CHAPTER THREE

TRUTH

AND

NON-VIOLENCE
 TRUTH AND NON-VIOLENCE

3.a Introduction:- Truth and Non-violence are the twin concepts

which seem fundamental to the whole o f the social and political phi­

losophy of Mahatma Gandhi.

“The word Satya (Truth) is derived from Sat, which means ‘Be­

ing’. Nothing is or exists in reality except Truth. That is why Sat or

Truth is perhaps the most important name of God. In fact its more

correct to say that Truth is God, than to say that God is I ruth

3.a.l Historical Background :

Gandhi’s concept o f truth and non-violence have some histori­

cal importance. We have seen that these concepts are historically

rooted in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jaina traditions. It is noticed that

the word ‘Rta’ as used in the vedas refers to the principle of moral

orders inherent in the universe as well as to the overall cosmic

equilibrium. Later on this word seems to be replaced by the word

‘Dharma’, which means ‘that which sustains or upholds'. In this sense

the word refers to the Moral law which maintains the whole world,

including the individual and the society. This cosmic law has been

identified with Truth in the Vedas as well as in the later Hindu

tradition. The Brihadarahayaka Upanishad says that with the help of

Satya which is Dharma, even the weaker could gain victory over the
 63

strongest “It is also said simultaneously that whatever is attended by

non-violence is the Dharma, and one could attain to truth through

non-violence”'21.

We have seen that Bhisma in Mahabharata declared that ab­

stention from injury to creatures was the real Dharma. Hence Satya and

Ahimsa have been traditionally identified with Dharma in Hinduism. In

the Buddhist tradition, Himsa and Asatya alike form the sin of sepa­

rateness. It is due to this that man is engaged in narrow self interest

and resorts to violence and untruth. Similarly in the Jain texts it is said

that asat definitely leads to violence. Upanishads which also influenced

Gandhi, describe God-Brahman as Truth, Knowledge and Infinite, fhe

Upanishadic seers like the neo-platonic mystics of later days, the Sufis

of Islam and Tolstoy conceive of God as the reality within us, which

directly manifests itself in our inner knowledge, consciousness and life.

So knowledge is nothing but God itself and knowledge of God is not

different from this God in us. Jesus also declares, according to St.

John, “I am the way and the truth and the life”(3>. Tolstoy, for exam­

ple, had a great influence on Gandhi and it is his work - ‘The King­

dom of God is within you’ which gave a permanent form to Gandhi's

idea of truth and love.

 In the evolution o f his thought, Gandhi was primarily influ­

enced by the great religions o f the world. The classics o f Hinduism,

Hindu ethics ever since the time o f the Upanishads had always laid

stress on the value o f Ahimsa or non-injury to all living things - hu­

man or otherwise. This tradition was further developed in the epics

of India which also wielded great influence on Gandhi. It is the

Bhagavat Geeta, however which had the decisive effect on the mind ol

Gandhi, Gandhi believed that the central thane o f the Geeta was that

a balanced state of mind can be achieved by killing all passions and

by renouncing desires, rather than objects. It is from this that he de­

duced that the result of selfless detachment must be the uttermost truth

and non-violence. Non-violence had been the leading tenet of the Jain

philosophy. Likewise, Buddhism laid great emphasis on ‘Ahimsa". It is

the concept of the brotherhood of man in Islam which appealed to Gan­

dhi most. Christianity has of course, had these ideals as integral part

of the conception o f virtuous life.

In formulating his concept o f Ahimsa and in making it the

main moral and spiritual weapon of his life journey, Gandhi was defi­

nitely influenced from the various sides, but still in an important sense

his concept of Ahima was uniquely his own. The lesson of ahimsa is
present in every religion and Gandhi was well aware o f it. He repeat­

edly pointed out that ahimsa was advocated in the Gita, the Bible, the

Koran and much more particularly in the teachings o f Buddhism and

Jainism. But again he him self claimed that his conception o f ahimsa

was independent in many respects o f the sanction o f the scriptures. As

a young man Gandhi became familiar with the principle o f winning over

an enemy by love by the poems o f the Gujrati poet Samalbhatta. The

teachings o f the N ew Testament on love had a veiy definite and great

effect on Gandhi’s concept o f ahimsa in it’s positive form. Gandhi told

that “ He when being killed bears no anger against his murderer and even

asks God to forgive him is truely non-violent. History relates this ot

Jesus Christ With his dying breath on the cross, he is reported to have

said : “ Father, forgive them for they know not what they do". He

believed in the N ew Testament “You have heard that it hath been said

: Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thy enemy. But I say to you

: Love your enemies : do good to them that hate you and pray for

them that persecute you : For i f you love them that love you, what

reward shall you have ? D o not even the publicans do this ? And if

you salute your brethen only, What do you more ? Do not also the

heathens do this ?” N ew Testament’s influence was prominent in Gan­

dhi’s philosophy at the time when he said that ahimsa meant loving even
 66

those who hated you and not simply those who loved you. Buddha s

influence had an obvious effect when Gandhi believed that "‘Victory

breeds hatred, because the conquered is unhappy and “Let a man con­

quer anger by love, evil by good, greed by liberality and lie by truth.

He also believed like the Buddha that society was held together only

by non-violence. Albert Schweitzer seems to hold that Gandhi was defi­

nitely influenced by the Buddha in his concept o f ahimsa, but then he

in some sense wenteven beyond Buddha. Schweitzer remarks : Gandhi

continued what the Buddha began. In the Buddha the spirit of love

set itself the task of creating different spiritual conditions in the world,

in Gandhi it undertakes the task to transform all worldy conditions"14'.

The teaching of Ali, the son-in-law o f prophet Mohammad had a veiy

definite and great effect on Gandhi’s concept of ahimsa. Ali’s suffering

is an influence for Gandhi. Jaina philosophy had also a great effect on

Gandhi’s concept o f Ahimsa. They regarded ahimsa as the greatest vir­

tue.

3.b Gandhi’s Concept of Truth and Non-violence :

According to Gandhi, “Devotion to truth is the sole justifica­

tion for our existence. All our activities should be centered in Truth.

Truth should be the very breath o f our life. When once this stage in
 67

the pilgrim’s progress is reached, all other rules o f correct living will

come without effort, and obedience to them will be instinctive. But

without Truth it would be impossible to observe any principles or rules

in life,,|5). Again Gandhi himself once said, "As a Jain muni once rightly

said, I was not so much a votary o f ahimsa as I was of truth, and 1

put the latter in the first place and the former in the second. For, as

he put it, I was capable o f sacrificing non-violence for the sake oi

Truth. In fact, it was in the course of my pursuit of Truth that I dis­

covered non-violence”*61.

Gandhi identified Satya w ith that basic reality which

holds together or sustains the entire universe. Gandhi has tried to pre­

serve within the concept o f Satya all the metaphysical and moral im­

plications of such terms of Hindu tradition as Rta, Dharma, Sat, etc.

Gandhi was a votary of truth from his childhood. So he said,

“1 claim to be a votary of truth from my childhood. It was the most

natural thing to me. My prayful search gave me the revealing maxim

‘Truth is God’ instead of the usual one God is truth. That maxim ena­

bles me to see God face to face as it were. I feel Him pervade every

fibre of my being”'7'. But in discovering truth, the athesists have not

hesitated to deny the very existence o f God-ffom their own point ol

 68

view rightly. And it was because of this reasoning that I saw that rather

than say that God is Truth I say that Truth is God”*8).

Gandhi has taken Satya also as a moral virtue, rather the

greatest moral virtue (Satya nasti paro dharmah) and as a great moral

vow. In this sense it means ‘truthfulness’ or ‘speaking the truth . And

for the observance o f this moral virtue or vow, complete fearlessness

and non-possession (Aparigraha) are required according to Gandhi With­

out being fearless one cannot speak the naked truth and also so long

as one has sensuous attraction towards wordly possessions, one cannot

have the courage always to speak the truth. He thought that only a man

with a selfless motive can be fearless and speak the truth. Gandhi

believed the follow ing sen ten ces ‘Satyam B ruyat Na B ruyat

Satyamapriyam’. One should speak the truth in polite and sweet language

and not harshly.

Gandhi himself declared that “Ahimsa is my God, and Truth

is my God. When I look for Ahimsa, Truth says ‘Find it through me’.

When I look for Truth, Ahimsa says, ‘Find it out through me’'1'''.

“Truth was the corner-stone o f the edifice of Gandhi's life.

Every page o f his Autobiography, through its calm simple language.

 69

testifies to the love of truthfulness ingrained in him ever since his

boyhood”00*. The virtues of fearlessness, non-possession etc. are re­

quired according to Gandhi not only for the observance of the moral

virtue of truth, but also for the realization o f Truth in its metaphysical

sense in which it is identical with God. About the need o f fearless­

ness in search o f Truth, Gandhi said “The pursuit of Truth is true bhakti

(devotion). It is the path that leads to God, and therefore, there is no

place in it for cowardice, no place for defeat^ It is the talisman by

which death itself becomes the portal to life internal”00. Regarding

non-possession he said, “Possession implies provision for the future. A

seeker after truth....cannot hold anything against tomorrow. God never

stores for the tomorrow. Perfect fulfillment o f the ideal o f Non-pos­

session requires that man should, like the birds, had no root over his

head, no clothing and no stock of good for the morrow. He will indead

need his daily bread, but it will be God’s business, and not his, to

provide for it”02*. Gandhi had the notion that from the standpoint of

Truth, the body too was a possession. It was the desire for enjoy­

ment which created bodies for the soul. When this desire disappeared

the need for the body also vanished. • He believed that perfect realiza­

tion o f Truth is not possible so long as we have the physical body

with us. So he mentioned, “But it is impossible for us to realize the

perfect so long as we are imprisoned in this mortal frame. We can

only realize it in our imagination. We cannot, through the instrumen­

tality of this ephemeral body, see face to face Truth which is eternal.

That is why in the last resort one must depend on faith”" 3*. .Gandhi was

a devotee of truth. He never compromised with truth.' He never ob­

scured any thing knowingly from the light o f truth. Speaking the truth

became so much a part of his nature that to utter an untruth became

physically mere impossible for his tongue. In his view, the duty of

speaking the truth, where one’s ownself was concerned, was, paramount

In this regard, there was no place o f admitting o f exceptions or

excuses. “As actual experience showed in many instances, the best

course for the quality one is facing Gandhiji always proved to admit

the truth at once and be prepared for the consequences- to thrust him

with truth, as he said. Truth here was the shortest cut with him, as it

is also in life. The way of lying and deceit proves disastruous in the

long run and leads to no end o f trouble, as Thomas Hardy has so

graphically shown. In many of his novels, the seed of tragedy lies in

one little untruth on critical occasions when truth would perhaps have

resulted in some opprobrium or apparent loss, but the risk was worth

taking, for it would have spared the persons the tragic sufferings”" 4’.
 71

Gandhi distinguished between absolute and relative Truth and

told that although we are not able to realize the Absolute Iruth, we

could have partial glimpses of it in what might be called relative truths.

No particular relative truth could be identified with the Absolute Truth

and therefore no individual or community could claim the achievement

of die final truth. He believed that eveiyone o f us realized Truth par­

tially in our own relative way and therefore all such realization were

equally valuable and important. Gandhi mentioned that “The relative truth

must, meanwhile, be my beacon, my shield and buckler. Even tn>

Himalayan blunders have seemed trifling to me because I have kept

strictly to this path. I have gone forward according to my light. Often

in my progress I have had my faint glimpse of the Absolute Truth, God

and daily the conviction is growing on me that he alone is real and

all else is unreal”*15*. Regarding Truth Gandhi said, “He who would go

in for novel experiments must begin with himself. That leads to a

quicker discovery of Truth, and God always protects the honest experi­

menter”*l6!.

3.c Silence and Truth :

Gandhi believed that silence is a part of spiritual

discipline in human life. So again he declared, “Experience has taught

me that silence is a part of spiritual discipline o f a votary of Truth.

Proneness to exaggerate, to suppress or modify the truth, willingly or

unwillingly, is a natural weakness o f man and silence is necessary in

order to surmount it. A man of few words will rarely be thoughtless

in his speech, he will measure every word”07*. For the concentration

o f our mind also silence is essential for everyone. For the spiritual

development silence is necessary. So again he told, “Silence is a great

help to a seeker after Truth like myself. In the attitude o f silence the

soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and decep­

tive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and ardu­

ous quest after Truth, and the soul requires inward restfulness to attain

its full height. “It has now both a physical and spiritual necessity for

me. Originally it was taken to relieve the sense o f pressure. Then 1

wanted time for writing. After, however, I had practised it for some­

time, I saw the spiritual value of it. It suddenly flashed across my mind,

that was the time when I could best hold communion with God. And

now I feel as though I was naturally built for silence”08’.

Regarding truth Gandhi thought that the voice within us is

truth. He believed in the voice o f conscience, because in the light of

the Hindu tradition he told that every individual had a divine element

in him in the form of his soul.It means that according to Gandhi the
 73

inner voice as conscience is the sole source or judge for knowing

what truth is. He mentioned that if we want to know truth, we must

fully discipline ourselves by acquiring the virtue o f truthfulness, humil­

ity, purity and above all non-violence, poverty and non-possession. He

believed that “If you would swim on the bosom of the ocean of truth,

you must reduce yourself to zero”(l9). Through our conscience if we

want to know truth, we should have to start from zero. Regarding path

o f Truth he again said that ‘T he path o f Truth is as narrow as it is

straight. It is like balancing oneself on the edge o f the sword"'2' ’

3.d l aw of Truth according to Gandhi :

Regarding the law o f truth Gandhi told that truth is in eve­

rywhere “Generally speaking observation o f the law o f Truth is under­

stood merely to mean that we must speak the truth. But we in the

Ashram should understand the word Satya or Truth in a much wider

sense. There should be Truth in thought, Truth in speech, Truth in ac­

tion. To the man who had realized this truth in his fulness, nothing else

remains to be known, because all knowledge is necessarily included in

it.What is not included in it is not Truth, and so not true knowledge;

and there can be no inward peace without true knowledge. If we once

learn how to apply this never failing test o f Truth, we will at once be

able to find out what is worth doing, what is worth seeing, what is
worth reading.

But how is one to realize this truth, which may be linked to

the philosopher’s stone or the cow o f plenty? By single-minded devo­

tion and indifference to all other interests in life, replies the

Bhagavadgita. In spite, however o f such devotion, what may appear as

truth to one person will often appear as untruth to another person. But

that need not worry the seeker, where there is honest effort, it will

be realized that what appear to be different truths are like the count­

less and apparently different leaves o f the same tree. Does not God

himself appear to different individuals in different aspects? Yet we know

that He is one. But Truth is the right designation o f God. Hence there

is nothing wrong in every man following Truth according to his lights.

Indeed, it is his duty to do so. Then if there is a mistake on the part

o f anyone while following Truth, it will be automatically set right, l or

the quest o f Truth involves tapas-self suffering, sometimes even unto

death. There can be no place in it for even a trace o f self interest.

In such selfless search for Truth nobody can lose his bearings for long.

When he takes to the wrong path he stumbles, and is thus redirected

to the right path. Therefore, the pursuit o f Truth is true bhakti. It is

the path that leads to God. There is no place in it for cowardice, no

place for defeat. It is the talisman by which death itself becomes the
portal to life eternal.

In this connection it would be well to ponder over the lives

and examples of Harischandra, Prahlad, Ramchandra, Imam Hasan and

Imam Hussain, the Christrian saints etc. How beautiful it would be, if

all of us young and old, men and women, devoted ourselves wholly to

Truth in all that we might do in our waking hours, whether working,

eating, drinking and playing till dissolution o f the body makes us one

with truth ? God as Truth has been for me a treasure beyond price

and may be so to everyone of us(2l)

For Gandhi to think one thing, speak another and do a third

is untruth. He thought that untruth arises from fear.

3.e Non-violence :

“The surest means to Truth, according to Gandhi, is ahimsa.

As a matter of fact, the two are so inentricably bound up together that

it is very difficult to disentangle them. Gandhi o f course regarded

Truth as somewhat superior to ahimsa because he took the former as

the end and the latter as merely a means, but, as we know it fully

well, ‘means’ and ‘end’ were convertible terms for him because he took

the two as practically inseparable. He was of the firm faith that a good
end, however good it might be, could not be desirable unless it was

attained through good means”(22). This ideas o f truth and non-violence

are seen in the following sentences “the means employed inevitably

determine the nature o f the results achieved, whereas, however good the

end aimed may be, its goodness is powerless to contract the effect of

the bad means we use to reach it”123*.

Thus we come to hold that Truth and Ahimsa are everything

in life of Gandhi. In the scale of values, Truth is higher than Ahimsa.

He too believed that Ahimsa is the indispensable means for the dis­

covery of Truth. Regarding Non-violence Gandhi mentioned “Non-violence

is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the

mightiest weapon o f destruction devised by the ingenuity o f man. De­

struction is not the law o f humans. Man lives freely only by his

readyness to die, if need be, at the hands o f his brother, never by

killing him. livery murder or injury to other, no matter for what cause,

commited or inflicted on another is a crime against humanity”*241. Gan­

dhi practised ahimsa as an active force and remarked it as soul force.

So he believed that “Non-violence is an active force o f the highest

order. It is soul-force or the power o f Godhead within us. Imperfect

man cannot grasp the whole o f the essence- he would not be able to
 77

bear its foil blaze, but even an infinitesimal fraction o f it, when it

becomes active within us, can work wonders. The sun in the heaven fills

the whole universe with its life giving warmth. But if one went loo

near it, it would consume him to ashes. Even so it is with Godhead.

We become Godlike to the extent we realize non-violence ; but we can

never become wholly God. Non-violence is like radium in its action.

An infinitesimal quantity of it embeded in a malignant growth, acts

continuously, silently and ceaselessly till it has transformed the whole

mass of the diseased tissue into a healthy one. Similarly, even a little

o f true non-violence acts in a silent, subtle, unseen way and livens the

whole society”*25>. Non-violence, as wrongly believed by many, was not

a purely negative affair. It was not non-resistance. It was non-violent

resistance. It was a positive and dynamic method of action. It was not

meant for those who meekly accept the statusquo. The very purpose for

which it was designed was to create a political unrest in society and

thus to change existing conditions. Gandhi believed non-violence as not

super method but braver and superior method of resistance. For him

non-violent resistance is superior to violent resistance. Gandhi again told

that in non-violence there is no cloak for cowardice- “I do believe that

where there only a choice between cowardice and violence. 1 would

advise violence. Abstinence is forgiveness only when there is the power

to punish. But I do not believe myself to be a helpless creature. Only
I want to use India’s and my strength for a better purpose”'261. rhough
non-violence means non-killing, but for Gandhi it has a higher mean­
ing. It signifies avoiding injury to anything on earth in thought word
or deed. A votary o f non-violence should not only keep away from
causing hurt to the body o f an individual, but also offending him by
harsh speech and from even thinking ill of him. He should not con­
sider anyone his enemy. If anyone thinks him to be his enemy, he
should harbour no ill-will against him. Gandhi said “In non-violence one
restrains all impulses. 1’here is non-violence in violence as in the case
o f using violent methods to restrict the activities of a drunkard. As long
as we live the mundane life, we cannot escape violence, but it is pos­
sible for us to restrict ourselves. Ahimsa is thus the highest type ol
renunciation”27*.

. According to Gandhi non-violence is the extreme limit ol

forgiveness. But forgiveness is the virtue o f the strong only, because
it presupposes the ability to strike. It is not the cult o f defenceless, a
weapon o f the weak, but on the contrary, it can be employed only by
the strong. It presupposes a high degree o f self-restraint, which alone
can inspire determination in man. It implies benovolence, sympathy and
 79

largeness of hear.. Gandhi again said “In its negative form it means not

injury to living being whether by body or mind. I may not. therefore,

hurt the person of any wrong doer or bear any ill will to him and so

cause him mental suffering. This statement does not cover suffering

caused to the wrong doer by natural act of mine which do not pro­

ceed from an ill will. Ahimsa required deliberate self-suffering, not a

deliberate injury of the supposed wrong doer. In its positive form

Ahimsa means the largest love, the greatest charity. If I am a follower

of Ahimsa, I must love my enemy or a stronger to me as I would

my wrong doing father or son. This active Ahimsa necessarily includes

truth and fearlessness”*210. Gandhi’s above statement makes it clear that

he used the term ahimsa a wide sense. First of all, ahimsa means not

only injuiy, but also positive love and charity. This love and charit> is

not meant only for one’s men orfor some stray wrong doer, but also

for one’s enemy. The real test of one’s ahimsa according to Gandhi is

that he possesses no ill will even towards his enemy. He rather loves

him as he would love his wrong doing father or son. Furthermore, true

observance o f ahimsa requires self-suffering rather than inflicting suf­

fering upon the wrong doer. Ahimsa includes truth and fearlessness. Urns

it is clear that to be a follower o f ahimsa in the Gandhian sense is

not a very easy task. It is, as Gandhi sometimes himself said, like a
 80

tapasya. According to Gandhi, “A follower of true ahimsa must always

be ready to die without any desire ever to hurt or kill anyone. This

is not an easy task”29*.

Gandhi again distinguished between three types o f himsa. He

said that first of all krita himsa, violence done by one’s own self.

Second there is karita himsa or violence by somebody else. Third is

anumodita himsa which is watching passively some violence being done

by someone else. Prof. Raghavan Iyer mentioned that “The yoga of

ahimsa consists in the devising of means and doing acts, calculated

to check the evil tendency o f himsa and to eliminate to the best of

one’s power the effects of the commission o f such acts from human

society ”(30).

Gandhi said that non-violence is related with the concept of

God also. When we believe in God then again we have faith upon non­

violence. So he declared that “Non-violence succeeds only when we

have a living faith in God. Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, they were all

warriors of peace in their own style. We have to enrich the heritage

left oy these world teachers. God has His own wonderful way o f ex-
 81

ecuting His plans and choosing His instruments. The prophet and Abu

Bakr trapped in a cave were saved from their persecutors by a spider

which had woven its web across the mouth of that cave. Ail the world

teachers, you should know, began with a zero,,(31). Gandhi believed that

Ahimsa is not the crude thing it has been made to appear. Not to hurt

any living thing is no doubt a part o f Ahimsa. But it is it’s best ex­

pression. The principle of Ahimsa is violated by every evil thought, by

undue haste, by lying, by hatred, by wishing ill to anybody. It is also

violated by our holding on to what the world needs. But the world

needs even what we eat day by day. Realizing the limitations o f the

flesh, we must strive day by day towards the idea with what strength

we have in us.

It is perhaps clear from the foregoing, that without Ahimsa

it is not possible to seek and find Truth. Ahimsa and Truth are so

interwined that it is practically impossible to disentangle and separate

them. They are like the two sides o f a coin or rather o f a smooth

unstamped metallic disc. Who can say, which is the obverse and which

is the reverse ? Nevertheless Ahimsa is the means, Truth is the end.

Means to be means must always be within our supreme duty. If we take

care o f the means, we are bound to reach the end sooner or later.

When once we have grasped this point, final victory is beyond ques­

tion. Whatever difficulties we encounter, whatever apparent reverses we

sustain we may not give up the quest for Truth which alone is being

God Himself*32*.

According to Gandhi it does not mean that we should use

force against any person. On the other hand, an attempt should be

made to appeal to his heart by undergoing suffering and hardship. The

opponent’s heart will surely respond sooner or later. The only thing that

is required is patience. Gandhi said that “what is a dormant state in

non-violence becomes love in the waking state. The world is ruled

only by love and the two doctrines ‘might is right’ and ‘the survival

o f the fittest’ are contradictory to the doctrine of love”*331.

“Ahimsa as regards sub-human life is from the Ashram point

o f view an important aspect but still only one aspect o f this compre-
 83

hensive principle. Our dealings with our fellow men are still more

important than that. The commonest form o f human intercourse is ei­

ther violent or non-violent. Fortunately for humanity non-violence per­

vades human life and is observed by men without special effort. If we

had not bom with one another, mankind would have been destroyed long

ago. Ahimsa would thus appear to be the law o f life, but we are not

thus far entitled, to any credit for observing it”(34).

The important points o f Ahimsa are:

(1) That the main spring of ahimsa or non-violence is love

and the true criterion o f non-violence is therefore, this inner feeling

in the heart, (2) that if we do not ignore the inner call of love, we

are obliged to desist from injury to living beings as far we can, (3)

that it is wrong to think, therefore, that since we cannot observe com­

plete non-violence, we should not try to observe the little we can, (4)

finally that the more we try to practice love and compassion the more

we can increase them and can become morally elevated and truly happy.

It follows from the above that true non-violence is not simply non­

killing that is outwardly desisting from injury ; it must be from the

bottom of one’s heart”051.

The intimate relationship between Satya and Ahimsa follows

from Gandhi’s own beliefs regarding the nature of God and man also.

He believed that there is an essential unity between God and human

self and also between oneself and another. As a matter ol fact, he

believed in the essential unity of all beings, because God or Truth was

present in all of them. As he said, “I believe in Advaita, I believe in

the essential unity of man and for that matter, of all that lives”'36'.

Without non-violence there can be neither Freedom nor Equal­

ity, without freedom there can be neither Equality nor Non-violence and

without Equality there can be neither Non-violence nor Freedom' 7'.

According to Gandhi Ahimsa binds us to one another and to God.

Ahimsa and love are one and the same thing3381. Gandhi thinks that evil

and injustice, exploitation and tyranny must be fought, but he insisted

that the weapons must be non-violent, pure and moral. So he mentioned

that violence is the law of the jungle and love is the law o f the hu­

man species. Gandhi believed that ahimsa would lead to the truth, to

find which ought to be the common object of all human beings. Mu­

tual respect, friendliness, co-operation all are forms of love.

 85

His non-vioience or love has a double derivation one is on

account of identity with all life, the other is positive disinclination to

use violence even for imposing truth on others. The latter was the root

of his principle of self suffering. The inner experience of the unity of

life and identity of interests cannot and ought not to mean anything but

the relationship of love between individuals as well as groups and

nations(39!.The whole principle o f non-violence is applied to every liv­

ing beings. It is a tough path and difficult to follow. Non-violence sig­

nifies avoiding injury to anything on earth in ‘thought,’ ’word’ or ’deed .

A votary of non-violence should abstain not only from causing hurt to

the body of an individual, but also offending him by harsh speech and

from even thinking ill of him. He should not consider anyone his en­

emy. And if any one thinks of him to be his enemy, he should har­

bour non ill-will against him.

3.f Non-Violence in International Politics :

By international Freedom, Gandhi did not mean absolute in­

dependence. This would be inconsistent with progressive international­

ism. He believed that his notion o f Puma Swaraj is not isolated inde­

pendence but healthy and dignified interdependence. Actually, Gandhi had

before him the ideal o f a world government. It was clear to Gandhi

that absolutely independent states would be warrying among themselves

and what was needed was federation of friendly independent states. Ac­

cording to him the only condition on which the world could live was

to be united under one central governing body composed of representa­

tives of the component parts.

Gandhi wanted the application o f the principles of non-vio­

lence to the sphere o f international relations. He suggested that the

League of Nations should use the sanction which India s national move­

ment was using against the British. He also conceded that voluntary

associations would take up the great cause of the peace of the world.

An non-violent world organization would give up armament and the use

of force to defend even proved rights. He welcomed international peace

brigades. It was Gandhi’s view that there should be complete and gen­

eral disarmament but before that could take place, some nations would

have to dare to disarm themselves and take large risks. Gandhi s world

order would not emerge till imperialism had not been liquidated and

all nations, big or small and had become free and equal.

The principal condition for peaceful world, according to Gan-

 X7

dhi, was just political and economic international relations and the ending

of the domination over one state by another. So long as great nations

did not shed competition and the desire to multiply one’s possessions,

it would not be possible to achieve a peaceful world order.

While this was the ultimate picture for which Gandhi was to

strive, he envisaged a non-violent Indian state which would live on the

friendliest terms with its neighbours, whether they be great powers or

small nations. The state would not covet any foreign territory. It would

share its moral and material resources with people across the bounda­

ries. It would be at peace with the rest o f the world. It would work

for total disarmament and for the establishment of a non-violent inter­

national order. Its non-violence would command universal respect and

arouse the goodwill of its neighbours. For its defence, it would rest

on the goodwill of the whole world. Gandhi has his own ideas about

ways of meeting aggression. It was his belief that a non-violent state

would easily become a victim o f aggression but even if it did, non­

violent defence would be relatively easy. A non-violent society rests on

the assumption that nobody would disturb it but if the worst happened.
 88

it cculd meet the aggressor to take possession and then non-co-oper-

ate with it. The second way would be to suffer non-violent resistance.

People without any arms would become fodder for the aggressor's can­

non. The underlined belief of Gandhi was that even the worst aggres­

sor was susceptible to moral influences. His prescription ol the

Absyssinians, the Czechs, the Ports, the English and the other victims

o f aggression was to refuse to fight but at the same time to refuse

to yield. It was Gandhi’s belief that when in a war both sides employ

weapons of violence, one could hardly say which side deserves to suc­

ceed. Gandhi was positive in his support to the victim of aggression.

A non-violent country would not allow any army to devastate a neigh­

bouring country. It would refuse passage to the invading army and

refuse it all supplies. He would prefer the economic boycott of the

aggressor nation by natural states. Even if the victim o f aggression

had chosen to put up violent resistance, the non violent state would

extend its moral sympathy and support to them. It was Gandhi s belief

that if all other states could unitedly offer agains the aggressor states

moral resistance, war and aggression would be whipped up.

“It has been a general tendency in our time to create inter-

 89

national institutions or law courts, which can be invoked for setting

difficult problems between nations. This is certainly a good step in the

right direction. But frequently, at least in the near future, the authoritv

o f such an insitution will be questioned by one o f the parties, or a

general lack o f interest among the other nations in the problem con­

cerned may frustrate the judgement of such an international institution.

In such cases Gandhi’s idea of passive resistance, on non-violence, could

help to draw the attention of very many people to the problem under

dispute and could emphasize the urgency o f its solution, because the

most intense personal engagement as the basis o f Gandhi’s idea of non­

violence may be stronger than the somewhat impersonal idea of an

international court. Hence it seems that Gandhi’s way o f thinking can

lead directly into the political structure of the future world, in which

a nation might be much better protected by not possessing atomic-

weapons than by having them or might pursue its own interest much

more efficiently by participating in the interest o f other nations than

by ignoring them”(40).

Gandhi’s non-violence is based on the higher aspects o f hu­

man nature, which rebel against tyranny, injustice and authoritarianism.

The values are derived from the hearts and wills o f men. Gandhi be-
lieved in the tremendous urge in human nature for peace and freedom.

The society which he aimed at is already universally present in the

hearts o f men though it may lie submerged. We have to bring it to

the surface by fighting the evil forces, political, social and psychologi­

cal. For Gandhi, non-violence involves an inner war, which requires us

to defeat fear, greed, anger and guilt. Whenever a great personality

arises he challenges the spirit in us and reminds us that we are not

just animals but human beings*4'*. Gandhi believed that non-violence is

the other name for truth. According to him Truth and non-violence are

the governing principles of his whole thought. The struggle for good

essentially is struggle against evil, but struggle against evil would have

to be waged from outside. All through public life, Gandhi s preoccupa­

tion was relentless war against evils in individual and grouped lite.

evils in political organisation, evils in the economic structure.

In Gandhi’s mind, non-violence was not simply a political tac­

tic which was supremely useful and efficacious in liberating his people

from foreign rule, in order that Indian might then concentrate on real­

izing its own national identity. On the contrary, the spirit of non-vio­

lence sprang from an inner realization of spiritual unity in himself l he

whole Gandhian concept of non-violent action and Satyagraha is incom-

prehensible if it is thought to be a means of achieving unity rather than

as the fruit o f inner unity already achieved. Gandhi believed that for

practising Ahimsa another important fact is very necessary - this is the

belief in God. But since for him truth is God, he was not talking about

the concept of God, as concieved by a particular religion. He was

secular in outlook and he believed in oneness of all religions. There­

fore, he remarked that a sincere faith on God makes man realise that

all human beings are essentially one. Thus love of God was transformed

into love o f humanity which was a kind of universal brotherhood.

It is very important that his views on non-violence and love

brought a ray of sunshine to lighten the gloom and darkness prevailing

at that time. Buddha also did the same. Gandhi believed that his mes­

sage of non-violence spread far and wide and he made India, a coun­

try with a vision of secularism, non-violence and tolerence. Gandhi

mentioned that “I could not be leading a religious life unless 1 iden­

tified myself with the whole of mankind and that I could not do unless

I took part in politics”*42*. Actually Gandhi’s whole philosophy was in­

ter-linked with the other. It is nothing but his universal understanding

of the spirit of Truth.

 02

Gandhi thought that there are three kinds o f killings and that

was the duty o f man to resist injustice-

a) In case of fulfillment of the individual’s biological needs when

one is raped, one is permitted to use violence.

b) To protect those who are under one’s care.

c) In dangerable situation to save one it is duty to kill and this

is not violence.

Thus Gandhi’s idea of Satyagraha, non-possession, Brahmacharya.

truthfulness etc. are all related with the idea of non-violence.

3.g Bread Labour and Non-violence :

For attainment o f non-violence Bread Labour is one of the

important factors. It means that everybody should earn his bread by his

own physical labour. Mere intellectual labour is not enough. How so

ever important work a man might be doing in terms of intellectual

labour, that does not matter much unless he does some physical labour

also to produce at least a part of his bread by himself. Gandhi here

seems to be very much influenced by the Biblical sermon ‘Earn thy

bread by the sweat of the brow’. Gandhi was also influenced by the

ideas expressed in Ruskin’s ‘Unto this Last’. Gandhi also interpreted

Gita’s theory of 'Yaj na' or sacrifice in his own way and look it as a

repository of the concept o f Bread Labour. Gandhi mentioned that "the

law, that to live man must work, first came home to me upon reading

Tolostoy’s writing on Bread Labour. But even before that I had began

to pay homage to it after reading Buskin's ‘Unto this Last'. Ihe divine-

law, that man must earn his bread by labouring with his own hands, was

first stressed by a Russian writer named T.M.Bondaref. Tolostoy adver­

tised it and gave it wider publicity. The principle has been set forth

in the third chapter of the Gita, where we are told, that he who eats

without offering sacrifice, eats stolen food. Sacrifice here can only

mean Bread Labour.” Gandhi considered spinning to be an ideal form

of Bread Labour. Therefore Bread Labour will be able to establish the

bond of love among all members of the society, the habit ol practicing

Bread Labour naturally will promote the virtue of renunciation which

is the very essence for the culture o f non-violence. He who abstains

from physical work lives a shameful and vain life. This was Gandhi’s

understanding regarding the concept of Bread Labour.

 94

Gandhi took agriculture to be the true symbol o f Bread La­

bour, but he realized the fact that eveiybody could not take to agricul­

ture. Therefore, he advised people to take up any kind of physical la­

bour, such as spinning, weaving, carpentry, scavenging etc. However, with

all considerations in view, Gandhi took spinning through Charkha to be

the fittest and most acceptable sacrificial body labour. By the concept

of Bread Labour he intended to bring about a sense of equality amongst

all men by causing them to realize the dignity o f labour and conse­

quently the dignity o f man. He believed that this is the effective

method of self realization. Self realization is God-realization and God-

realization is possible only when we identify ourselves with the lowest

in the society. He believed that “Obedience to the law o f Bread La­

bour will bring about a silent revolution in the structure of the soci­

ety. Men’s trimuph will consist in substituting the struggle for exist­

ence by the struggle for mutual service. The law of the brute will be

replaced by the law o f man,,<43).

Gandhi believed that non-violence must be accepted as a higher

value than human life. He thought that there is no harm sacrifice lower

value for the sake of higher value. Higher value we can say is a way

for the welfare of the society. Therefore non-violence is nothing but

 95

expression of selfless love which is connected with the concept of God.

Ahimsa is nothing if not a well balanced requisite considera­

tion of one’s neighbour and an ideal man is wanting in that elemen­

tary consideration'14*. Gandhi again believed that the removel o f

untouchability is one of the hight expression of Ahimsa. Gandhi believed

in the Sanskrit dictum “ahimsa paramo dharmah”. But why it should

be regarded as the hightest virtue? The reason is he briefly writes m

his diary that without ahimsa, Truth cannot be realized. Truth for him

was God that pervaded all beings, which was preserved and unified

through love. God can be realized by loving God and to love God is

to love the beings in whom He is incarnate.

We may add that there are two other important reasons as

to why ahimsa should be regarded as a supreme virtue. The first rea­

son is that Ahimsa as non-injury to life is the logical pre-supposition

of all other duties towards living beings. Since we cannot do any duty

towards a fellow being unless he is alive. The second reason is that

Ahimsa as love is the parent o f all the other cardinal virtues'45'.

 96

3.h Brahmacharva and Non-violence :

Literally, the terra brahmacharya means the path o f God-re­

alization (Brahma = God+Charya = Practice) and includes, as Gandhi

rightly says that control in thought, word and action, of all the senses

at all times and all places. Therefore, an individual practising

brahmacharya is absolutely free from passion. Gandhi believes that it

is possible to practise such brahmacharya to the fullest extent. But this

is only a broad meaning of the term. The ordinary accepted sense of

Brahmacharya as Gandhi correctly observes is the control in thought,

word and action of animal passion. It is quite proper to use to restrict

its meaning. It has been thought to be very difficult to practise this

brahmacharya. Yet this form of brahmacharya is o f the essence, because

the control of every other sense shall be added unto the individual who

is not swayed by carnal desire desire even in his sleep*46’.

3.i Conclusion:-

We find that Gandhi’s warning of the dangers of violence has

come true. Communal unrest, untouchability, harassment o f minorities

and women, economic inequality are a few o f the problems we face.

It is once again time to turn to the Mahatma’s method of Ahimsa and

non-violence to be free of these. The biggest choice today is whether

 07

nations would opt for violence or non-violence. Welfare of all or total

annihilation. On the one hand we would have dignity of labour, creativ­

ity, sharing, appreciation of nature, love, peace, Ahimsa, forgiveness and

soul force. On the other would be hatred, anger, jealously, competition,

intolerance, violence and terrorism. It is up to us to decide which to

choose. Gandhi warned o f the danger of violence. In the present age

society many of his fears are coming true. There is communal unrest,

racial wars, consumerism, pollution, commercialisation of education,

atrocities on women, exploitation, marginalisation o f tribes and spread

of AIDS and other diseases. Gandhi felt that constructive programmes

were the only solution to all these problems. At the present society

we are facing trouble in protecting our national integration. We have

seen lack o f morality, corruptions, intolerance, terrorism in every field

of our national life. Our life is becoming aimless and we are quarreling

among each other for power and status forgetting our own duty. So the

present time is to recolect Gandhi’s teachings again to remove the evil

power of our society through the practice o f truth and non-violence,

The spiritual upliftment of our society was the main aim o f his life.

Society is a must for him. Gandhi found that there was injustice eve­

rywhere and in every field o f life. The future of our society will re­

main dark if we do not follow the way of Truth and Non-violence.

 R E F E R E N C E S

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( 2 ) T i w a r i K . N . W o r l d R e l i g i o n s a n d G a n d h i , C P C . N D , 1 9 8 8 . P.85
( 3 ) D a t t a , D . M . , T h e P h i l o s o p h y o f M a h a t m a G a n d h i , C . U . P . 3 9 .

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( 6 ) H a r i j a n - M a r c h . 1 9 2 6 .

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( 1 1 ) Y e r a v d a M a n d i r , P . 5 .

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( 1 3 ) I b i d - P . 7 .

( 1 4 ) I b i d - P . 4 .

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1 6 ) G a n d h i , M . K . . M y R e l i g i o n . N P H . P . 1 0 3 .

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(19) Gandhi, M.K., All Men are Brothers ,UNESCO, 1958, P.81.

(20) Yeravda Mandir, P.5.

(21) Gandhi M.K., My God , NPH, P.16.

(22) Tiwari, K.N., World Religions and Gandhi.CPC, ND. P.83.

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(24) Harijan - 20-7-1935, P.180-181.

(25) Harijan - 12-11-1938, M.K.Gandhi. P.327.

(26) Young India - M.K.Gandhi, 11-8-1920

(27) The Collected Works o f Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 13, NPH. P.295

(28) Modem Review, October, 1916.

(29) Tiwari, K.N , World Religions and Gandhi ,CPC, ND. P.87.

(30) Iyer, R.N , The Moral and Political Thought of Mahatma Gandhi. ( )i P

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(31) Gandhi, M.K, Harijan . P.443.

(32) Gandhi, M.K.. My Religion, NPH. P.105-106.

(33) The Collected Work of Mahatma Gandhi. Vol. 13. P.521.

 II

(34) Gandhi, In Search o f the Supreme Vol.II. NPH. 1962. P.31

(35) Dutta, D.M, The Philosophy o f Mahatma Gandhi.C.U . P 100.

(36) Gandhi, M.K., Truth is God , NPH, P.4.

(37) Bandopadhaya, J. Social and Political Thought o f Gandhi . P.34

(38) Gandhi, M .K., Truth is God, NPH, P.17.

(39) Diwakar R.R, Mahatma Gandhi : 100 Years,Gandhi Peace f oundation

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(40) Heisenberg. W, Mahatma Gandhi : 100 Years . P.56.

(41) Radhakrishnan, S. Mahatma G andhi: 100 Years.Orient Longmans. , )d f

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(42) Tendulkar. D.G.. Mahatma, V oll. Gvt.O.i. P.161.

(43) Harijan, June, 1935.

(44) Tendulkar. D.G., Mahatma, 2nd edition,GOI. P.45.

(45) Dutta, D.M., The Philosophy o f Mahatma Gandhi, CU, P. 103.

(46) Bandopadhaya. 1.Social and Political Thought of Gandhi. Allied Puh'M>-

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