirm and activate the divine within, not to ask favours. He did not care for dogmas. For him, it was not theology but morality that mattered. There was truth in each of the religions, but that did not mean they were all true, because they contained some falsehood as well. God was infinite even if every religion was partial and limited. He argued for sadbhava, that is goodwill and toleration. Therefore religions could gain much by a dialogue, and none should claim exclusivity since it would amount to "spiritual arrogance." Religion was "not an authoritative and monolithic structure of ideas and practices, but a resource from which one freely borrowed ..." It was the basis of all life, and it thus shaped all activities. No action was without the influence of religion, and for him politics was not separate from religion, although he did not advocate theocracy. Religion was a matter of freely and sincerely held beliefs.

Gandhi was following an ancient tradition of using spirituality as a basis of social change. The Buddha and Jesus Christ had used them effectively. Gandhi’s unique discourse on the subject was the result of his having discovered the East and the West at about the same time, the one through the other. Thus he incorporated Christian notions of love, forgiveness, and uncomplaining suffering into his philosophy while rejecting the idea that salvation could come only through Christ; and he embraced Islam’s emphasis on equality. Jainism's anekantavada (the many-sidedness of truth) made him tolerant to all religions.

Injustices could be eliminated if ahimsa (non-violence) was practiced. But he found the Hindu idea of ahimsa too passive, and the Christian notion of love too attached. Thus he combined ahimsa and love, and added the Hindu concept of anaskati (detachment) to arrive at his activist philosophy. For Gandhi the world was ordered on moral principles and brute force had no place in it. He added fasting as a tool in his armoury. Fasting was not hunger strike designed to extract submission or evoke self-pity. Rather it was a way of atoning vicariously for the misdeeds of others. This "vicarious suffering" like "voluntary crucifixion" is an essentially Christian idea.

Hinduism nevertheless formed the core of his religious beliefs. It offers salvation through karma-yoga (selfless action), raja-yoga (bodily discipline), bhakti-yoga (devotional endeavours), and jnana-yoga (knowledge through mental discipline). He chose to stress the first, and adapted it to four fundamental Hindu ideas to suit his philosophy of social activism. Thus, Moksha (individual liberation), Tapasya (penitence), Yoga (mind-body harmonization), and Samadhi (withdrawal to prepare for moksha) all were adapted to suit his commitment for social reform and change in the service of the poor and the needy.

He drew upon the lives of ordinary people to create symbols with which they could identify. His approach was always aimed at appealing to the head and the heart. In any situation, he set the rules, developed his own unique logic. From this core set of beliefs, he shaped satyagraha (Passive Resistance). This concept means "soul-force" in Sanskrit, but in Gujarati (Gandhi's native language), it also means insisting on truth without being obstinate or uncompromising. Truth had many sides, so one had to remain open and flexible. The use of violence implied infallibility and was therefore totally inappropriate in satyagraha. He called satyagraha "surgery of the soul" intended to awaken the opponent’s humanity.

A satyagrahi (one who pursues Passive Resistance) has to observe certain rules of behaviour: believe in the power of right action, think rationally, study the situation, dissuade the opponent, keep open the channels of communications, use intermediaries, follow rules and principles, be courteous, remain open to compromise, and accept suffering love. If the opponent proved to be unyielding, the satyagrahi must engage in economic and political action such as boycott. Take positive action, or be trampled upon like worms, is the way he put it.

This is the lesson he sought to impart at his ashrams or communal settings where he experimented in group living. Religious spirit was used at these places to turn the individual into a social activist. The first, Phoenix Settlement, was inspired by a single reading of John Ruskin’s Unto This Last (1900), a work that extolled the virtues of the simple life of love, labour, and human dignity. The second was founded in 1910, and was called Tolstoy Farm in honour of Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910). Gandhi first read the Russian’s The Kingdom of God is Within You in 1893 soon after it was published. At these two experiments in communal living, he sought to shape the moral and spiritual life of the residents so that they may engage effectively in political and social change in the world outside.

When he returned to India, ashrams continued to be an important part of his life. He taught the residents to serve their fellows around strict moral principles, and to be daunted by nothing, not even death, in pursuing their goals. They were expected to find the truth through a life of simplicity, tolerance, hard-work, discipline, and self-reliance. Christians, Hindus, and Muslims nurtured respect for one another. There was much that was experimental as the residents tried out new diets, nature cure, and harmonious living with the environment. It was a way of training an army of spiritualized soldiers ready to effect change through ahimsa (non-violence). The ashrams produced heroic individuals.

He entered South Africa in 1893 a hesitant person; he left in 1914 self-confident and purposeful, spiritual and humble. He had learned that thought had no meaning unless it was lived out. Life was shallow unless it carried with it a vision. It was a weapon with great potential.

In India, Gandhi launched the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920 that lasted for two years. It was inspired by the simple but effective idea of withdrawing cooperation to the imperial government, and of setting up alternative institutions. Non-cooperation came in several stages: resigning from government services, refusing to use government-created institutions, withholding taxes, quitting the armed services, and destroying foreign cloth. The movement made independence a widely shared goal. It radicalized a large body of Indians who had been drawn into it, and it helped to promote the Indian National Congress whose president he became in 1924. The movement reduced the hold of the colonial state on the people, but it failed to end foreign rule. For Gandhi, the failure signalled a need for reform from within. He withdrew from active politics, and devoted his energies to a "comprehensive syllabus" for change in what became known as the Constructive Program.

This program aimed at effecting national regeneration. Gandhi believed that Indians did not deserve independence unless they ended divisiveness, and changed their outmoded practices and beliefs. For him, political power for its own sake would only encourage careerism. Overall, Gandhi hoped to awaken spirituality. The program aimed to produce, among other things, Hindu-Muslim unity, equality for the untouchable caste, use of domestically-produced cloth (khadi), development of village industries, institution of craft-based education, and a ban on alcohol. It also worked for other desirable social changes such as introducing equality for women, developing health education, promoting indigenous languages, working for economic and social equality among peasants, workers, and tribal groups, creating a code of conduct for students, bringing help to lepers and beggars, and inculcating respect for animals.

For 35 years Gandhi single-mindedly expended his energies towards achieving these aims. The goal of political independence, however, had a logic different from and often contradictory to that of the Constructive Program. Satyagraha (Passive Resistance) required working within the institutions created by the colonial state. Many Indian leaders were more interested in political independence rather than moral regeneration, and believed that the second was better left until after the first had been achieved. Gandhi needed to redefine constantly the relationship among conventional politics, satyagraha, and his reform program, not always with success. This made his overall strategy incoherent, and he appeared occasionally erratic and unpredictable. He was most comfortable with his reform program and satyagraha rather than conventional politics.

Gandhi's search for communal harmony went with an inner personal search. When violence broke out between Hindus and Muslims, he blamed himself, and often wondered why God was not working for him. Was he pure, had he removed all traces of violence within himself? This brought him to the conclusion that the possible source of his violence was the presence of unconscious sexuality. He had already taken a vow of celibacy in 1906. He thus began his experiments of sleeping with carefully chosen female associates. The experiments showed him that he was pure and that God had not forsaken him. He was ready to offer his own life to fight against communal violence, and thus to awaken the conscience and moral energies of his misguided countrymen. From October 1946 to February 1947, he walked from village to village, working 18 hours a day and covering as many as 49 villages, living in huts. His feet developed chilblains. He faced death threats. Nothing deterred him.

Gandhi’s emphasis on awakening individual spirituality offers a solution to communities in search of ways to effect desirable social change. The process must begin with the individual. Awakened to the potential within, the individual will carry the message to others. The individual thus repays the moral debt owed to others, and contributes to harmonious living. This strategy is an effective anti-dote to the modern state’s tendencies towards centralization and bureaucratization; as well as against the intolerance that divide one human being from another. Share, do not waste resources; do not despoil the environment; and recognize that the earth belongs to all who live in it. There is much we can learn from him.

Gandhi's Ideas: A Basis for Dialogue and Action

There are five major ideas from Gandhi's teaching and example, and their implications for dialogue and social action.

1. Leadership By Example:

Gandhi exercised leadership by example. There was nothing he expected his followers to do that he himself was not prepared to do. There are many such instances when he took the lead. His sheer dedication and commitment inspired his followers. They quickly recognized that nothing deterred him. Here are three examples.

First: When he agreed to a political compromise in 1908 with the Boer leader Jan C. Smuts, some of his supporters accused him of expediency. He remained firm that it was the right thing to do, and so set out to be the first to register for a new identity document and thereby honour the compromise. On his way, however, he was severely assaulted by one of his compatriots. When he regained consciousness, he insisted on fulfilling his promise to be the first to register, and asked that the registrar be brought to him.

Second: He headed the column of 2000 marchers during the Great March of 1913 in South Africa. He dressed like them, ate what they ate, and was prepared to experience all the hardships that they endured.

Third: At the age of 61, Gandhi set out on the Salt March of 1930 with 78 loyal supporters. They marched 241 miles at the rate of 10 to 15 miles per day over 24 days. It was “child’s play” to him, but his feat of endurance was illustrative of what could be done with the courage and determination that were hallmarks of his leadership by example.

Based on Gandhi's leadership by example, here are some questions to stimulate dialogue and action: How would Gandhi's example be seen in your community? Would those trying to lead by his example have followers? How does experiencing hardships prepare us for leadership? In your community today, what sort of example would best fit the leadership needed to address what matters to local people?

2. Serving as a Moral Symbol:

Gandhi was himself a moral symbol: his dress, his language, mode of public speaking, food, bodily gestures, ways of sitting, walking, talking, laughter, humour, and staff or walking stick. Each evoked deep cultural memories, spoke volumes, and conveyed highly complex messages. He hoped to reach the "whole being" and thus to mobilize their moral energy. In this world that he created, the colonial world had no access. No other leader before Gandhi had such a clear and complete strategy of action. None possessed either his self-confidence or his organizational and communication skills.

Gandhi evolved a distinct mode of discourse. He appealed to the emotions by judiciously selecting culturally significant symbols drawn from the daily lives of ordinary Indians. The symbols were: khadi, cow, Gandhi cap, spinning wheel. The spinning wheel was not only intended to rebel against modern technological civilization, but was affirming the dignity of rural India. It also affirmed the dignity of manual labour and social compassion. By supporting the spinning wheel he was promoting the needs of the poor. It was infinitely more moral than asking for financial donations.

Consistent with the idea of Gandhi serving as a moral symbol, here are some questions to guide dialogue and action: In your community, what dress, language, and manner of speaking and acting would bring out the rich culture of the local people? What beliefs and values should be represented in our leaders (and followers)? What are the traps or challenges of being seen as a "moral' leader? How might it benefit (or harm) the cause of a group?

3. Non-Violence:

Rational discussion worked when different parties recognized their fallibility and were prepared to be self-critical and understood the psychological and moral context within which they operated. When this did not work, it was necessary to appeal to the heart to expand the range of sympathy and understanding for the other party. The recourse must not be violent. The use of violence denied that all human beings had souls, and that they were capable of appreciating and pursuing good, and that no one was so degenerate that he could not be won over by appealing to his fellow-feeling and humanity. Violence presupposed infallibility and this was not the case. The consequences of violence were irreversible. Morality suggested otherwise, and ends do not morally or otherwise justify the means.

Following Gandhi's practice of non-violence, here are some questions to promote dialogue and action: How was Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Civil Rights Movement in the United States influenced by the idea of non-violence as a means for social change? How has this idea influenced social change movement throughout the world? Are there conditions under which violence might be justified?

4. Satyagraha (Passive Resistance):

The way out of the dilemma of effecting change without violence is to use soul force. Mobilize the enormous latent energy of the soul, and thus bring to bear spiritual power to the issue. The new method should open up the opponent's heart and mind and thus renew rational discussion. However degenerate a person might be, he has a soul, and thus he has the capacity to feel for other human beings and to acknowledge their common humanity. Satyagraha was a "surgery of the soul", a way of activating "soul-force" and "suffering love" was the best way to do it since "moral nobility" disarmed opponents. A sense of common and indivisible humanity was necessary as an article of belief; as well as the feeling that degrading another degraded oneself. So the community's moral capital was necessary. Gandhi would say that it is always present no matter appearances to the contrary. Satyagraha has resonance in both Hindu and Christian traditions: spiritual nature of human beings, the power of suffering love, and the deliberate and skillfull use of suffering love to reach out to and to activate the moral energies of others.

In reflecting on Gandhi's idea of Satyagraha (Passive Resistance), here are some questions to stimulate dialogue and action: Under what conditions might passive resistance be more likely to be effective as a change of strategy? Under what conditions might it fail? For example, would we expect it to work in a Holocaust in which the Nazis killed millions of Jews?

5. Compromise and Negotiations:

A satyagrahi (or a practitioner of Passive Resistance) observed basic principles: study rationally, carefully, and methodically the situation; convince opponents of the passion of his feelings; keep open channels of communication; use intermediaries; observe rules and principles, be courteous; be ready for compromises; be prepared for suffering love. When the stakes got high (that is suffering love alone was not enough), the satyagrahis used additional methods: defiance of laws, non-payment of taxes, non-cooperation, and strikes. Gandhi's vocabulary changed when the reality proved intractable: "non-violent warfare", "peaceful rebellion". He also introduced fasting as a tactic for purification and attracting public support.

Gandhi's example of communication and compromise suggests several questions to guide our own efforts: How do we come to understand the situation in which we do community work? How do we demonstrate our commitment to bringing about desired change while being open to compromise? When do we use more aggressive approaches to change (e.g., strikes, boycott)? How do we keep communication open during a "battle" with others?

Conclusion: Applying Gandhi's Ideas in Today's Social Action

The modern industrial civilization is characterized by rationalism, secularization, science, technology, and globalization. Gandhi saw the impact of modern civilization essentially through the eyes of its victims. For him, all civilizations are inspired and energized by specific human conceptions, which, if corrupted could become sources of evil. The corruption he spoke of related to the neglect of the soul as a consequence of the emphasis on materialism and reason. It made for an aggressive, violent, and exploitative world sustained by regimentation and abuse of the natural environment in which the poor and the weak were treated with contempt.

The modern state tends to promote the idea that ordinary individuals—especially the poor and the "weak"—are not able to solve problems on their own. This has destroyed stable and long-established communities; devalued personal autonomy; and has undermined the individual’s sense of identity and continuity. It could destroy the moral foundation of the individual, and this could lead to indifference, alienation, and hostility.

Gandhi was prepared to accept the role of the state as a trustee within defined limits in which the local community could determine its own needs. In India’s case, the village community was a basic unit of economy. Large-scale industries were necessary, but they should be located in a city and restricted. Local communities should have the power to redefine their own institutions.

Gandhi’s notion of a good society held that human beings are informed by the spirit of piety and recognize their interdependence. They are governed by moral and spiritual powers. They cherish plurality of reason, intuition, faith, and traditions, and appreciate the individual’s need for autonomy. It places morality at the center of individual behaviour. The spirit of reverence and broad-minded tolerance is the hallmark of a society that Gandhi helped us to see.

*The author wrote his first article on Gandhi in 1975: "The Tolstoy Farm: Gandhi's Experiment of Co-operative Commonwealth," South African Historical Journal. Since then, he has continued to read and write on Gandhi. Gandhi's Legacy in 1997 focused on one hundred years of an organization that he founded in 1894 in South Africa, namely the Natal Indian Congress. Currently, he is researching new aspects of Gandhi in South African so as to better understand his life and work later in India.

Resources

The volume of literature on Gandhi is enormous. For the beginner, the following few references are a starting point.

Gandhi, Mohandas K., Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. New Delhi: Government Printer, 1958-1997. There are 100 volumes of Gandhi’s own writings over the course of his life, and are most useful sources of information to a scholar researching on Gandhi.


Gandhi, Mohandas K., Satyagraha in South Africa, Ahmedabad: Navajivan, 1928. This is a detailed account of the historical circumstances that surround the first Passive Resistance campaign in South Africa.


Gandhi, Mohandas K., The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Boston: Beacon Press, 1993. This most widely read autobiography is perhaps the best one-volume statement of Gandhi’s life by Gandhi himself.


Parekh, Bhiku, Gandhi, New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. This little volume (110 pages) is an excellent introduction to Gandhi’s life and thought.

Links to Related Websites:



Gandhi Information Center

http://home.snafu.de/mkgandhi/


Mahatma Gandhi Home Page

http://web.mahatma.org.in/


Time Magazine

http://time.com/time/time/time100/poc/runnerup2.html


M. K. Gandhi Institute for Peace

http://www.gandhiinstitute.org/


Gandhiserve

http://www.gandhiserve.com/

Gandhi Showed How Religion Is Used In Politics1 By Vishal Arora

Articles : On & By Gandhi

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Gandhi Showed How Religion Is Used In Politics1
By Vishal Arora


Mahatma Gandhi said his mission was to win self-rule. He did not mean it as an exclusive term nor did it connote theocracy. Gandhi's vision was broad enough to encompass various faiths.

Those who believe religion cannot play a constructive role in politics must study how Mahatma Gandhi led India to win independence from the British rule with a struggle that was founded on religious beliefs.
Gandhi said his mission was to win Swaraj (self-rule), which he envisioned and portrayed as “Ramarajya”. Ramarajya was not an exclusive term, and nor did it mean theocracy. It called for establishment of a just and humane government and society which, according to him, was realising God on earth. Winning independence politically was only a small part of it.
Gandhi clarified that Ramarajya did not mean a rule of the Hindus. “My Rama is another name for Khuda or God. I want Khudai raj, which is the same thing as the Kingdom of God on earth” (Haimchar, February 26, 1947). He explained that politically translated, it is perfect democracy in which, “inequalities based on possession and non-possession, colour, race or creed or sex vanish; in it, land and State belong to the people, justice is prompt, perfect and cheap and, therefore, there is freedom of worship, speech and the Press—all this because of the reign of the self-imposed law of moral restraint” (The Hindu, June 12, 1945).
Gandhi’s Satyagraha (struggle for truth) movement, which compelled the British to leave the country in 1947, was also grounded on explicit and strong religious beliefs.
Satyagraha involved the use of soul force as against the body force and was characterized by passive resistance and Ahimsa (non-violence). It sought to awaken the inherent virtues in those against whom it was used, and not to suppress perceived evil in them by any physical pressure or force. Besides, it was focused on self-purification rather than judgment of the other.

According to Gandhi, non-violence was a more active force than retaliation, which increases wickedness. “I contemplate a mental, and therefore, a moral opposition to immoralities. I seek entirely to blunt the edge of the tyrant’s sword, not by putting up against it a sharper-edged weapon, but by disappointing his expectation that I would be offering physical resistance” (Young India, October 8, 1925).

Satyagraha had three inseparable components.
One, it was aimed at a just cause. He said, “I claim that the method of passive resistance…is the clearest and safest, because, if the cause is not true, it is the resisters and they alone who suffer.” (Speeches and Writings of Mahatma Gandhi, G.A. Natesan & Co., 1933).
Two, it was effective but peaceful. “Passive resistance is an all-sided sword; it can be used anyhow; it blesses him who uses it and him against whom it is used. Without drawing a drop of blood it produces far-reaching results,” said Gandhi (“Hind Samaj or Indian Home Rule”, Navajivan Publishing House, 1958). He saw non-violence as “the end of all religions”. (Young India, May 29, 1924)
Three, it concerned impurities and weaknesses in the self rather than focusing on the evil in the object of resistance. For instance, he said it was the people in India who needed to change to earn the freedom. “It is the people alone who have to win swaraj; no man, not even the Viceroy, can grant it.” (The Hindu, May 29, 1921)

He also said, “When it (the government) sees the faith in yourselves which you will have displayed to the world by starting 20 lakh spinning-wheels within the time fixed, it will come down on its knees…When you have done this, the world will have realized, and so will have the Government, that you have faith in yourselves, that you really mean to have Swaraj.” (Navajivan, June 5, 1921)

Again, he said, “You must be religious and pure of heart. You must give up drinking and firmly vow to wear only pure swadeshi (indigenous) cloth…. You must bear in mind that no one who is wicked and of impure heart succeed in the non-cooperation struggle.” (The Hindu, May 29, 1921)
However, Gandhi’s use of religion was not idealistic, and nor was he over-optimistic about the realisation of his dream of Ramarajya. “It is a dream that may never be realized. I find happiness in living in that dreamland, ever trying to realize it in the quickest way.” (The Hindu, June 12, 1945)

His pragmatic approach can be gauged from the fact that he did not aim at becoming consistent in his views, but was open to new ideas based on experiences in life. “When anybody finds any inconsistency between any two writings of mine, if he has still faith in my sanity, he would do well to choose the latter of the two on the same subject,” he said. (Harijan, April 29, 1933)
Besides, Gandhi was not like some of his contemporaries, who too were using religion in their respective struggles for independence. What set him apart was the fact that while others highlighted worldly interests of religious communities—which created hatred and jealousy, he introduced tenets of various religions in politics with a vision that was broad enough to respect the needs of all communities. Religion, he said, in its broadest sense governs all departments of life, including politics. (Madras Mail, December 22, 1933)

Unfortunately, it is the misuse of religion that we see in politics of the day, and not the use of virtues found in religion.

1. Spero News online, February 1, 2008

Vishal Arora writes for CBCI and appears here with permission.

Mahatma Gandhi’s Leadership – Moral And Spiritual Foundations By Y. P. Anand

Articles : On & By Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi’s Leadership – Moral And Spiritual Foundations
By Y. P. Anand

Mahatma Gandhi is universally accepted as an exemplary model of ethical and moral life, with a rare blending of personal and public life, the principles and practices, the immediate and the eternal. He considered life to be an integrated whole, growing from ‘truth to truth’ every day in moral and spiritual status.

He believed in a single standard of conduct founded on dharma of truth and nonviolence. He successfully led nonviolent struggles against racial discrimination, colonial rule, economic and social exploitation and moral degradation. So long as these manifestations of violence remain, Gandhi will remain relevant. Gandhi was “a good man in a world where few resist the corroding influence of power, wealth and vanity”1

Among the vital messages of Gandhi’s leadership are: even one person can make a difference; strength comes not from physical capacity but from an indomitable will; given a just cause, nonviolence and capacity for self-suffering, and fearlessness, victory is certain; leadership by example is the one most effective. He asserted: “We only wish to serve our fellowmen wherever we may be….” (CWMG 54:233)

Considering Gandhi’s unique and multi-faceted leadership, an attempt has been made to study his leadership under three main headings:

Ethico-social Parameters of Gandhian Leadership;

Gandhian Leadership – The Vision and the Way; and

Gandhian Political-Economic-Social Order.


I

ETHICO-SOCIAL PARAMETERS

Gandhi spoke in a low tone and was a hesitant public speaker. Yet people of all classes were drawn to him and instinctively felt him to be a leader of deeply spiritual and moral perceptions, which he sought to realize through the pursuit of Truth. Over 54 years of Gandhi’s public life were lived as an open book. He lived in South Africa for 21 years and then in India from 1915. All through his life he remained a seeker after Truth.

A central quality of his leadership was its natural evolution through intense interaction with the people and the events. He was acutely conscious of his own imperfections. “One great reason for the misunderstanding lies in my being considered almost a perfect man…..I am painfully conscious of my imperfections, and therein lies all the strength I posses, because it is a rare thing for a man to know his own limitations” (CWMG 21:457-9). The more he realized about human fallibility, the more he tried to evolve morally and spiritually. When nothing else availed, he would seek refuge in God and yet carry on.

Gandhi single-handedly made nonviolence a universal substitute for violence and the bed-rock of his leadership. His nonviolence was the way to counter injustice and exploitation, and not run away from a righteous battle. He associated the qualities of humility, compassion, forgiveness and tolerance as corollaries of nonviolence. Humility, to him, is “an indispensable test of ahimsa. In one who has ahimsa in him it becomes part of his very nature,” and, it must not be “confounded with mere manners or etiquette,” but it “should make the possessor realize that he is as nothing” (CWMG 44:205-6).

To Gandhi the spirit of service and sacrifice was the key to leadership. For the spirit of service to materialize we must lay stress on our responsibilities and duties and not on rights. He illustrated it through the example of “concentric circles”: one starts with service of those nearest to one and expands the circle of service until it covers the universe, no circle thriving at the cost of the circles beyond. Service to him implied self-sacrifice. He said: “Sacrifice is the law of life. It runs through and governs every walk of life. We can do nothing or get nothing without paying a price for it….in other words, without sacrifice” (CWMG 4:112).

The commitment to service, however demands a strong sense of conscience (moral imperative), courage (fearlessness, bravery, initiative), and character (integrity). To Mahatma Gandhi, ‘inner voice’ was synonymous with conscience. Leaders need to develop and follow their conscience even more than ordinary people as they set the path for others. Hence, he wrote: “None of us, especially no leader should allow himself to disobey the inner voice in the face of pressure from outside. Any leader who succumbs in this way forfeits his right of leadership (CWMG 34:363-4). For a leader to follow the right path requires courage and its associated qualities: “Courage, endurance and above all, fearlessness and spirit of willing sacrifices are the qualities that are required today in India for leadership” (CWMG 21:152).

Gandhi in his time wielded more power over the minds of people than any other individual but it was not the power of weapons, or terror, or violence; it was the power of his convictions, his pursuit of truth and nonviolence, fearlessness, love and justice, working through incessant service and sacrifice for fellow human beings. His power came from empowering the weak, to lead the masses in the fight against injustice, exploitation, violence and discrimination. Satyagraha elevated the struggle for survival to the highest moral-spiritual levels and ordinary, emaciated people turned heroes. His power arose through the people whom he gave a sense of self-respect, purpose and moral strength.

We may thus conclude that Gandhi’s leadership was a running ethical lesson to his followers as well as his opponents on ‘how to live’. An outline of the basic ethical tenets of Gandhian leadership, proceeding from the eternal verities towards the more applied principles of conduct are given below:

Truth


Nonviolence


Right Means and Right Ends


Primacy of Duties over Right


The Deed, not the Doer


True Religion (Universality and Brotherhood)


Aparigraha or Non-possession (voluntary Poverty)


Yajna (Sacrifice and Service)


Satyagraha or Nonviolent Conflict Resolution


II

THE VISION AND THE WAY

Gandhi’s Vision

Mahatma Gandhi was not an armchair academician or a cloistered visionary. He was deeply concerned with the world around him. He disclaimed being a visionary. He said: “Mere discipline cannot make leadership. The latter calls for faith and vision” (CWMG 72:217). The core of his vision for the people of India was contained in his concept of Swaraj, the fountainhead from which the whole range of the concepts of Gandhian philosophy flow. It necessarily starts with political self-rule as a means to achieving economic, social and moral freedom. It applies equally to the individual, the society and the state.

His concept of freedom was self-rule, i.e. self-restraint and not freedom from all restraint which “independence often means” (CWMG 45:264). “Swaraj means freedom not only for oneself but “for your neighbour too” (CWMG 60:254), because, “Men aspiring to be free could hardly think of enslaving others. If they try to do so, they would only be binding their own chains of slavery tighter” (CWMG 87:162). He defined Swaraj as a social state “in which the poorest shall feel it is their country in whose making they have an effective voice…..no high class and low class of people…..all communities shall live in perfect harmony…..no room in such an India for the curse of untouchablility or……of intoxicating drinks and drugs. Women will enjoy the same rights as men” (CWMG 47:389).

Inherent in his vision of Swaraj was his vision of democracy: “Democracy, disciplined and enlightened, is the fines thing in the world” (CWMG 47:236).

Gandhi’s Way: Satyagraha

The philosophy of Satyagraha has been explained in simple terms by Gandhi himself, as appearing in the ‘Congress Report on the Punjab Disorders, chap. IV: Satyagraha’ (see CWMG 17:151-58):

“The principles of satyagraha, as known today, constitute a gradual evolution. Its root meaning is ‘holding on to truth’; hence truth-force. I have also called it love-force or soul force. In the application of satyagraha, I discovered in the earliest stages that pursuit of truth did not admit of violence being inflicted on one’s opponent, but that he must be weaned from error by patience and sympathy. For what appears to be truth to one, may appear to be an error to the other. And patience means self-suffering……Satyagraha…..has been conceived as a weapon of the strongest, and excludes the use of violence in any shape or form ….I feel that nations cannot be one in reality, nor can their activities be conducive to the common good of the whole community, unless there is this definite recognition and acceptance of the law of the family in national and international affairs….Satyagraha has therefore been described as a coin, on whose face you read love and on the reverse you read truth….A satyagrahi does not know what defeat is….”

“And as a satyagrahi never injures his opponent and always appeals, either to his reason…..or his heart…..satyagraha is twice blessed; it blesses him who practices it, and him against whom it is practiced. Satyagraha…..is essentially a…..process of purification and penance. It seeks to secure reforms or redress of grievances by self-suffering.”

In the Gandhian philosophy of satyagraha, dialogue and compromise―except on basic principles―play a vital part. He writes in his Autobiography: “All my life through, the very insistence on truth has taught me to appreciate the beauty of compromise. I saw in later life that this spirit was an essential part of satyagraha” (CWMG 39:122).


III

GANDHIAN POLITICAL-ECONOMIC-SOCIAL ORDER

Spiritualizing Politics

Mahatma Gandhi never sought a public or political office or title. He was in politics for spiritual reasons. He explained in a speech in London (23.9.1931) “….although to all appearances my mission is political….its roots are―if I may use the term―spiritual….I claim that at least my politics are not divorces from morality, from spirituality, from religion….a man who is trying to discover and follow the will of God, cannot possibly leave a single field of life untouched. I found through bitter experience that, if I wanted to do social service, I could not possibly leave politics alone” (CWMG 48:50). Later he said: “The call to lead India did not come to me in the nature of a sudden realization. I prepared for it by fasting and self discipline. My political work grew out of my spiritual preparation” (CWMG 48:63)

He was misunderstood when he said, “I cannot conceive politics as divorced from religion. Indeed, religion should pervade every one of our actions.” He explained that, “Here religion does not mean sectarianism. It means a belief in the ordered moral government of the universe. This religion transcends Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, etc. it does not supercede them. It harmonizes them and gives them reality” (CWMG 71: 177-8).

“…..if I seem to take part in politics, it is only because politics encircles us today like the coil of a snake from which one cannot get out…..I wish therefore to wrestle with the snake……I have been experimenting with myself and my friends by introducing religion into politics….Religion which changes one’s very nature, which binds one indissolubly to the truth within and which ever purifies (CWMG 17:406).

Early after arrival in India he had exhorted in a speech (8.5.1915): “You and I have to act on the political platform from a spiritual side and if this is done we should conquer the conquerors” (CWMG 13:82).

Patriotism, Nationalism and Internationalism

Mahatma Gandhi’s patriotism and nationalism were not narrow-minded or exclusive, but were part of his search for truth through unity in diversity and through service. These were expressions of his swadeshi spirit, which seeks food of the nearer society as a part of the global good. “I am patriotic because I am human and humane. It is not exclusive. I will not hurt England and Germany to serve India” (CWMG 19:427). For nationalism he said: “Internationalism is possible only when nationalism becomes a fact….It is not nationalism that is evil, it is the narrowness, selfishness, exclusiveness which is the bane of modern nations which is evil (CWMG 27:255). To him nationalism was a step towards internationalism.

He believed in the ideal of self-reliance along with that of interdependence and cooperation. He said: “Individual liberty and interdependence are both essential for life in a society. When a man has done all he can for the satisfaction of his essential requirements, he will seek the cooperation of his neighbours for the rest. That will be true cooperation” (CWMG 82:396). Even his struggle for India’s freedom was imbued with this spirit: “I want freedom of my country so that other countries may learn something from this free country of mine….so that the resources of my country may be utilized for the benefit of mankind” (CWMG 28:129).

The concept of sacrifice under Gandhian thinking became a continuous chain from the individual to the world. He described this in a idiom thus: “The logical conclusion of self-sacrifice is that the individual sacrificed himself for the community, the community sacrificed itself for the district, the district for the province, the province for the nation, and the nation for the world. A drop torn from the ocean perished without doing any good. If it remains a part of the ocean, it shared the glory of carrying on its bosom a fleet of mighty ships” (CWMG 86:23).

A New Meaning of Democracy

All through his public life, Gandhi was thinking how to institutionalize swaraj or true democracy, including Gram swaraj and village panchayats. T him democracy meant “the art and science of mobilizing the entire physical, economic and spiritual resources of all…..in the service of the common good of all” (CWMG 69:50)

In an interview (9.1.1927), he defined the required qualities of leaders under swaraj thus: “My ideal is that every person should realize dharma. In that case there would be no need left for any representatives. That is the ideal swaraj….(CWMG 35: 528-31).

He was acutely conscious of the pitfalls and corruption in parliamentary democracies, and continued to lay stress on purification of the public life and political process. As early as 1934, he would write: “……corruption and hypocrisy ought not to be the inevitable products of democracy as they undoubtedly are today; nor bulk a true test of democracy” (CWMG 59: 11-2)

Towards a Humanistic Social Order

Gandhian vision of swaraj covered all aspects of human life, including the vital area of ‘Political Economy’. Gandhian economics is normative, a means to obtaining a non-violent, egalitarian, sustainable, progressive and happy social order.

To him economics and ethics go together: “True economics never militates against the highest ethical standard, just as all true ethics…..must at the same time be also good economics. As economics that inculcates mammon worship and enables the strong to amass wealth at the expense of the weak, is a false and dismal science….True economics……stands for social justice; it promotes the good of all equally, including the weakest and is indispensable for decent life” (CWMG 66:168).

He had made his first major statement on socio-economic order in his paraphrase of John Ruskin’s ‘Unto This Last’ (1860) in his booklet titled ‘Sarvodaya’ (‘Welfare of all’, 1908). He summed up his understanding of the lessons of Ruskin’s book in his Autobiography as:

“1. That the good of the individual is contained in the good of all.

2. That a lawyer’s work has the same value as a barber’s, in as much as all have the same

right of earning their livelihood from their work.

3. That a life of labour…..is the life worth living” CWMG 39:239).

In a speech delivered (22.12.1916) at Muir College Economic Society, Allahabad, he defined ‘real economics’ thus: “In a well-ordered society, the securing of one’s livelihood should be and is found to be the easiest thing in the world. Indeed the test of orderliness in a country is not the number of millionaires it owns, but the absence of starvation among its masses…. These are real economics” (CWMG 13:312).

Conclusion

The spiritual and moral foundation of the whole range of Gandhi’s leadership may be best summed up in his own words written at the end of his Autobiography:

“To see the universal and all-pervading Spirit of Truth face to face one must be able to love the meanest of creation as oneself. And a man who aspires after that cannot afford to keep out of any field of life. That is why my devotion to truth has drawn me into the field of politics….those who say that religion ahs nothing to do with politics do not know what religion means…..identification with everything that lives is impossible without self-purification; without self-purification the observance of the law of Ahimsa must remain an empty dream; God can never be realized by one who is not pure at heart.

But the path of self-purification is hard and steep. To attain to perfect purity one has to become absolutely passion-free in thought, speech and action; to rise above the opposing currents of love and hatred, attachment and repulsion. I know that I have not in me as yet that triple purity, in spite of constant ceaseless striving for it…..I must reduce myself to zero. So long as man does not….put himself last among his fellow creatures, there is no salvation for him. Ahimsa is the farthest limit of humility.

Albert Einstein’s message on Gandhi’s 75th birthday sums up the essential character of his leadership: “A leader of his people, unsupported by an outward authority, a victorious fighter who always scorned the use of force, a man of wisdom and humility who has confronted the brutality of Europe with the dignity of the simple human being and at all times risen superior….”

Mahatma Gandhi remains the ultimate leader, from whose life and thought there is so much that every one of us can learn and try to absorb in our lives.

Reference

1. P.A. Nazareth, Gandhi's Outstanding Leadership, Bangalore: Sarvodaya International Trust, Gandhi Centre of Science and Human Values & Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, 2006

Source: Anasakti Darshan Vol. 3, No. 2, July-December 2007

Mahatma Gandhi's Discovery of Religion By A. Jayabalan CMF

Articles on Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi's Discovery of Religion
By A. Jayabalan CMF

MAHATMA GANDHI AS a great leader has recognized the major religions of the world as historical and cultural phenomena. Beyond these particular forms there is the religion of humanity which is reflected as faith in the moral order. This religious belief, Gandhi held, is common to all particular religions. He said: "The soul of religions is one, but it is encased in a multitude of forms.'' For him, the moral order which governs the universe is Satya and the process by which life is continued is ahimsa. All religions are nothing but appropriations of Satya under the condition of cultural limitation and human finitude. Thus religions as cultural and historical phenomena are more or less true. They are equal in the sense that no single religion has the absolute or exclusive truth. He said: "Religions are different roads converging on the same point. What does it matter that we take different roads as long as we reach the same goal? In reality, there are as many religions as there are individuals.''

According to Gandhi, true religion is not narrow dogma. It is not external observance. It is faith in God and living in the presence of God, it means faith in a future life, in truth and ahimsa. He understood the fact that religion is a binding force which ultimately calls "to accelerate the process of realization of fundamental unity. He gives a simile of a faithful husband who would love no other woman. Even her faithlessness would not wean him from his faith. The bond is more than blood relationship, so is the religious bond if it is worth anything. It is a matter of the heart.

(i) Traditional Understanding

In those days, people had a conservative outlook towards religion. There were people who believed in primitive religion which was ruled by nature. Primitive man worshipped the natural forces believing that there was something supernatural in them, of course it was not devoid of superstitions. Man is seen accepting his condition passively and adapting himself to them without much criticism. Gandhi went against the current and engaged in vigorous dialogue with the traditionalists and upheld a dynamic view of Indian institutions and values. He sought to awaken in the millions of Indians an elementary minimum of self-respect and feeling of dignity which he regarded as an absolutely necessary pre-condition for his nonviolent struggle. He reinterpreted the traditional religion which often proved to give a greater impetus to economic and social development.

In the past the attitude of Christian missionaries towards non-Christian religions was a narrow and hostile one. They regarded Hinduism as an evil and idolatrous religion. It is relevant to see how the traditional virtues of a personal ethic, viz., Satya, ahimsa, brahmacharya, asteya, and aparigraha were applied and what empirical content they acquired from Gandhi's own life. Gandhi added abhaya (fearlessness) to the list and did not agree to include humility. Thus he brought a radical change in the traditional understanding of religion. Until the advent of Western civilization in its glaringly urban and industrial form, these features of ancient outlook persisted in India without serious interruption. In this sense, Indian aesthetics represents interruption, represents a continuous tradition from Bharatha's Natyasastra to Tagore's "Religion of an artist." Gandhi is the spokesman of the sociological aspect of this tradition.

(ii) New Understanding of Religion and its Praxis

Gandhi's perspective of religion was entirely different from that of others. In the past, Dharma was considered as one of the societal values. In the words of J.B. Kripalani, "It is indeed Gandhi's creative and constructive genius which inextricably blended the two traditions, namely the Truth of Sanatana Dharma and Ahimsa of Jaina Dharma.'' He insisted on the praxis of religion to the extent of saying: "I have come to this fundamental conclusion that if you want something really important to be done, you must not merely satisfy reason, you must move the heart also. The appeal of reason is more to the head but the penetration of the heart comes from suffering. It opens up the inner understanding in man." For him, religion and morality are inseparable. Politics bereft of religion is absolute dirt, even to be shunned.

According to Gandhi, the whole gamut of man's activities constitutes an indivisible whole; it must be inspired by one's religious faith, a faith in God, and living in the presence of God, it means faith in a future life in Truth and Ahimsa. After a long study and experience he discovers and concludes that all religions are true. All religions have some error in them. All religions are almost as dear to me as one's own close relatives. He too believed that all religions are God-given, and therefore stressed the necessity of religion. He compares the atheist and agnostic to 'a man saying that he breathes but that he has no nose.' Vows and observances taken in his religion not only facilitate the spiritual progress of the individual but also harmonious community living on the basis of spirituality, mutual help, and collective salvation. Hence removal of the evils, inequalities, and injustices become part of one's own religious duties. Thus his entire view of religion is an integrated one.

(iii) A Critical Reflection on Praxis of Faith

Faith is the foundation of every religion. "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." A man with a grain of faith in God never loses hope because he ever believes in the Ultimate triumph of Truth. A man of God never moves after untruth. Hence he can never lose hope. Such were the convictions of Gandhi. He says: "Faith is nothing but a living, wide, awake consciousness of God within.'' In his view true religion consists in having faith in God and living in the presence of God; it means faith in a future life, in Truth and Ahimsa. There prevails today a sort of apathy towards these things of spirit. For him living faith in God means acceptance of brotherhood of mankind. There exists an indissoluble bond between the individuals faith and his religion. Just as St. Paul, he gives the analogy of marriage by saying that "just as a husband, because either is conscious of some exclusive superiority of the other over the rest of his or her sex, but because of some indefinable but irresistible attraction, so does one remain irresistibly faithful to one's own religion and find full satisfaction in such adhesion.''

Since he realized that faith in its praxis passes through a crisis of skepticism and doubt, he had an unflinching faith in Truth and in God. He understood faith as an essential, constitutive element of his religion. Hence he considered a man without faith in God is like a drop thrown out of the ocean and bound to perish. For him the greatest source of his strength was his absolute faith in God. His faith in God increased with every trial he faced. He himself gives the testimony that, "I have never found Him (God) lacking in response. I have found Him nearest at hand when the horizon seemed darkest in my ordeals in goals when it was not all smooth sailing for me, I cannot recall a single moment in my life when I had a sense of desertion by God.''

In his view, faith itself cannot be proved by extraneous evidence, the safest course is to believe in the moral government of the world and therefore in the supremacy of the moral law, the law of Truth and Love. Praxis of faith thus will be the safest where there is a clear determination summarily to reject all that is contrary to Truth and Love. It is faith that transcends reason. He had an unshakable faith in God which made him ask How much more should I be near to Him when my faith is not a mere apology, as it is today, but has become as immovable as the Himalayas and as white as the snows on their peaks. In brief, faith according to him, does not admit of telling. It is to be believed and then it becomes self-propagating.

(iv) Realization of God

Man has an insatiable thirst for God. Consequently he feels the urge to realize God, through the means propagated by his religion. Gandhi too says: "Man's ultimate aim is the realization of God and all his activities, social, political and religious, have been guided by the ultimate aim of the vision of God. To realize God is to see Him in all that lives, that is, to realize our oneness with all creation. 'It is in the critical moments of one's life, we have a glimpse of God, a vision of Him who is guiding everyone of our steps in life. He himself testifies to the fact that as days pass I feel this living presence in every fiber of my veins. Without that feeling I should be demented.., so many events happen that would, without the realization of that presence, shake me to the very foundation.' Thus he felt the indwelling presence of God within himself.

He explicitly states the characteristics of a real seeker of God in the following words: "A real seeker of God should be purified by prayer and always be prepared to share the suffering of man whoever they may be. This noble idea will have no influence unless one is convinced of the existence of the soul distinct from body and permanent. This recognition must not just be intellectual idea, it must be a living faith.'

As St. Augustine said: "My soul does not rest until it rests in Thee," Gandhi also says: "Soul is utterly restless until it has found itself, knows it Maker and appreciates the true correspondence between the Maker and itself.'' While quoting Gandhi, Aloysius Rego says: "As gold is tried in the furnace so is the man who is devoted to God tried in tribulation and suffering. He, however does not forsake us in our miseries, but gives us the strength to prove our mettle in the midst of adversities. In all the vicissitudes of life we must be convinced that God's protecting hand and love shield us. Created to His own image and likeness we can find like Mahatma Gandhi true peace in Him and strive with might and main to reflect His attributes in our lives.''

According to Gandhi, a religionist must be free from all impure and sex thoughts in mind and heart. One can realize God's grace through complete self-surrender and ceaseless communion with Him. A man realizes the supreme by becoming absolutely free from likes and dislikes and never otherwise .... He adds realization is a matter of experience but does not lend itself to description in any language. Gandhi was endeavoring to see God through the service of humanity because he recognizes the presence of God in every man. Man's highest endeavour lies in trying to find God. He cannot be found in temples or idols or places of worship by man's hands nor can He be found in abstinences. God can be found only through love, not earthly but divine. He discovered that if he was to realize God, he has to obey the law of love even at the cost of his life. God is to be realized in one's own heart.

He believed firmly that man realizes God not in abstract things but in the factory, the home, in schools and colleges, in villages and towns as one lives and begins to move towards the realization of the Absolute. He could visualize this truth as the essential insight of his religion. A joy springs out of the communion with the Divine. The realization is proved not by extraneous evidences but in the transformed conduct and character of those who have felt the presence of God within.

Concept Of God

Gandhi was a firm believer in God. He claims to have a living faith in the abiding presence of God. Since Gandhi was a theist, he could not accept the illogical arguments of an atheist. For him, God is an unseen power. This idea is clear in the following words of Gandhi: "An indefinable mysterious power that pervades everything; a living power that is underlying all change in an ever-changing, ever-dying world, is itself changeless, that holds all together, creates, dissolves, and recreates. That power or spirit is God." He was a monotheist. He enumerates the attributes of God that He is unfathomable, unknowable, unknown to the vast majority of mankind. He is everywhere. He sees without eyes, hears without ears. He is formless and indivisible. He is uncreated, has no father, mother and child, he allows himself even to be worshipped as stock and stone, although he is in one of these things. He is the most elusive. He is the nearest to us if we could but know the fact. But he is farthest from us when we do not want to realize His omnipresence."

For Gandhi, so great is His infinite love, he is purely a benevolent God. His testimony was that "I can see that in the midst of death life persists; in the midst of untruth, truth persists; in the midst of darkness, light persists. Hence I gather that God is life, truth, and light. He is love. He is the supreme God." He argued that God revealed Himself daily to every human being in one way or other but we are not receptive to receive His voice. God never appears to you in person but in actions. God for him is not an external entity but an abiding presence in the human heart. His conception of God can be summed up in his own words: "To me God is Truth and love; God is ethics and morality; God is fearlessness. God is the source of light and yet He is above and beyond all these. God is conscience. He is even the atheism of the atheist. For, in His boundless love God permits the atheist to live. He is the searcher of hearts. He transcends speech and reason.' 'Through these expressions, we can understand his indomitable faith in the living God who provides everything in the universe.

(i) Religion of Truth

From the time of Socrates, beauty, Truth and goodness were considered as supreme values of the society. Among these three values, it is truth that attracted Gandhi. He could discover beauty in and through Truth. All truths are not merely true ideas nor ethical values but it is primarily and inevitable connected with human existence. Many a time it is a matter of one's own conscience. People, as a rule, fail to see the beauty in Truth. Whenever men begin to see the beauty in truth, the true art begins. Hence, as Gandhi, one must seek truth; beauty and goodness will then be added.

Gandhi had a great faith in Truth, above all, in the exercise of Truth. He never thought of a failure to one who is truthful and believes in Truth. Since Gandhi's very life was an experiment with Truth, we can very well derive the salient features of Truth. He was very much inspired when he read the Mundaka Upanishad (III-I-6) which says:

Satyam eva jayate nantram,
Satyena pantha vitato deve-yanah,
Yenakramanty rsayohy apta-kama,
Yatra tat satyasya parmam nidhanam.

This means Truth alone triumphs, not falsehood. The divine path to liberation has been laid with Truth, which the seers who have overcome desire tread, and wherein also is the supreme treasure to be gained by truth.' 'For him, "truth alone triumphs, not untruth" was not a mere maxim but it was a living faith, an inspiring mantra, and words impregnated with power. He says that "Truth is only one whole and indivisible not composed of parts, and stays as such for all times past, present, and future. Not violence, not untruth but nonviolence. Truth is the law of our being which is the fundamental law for liberation.' 'Thus Truth is stable and unchanging. It is nothing but a living embodiment of God. Gandhi also affirms with Jesus the fact that "you shall know the Truth and the Truth will set you free" (Jn. 8:32). The power of Truth leads us to recognize the human dignity, equality, and fraternal solidarity with all human beings irrespective of caste, colour, or creed.

For Gandhi, God alone is Truth and everything else is transitory and illusory. God is without doubt the supporter of truth. Truth always triumphs. God is, even though the whole world denies him; truth stands even if there is no public support, it is self-sustained. Hence Gandhi says: "To me God is truth and love.' 'Finally, he came to the conclusion that truth is God which seems to have given him much satisfaction. If we want to understand truth as God, the only inevitable means are love and nonviolence. We may say that Gandhi's religion is the "religion of Truth" as revealed by God.

According to Gandhi, this religion of Truth underlies all genuine religions of the world: "All faiths constitute a revelation of Truth.'28 It lends all religions the basic unity they possess. Gandhi has compared this fundamental religion to a tree with many branches you may say religions are many; as tree, religion is one.' 'Now the question may arise: If God is one and truth is one, how can, and why should, there be many religions? The answer is that for Gandhi, this religion of Truth is an abstract reality and it becomes concrete by taking on specifications like Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, etc. according to the circumstances and needs of the various peoples of the world. For, he says: "Truth will appear to most sincere and conscientious Hindus, Mussalmans and Christians as Hinduism, Islam and Christianity respectively as they believe them.''

All of Gandhi's life was, thus, a relentless search after truth. In this he stubbornly refused to be dictated to by any external authority. He realized early in life that truth becomes freedom, power and dynamism only when it is personally discovered and personally assimilated. He would, however, insist on the highest degree of sincerity with oneself in the search after Truth.

(ii) Role of Different Scriptures

Scriptures of various religions had a vital role to play in Gandhi's life. Scriptures were the source for his prayer as well as practice of truth and nonviolence. For him, the function of scriptures in a community is not primarily to be vehicles of its culture. Its role is to make the life of the community meaningful in the context of its fundamental and foundational experience and in reference to its goal, namely self-realization and fulfillment, Moksha. It supports moral values and promotes quality of life. The Scriptures of all religions teach the same fundamental message of Satya and ahimsa. This he calls "religion of humanity." He believed in the equality of scriptures. According to him, all of them occupy a horizontal place. He says: "I believe the Bible, the Koran, and the Zend Avesta to be as much divinely inspired as the Vedas.''Hence he asked: "Why should we blaspheme God by fighting one another because we see him through different media--the Koran, the Bible, the Talmud, the Avesta, or the Gita? The same sun beams on the Himalayas as on the plains.''

Though he was a Hindu, he did not believe in the exclusive divinity of Vedas. From the point of view of Gandhi, revelation is an ongoing process. Though he considered the "holy books" of all religions as generally inspired and yet he was aware of the two dangers in interpreting them. Firstly, they are received through human prophets who are imperfect by their very nature. Secondly, the explanation given by interpreters would also mislead the people who also are sometimes subject to reinterpretation. His attitude towards other scriptures was that of vedic rishis who sang "let noble thoughts come to us from every side." But we should throw open our windows for fresh breezes to blow through our halls, we should refuse to be swept off our feet. He would say that "in reading these texts I can say I was equiminded towards all these faiths, although perhaps, I was not conscious of it.... I ever had the slightest desire to criticize any of those religions merely because they were not my own, but read each sacred book in a spirit of reverence and found the same fundamental morality in each.''

Gandhi was convinced that 'it is impossible to understand the word of God in its fullness and integrity.' Needless to say that he was enriched and enlightened by the reading of other scriptures. It also facilitated him to see unity of all faiths. He tried to apply those principles of Truth and Ahimsa (which he derived from other scriptures) in his own concrete, existential situations. He too accepted that the study of the sacred scriptures had brought a new zeal and enthusiasm to work. He himself affirms: "I derive the greatest consolation from my reading of Tulsidas's Ramayana. I have also derived solace from the New Testament and the Koran. I do not approach them with a critical mind.''

(iii) Outlook on Moksha

According to Gandhi, Moksha consisted in freeing oneself from the shackles of death and rebirth. Moksha is liberation from impure thought, complete extinction of impure thought is impossible without ceaseless penance. There is only one way to achieve this. The moment an impure thought arises confront it with pure one. This is possible only with God's grace and God's grace comes through ceaseless communion with Him and complete self-surrender. Salvation is considered to be coming into the living presence of God. It is nothing but the realization of the unity of spirit transcending the limitations of space and time.

Moksha is conceived as living in communion with God and freedom from reincarnations. In the words of Gandhi, "What I want to achieve-what I have been striving and pining to achieve these thirty years-is self-realization, to see God face to face, to attain Moksha. I live and move and have my being in pursuit of this goal. All that I do by way of speaking and writing and all my ventures in the political field are directed to this same end.'' Self-purification, obedience to the law, and mediation are the three basic pre-requisites which an individual must practice throughout his life in order to attain Moksha. For him, the desire for Moksha was indeed there, but it was not meant for anyone other than the individual himself. The world was interested in the fruits not the root. It was in the depth one's own being that the individual had to concentrate. He has to nurse it with the water of his labour and suffering. The root was his chief concern.

Gandhi used the term "Moksha' in the sense of liberation from the bondages. In a broad sense, it implied to encompass concretely historical, political, and incarnate liberation connoted by Swaraj. Real Swarajya consists in self-restraint. If an individual fulfils all the demands of Swarajya, and yet remains a fervent devotee of God, and strives towards God-realization, he is on the process towards attaining Moksha.

To conclude, for Gandhi, religion was a source of guidance all throughout his life. His understanding of religion is interesting, unique and meaningful. Because of his open-mindedness, he could also recognize the uniqueness of each religious tradition as something noble and hence to be lived by the followers of all religions. His attitude towards other scriptures and even people of other religions was remarkable and admirable. He was a man of prayer, who strived his best to attain the realization of God and ultimately Moksha. He believed more in personal religion than in the structured religion. He also invites us to personalise our religion whatever we may belong to. The comprehensive view of religions of Gandhi would of course widen our understanding of religions in its different dimensions. It also helped Gandhi to realize the higher ideals of life. He could accept and assimilate the good elements of all major religions of the world as necessary and basically true.

As we live in an environment of violence-culture, religious fundamentalism and fanaticism, it is quite relevant to recall the words of Mahatma Gandhi: "My religion has no geographical limits. My religion is based on truth and nonviolence. My religion forbids me to hate anybody. Religion is not for separating people but to bind them.''That was Mahatma's religion, true Religion of Love and Tolerance.



[Source: International Seminar on GANDHI AND THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY (January 30 - February 4, 1998), New Delhi - Wardha.]

Gandhi's Source of Inspiration

Articles : On & By Gandhi

Gandhi's Source of Inspiration

(Mahtma Gandhi was inspired by people as well as books.  In this article the author elaborated - very briefly - on those people and books that inspired Gandhi.  Raychandbhai and Gopal Krishna Gokhale were seen by Gandhi as his teachers.  Tolstoy and Gandhi corresponded regularly.  Both had similar views on truth and morality and both had the same heroes - Buddha, Socrates and Mohammed.  Tolstoy's book 'The Kingdom of God is within you' overwhelmed Gandhi.  Ruskin's book 'Unto this Last' had cast a magic spell on Gandhi so much so that he paraphrased the book as 'Sarvodaya' and decided to teach from it.)

"The greatest genius is the most indebted person" These words of Emerson, The American thinker are very true for M. GANDHI. Inspirations both mould and give direction to life.

Sources of Inspiration could be personal and impersonal. As for personal as well as impersonal sources of Inspiration, M. Gandhi himself has said! " Three moderns have left a deep impress on my life and captivated me. Raychandbhai by his living contact; Tolstoy by his book, "The Kingdom of God is within you"; and Ruskin by his "unto this last" Besides these three personalities, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and the Gita and the Bible were life long sources of inspiration of Gandhi.

To begin with Gandhi met Raychandbhai (or Shri Rajchandra) immediately on his return from London to India at Bombay. Gandhi was at once convinced that Raychandbhai was a man of great character and learning. He was a real seeker after truth. Gandhi very often found him absorbed in Godly pursuits in the midst of weighty business transactions. Gandhi never saw him lose his state of equipoise. Gandhi enjoyed the closest association with him. Above all Raychandbhai's impression as a spiritual guide on Gandhi's mind was unrivalled and Gandhi implicitly believed that Raychandbhai would never willingly lead him astray and in turn Raychandbhai would always confide in Gandhi his inner most thoughts. In Gandhi's moments of spiritual crisis, as in South Africa, Raychandbhai was Gandhi's refuge.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale, the rare gem among contemporary moderate political leaders welcomed Gandhi as if they were renewing an old friendship. Gokhale seemed like the Ganga to Gandhi where one could have a refreshing bath in the holy river. In the sphere of politics the place that Gokhale occupied in Gandhi's heart was absolutely unique. Gokhale embodied the goal of spiritualizing (i.e. values of life) in politics and Gandhi steadfastly adhered to it by enriching it. It is significant to remember that Gandhi has devoted seven chapters exclusively to Gokhale in his autobiography. Finally on his return from South Africa to India in 1915, Gandhi looked upon Gokhale as a sure guide whenever Gandhi was in difficulty & that took a great load off Gandhi's mind.

Tolstoy of Russia was the only one with whom Gandhi had some prolonged correspondence. Both Tolstoy and Gandhi worshipped in the common shrine and the same heroes - i.e. Buddha's Light of Asia, Socrates, Mohammed, Upanishads, Gita. Both of them were not mere philosophers, but teachers of humanity who endeavored hard to practise what they preached. Gandhi described himself with characteristic candour as Tolstoy's disciple in his letters to Tolstoy. Tolstoy wrote to Gandhi emphasizing the almost pivotal significance of Gandhi's Satyagraha in South Africa. Tolstoy was the prophet of the latter half of the nineteenth century and Gandhi of the first half of the twentieth century. Finally Tolstoy's "The Kingdom of God is within you" overwhelmed Gandhi. It left an abiding impression on Gandhi. Tolstoy manifested independent thinking, profound morality and truthfulness.

Ruskin, the English thinker, was perhaps the most powerful source of inspiration when Gandhi himself described Ruskin's book, "Unto This Last" as "the magic spell". Gandhi was offered Ruskin's book by Gandhi's intimate friend Mr. Polak and Gandhi read it on his train journey from Johannesburg to Durban. The book gripped Gandhi so much that its teaching of the book appealed to Gandhi instantaneously and Gandhi paraphrased it into Gujarati as "Sarvodaya" (The welfare of all). Gandhi learnt the teachings of the book to be :

The good of the individual is contained in the welfare of all.

All have same right of earning their livelihood from their work.

That a life of labour is the life worth living.

Gandhi read the Gita for the first time in England i.e. Sir Edwin Arnold's "The song Celestial" and it made a deep impression on his mind and Gandhi regarded the Gita par excellence for the knowledge of Truth and it afforded him invaluable help in his moments of gloom. The Gita became Gandhi's life long companion and the guide especially the last eighteen verses of the second chapter of the Gita. Gandhi derived the Gospel of selfless action or duty from the Gita. His commentary on the Gita reflects his life and mission.

Gandhi read the Bible especially "The New Testament" and "The Sermon on the Mount" which went straight to his heart. The compassion and renunciation of Jesus appealed greatly to Gandhi.

Gandhi : India and Universalism Dr. Ravindra Kumar*

Articles : On & By Gandhi




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Gandhi : India and Universalism


Dr. Ravindra Kumar*

India is a country committed to internationalism or universalism. This commitment is thousands of years old and can be well acknowledged and understood through India’s ancient slogan of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’. Besides this, thousands of years old harmonious and evolutionary Indian Culture, through the practices of its up bingers, Indians, has also been categorically reiterating its commitment towards internationalism. Until today it is doing so. India’s Culture along with its other unique and exemplary characteristics, of which adaptation and universal acceptance are the foremost, has been drawing the attention of the whole world by opening the door of the Indian soil for each and every one, doesn’t matter to which part or region of the glob he or she belongs. This, definitely, has been an outstanding step towards internationalism. For all the nations and citizens of the world it is a good lesson to be learnt. Particularly, in these days of globalization, which is another form of internationalism, which is constantly decreasing distances among the nations at different levels and different walks of life, and in which marching forward together has become necessary, Indian Culture and its exemplary features can guide the world for the establishment of a true internationalism and also to make it firm and all welfaristic.

It was Indian Culture and its large scope that accorded protection to the followers of various faiths and beliefs of the world from time-to-time. This Culture opened doors for all to settle on the Indian soil and provided equal opportunities to them for development. This process started thousands of years ago and continued for centuries. Perhaps, such kind of exclusive and excellent work started in India alone.

India’s commitment to internationalism can also be well observed in its respect to Ahimsa, non-violence, the supreme human value. In other words, Ahimsa being an indivisible part of day-to-day practices of Indians calls upon human welfare at the highest level and thus makes the idea of internationalism firm and great. It works for human unity.

“Not to inflict others’ thoughts, words and actions by our own thoughts, words and deeds, simultaneously not to spoil the life” is included in India’s concept pertaining to Ahimsa. In brief, “The aloofness in toto from Himsa-violence is Ahimsa-non-violence.” It is evident that not only human beings but all living beings are within the domain of India’s concept of non-violence. Now, where there is such a feeling for living beings, how much regard will be there for human beings? We can understand it from India’s concept of non-violence and through it can realize India’s commitment and dedication to internationalism and universalism.

Indian philosophy, spiritual thinking and education and messages of those great men, reformers and initiators of new ages who born on India’s soil from time-to-time, called upon people to carryout their day-to-day practices having larger interest of humanity in the centre. They urged people to base their behaviour on the principle of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’. They declared nationalism to be the first stage of internationalism and inspired people to strengthen it with the purpose of prosperity and welfare of the whole world. Therefore, India’s concept of nationalism is not a narrow one, or in it not ungenerous in its nature. I repeat it is the early step towards internationalism. Those who consider Indian nationalism to be narrow in outlook or observe it to be isolated, they must understand its reality. They should go into its roots. If they do so, I am sure they will find it completely free from the state of isolation. They will definitely find it to be dedicated to internationalism or universalism.

Mahatma Gandhi, who was a worshiper of Ahimsa and a forerunner of India’s Culture in his time, had said, “If I want freedom for my country…I do not want that freedom in order that I, belonging to a nation which counts one-fifth of the human race, may exploit any other race upon earth, or any single individual. If I want that freedom for my country, I would not be deserving of that freedom if I did not cherish and treasure the equal right of every other race, weak or strong, to the same freedom.” This statement is fully capable of clarifying the reality of India’s commitment to universalism. Simultaneously, his following statement is also equally relevant and significant in this regard:“ Through the deliverance of India, I seek to deliver the so-called weaker races of the earth from the crushing heels f Western exploitation. India’s coming to her own will mean every nation doing likewise.” Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of Sarvodaya, which is in consonance with Indian traditions and values and which is also influenced by Ruskin’s theory of ‘Unto This Last’, can be considered to be the best on the way to human equality. This principle without any caste, class gender, community or territory-based discrimination endorses equal value for the labour of an intellectual or a cultivator. It talks of greatest happiness to all in comparison to utilitarian theory of greatest happiness to greatest number. In it is the room for equal opportunities for the lowest to progress. This firmly elucidates that in greatest happiness to all also includes the greatest happiness to greatest number. Hence, it brings the whole humanity in its fold and, therefore, reveals internationalism in a beautiful manner.

Furthermore, Gandhi’s theory of Trusteeship, which according to the Mahatma can be the alternative to the violence-based institution like the State, clearly reflects the perception of internationalism. He as one of the great anarchists is in favour of abolishing the institution of the State step-by-step. In place of the State he stresses upon the establishment of a worldly order based on equality. It is in fact a step beyond internationalism. In it whole humanity without any discrimination and territorial limit comes together and becomes identical. Therefore, Mahatma Gandhi’s views cannot be taken slightly, doesn’t matter if the institution of the State as desired by him cannot be abolished immediately or within a time fixed for the purpose. His views are worth giving a thought, doesn’t matter if his desire for a worldly order seems to be utopian to many. In this regard Gandhi during his stay in South Africa had set an example of collective living in the ‘Tolstoy Form’. In it people belonging to different religious-communities, sects and castes stayed together. They worked together and ate together. It was a successful experiment of Gandhi. Therefore, his ideas, in spite of seeming utopian or impractical and fully imbibed with morality and ethics, are the subject of minutely analysis as they are important and significant for the establishment of internationalism. Eighty-five years ago, in 1924, Mahatma Gandhi had said, “The world desires today not absolutely independent States warring one against another, but a federation of friendly interdependent States. The consummation of that event may be far off. I want to make no ground claim for our country. But I see nothing grand or impossible about our expressing our readiness for universal interdependence rather than independence.” This statement of the Mahatma adds to the concept of internationalism. It makes its range to be large.

It is possible that eighty-five years ago the above statement of Gandhi seemed just to be imaginable to many. But, today in completely changed circumstances of the world it calls upon us to think over it honestly and sincerely.


Due to constantly increasing development at the global level, in spite of existence of independent nation-States, an advanced state of interdependence is before us today. This state will still go higher. Doesn’t matter if it is considered to be a compulsion of the nations of the world, but to move forward together is inevitable now. Working together is necessary for all citizens of the world. In such a situation suggestions of the Mahatma and views expressed by him from time-to-time, which are full of internationalism, prove their adaptability and significance. It will be better and welfaristic if nations of the world by having the views and suggestions of Gandhi in the centre come forward to work in a state of harmony as per the demand of time and space instead of working in a state of compulsion. If they create conducive atmosphere collectively it will do well to all in the world. In the beginning we have discussed about India’s commitment to internationalism. Mahatma Gandhi had desired India to come forward for the establishment of a worldly order dedicated to peace and prosperity. He also desired India to accomplish this gigantic task considering it to be her responsibility. It is possible because India due to its unique values, exemplary Culture and commitment to non-violence is capable to do so. Therefore, India must come forward for the establishment of a true and real internationalism, and by doing so it must become ideal for others in the world.

*Dr. Ravindra Kumar is a renowned Indologist; he is a former vice chancellor of CCS University, Meerut, India.