1. Mahatma Gandhi ~ An Introduction
2. Gandhiji as a Political Leader
3. Gandhiji as a Writer
4. Gandhiji as a Philosopher
The Early life history of Gandhiji:
Birth - Parentage - Early Life
The purpose of the present chapter is to know the family background
of Gandhiji. It throws light on the culture and the atmosphere where the
future Mahatma was brought up.
Every great man’s early life bears
testimony, and gives a necessary background to the readers to understand
his perceptions,
concepts, his attitude and approach to life, and his
personality as a whole.
The early life of Mahatma Gandhi provides
information about his activities, and what he did, as a teenager, and why
he did that. For every reader his early life provides a broad background.
We can find the roots here of his views and actions which were
responsible for his becoming a Mahatma.
It is well known that more has already been written about Gandhiji
than about any other leader in modem Indian History, and that numbering
among these thousands of works are, to date, more than four hundred
biographies of him. The innumerable works produced on Gandhiji show
what kind of man he was, and his influence on people throughout the
world in general, and India in particular.
By about 1850, British rule had been firmly established in India. The
uprising of 1857, known as Sepoy Mutiny, had merely served to
consolidate the British adventure into an empire. India had effectively
passed under the British guardianship, so effectively indeed, that instead
of resenting alien rule the new generation of educated Indians were eager
to submit to the civilizing mission of their foreign masters. It seemed that
the British empire in India was safe for centuries.
64
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65
Gandhiji became known to many world leaders after he emerged as a
leader of the Indian freedom movement. But he was not made in a day,
nor was the change from simple Mohan to Mahatma an easy one.
Gandhiji says : “Childhood shows the man - as morning shows the
day.”2 This holds true in the case of Gandhiji too. He had the foundations
of his greatness laid during the period of his early childhood and school
days. Gandhiji in his autobiography records : “ The Gandhis belong to
the Bania caste and seem to have been originally grocers. But for three
generations, from my grandfather, they have been Prime Ministers in
several Kathiwad states.”3 The literal meaning of the word Gandhi is a
grocer ; Gandhijis were banias or grocers by caste. They used to work as
Dewans in the princely states of Kathiwar.
Successively taking a new wife following the death of the previous
one Karamchand Gandhi, nicknamed as Kaba Gandhi, married Putalibai
as his fourth wife at the age of forty. There were four children from this
marriage, three sons, and one daughter. The eldest was Laxmidas, the
second was Roliat Ben, the third was Karshandas, and the youngest was
Mohandas. He was known by various names, such as Manu, Monia,
Mohan and Mohania.
Writing about Gandhiji’s birth Louis Fischer
observes : “He was bom at Porbunder on October 2nd, 1869. That year
the Suez Canal was opened. Thomas A. Edison
invention.
patented his first
France celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the birth of
Napoleon Bonaparte, and Charles W. Eliot became president of Harvard
University. Karl Marx had just published Das Capital, Bismark was
about to launch the Franco - Prussian War, and Queen Victoria ruled
over England and India. Mohandas was bom in the dark, right hand
comer of a room, 11 feet by 9 XA feet and 20 feet high, in a three storey
humble house on the border of the town.”4 The great events which took
66
place on the birthday of Gandhiji were a testimony to Gandhiji’s
leadership which the world would in course recognize and honour.
Young Mohandas was first admitted to a school at Porbunder.
His
teacher tweaked his ear in irritation when he could not learn the
multiplication table.
It was with much difficulty that he got through the multiplication
table. Gandhiji was a mediocre type of student, but was very punctual.
When he was seven he accompanied his father to Rajkot where he
attended, first, a Pathasala and then a school in the suburbs, after which,
at the age of twelve, he was admitted into the Alfred High School. He
was a shy type, and did not like to mix with the other school boys of his
age. He reached the school just when it opened, and left it as soon as it
was closed.
To be at school at the stroke of the hour and to run back home as soon
as school closed, that was his daily habit. He literally ran back, because
he could not bear to talk to anybody.
At school he always tried to be
honest, truthful and obedient. According to Upadhyaya, though he was
bom in a Vaishya family, Mohandas had many special occasions to visit
the Haveli i.e., the Vaishnava Temple. But the glitter of pomp never
appealed to him. The religious beliefs of the family had their stamp on
his tender mind and he developed a natural faith in Ramanama. Mohan
started showing signs of rational thinking at an early age.
When he
became the leader of the masses, he practised the Mantra ‘Ramanama’,
and repeated it at the time of crisis and difficulty. Ramanama was the
last word he had uttered before he died.
About Ramanama Gandhiji wrote at a later stage in the Harijan
issue of 18-3-1933 : “But the potent fact is there, and as I write these
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67
lines, my memory revives the scenes of my childhood, when I daily used
to visit the Ramji Mandir adjacent to my ancestral home. My Rama then
resided there. He saved me from many fears and sins.........
My nurse
taught me to repeat Ramanama whenever I felt afraid or miserable.”5 The
family had a great impact on young Mohan. Religion, from the very
beginning, played a pivotal role in shaping his career. He believed that
Rama would come to his aid in moments of distress. The Gita was also a
source of inspiration for him.
Influences on Young Mohan
In those days even good houses had no good toilets. A scavenger by
name Uka was employed by the Gandhis to clean the latrine, and sweep
the floor. Uka belonged to an untouchable community. Gandhiji was
then twelve years old. Mohan was told by the family members not to
touch Uka. If he brushed against him by chance he had to go and bathe
so that he became clean again. Mohan could not understand this and he
told his mother that untouchability did not have a religious sanction.
Gandhiji wrote in Young India (issue of 6-8-1925): “My personal religion
peremptorily forbids me to hate anybody. I learnt this simple, yet grand
doctrine when I was twelve years old.”6 We can, thus, trace the seeds of
religion in Gandhiji even during his childhood days.
He raised the
banner of revolt against his mother by asking why one should treat an
untouchable the way he was treated. We can also discover in the little
boy a hint of passion for reforming others, which later became a
dominant trait of the Mahatma.
Although his school record gave no indication of Mohandas’ future
greatness, an incident which happened at that time would throw light on
it. Mr.Giles visited the school and dictated five words: “1 .teapot 2. friend
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3. kettle 4. pencil and 5.picture. Mohan mis-spelt ‘kettle’ missing one
‘t’. The teacher prompted but he refused”.7 Mohan did not understand
the hint, nor would he take it. What is important here is that Mohan hated
dishonesty. But he continued to respect his teacher. It was not for him to
find fault with others. He believed that it was his duty to respect and
obey his elders.
According to Upadhyaya this incident helped him in
gaining moral strength and he got the ‘very good’ remark in his term
certificate under the column conduct.
So, right from the beginning,
Mohan strove hard to be honest and this helped him build a strong moral
character.
The plays, Shravan Pitrubhakti and Harishchandra had left a deep
impression on the mind of young Gandhi.
These plays moved him
deeply. He wanted to be like Shravankumar, and obey and serve his
father and mother as Shravankumar did.
He resolved to be like
Harischandra too. He resolved to love truth as the king had done. No
sacrifice would be too great in the cause of truth. We know that he was
always a lover of truth. He always placed truth above everything else.
He wished to be known only as a seeker after truth. He questioned why
we should not speak truth like Harischandra.
About truth Gandhiji states: “All our activities should be centered in
truth. Truth should be the very breath of our life. When once this stage
in the pilgrims progress is reached, all other rules of correct living will
come without effort, and obedience to them will be instinctive.
But
without truth it is impossible to observe any principles or rules in life.”8
Gandhiji gave paramount importance to truth. He completed his journey
as a pilgrim on this earth always speaking the truth ; and, as he said,
without speaking truth no principles in life are practisable. As a student
69
also we notice that he adhered to truth, which later became the cardinal
principle of his life.
When Mohan was married he was thirteen years old. His parents
selected the daughter of a Porbunder merchant, Gokuldas Makanji. His
daughter Kasturbai was also thirteen. The marriage was celebrated with
traditional pomp. Kasturbai came to Rajkot house. She was pretty smart.
Occassionally he used to encourage her to study.
This early marriage
was bad for him in some ways, but still worse things were to follow.
The dawn of adolescence was clouded with a series of pitfalls and
lapses. The joint company of his brother Karsandas and his friend Shaik
Mehtab influenced
Mohan.
He started meat eating and cigarette
smoking. Shaik Mehtab was a meat eater and was strong, and he told
Mohan to eat meat in order to be strong. The song of a Gujarati poet had
a strong appeal and was popular among the school boys. About this
Gandhiji writes : “A doggerel of the Gujarati poet Narmad was in vogue
amongst us schoolboys, as follows :
Behold the mighty Englishman
He rules the Indian small,
Because being a meat-eater
He is five cubits tall.
All this had its due effect on me. I was beaten. It began to grow on
me that meat eating was good, and that, if the whole country took to meat
eating, the English could be overcome.”9 Right from school days Mohan
had a desire to drive the English out of India. Being a shy, weak, and
timid boy, he thought by eating meat he would overcome most of his
weaknesses.
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Though he started smoking, eating meat and stealing, he felt sorry and
decided against stealing. He wrote down all his offences on a sheet of
paper and handed the same to his father, who was sick. Karamchand
Gandh: read the letter of confession. Without saying a word, with a deep
sigh, he tore it up. Mohan’s eyes were filled with tears. The power of
truth was revealed to him. From that day onwards, he began speaking the
truth and truth only. The love and affection of his father was immense.
He would come home running immediately after school, and would
massage his father’s feet. These incidents show how the family discipline
worked.
About this Upadhyaya observes : “Persuasion and change of
heart later became Gandhiji’s guiding principles in dealing with men of
all types.”10
It is good to confess one’s weaknesses. So young Mohan
resolved to be good, but he knew that he could not be good unless he
loved truth. Changing the heart of the opponents and persuading them
until they yielded became Gandhiji’s principles later on. At the age of
sixteen Mohandas lost his 63 year old father, who was then a pensioner of
Rajkot state. Soon after Kasturbai bore a baby, which died within three
or four days of its birth.
After matriculating, Mohan got admitted to Samaldas College at
Bhawanagar, because he thought that it would be cheaper than any other
college in Bombay. There he could not intelligently follow the lectures
delivered by the professors ; hence he did not find any interest in his
studies, and felt worried about his future. When he came home for the
vacation, a well-wisher and adviser of the family, Mavji Dave, who was
known as Joshiji enquired about Mohan’s studies, and proposed to send
Mohan to London to qualify for the bar, as that would be more
advantageous than taking just a B.A. Degree. Gandhiji writes : “Before
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the intention of coming to London for the sake of study was actually
formed, I had a secret design in my mind of coming here to satisfy my
curiosity of knowing what London was.”11 The passion which is common
in any young man was there in young Mohan too.
His desire was
fulfilled, as his brother Laxmidas managed to find the means to send his
brother abroad. Getting the permission and support of elders was not an
easy task, but he did it nevertheless.
Gandhiji in England
Putalibai was a shrewd mother, but she had her own doubts. A young
man in a foreign land was likely to go astray with temptations of meat,
wine and women. The mother’s objection to Mohandas going abroad was
overcome by the son’s solemn vow not to touch wine, women and meat.
Gandhiji writes : “I vowed not to touch wine, woman and meat. This
done, by mother gave her permission.”12 Gandhiji stuck to his promise till
the end. He sailed for England in 1888. Sri.Tryambami Muzumdar, an
elderly lawyer from Junagad, who was also going to England to qualify
for the Bar, was on the same ship as Mohan was sailing in. He was then
nineteen. The other passengers were all English people. He felt very shy
and nervous on the ship. He found it difficult to speak in English. He did
not mix with the other passengers, nor did he dine at the table - he used to
take his meals in his cabin. He depended mainly on sweets and fruits.
Muzumdar advised him to speak in English, no matter even if he
committed mistakes in grammar.
One day, however, a kind English gentleman drew him into
conversation.
Gandhiji told him that he was a vegetarian.
The
Englishman laughed at this and said that before long he would have to eat
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meat The climate in England, he said, was very cold and one could not
live “.here without eating meat. Mohan replied that if one could not stay
in England without eating meat, he would much rather return to India
than break his promise to his mother.
In order to keep himself engaged Gandhi started writing the diary, and
the result is a work which can be read as both an impression and a
memoir, that is, an Autobiography.
For the first few days on reaching
England he felt very uneasy. Everything was different there. The people,
their ways and manners, their food, their residences were all different.
He used to weep during the night. Although England was intolerable, he
made up his mind to stay there for three years, and return to India only
after completing his studies. In England he was forced to take meat, but
he did not want to bring upon himself the guilt of breaking his promise.
The promise was the only thing that made him stick to vegetarian food.
One day he suddenly saw a sign-board and entered a vegetarian
restaurant in Farringdon Street. He also bought a copy of Salt’s ‘Plea for
Vegeterianism’. He had a hearty meal - the first satisfying meal he ever
ate with relish, since his arrival in England. He became a vegetarian by
choice.
During the early period of his stay in England Mohan went through
a phase of playing the English gentleman. He took lessons in French,
elocution, and ball-room dancing. But he soon realized - and here he
foreshadowed the real Gandhiji - that if he could not become a gentleman
by virtue of his character, the ambition was not worth cherishing. He was
also ashamed of spending money on such things. He began leading a
more simple life. He took cheap rooms, and began to cook for himself.
Towards the end of his second year in London he came across two
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theosophist brothers, who introduced him to Sir Edwin Arnold’s
translation (English version) of the Gita - The Song Celestial. He was
deeply impressed by it. The book struck him as one of priceless worth.
The impression ever since had been growing on him, and the result was
that he regarded it as the book par excellence for knowledge of Truth. It
afforded him invaluable help in his moments of distress. From the book
he found inspiration for all his activities.
He also read the Bible, about the same time, when a Christian friend
whom he had met in a vegetarian boarding house introduced him to the
sacred book. But he read with interest only the New Testament and
especially the Sermon on the Mount. Having read the Gita, The Light of
Asia, and the Bible, Gandhi became eager to know about other religions.
He, on the advice of a friend, read Carlyle’s Heroes and Hero Worship,
and came to know about the greatness, courage and unpretentious
practices of Mohammed, the propounder of Islam. He had not much time
for a deep study of religion while he was in England. The attitude of
respect for all religions, the desire to understand the best in each of them,
were thus planted in his mind early in life.
Gandhi had gone to England to qualify for the Bar. That was not a
difficult thing. He was asked by Joshi to understand only two things, (a)
to complete the term, and (b) to pass the written tests. He passed his
examination for the Bar on June 10, 1891, and sailed for India two days
later, that is on June 12. Now he was a qualified barrister.
From September 1888 to June 1891, Gandhiji stayed in England (not
even full three years). But he developed a great attachment to London.
He v/rites in the article ‘On My Way Home Again to India’ : “So much
attached I was to London and its environments ; and who would not be ?
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London, with its teaching institutions, public galleries, museums,
theatres, vast commerce, public parks and vegetarian restaurants, is a fit
place for a student and a traveller, a trader and a faddist (=vegetarian)”.13
This shows Mohan’s attachment to London, and the way he was attracted
towards all the good aspects of its life. In his opinion it was really a
suitable place for students.
This was the Mahatma in the making during his stay in England. He
himself was, then, not aware that he would be a sort of worry for the
British Government when he was in South Africa and later in India.
He loved each and every Londoner.
He touched the heart of every
Londoner. Once he said to an English Journalist: “My heart goes out to
the British people, and when I heard that the Temple Church was
bomoed, I bled.”14 This shows how he loved his enemy, and the love he
had for religious places, and the sympathy he bore for the white people.
He was a friend and, mentor of everybody. His greatness was that of an
ordinary man who through a long process of trial and error achieved a
unique greatness of his own.
Cn reaching Bombay he met his eldest brother at the docks, from
whom he had very sad news to hear. His mother had died some time
back, but he had not written to Mohan about the sad event, lest it should
interfere with his studies in England. This was a very great shock to
Mohan, but he bore it with great courage. He writes : “ I was pining to
see my mother. I did not know that she was no more in the flesh to
receive me back into her bosom..... The news however, was none the less
a severe shock to me.”15
He felt her loss greatly. It was to him a greater
loss than had been the death of his father. He remembered her often, and
thought always of her goodness. He did not, however, give expression to
75
his grief at all. Nobody saw him weep or shed even a single drop of tear
- sometimes grievous shocks do not find outward expression in
lamentation or in tears.
At the age of twenty two he was indeed an
orphan, having lost both his parents.
After spending some time in Rajkot with his usual earnestness he
immediately took in hand the education of his son, and his brother’s
children. At the same time he decided to set up his legal practice in
Bombay. In the beginning he could hardly secure any work. The first
case he had was a source of great embarrassment to him. He got a fee of
thirty rupees, and in accordance with his strict moral principle, he did not
give any commission to the tout. But, when he got up to cross-examine,
he became confused, and could do nothing. He returned the fee, but felt
utterly disgraced. He said : “I am conscious of my own limitations. That
consciousness is my only strength. Whatever I might have been able to
do in my life has proceeded more than anything else out of the realization
of my own limitations.”16 Right from the beginning we can observe that
Gandhiji knew his limitations. Knowing the limitations of self led to his
success in life. He became great because he knew his limitations.
Then he started drafting petitions for poor clients; but that did not
fetch good income to lead a decent life in Bombay. In desperation he
applied for a job to earn something, in which he had to teach English in a
school for an hour every day: but here, too, he was unsuccessful. He
failed to establish himself in Bombay. So, he went back to Rajkot, where
he was able to make three hundred rupees a month. In Rajkot, another
bitter experience came his way. It was a conflict between his family
affection and his sense of public duty. His elder brother, who had done
so much for him, was out of favour with the political agent. Gandhiji’s
76
brother had been an adviser to
accused of giving wrong advice.
the
ruler of Porbander and he was
He asked Mohan to speak to the
political agent in England, so he went to plead for his brother, but was
insulted. Gandhiji’s first reaction was one of anger, he threatened legal
proceedings. But Gandhiji himself was aware that the agent was right,
and he was doing wrong trying to plead in favour of his brother. This
became another lesson for him in his search for truth, but it also made the
task more difficult for Gandhiji to build up practice as a Barrister at
Rajkot. This incident made him think seriously about his career. This
case was a sort of blessing in disguise for Gandhiji. In the meantime a
Mernon firm from Porbundur wrote to his brother making the following
offer : “We have a business in South Africa. Ours is a big firm, and we
have a big case there in the court, our claim being £.40,000...”17 When
Gandhiji’s brother discussed this proposal with him, he was tempted to go
to South Africa.
Gandhiji in South Africa
Gandhiji went to South Africa not as a barrister but as a servant of
the firm Abdulla and Co., He wanted somehow to leave India. There
was also a tempting opportunity of seeing a new country, and of having
new experiences. He had great respect for his brother whose word was
law for him. Though he had a different notion in the beginning, his aim
was to leave India. It was a God sent opportunity. Who knew, then, that
he would have to stay in South Africa not for one year, but for twenty one
years ?
He fondly imagined that he was escaping from an unpleasant
situation in Rajkot and was going to make a little money after all.
However, this visit to South Africa became an important episode in his
77
life and brought about a complete transformation in his life. It was in
South Africa that this shy, timid youth, inexperienced, unaided, alone, as
he was, came into clash with forces that obliged him to tap his hidden
moral resources, and turn him into an experienced, creative, and
spiritually oriented leader. The South African phase of his life laid the
foundation for Gandhiji’s
fight against the British.
Louis Fischer
observes : “Gandhi was a strong individual, and his strength lay in the
richness of his personality, not m the multitude of his possessions. His
goal was To be, not To have”.18 Gandhiji was a strong individual, he did
not attach any importance to wealth or riches. His only aim was to be the
selfless champion of the masses, and he did come up to the expectations
of the Indian people in South Africa. By the time of his return to India,
the Mahatma had emerged as a hero of the depressed Indians in South
Africa. He foresaw that a showdown with the South African government
was sooner or later inevitable and knew from his own individual
experience that, what he could do himself, he could train others to do.
Gandhiji’s life experiences in South Africa turned him into a leader of the
masses.
Today, everyone believes that Gandhi was perhaps the greatest
modem Indian experimentalist. He experimented with all aspects of his
life, both private and public, besides experimenting with Truth. It was in
South Africa that Gandhi started experimenting with life, which he
continued till his death. It was again in South Africa that Gandhi started
practising what he preached and believed in. So, the study of the life of
Gandhiji will inevitably take us back to his days in South Africa. It is
indeed a soul stirring saga.
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2. Gandhiji as a Political Leader
The present study makes an attempt to estimate Gandhiji’s
contribution to Indian politics as a political leader who led the Indian
masses for their final fight against the British. Gandhiji contributed most
to the uplifting of a demoralized nation from a state of passive submission
to foreign rule to becoming heroic fighters against tyranny and injustice.
He was a moral force who created a consciousness of great oppression
and injustice within the Indian society. It is, therefore, not his private
ideas of moral life which made him a figure of historical significance, but
his contribution to the basic ferment relating to India’s emergence as a
new nation and a new society. His political ideas were intelligible even
to the illiterate masses of the country.
Gandhiji was acutely conscious of the responsibilities of a leader. He
knew ne had to reflect the views and aspirations of those whom he led.
Gandhiji strongly felt that his success as a social crusader came about
mainly because he voiced the will of the people at large. He had to direct
them and focus their energies effectively. That was the democratic part
of being a leader. But there was more to Gandhiji’s leadership than just
being a popular and articulate representative of the voice of his followers.
The leader has also to be a teacher of those whom he leads. A leader has
to be a correcting and guiding master as well, which Gandhiji certainly
was, if ever there was one.
Gandhiji appeared on the Indian political scene when there was
ruthless oppression and large scale economic exploitation by the British.
The people of India were thoroughly demoralized by their oppressive
rulers. Early Indian politicians had failed to establish a thorough contact
79
with the common people. They were all from upper middle class society,
and convent educated.
These people had failed because they did not
arouse that political consciousness in the country as a whole, which
Gandhiji did. It was during this critical juncture that Gandhiji made his
appearance felt on the Indian political scene. He joined politics as soon
as he returned from South Africa. In South Africa he had successfully
met the challenge of the British.
Gandhiji’s plunge into politics was merely an accident. He was an
ordinary man and was not an inspired political scientist or philosopher.
He became a leader by virtue of his will and vital energy. He grew by
evolutionary process to be something human. He gave importance to
truth ; he stuck to it and practised old philosophies ; he had his own
fundamental principles. “ He changed the style of political maneuvering,
gave a content to existing political programmes and transformed the
Congress party from a middle-class elitistic forum into a mass based
political organization. He mobilized the people....... and he was the first
politician to realize the potentiality of women in organizing political
agitations.
He spoke the language that the common man understood.”19
Gandhiji electrified the entire political situation of the country.
He
perfectly understood the pulse of the masses. He led men and women to
the prophetic view of a better order of society than the destructive and
cruel chaos in which they found themselves. Gandhiji meant to purify
politics and human relations by means of trust, goodwill, openness,
selflessness, sacrifice, loyalty to truth and commitment to non-violence.
He also gave importance to the basic freedom of man, dignity of human
labour and the uplifting of the backward classes of society.
Gandhiji was a fore-runner in a new system of thinking in the history
of political thought and he gave an entirely new outlook to the national
80
problem. He demonstrated to the world that the greatest problems of the
world could be solved by personal sacrifices.
His greatness lies in
making the opponents understand their mistakes and learn lessons from
others. For him, personal sacrifice, in the proper direction, was a much
more effective weapon than any other method of fighting a powerful
opponent. Gandhiji was not only a politician, he was also everybody’s
friend and mentor. His arrival on the Indian political scene was not just a
displacement of one leader by another, but the outlook of the entire
country underwent an extraordinary change. He was a man speaking to
men. He asked not for votes, but for sacrifices. He asked his followers to
give up everything and follow him.
Nation building is a choice.
Gandhiji’s individual personality and the external situation should be
taken into consideration, while analyzing his contribution to the cause of
nation building.
He built the nation, or rather the new nation,
inspiring and guiding the masses.
among the people.
by
He created a sort of political will
The holistic process by which Gandhiji attempted
was to fight the British was not just the limited one of getting rid of the
British. It was really a difficult task, as the domination of the British was
unshakable.
The intellectual and operational ground work was done by
him to strengthen the cultural and social issues of the Indian collective
life.
Gandhiji became a political leader by necessity. The question, which
any reader of Gandhian literature may ask is : Why did Gandhiji enter the
political field? What kind of politician was he? The answers to these
questions can be found in a letter by Gandhiji to C.F.Andrews. Gandhiji
on July 6, 1918 wrote a letter from Nadiad to C.F.Andrews in which he
says :
“I was in the political life because there through lay my own
liberation......... I am in it because without it I cannot do my religious and
81
social work, and I think the reply will stand good to the end of my life.”20
Gandhiji really had a bent of mind to serve the people. He was not in
the least interested in building up his image as a political leader. Today’s
political leaders manipulate the people’s minds and sentiments through
the media. For Gandhiji politics was a vehicle for evolving the social
consciousness of the people. But today’s politics is an art and science of
acquiring and manipulating the state power. Gandhiji did his religious
and social work through politics.
When Gandhiji went to South Africa he was not himself sure about his
future. He had gone there to attend to the problem of Dada Abdulla and
company. He writes: “I had gone there only for a single case prompted
by self interest and curiosity........ Pretoria was my goal. The case was
being fought out there.”21 Gandhiji’s intention in the beginning was clear.
But after staying there the situation forced him to become the leader of
the Indian community. Gandhiji was an eye witness to the sufferings of
thousands of our countrymen in South Africa. He plunged into the field
and resolved to employ the weapon of passive resistance to win the
struggle into which he and the resident Indians had willingly thrown
themselves heart and soul. The step which he took in South Africa was a
bold one. He had to fight with the Whites not with violence or by means
of organized riots, which usually happen these days, but with the strength
of soul force. Thus, we can say that Gandhiji, the leader of the Indian
freedom movement was bom in South Africa. The Gandhian approach to
solving problems was totally different ; it was of finding the greatest
common measure of agreement.
Gandhiji was very firm about the things he did. Suffering was part
and parcel of his life. He suffered for the sake of peaceful agitation.
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Truth and non-violence were his only weapons. Louis Fischer observes:
“Professor Gilbert Murray wrote : Be careful in dealing with a man who
cares nothing for sensual pleasure, nothing for comfort or praise or
promotion, but is simple, determined to do what he believes to be right.
He is a dangerous and uncomfortable enemy because his body, which you
can always conquer, gives you so little purchase over his soul. That was
Gandhi, the leader.”22
For the first time in the history of India Gandhiji
demonstrated how a leader should be. Self identification with the poorest
was the sole aim of Gandhiji. He showed the stuff of which heroes are
made.
As a political leader his aim was to make the people become
politically conscious and at the same time he urged them to give
importance to non-violence. Louis Fischer writes : “ Gandhi once recited
these lines of Shelley, from The Mask ofAnarchy to a Christian gathering
in India:
Stand ye calm and resolute,
Like a forest close and mute,
With folded arms and looks which are
Weapons in unvanquished war.
And if then the tyrants dare,
Let them ride among you there,
Slash, and stab, and maim, and hew
What they like, that let them do.
With folded arms and steady eyes,
And little fear, and less surprise,
Look upon them as they slay
Till their rage has died away.
Then like lions after slumber
83
In unvanquishable number
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep has fallen on youYe are many, they are few.”23
The whole poem is an embodiment of his theory of non-violence. The
poem served as a mouthpiece for Gandhiji in making the people take a
non-violent and resolute stand in face of the difficulties they might come
across.
The weapon which he gave to the masses was non-violence,
submitting completely to the opponent and thereby making him yield.
The concluding lines of the poem suggest the number of Indians
compared to the British. With hope he read aloud this verse of Shelly.
According to
Muriel, Leister non-violence, naked truth, non-theft,
prayer, discipline, all became personified in Gandhiji. He was a selfless
and loving man of god. He never lost the common touch; he rarely used
long words or abstract nouns; never said a thing that he didn’t mean, he
did not propagate a theory that he didn’t practise. He envisaged non­
violence, naked truth, selflessness as techniques, as powerful means of
national liberation and as instruments for establishing a just society. He
was determined to drive India into the future by achieving independence
with the weapons of the past. He chose as his instrument not the sword,
but something far simpler, something that was to be the political symbol
of an indigenous economy - the spinning wheel. This was chosen by him
purposely and it was to challenge the west by denying all the western
values. It was a brilliant political idea. Soon the wheel became the status
symbol of Indianism.
We can see from history that a revolution always means
bloodshed, but in Gandhiji's
case,
it was
a bloodless revolution.
James Cameron says : “ All the history of revolution shows that it is easy
84
to inflame people to attack, immensely difficult to curb them into the
disciplines of dignity. Gandhi was dealing with mortal men. That was
his trouble all his life.”24 Though he dealt with mortal men he had great
faith in them. Thousands of Indians obeyed him readily without murmur,
they followed him wherever he led them.
illiterate and poor.
A majority of them were
At the call of duty, and under the guidance of a
singularly noble soul, they were ready to throw themselves into a
struggle, which involved untold suffering privation and sacrifice.
It is true that Gandhiji's life was the life of the millions.
He
plunged into the political field in order to do social work, and without
politics it was not possible. Gandhiji wrote in the issue of Hajiran dated
17-OS-1947: “ The life of the millions is my politics.”25 Politics has
touched every aspect of life in democratic countries.
For Gandhiji
politics meant the welfare of the nation. In politics he wanted to establish
the Kingdom of Heaven. For Gandhiji political work meant achieving the
social and moral progress of society. In this connection he writes : “And
as I know that God is found more often in the lowliest of his creatures
than in the high and mighty, I am struggling to reach the status of these. I
cannot do so without their service. Hence my passion for the service of
the suppressed classes.
And as I cannot render this service without
entering politics, I find myself in them.”26 He doesn’t claim that he was a
perfect being; he knew that man is a bundle of weaknesses. His message
will continue to influence generations yet to be bom. It is a pity that the
world in general, and India in particular, has not yet been able to live up
to his doctrines.
85
The Political Scene before Gandhiji came on the Indian Scene
At the turn of the 19lh century Indians literally had no say in the
administration of the country. The East India Company was dissolved
after the revolt of 1857. A new political office was set up in London.
The vast territories of India over which the British ruled were divided into
provinces, which were in turn divided into smaller districts.
Each
province was put under a Governor. The actual Civil Administration of
the country was carried on through ICS officers who were selected
through competitive examinations in London.
Indians had hardly any
voice in the Government of their own country.
The formation of the Indian National Congress in 1885 was an
expression of a new political awareness. The first generation of Congress
leaders, such as M.G. Ranade, Surendranath Banerjee, Gopal Krishna
Gokhale, were real freedom loving people.
The British used the
congress as a safety valve to keep Indians away from greater mischief.
With force the Congress could not oppose the British authority. The
overriding consideration for the British was to retain their hold over India
and the plea to justify their imperial rule was that the Indians were not yet
ready for self-government; only the British could resolve their quarrels
and differences. Bipin Chandra writes : “ Indians, they said, were unfit
for self-government or democracy. Freedom of the press which had so
much attracted the Indian Intelligentsia soon began to be tampered with.
Even elementary civil rights -
freedom of thought, speech and
association were increasingly violated and restricted.”27 Every right of the
Indians was snatched by the British. There was total restriction of the
freedom of the press.
86
In South
Africa,
Gandhi’s
public
work
was considerably
increased. He was mostly absorbed in public work all the time. Also he
began to practise the ideals of sacrifice and simplicity ; and religious
consciousness became more and more evident in his daily life. In 1901
he came to India and attended the Congress session at Calcutta. It was
his first experience of the Congress which he recorded in his
autobiography : “After reaching India I spent some time in going about
the country. It was the year 1901 when the congress met at Calcutta
under the presidentship of Mr.(later sir) Dinshaw Wacha.
And I, of
course, attended it. It was my first experience of the Congress.”28
Gandhiji had made a beginning by entering the Congress, he championed
the cause of the South African Indians. This beginning marks the entry of
Gandhiji into the Indian political arena, and his emergence as a political
leader in the years that followed.
The Calcutta session marked Gandhiji's entry into politics. Gandhiji
remained an undisputable leader of the party till independence. About his
political leadership Nehru wrote ; “ We felt that we knew him quite well
enough to realize that he was a great and unique man and a glorious
leader, and having put our faith in him we gave him an almost blank
cheque.”29 Gandhiji was a unique leader. The blank cheque, that is the
faith of the people was well utilized by him. He had no fear of men,
because he loved them.
Gandhiji lived to liberate India.
In
the
Calcutta Congress session he noticed that insanitary conditions prevailed
everywhere, and he appealed to people not to waste time in worthless
work and discussion.
Daring his stay in India he spent a month with his political mentor
Gokhale. He was very much benefited by this contact. Soon he returned
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to South Africa. The journal Indian Opinion was launched in 1904; it
served as Gandhiji's mouthpiece and he poured out his soul into its
columns. The same year in Johannesburg the black plague broke out.
Gandhiji rendered great service by caring for the patients. This service
further enhanced his influence with the Indians. Ruskin’s Unto This Last
captured his imagination and transformed his life. In Natal, at the time of
the Zulu rebellion, Gandhiji again rendered valuable service by forming
the Indian Ambulance Corps to serve the soldiers.
In 1906 at
Johannesburg, Gandhiji began his first Satyagraha campaign and was for
the first time jailed in 1908. In 1908, he published a treatise called Hind
Swaraj which covered the subjects such as India and England,
civilization, swaraj, violence and ahimsa, Hindu - Muslim unity and the
doctrine and practice of Satyagraha.
The Satyagraha struggle reached its culminating point in 1914
when the 3 pound poll tax was abolished and Indians were allowed to
settle as free workers in Natal.
At the conclusion of the Satyagraha
struggle in 1914, Gandhiji received instructions from his political Guru
Gokhale to return to India via London. Gandhiji reached London on 6th
August.
The first, World War was declared on 4th. He took part in the
war never leaving the path of non-violence. In England he had an attack
of pleurisy and so he had to return to India.
Gandhiji acquired the prestige of a leader.
On his return to India,
Though Gandhiji was known
to very few in India after his return from South Africa he had a
considerable influence on the people who were eager to listen to his
ideas. Later Patel and Gandhiji worked together in many fields. Their
main objective was to bring about political awakening among the masses
of India.
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Gandhiji by 1915, emerged as the leader of the masses - a fact that
had been recognized by the people. Nirad Chaudhuri records in his
autobiography: “Already, by 1915, the man who was to bring in the
masses and conduct the passive resistance campaign had become
identified to us as Mr. not yet Mahatma Gandhi. Although all the old
leaders, and more especially Tilak, were still living and active, our eyes
were fixed on Gandhi as the coming man.”30 Gandhiji, with his weapons
of ahimsa and passive resistance, was the upcoming political leader. He
transformed the movement into a mass nationalist movement. He had
wonderful ideas about politics, and the old leaders provided him the
necessary back up. His ideas and character very much appealed to the
people. Choudhari further records : “For years we had been wanting and
expecting the masses to enter the nationalist movement. They were at
last entering it under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi ........ Gandhi
was able to give Indian nationalism a backing of sheer numbers, which it
had never had before.”31 Gandhiji knew the power of the moral force, the
right means and ends. Gandhiji’s methods were more efficient, otherwise
the masses would have rejected his novel idea.
He gave Indian
nationalism a proper backing.
After 1920, the Indian national movement was focused on only two
chief strategies 1) direct mass action, and 2) negotiations. Freedom to
Gandhiji did not mean English rule without Englishmen ; it meant the
creation of conditions which would enable the people to live according
to their own genius.
Gandhiji gave importance to the creation of
conditions like the development of cottage industries which he called a
constructive programme.
Today, India needs this inward-looking
tendency ; it needs the Swadeshi spirit. Creating opportunities was the
depth and substance of Gandhiji’s national ideas. Gandhiji’s political
89
leadership was accepted by one and all.
After the Baradoli Civil
Disobedience movement, the Khilafat Movement, and Quit India
Movement, Gandhiji was at the height of his political leadership. Patel in
his speech said: “He is (Gandhiji) there to guide us and command us.
We are not to reason why. We must carry out his commands. Be they
hot or be they soft, a soldier knows only to obey his commander........ So
long as Gandhiji remains in our midst, he is our sole commander.”32
Gandhijfs political activity was a sort of problem for the British
government, the officials were very careful while arresting Gandhiji.
They knew anything could happen if he was arrested because he had such
a sway over the people.
He was the sole commander of the Indian
masses.
It was Gandhiji who trained the people for disciplined teamwork. He
knew the pulse of the uneducated Indian masses. He identified himself
with them. Like the saints he had a tremendous influence on the masses.
He did v/hat the prophets had failed to do. Though educated in England
his soul was bent upon liberating mother India from the clutches of the
British rule.
Nirad Choudhuri declared : “This remarkable man was the
most perfect representative of the masses of India,
taken of course, in
their state of grace. In the long history of their existence these masses
have had many prophets to preach their ethos and voice their idealistic
aspirations but none who so completely was their very own. Mahatma
Gandhi remained theirs.”33 Because of his efforts the masses were united
into a whole for the common cause of liberation and getting political
freedom. He could understand the intellect and civilization of India. He
remained a man of the masses till his death.
“Ever since Gandhiji
appeared on the Indian political scene, there has been no going back in
popularity for him, so far as the masses are concerned.”34 According to
90
Nehru during the months of December 1921, and January 1922 it was
estimated that about 30,000 persons had been sentenced to imprisonment
in connection with the non-cooperation movement. Though most of the
prominent men and workers were in prison, the leader of the whole
struggle, Mahatma Gandhi, was still out, issuing from day to day
messages, directions which inspired the people. The Government had not
touchec him so far, for they feared the consequences, the reactions of the
Indian Army and the police. Gandhiji as a leader of the non-cooperation
movement was least afraid of the British Raj.
By 1920, he was at the height of his popularity. Politics for Gandhiji
was not getting votes from the poor or taking money from the rich for
campaigning. His motive was to protect the poor and the rich alike and
get freedom.
But without Gandhiji there was no struggle, no Civil
Disobedience and no Satyagraha. He was part of the living movement;
indeed he was the movement itself. Gandhiji was the main pillar, or the
central sun of the struggle.
Gandhiji was responsible for creating a
movement of non-cooperation and passive resistance so as to paralyse the
government.
Gandhiji fought not merely for political freedom, but a
freedom vast and entire, that is the freedom of the individual, freedom of
the community, freedom of the nation, and social freedom.
Gandhiji knew that when he entered Indian politics it involved
going tc prison. To him and the other leaders going to prison was a
common activity. Whenever he came to know of a friend or a colleague
who was arrested he telegraphed to him his congratulations. Going to
prison was a basic part of Gandhiji’s doctrine of non-cooperation. He
used to say that one must enter the jail as a bridegroom enters the bride’s
chamber. The whole idea of going to prison acquired a new meaning in
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the hands of Gandhiji. Suffering was a part and parcel of the Satyagrahis.
About the political leadership of Gandhiji no one could doubt.
All
wanted that he should be the guiding spirit. Louis Fischer observes : “
Everyone realized that Gandhi would have to be the brain, heart and
directing hand of any civil disobedience movement, and it was therefore
left to him to choose the hour, the place and the precise issue.”3S Gandhiji
was the brain and heart of the political struggle in India, and everyone felt
that Gandhiji would lead them to the altar.
The means adopted by
Gandhiji were unique ; that is why the whole world looked towards
Gandhiji in particular and India in general. India meant Gandhiji.
Before Gandhiji came upon the political scene many revolutionary
activities were taking place in India. But they lacked unity and stability.
A party called Ghadr, taking the name of a weekly paper, announced on
November 1, 1913, writes Bipin Chandra: “ Wanted brave soldiers, the
Ghadr advertised, to stir up Ghadr in India.
Pay - Death; price -
martyrdom; pension - liberty; Field of battle - India.”36 Before Gandhiji
launched on the scene the situation was revolutionary ; that is, the
freedom fighters were on the himsa path.
But Gandhiji changed the
whole concept by guiding the masses for civil disobedience and
satygrahara. Gandhiji's non-violence played a major part in the political
and social life of India. Gandhiji applied this on a large scale to social
and political movements.
Gandhiji changed the political condition of
India. His method was self-suffering. He dominated the whole nation
because of his unique personality.
After several conferences and
meetings the British government decided to grant freedom to India. The
end of World War II led to quick political changes in India. In Britain the
Labour party came to power and declared that they did not want to hold
India at her cost. In March 1946, the British government decided to send
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a Cabinet Mission to India to negotiate with the Indian leaders for the
transfer of power to Indian hands. Bipin Chandra again writes : “ The
British Prime Minister, Clement Atlee, announced on 20 February 1947
that the British would transfer power to India latest by June 1948, Lord
Louis Mountbatten was sent to India as Viceroy to arrange for the transfer
of power. In spite of serious differences that arose between the Congress
and the Muslim League, Lord Montbatten worked out a compromise plan
and also brought forward the date for the transfer of power by more than
a year. India would become free on 15 August 1947.”37 India became
free on 15 August. The man behind the whole struggle was Gandhiji.
Because of his able political leadership we could get freedom. Without
Gandhiji it would never have been possible to unite the whole of India.
Indians’ future was secure at the hands of Gandhiji.
He is the real
architect of India - that is why we call him ‘The Father of the nation’.
The service which he rendered was matchless. Gandhiji had the strength
of a political ruler with absolute power, and he had the mind of a believer
in political and social equality. Gandhiji was a practical visionary and a
nation builder. His methods were clean, his approach was unique. He
attacked his opponents not with weapons of steel, but with the weapons
of love, humanity and understanding.
Gandhiji came into politics not because he wanted to, but his
devotion to truth drew him into the field of politics. He had neither the
lust for power nor had the mania to dominate other men. He wanted to
liberate India by peaceful means, that is, he was against using any kind
of violence and he argued that the differences and problems could be
resolved through negotiations. Mahatma Gandhiji’s rise to fame was not
sudden. He was a unique phenomenon. His greatness was unusual which
covers a large area of human experience. His infinite love for truth and
93
ahimsa made him an early chief advocate of the cause of truth and non­
violence. He was looked upon as a moral leader and saint, and the people
of India had placed unlimited political authority in his hands. Gandhiji
was a great builder and a liberator. His experience, his experiments and
his basic ideas, particularly his concern for nation building were simply
great. His ideas have a deep relevance even today.
Gandhiji’s great mission was one of guiding India to Independence,
which he, no doubt did. After that he left us suddenly. His spirit will be
with the Indians for ever like a priceless legacy. He showed the courage
of faith and determination in the path of duty and of service. To the
people of India he was dear Bapu. Today the world must choose between
Gandhiji and the atom bomb.
One hopes perhaps good sense would
ultimately prevail, and the choice would be made in favour of Gandhiji.
It is no wonder that in the absence of an enlightened social philosophy,
politics has put an exaggerated premium on skill, rather than on
motivation and commitment, as the basic qualification of men and
women supposed to build the new India of Gandhiji’s dreams.
94
3. Gandhiji as a Writer
Gandhiji is an extraordinary personality in literature, besides being an
Indo-Anglian writer in his own way. His influence has been felt almost
all over the entire field of Indian writing in English, in various forms,
appearing either as a character or as a pervasive influence upon other
writers. He exercised a great influence on our languages and literature,
both directly through his own writings in English and Gujarati, and
indirectly through the movements generated by his revolutionary thought
and practice.
Gandhiji rarely wrote for the pleasure of writing. He wrote and spoke
when he had to write and speak, on practically all subjects under the sun,
either to clear up some problem in his mind or in the mind of his coworkers, admirers and critics. He published most of his writings, which
are either in the form of articles, speeches, letters or reports of his
interviews, mainly as a result of either self introspection or for
periodicals, such as Indian Opinion (Phoenix) 1904-1914, Young India
(Ahmedabad) 1919-1932, and Harijan (From Poona) 1933-1941, and in
1942 (From Ahmedabad).
His writings in Hindi and Gujarati were
simultaneously published in Harijan Sevak (Ahmedabad), Harijan
Bandhu (Ahmedabad), and Navjivan (Ahmedabad).
During his life-time, and after his death, many people have edited his
writings and speeches either in the form of collected writings or speeches.
Gandhiji’s
faithful
secretary and lifelong companion Mahadev
Desai translated into English almost everything that Gandhiji wrote in his
mother tongue - and the ability of Mahadev Desai to write as Gandhiji
95
himself wrote was indeed unique.
The contents of these periodicals,
Harijan and Young India, provide the principal source material for
Gandhian studies. His autobiography was supplemented by a companion
volume Satyagraha in South Africa. Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule
was neglected when first published. But it attracted the highest acclaim
thirty years later. Gandhiji was not bom great. He was basically a man
of common caliber; to put it rightly he was everyman. And everyman has
his unsuspected reserves of strength, besides his clear-cut areas of
weakness. He did not depart from the basic root out of which he had
grown. He wrote to reveal himself through the written word. Jawaharlal
Nehru says : “It may be that if many attempt to write his life they may
succeed in throwing light on some aspects of this unique career.”38 Many
have attempted to write his life but they are only partly successful.
Because Gandhian ideas and ideals are varied and various that made him
a unique personality.
Gandhiji started writing in his early youth, but what he had to say then
was not of consequence, apart from the fact that even at that time he was,
within his limitations, led by a far-ffom-common seriousness of purpose,
along with an extraordinary measure of human warmth.
His South
African days were a period of severe self-preparation. He was caught all
unawares by this sudden, inescapable need, but its truly rich fruit-bearing
was to take place many years later in India.
Biblical simplicity made a great impact on Gandhiji’s style. He who
uses words properly for a creative purpose is a writer, beyond doubt.
There is a genre of writing which owes its enrichment to truth, not to
beauty. No one has used the stuff of words on a large scale as have been
passionately used by Gandhiji.
He clearly and straight forwardly
96
revealed his objective : “I write as the spirit moves me at the time of
writing,”39 “I write to propogate my ideas.”40 And again he says : “The
reader can have no idea of the restraint I have to exercise in the choice of
topics and my vocabulary. It is training for me. It enables me to peep
into myself and to make discoveries of my weakness.
Often my vanity
dictates a smart expression or my anger a harsh adjective. It is a terrible
ordeal but a fine exercise to remove these weeds.”41 Gandhiji was not
primarily a writer, nor was he particularly interested in the art of writing,
but he had to talk a great deal in English. He wrote as the spirit moved
him just to propagate his ideas. Though Gandhiji had neither the time nor
the inclination to become a writer, he has left behind him amazingly large
volumes of writing. Writing for Gandhiji was an instrument to explain, to
clarify, to reveal his thoughts and ideas. Writing also enabled him to look
into himself. These writings established him as a writer of distinction
among Indian masters of English.
Gandhiji has produced an ocean of literature. It is true that his
personality has attracted the world more than his writings. Diptymoyee
Das states : “Gandhi himself was also a prolific writer. Thus the written
works produced by Gandhi and on Gandhi, if taken together, would be
more or less an ocean of literature..... First of all, the personality of
Gandhi has attracted us so much that his voluminous writings have been
ignored.”42 But it is also true that his voluminous writings have been
ignored as the modem computer - minded generation is least interested to
read Gandhian literature. Gandhiji preferred to express himself through
his regional language Gujarati. The inspiration to write came to him from
the consciousness of common humanity with whom he felt at one. As a
writer Gandhiji expresses the unexpressed and dimly or dubiously felt
urges, ideas, aspirations and, activities of the common run of people, no
97
doubt with a touch of what is called local colour. His principal aim was
to enable the reader to know their divine, dynamic and deep self.
Gandhiji’s purpose was to reach the hearts of the mute millions.
Although Gandhiji started writing in his early youth, the writer in him
grew up surprisingly fast a few years before his imprisonment in 1922.
And it was through his pen and the magnetism of his personality that he
awakened the Indian masses. He expressed their feelings in a sober and
restrained manner. He had a knack of selecting the aptest titles for his
articles.
In the autobiography the writer’s life is important. When Gandhiji
started writing he knew his limitations.
His
autobiography gained
popularity for its chaste style and the honest confessions of its author.
Maxim Gorky writes : “What is left of interest in the autobiography of an
artist? His life? I think that from the very moment when a man becomes
a creative being, his path is predetermined.
He goes where his
creativeness drives him, he sees what he needs to see for his creative
work.”43 Gandhiji’s autobiography strips unabashedly each dark area in
the author’s life and reveals without any inhibition his failures and
frailties, and his struggle to reach the truth.
Gandhiji as a writer had a definite intention, he wanted to propagate
the ideals he believed in. He states : “There can be no room for untruth in
my writings, because it is my unshakable belief that there is no religion
other than truth and because I am capable of rejecting aught that is
obtained at the cost of truth. My writing cannot but be free from hatred
towards any individual because, it is my firm belief that it is love that
sustains the earth.......As for giving ideas, I have some originality. But,
writing is a by-product.”44 Gandhiji expressed himself and his ideas in a
98
plain, distinctive and impressive manner and conveyed his views and
feelings to the reader. He wrote truthfully and without fear of anybody,
because he even loved his enemy. He was sincere in his thoughts, words
and deeds. His style reflects the transparent sincerity and frankness of his
heart. In fact, perfect sincerity, truthfulness and frankness were his chief
aims in writing.
Neither writing nor journalism was his profession. He was highly
practical. With perfect candidness and sincerity he described even the
greatest secret of his life, and never concealed anything about his life
from his readers.
Jawaharlal Nehru wrote : “People who do not know
Gandhiji’s personality and have only read his writings are apt to
think
that
he is a priestly type, extremely puritanical, long faced,
calvinistic, and a kill-joy, something like the priests in black gowns
taking their rounds. But his writings do him an injustice ; he is far greater
than what he writes, and it is not quite fair to quote what he has written
and criticize it.”45 Gandhiji was not a priest but he had the mind of a
philosopher. Nowadays people criticize Gandhiji for his writings. He is
great as a writer, and as a person he is greater still. His active and
contemplative mind required a medium to help in its functioning, and this
medium was his writing.
The influence of his religion imparted a
prophetic tone to his writings so as to exercise a moral influence on his
readers. But Bhabani Battacharya considers Gandhiji’s writings to be
greater than his personality; he is greater than the words he has used. He
writes : “A writer could be inimitably more than the words he spins
out.......
A writer is his thought, his dream, his dedication, provided of
course, that he gives all these an outer habitation in terms of language : or
- that is the compulsion he lives for.
Without that, he could be an
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idealist, a man of wisdom, a seer, but certainly not a writer.”46 A writer is
more than his words.
Gandhiji’s writings unfold the evolution of the mind of the Mahatma
and at the same time present an authentic historical record of
contemporary events, and his impact on contemporary events.
His
writings reveal his serious concern for humanity as a whole. Gandhiji
was a devout Hindu and was very much influenced by the Mahabharata,
the Ramayana and the Bhagavad Gita. The Bible also had a tremendous
influence on him.
He was a seeker after truth, but he knew that truth
alone was not enough. It has to go with the courage of one’s convictions
on the part of the truth seeker. It demands selflessness and sacrifice from
its votary.
Gandhiji was very much influenced by the writings of Ruskin,
Thoreau, Emerson, Carlyle and Tolstoy. He felt an affinity with these
writers. The prophetic style of these writers left an indelible stamp on his
writings.
For about thirty years Gandhiji dominated the Indian scene, and the
period from 1919-1948 may be called the Gandhian Era of Indian history.
His contribution to thought and action has been so original and great that
he has left his impression not only on India but also on the whole world.
He is being studied and discussed by thinkers and social workers in all
countries where problems of freedom, social uplift and moral
regeneration persist.
Gandhiji was nineteen years old when he started writing the diary. In
the diary we can see a budding writer. Bhabani Bhattacharya observes :
“The London Diary holds vivid glimpses of an immature, but eager youth
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embarking on his great voyage of destiny. The writing is frank,
unpretentious, and rich in detailed information. A point of interest is that
it contains Gandhi’s first quotation from Tolstoy.”47 The London Diary
which provides detailed information of Gandhiji’s stay in England, and
his voyage on the ship, throws light on his early writings. He was at this
time also interested in reading renowned writers like Tolstoy.
But
Gandhiji as a writer in the proper sense emerged, when he was in South
Africa. Indeed his whole
intellectual career had a beginning in South
Africa, while he was championing the cause of Indians. His writings had
a realistic undertone. In his pamphlets the underbelly of the reality of his
times has been exposed. He depicted the existential situation. He was
quite aware of the duty of a writer.
He was highly conscious of the
originality of his thoughts. R.R.Diwakar’s opinion is worth quoting here.
He says : “It was not an accident that he named his weekly journal in
South Africa Indian Opinion. In that dark continent the opinion of the
suffering Indians had never been expressed.That journal was not only a
new thing but,a bold and fearless adventure which created new life
there.... Then the new journal which he started in Gujrati,he rightly
called Navjivan i.e.,new life.”48 Gandhiji named his autobiography as The
Story of My Experiments with Truth, meaning that he was conscious of
doing something which was original and fresh, something which had not
been attempted. Gandhiji was, in the real sense of the term, an original
thinker, a man full of creative thinking which is needed for a writer. He
gave apt names to the journals which he launched, and his autobiography
also throws light on his creative thinking. The title of the autobiography
is very unusual. So creating something new is the quest of a writer.
A creative thinker and writer is set with the task of changing the
current scale of values in life, and Gandhiji did it most conspicuously.
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Gandhiji did not stick to a body of creative or imaginative writing either.
He was not a professional writer or a man who depends on writing for a
living. Gandhiji was a servant of God. Great men and prophets may not
be and need not be creative writers as we understand the expression in a
literature class room. Their lives are fit subjects for literature. Their
ideas, their thoughts, the way in which they express themselves are
recorded either by them or by their admirers or disciples. Subsequently
the output itself becomes great and permanent literature.
The countless articles in Young India, and in other periodicals,
constitute a body of unique sacred literature, like the outpouring of the
ancient vedic saints and seers of India. The articles are the recorded
output of Gandhiji’s English writing. Gandhiji wrote Hind Swaraj in
Gujarati in 1908. It gave the first glimpse of his creative thinking in a co­
ordinated form, just as the Satyagraha he organized in South Africa
during 1908-1914 gave all the elements of his philosophy of life and
action.
Thus the two books, Hind Swaraj and Satyagraha in South
Africa, give, along with his Autobiography, glimpses of Gandhiji we
would really like to know and study. Gandhiji as a writer emerges in
these books and we get a glimpse of his creative thinking also. Gandhiji
used Gujarati, Hindi and English with precision so as to achieve perfect
communication. In South Africa as a writer he used Indian Opinion as
his mouthpiece as he used Young India and Harijan after he came back to
India.
Gandhiji was a voluminous letter writer and sometimes he wrote as
many as 150 letters in a day. He has written more than one lakh letters.
He used to write to people of all kinds, young and old, great and humble,
men and women and even to children.
His letters, whether they were
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long or short, official or personal, projected the multifaceted personality
of the writer. Gandhiji as a writer always believed in economy of words.
He had trained himself for succinct writing ; he was therefore most in
demand for his draftings. His drafts had few marks of correction and
rarely needed any change.
Gandhiji as an Indian writer and a responsible citizen knew the mental
make up of the people, and wrote in a way which would appeal to them.
He knew the people and the land well. His writings reflect the Indianess
of his mental landscape.
Rameshwar Gupta opines : “So the Indian
writer’s first responsibility, let me repeat, is to know India; its hoary
wisdom, its myth, its gods and goddesses and its puranas; its Ajanta,
Ellora........ Uprooted from his native soil the Indian writer would not be
able to stand long, and to last, and his best efforts could produce only a
cocacola-like work, which neither inebriates nor gives health.”49 Every
Indian writer must know his people and culture. If they are uprooted
from the soil their work will not be worth reading, it will lack native stuff.
As far as possible, any literature worth the name should reflect the
authentic voice of people from amidst whom it has sprung. Gandhiji as
an Indian writer reflected the voice of the Indian people.
Every piece of Indian writing bears the stamp of India in the usage of
language.
For Gandhiji English was a useful, efficient and necessary
tool, neither more nor less. He was essentially a man of action, and a
leader. “There is a close connection between his spoken and written style.
By the sheer power of his personality he forged a simple, vivid English,
plain and undistinguished, but capable of suggesting passion and truth by
its very simplicity.”50 He was influenced by Ruskin, The New Testament,
Thoreau and Tolstoy; these supplied ideas and thoughts. He was not a
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professional writer. Writing and talking were essential for him like water
and air.
He used writing for a creative purpose.
He used words to
communicate his message of Truth, love, non-violence and universal
brotherhood.
Writing for Gandhiji was rather a sort of tool for achieving
communication, conveying information, converting the people to his
point of view.
He interpreted his thoughts in the light of his own
ideology. Gandhiji’s place as a writer and thinker is very high. He is the
first writer who enlarged the scope of Indian English prose by writing on
a large variety of subjects. His earliest effort London Diary (1888), is a
travelogue. He began his literary career as a journalist by contributing to
Indian Opinion, Young India, Navjivan and Harijan.
journalistic writing, first
In his hands
of all, assumed literary significance.
His
discourses on the Gita are the nature of reinterpretation. His letters are
written in a clear, simple style. Letter writing became an important
genre in the hands of Mahatma Gandhi. The art of letter writing which
developed then is fast disappearing today because of the electronic media
and lack of interest on the part of the public.
In Gandhiji’s writings there is an undercurrent of seriousness. All his
thoughts are serious and of moral value. His approach to man, nature and
human life is moral, spiritual and religious. He identifies himself with
all, that is why he is called a universal being.
Gandhiji did not separate politics from religion, and he made religion
as his foundation.
Romain Rolland states : “To understand Gandhi’s
activity', it should be realized that his doctrine is like a huge edifice
composed of two different floor or grades.
work, the basic foundation of religion.
Below is the solid ground
On this vast and unshakable
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foundation is based the political and social campaign........ In other
words. Gandhi is religious by nature, and his doctrine is essentially
religious.”51
Gandhiji wrote both in English and his mother tongue Gujarati.
Under the influence of his example, writings in various other regional
languages flourished. However, by the growth of regional languages,
English writing in India did not suffer any setback. Gandhiji’s writings
had simplicity, pointedness and clarity that was refreshing. Gandhiji’s
most significant contribution to Indian writing in English is the change he
effected in its prose style.
He developed a style remarkable for its
directness, simplicity and clarity.
Gandhiji’s prose style has a Biblical simplicity, precision and brevity.
He avoided figurative language i.e., the ornamental way of expression.
Bhabani Bhattacharya observes : “His pen faithfully followed his
changing moods. But one thing is certain; he was never at a loss for the
right v/ord.
His mastery of simple, direct, lucid English and the
invariably high standard of his massive productivity strongly influenced
the writing of the time.”52 Summing up Gandhiji’s prose style Bhabhani
Bhattacharya remarks : “That paper Indian Opinion, had helped him
mould a business-like prose style.....
But Young India, which
strengthened and maintained all these elements, added to them something
new;
something that made Gandhiji’s writings power-packed.”55
Commenting on Gandhiji’s place as a writer in Indian English prose, and
the new direction which Ganhiji gave to Indian literature K.R.Srinivas
Iyengar remarks : “Gandhi exercised a potent influence on our languages
and literature, both directly through his own writings in English and
Gujarat: and indirectly through the movements generated by his
105
revolutionary thought and practice........ No apology is needed therefore
for considering Gandhi as a writer and has a formative influence on the
writers of his time.”54 Gandhiji gave a new direction to Indian writing in
English. His example of simplicity, like his life and transperancy in style,
gave a new direction to Indian English prose.
K.R.Srinivas Iyengar
further remarks, “Gone were the Macaulayan amplitude and richness of
phrasing and weight of miscellaneous learning. Gandhian writing was as
bare and austere as his own life.”55 Indian English writers followed the
Gandhian example of clarity, lucidity, directness and brevity. M.K.Naik
writes : “In keeping with his own conception of art and literature he used
a simple, transparent and energetic style which eschewed all oratorical
flourishes and communicated with directness of an arrow hitting its
mark.”55 Gandhiji did not believe in using ornamental language ; he
communicated his ideas directly, without beating about the bush.
About Gandhiji as a writer Kamal Ahmed writes : “Much of the
written material would be produced on Monday, Gandhi’s chosen day of
silence. His staff could speak to him but he would only respond with the
scratch - scratch of his reed pen, an implement he preferred to the more
usual western fountain pen.
ballpoint.......
Only at the end of his life did he try a
He was not particularly careful with his spelling, and
would often leave syllables out of words. But whatever the syntax, the
words marked some of the most momentous episodes in Indian history.”57
Gandhiji did not pay much attention to his handwriting. During his last
days when he was staying in the Bhangi colony of Delhi, and in the
prayer meetings, he used to respond with the scratch of his reed pen.
Gandhiji’s writings are a sort of golden legacy. His writings will last
forever. Gandhiji once said : “My writings should be cremated with my
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body. What I have done will endure, not what I have said or written.”™
What Gandhiji had done for the nation will remain permanent. Whatever
he has done will last long, and so will his writings.
As a writer of autobiography Gandhiji’s place is very important. His
autobiography The Story of My Experiments with Truth was a sort of
trend setter. He is compared with two other autobiographers Jawaharlal
Nehru and Nirad C. Chaudhuri.
His autobiography deals with his
constant search for truth, besides describing the contemporary social and
political conditions and events : these also bring into prominence his
personality. In Jawaharlal Nehru’s An Autobiography we are in contact
with a deeply sensitive personality very much alive to the political and
social problems of the country. Gandhiji’s autobiography is complex and
deep in spite of its simplicity ; Nehru’s autobiography is remarkable for
senskivity, Chaudhuri’s autobiography is bulky, scholarly, cynical and
lacks in personal revelation. As a matchless piece of personal revelation,
Gandhiji’s autobiography is a classic in world literature.
In the
autobiography genre Gandhiji comes out as a writer non peril, unless we
think of the author of the Confessions, viz.,. St.Augustine.
The bulk of Gandhiji’s writings as an Indo-Anglian writer is to be
found in the journals he edited. For the journal Indian Opinion in South
Africa he poured out his soul in its columns- Young India and Harijan
served the nationalistic purpose in India. Young India under Gandhiji’s
guidance had a weekly sale of nearly 40,000. An important characteristic
of Gandhiji’s writing is a close mixture of themes that are timeless. His
writings on non-violence and truth have a universal application. There
was strength in whatever he wrote. To read him is to learn how to use
words properly. There was eloquence in all that he wrote.
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Gandhiji and his thought had a tremendous influence on contemporary
Indian English fiction. Novelists began to write on Indian village life,
social evils, the freedom struggle etc.
Gandhiji’s influence on both
Indian life and literature has been immense.
On the whole, Gandhiji
became the master of his medium. The authenticity of tone and tenor in
Gandhiji’s writings make him a master of English prose style, though he
had no pretensions to being a writer. He was a master of prose, because
he combined feeling with argument and matched his mood to the
moment. Gandhiji has a unique place in the history of Indian literature,
because his writings are not imaginative, but they are the truthful records
of wha: he said and what he practised. His writings will last as long as
humanity survives.
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4. Gandhiji as a Philosopher
Here an attempt has been made to estimate the personality of Gandhiji
as a philosopher-the philosophical ideas he had, the ethics he upheld and
the masses he led in the fight for freedom as a philosopher.
Mahatma
Gandhi was a unique phenomenon in the entire human history.
He
belonged to that race of great men who are great in many things and,
whose greatness covers large areas of human experience. Gandhiji was
like a pole star. His life and ideas are always studied in relation to his
religion of truth. Gandhiji gave the practical message of spirituality, love,
truth and non-violence, but he did not pronounce or articulate any system
of philosophy in the academic sense of the term. He led a life of action
and sacrificed himself for the welfare of humanity. Indeed, there was a
harmonious combination between his philosophy and his daily conduct.
Gandhiji’s autobiography, his voluminous writings and speeches contain
imperishable values which, for the sake of convenience, may be called
‘Gandhism’ or Gandhian Philosophy. Gandhism or Gandhian philosophy
shaped his life, character, work, achievements and teachings.
He
perfected the art and science of Ahimsa.
Right from his childhood we can see that his life was based on
discipline.
Later on he prescribed this code of discipline to his co­
workers when he started an Ashram at Sabarmati. Gandhiji writes : “My
life is based on disciplinary resolutions.”59 He was the strictest observer
of principles; he never deviated from the resolutions that he made once.
It is very clear that Gandhiji’s entire political philosophy, his political
goal and the means he adopted were all of a piece. All of them spring
from his religion, that is, truth and non-violence. Gandhiji derived his
moral and religious ideas essentially from Hinduism, the religion of his
109
birth, from his mother and his nurse Rambha. Tulsi Ramayana had also a
great effect on him, and so had the Bhagavad Gita and ‘Christianity’. He
believed in the philosophy of truth and non-violence.
The beginning for every philosophy is experience.
Gandhiji’s
personal experiences laid the foundation for his spiritual idealism.
Vishwanath Prasad Varma observes : “He (Gandhiji) claimed that the
more disciplined he became, the more did he approximate to the
realization of truth. The whole of God’s law is embodied in a pure life.”60
Gandhiji led a pure life which is regarded as the starting point and goal of
Gandhian thought.
He always maintained that truth is God, and he
regarded Him as the supreme good.
He relied heavily on faith and
personal experience. At the moral level, he holds that God alone is the
guarantee for the purity of one’s character, but faith and personal
experiences are the main things.
Gandhiji was neither an academic philosopher, nor did he claim to be
one. He did not expound his moral precepts systematically. He was
more a man of action, a reformer than a thinker or a moral philosopher, or
a creator of a system of ethics. Gandhiji is one of the most widely known
personalities of modem times, but he is the least understood.
He
remained as one of the most important figures to a majority of people
after his appearance on the Indian political arena. He was very close to
politicians, religious people and laymen.
Each and every section of
society has to say something either about his personality and practices or
about his theory.
Because of his exceptional qualities he drew the
attention of the world towards himself.
For some people he was a
politician, and for some others he was a saint.
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When Gandhiji was in South Africa he had seriously and deeply
thought about morals and politics, and it was again in South Africa where
he formulated the most beautiful concept of Satya, Ahimsa, Swaraj,
Sarvodaya, Satyagraha etc,. After his return to India from South Africa,
he made an attempt to experiment with these ideas and brought them into
practice. He was not a man with high academic qualifications, he was not
even trained in the use of sophisticated philosophical methods. Gandhiji
had nothing to give to the theoretical system. His greatness lies in the
fact that he propounded a new technique of moral and political action.
There is a general failure to identify the close bond that existed between
his religious or moral beliefs on the one hand, and political actions or
beliefs on the other. In 1938, he told a group of missionaries : “I could
be leading a religious life unless I identified myself with the whole of
mankind, and that I could not do unless I took part in politics.............. I
do not know any religion apart from human activity. It provides a moral
basis to all other activities which they would otherwise lack, reducing life
to a maze of sound and fury signifying nothing.”61 Gandhiji was at home
with the mass rather than with individuals.
Human activity or serving the society at large was his mission and
religion. He was of the opinion that the idea of politics should stem from
the concept of truth, which is the substance of all morality.
spiritualised politics.
He
The views which he held about politics had a
bearing on his morality. In fact Gandhiji derived his position from the
Bhagavad Gita. To make politics religious, and religion practical, he
ultima:ely selected the path of the Gita - Karma Yoga, which suggests a
way of spiritual realization through social action.
Ill
We must know that Gandhiji had a philosophy of his own, he had his
own metaphysical beliefs which he took for granted in forming a
philosophy of life. Aldous Huxley observes : “Men live in accordance
with their philosophy of life, their conception of the world. This is true
even of the most thoughtless.
metaphysic.”62
materialist.
It is impossible to live without a
Gandhiji was a philosopher - a spiritual rather than
He was after knowledge, and hated all that was false.
Gandhiji was a philosopher in that all his endeavors were devoted to
attaining the knowledge of the eternal. He dimly perceived that whilst
everything around him was ever changing, ever dying, there was
underlying all that change a living power that was changeless, that held
the cosmos together, that created, dissolved, and recreated.
informing power or spirit was God.
That
Though he disclaimed that he was a
philosopher, his philosophical thoughts lie scattered all through his
writings. He believed that the work which he undertook was not his, but
God’s. God holds the whole world in balance. The Almighty is the
greatest living force. God is changeless. God is truth, and truth is the
norm in man and which sustains man; man, therefore, should stick to
truth whatever be the consequences.
Worship of God, who is truth,
consists in sticking to Truth at all costs, not in ritual.
It was perhaps Gandhiji’s humility which made him say that he was
not an academician or theoretician. Yet he presents a total view of reality.
Gandhiji is a philosopher in this sense. He accords the central place to
truth, non- violence and morality and tries to look at the whole world in
terms cf these concepts.
It is values like Truth, Non-violence and
morality that occupy the central place in Gandhiji’s world-view.
Gandhiji writes : “I do not have the qualifications to teach my philosophy
of life, and also don’t possess enough qualifications to practise the
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philosophy.”63 He believed that he was a poor struggling soul yearning to
be wholly good, wholly truthful and wholly non-violent in thought, word
and deed, but ever failing to reach the ideal which he knew to be true.
Although Gandhiji claimed that he did not have enough qualifications for
teaching his philosophy of life, it is learnt from certain contexts that his
life was his philosophy. The mysteries of reality lie in layers. The most
notable feature of Gandhiji’s greatness is the integrity of his thought and
action. Every idea of his was observed, experimented with and
assimilated by his life ; he was thorough and sincere. The character of
reality as known, as realized, by Gandhiji is Truth. Truth for him implies
beauty and goodness. Gandhiji’s ideal is God. God can be experienced
through truth.
In the words of Benoy Gopal Roy : “Truth has to be
realized not through discursive understanding but intuition.
It is not
reason but love that leads us to God. Does reason lead us astray? No. In
Gandhian philosophy reason has a definite place of its own. Truth felt by
intuition is afterwards described and explained by reason.”64 Everyone,
however, said Gandhi, has to discover truth for himself. Gandhiji was
very rational and described life as action, and that realization of truth was
a process. He kept his mind open and tested everything fearlessly and
critically by the light of his reason and his moral sense. This clearly
shows that he had no mere blind faith in some mysterious entity called
God, but his approach was essentially and rationally philosophical. He
wanted to lead the life of a non-attached man.
Gandhiji was an ideal man judged by any standard, he was never after
fame, position or power. It can be said that another name for sacrifice is
Gandhiji.
Aldous Auxley describes an ideal man in these words : “The
ideal man is the non-attached man. Not attached to his bodily sensations
and lusts. Not attached to his craving for power and possessions........
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Non attached to wealth, fame, social position.”65 Gandhiji was looked
upon by a considerable number of Indians as an
incarnation,
Avatar, an
during his lifetime and is so regarded in the present day
also. He was an apostle of peace on earth. He owed much to Tolstoy and
Buddha.
He did not believe that his philosophy was an indifferent
mixture of Tolstoy and Buddha.
Tolstoy’s The Kindgom of God is Within You had a lasting impression
on him. The Gita especially appealed to his reason. From his writings
we come to know that he was familiar with the Gita, the Bible, and Tulsi
Ramayana. Non-Voilence is common in every religion but he found the
highest expression of it in Buddism.
He did not regard Jainism and
Buddism as separate from Hinduism. Gandhiji argued : “There is no such
thing as ‘Gandhism’, and I do not want to leave any sect after me. I do
not claim to have originated any new principle or doctrine. I have simply
tried in my own way to apply the eternal truths to our daily life and
problems. There is therefore, no question of my leaving any code like the
code of Manu....... well, all my philosophy, if it may be called by that
pretentious name, is contained in what I have said.
You will call it
Gandhism : there is no ism about it. Those who believe in the simple
truths I have laid down can propagate them only by living them.”66
Gandhiji emphatically denied that there was anything like Gandhism ; he
also disowned the idea of his founding a new religion. He never asserted
himself that he was a philosopher nor made any attempt to write a
philosophy. He said his writings and actions were his philosophy. His
philosophy runs, like a constant but unseen undercurrent, through
whatever he thought and did during his whole life. He was a philosopher
in the broadest sense of the term. He was a lover of truth, of knowledge
and of wisdom. He had a theory of life and action, a world-view and a
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system of thought for all his thinking and action. The twin ideals, truth
and non-violence, figure most prominently in his ideology.
Gandhiji was not just a dreamer or visionary ; he was a practical
idealist. His approach to the world and its problems were both idealistic
and pragmatic. He believed in the progress and evolution of man. For
him non-violence was everything. It brings harmony and peace. He
observes : “But it is one thing to adopt non-violence for a specific
purpose in a time of crisis, and quite another thing to advocate for all time
as a philosophy of life.............. For me non-violence is not a mere
philosophical principle.
It is the rule and the breath of my life.”67
Gandhiji had his first lesson in Ahimsa when he made a written
confession to his father about his habit of stealing money for smoking.
On seeing the letter his father wept and forgave him.
Recalling this
incident Gandhiji writes : “ This was for me an object lesson in Ahimsa.
Then I could read in it nothing more than a father’s love, but today I
know that it was pure Ahimsa.
When such Ahimsa becomes all
embracing, it transforms everything it touches. There is no limit to its
power.”68 Ahimsa has great power. It has got the capacity to transform
everything. Ahimsa is love infinite. None should be regarded as an
enemy. We should love the evil-doer, but should fight the poison of evil
in his heart. Without the observance of Ahimsa in thought, word and
deed Truth cannot be realized. Man as an animal is violent, but as a spirit
he is non-violent; the moment he awakens the spirit within, he cannot
remain violent. Basic humanity, consciousness of the living presence of
God within one’s heart, complete freedom from obsession with
exploitation in any form, and a sound moral character are pre-requisites
for the practice of Ahimsa, he says.
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We find in Gandhiji’s life that the intellect should not be a dominating
factor, it is an excellent guide, and also a balancing factor.
Each and
every step he took was a cautious and calculated move ; he was also bold
enough to admit his mistakes. As R.R.Diwakar notes : “It is obvious that
philosophy oriented in instinct, intuition, mystic experience, direct
apprehension of truth and in religious feeling is bound to be more
powerful in the field of life and action.”69 A philosophy which does not
lead to a way of life, and does not inspire the activities of life has
generally no attraction for the people of India. It is the very nature and
law of Being and Becoming
which
Gandhiji wanted to discover.
Gandhiji discovered the law and lived according to it to satisfy his
intellectual curiosity. The way of life is something to be realized in the
inner being of one’s own life and therefore it is to be experienced by
one’s whole being. Gandhiji had realized that this was the way of life for
him.
In his life and work Gandhiji did not believe in watertight
compartments. His main aim was self-realization, besides the fulfillment
of his aspiration to realize Truth and God. He wanted freedom from the
cycle of birth and death, that is salvation. Gandhiji about the purpose of
life says in his autobiography: “ 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....... All that I do by way of speaking
and writing, and all my ventures in the political field are directed to this
same end.”70 This kind of aspiration and devotion, which are usually said
to be religious, are not restricted to the followers of any particular
denominational religion. Gandhiji always used the word religion in a
special sense.
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By religion, Gandhiji did not mean a formal religion or religion in the
customary sense of the word, but religion which underlay all religions,
which brought people face to face with the Maker. Gandhiji was a man
of religion and a humanist. Although he remained essentially a Hindu, he
stood for religious homogeneity of mankind. He always preached the
basis of universality underlying all religions, and practised and proved
this truth in his own life. To him religion meant Dharma or the sincere
performance of duty.
Gandhiji writes : “It is the permanent element in
human nature which counts no costs too great in order to find full
expression and which leaves the soul utterly restless until it has found
itself has known its maker and appreciated the true correspondence
between the maker and itself.”71 Gandhiji’s purpose in life was spiritual
realization of the highest order ; it is also a natural aim deeply rooted in
human nature itself, he adds. Therefore, it may be the aim of mankind as
a whole.
Man should have spiritual discipline to move towards his
maker. U.R.Rao observes : “In his eyes, India had a mission for the
world, and he wanted her to be at once the example and the exponent of
his philosophy.”72 Gandhiji made known to the world that ahimsa was a
principle of universal non-violence, all embracing love, which includes
love of animals as well as that of human beings.
The world witnessed Gandhiji as the first person who effectively used
and realized the principle of Ahimsa, when he acted as a leader of India’s
fight for freedom. Before Gandhiji no one had made up his mind to act
on the principle of non-violence in the interest of the country and
especially as a leader of a country fighting for freedom. Gandhiji said :
“My philosophy, if I can be said to have any, excludes the possibility of
harm to one’s cause by outside agencies.”73 He was careful to add that
fighting for a bad cause will lead to bad results or a sort of cold war.
117
Gandhiji sympathized with the wrongdoer. He revolted when a wrong
was inflicted. It was in this way that Gandhiji used to adapt the meanings
of words to his own purposes of propaganda, putting forth his own
principles in the form of slogans well known and universally accepted by
the masses. According to Gandhiji, means and ends were convertible
terms in his philosophy of life. For Gandhiji non-violence was a means,
and the end was freedom. Thus, by victory he does not mean what is
commonly understood by that name, that is, gaining the ends for which
the struggle is fought, such as getting independence, introducing social
reforms etc. What he meant was moral victory.
Gandhiji wanted to gain political freedom through moral force and
economic equality. Moral force demands the use of non-violent methods.
In J.B.Kripalani’s view : “Gandhian philosophy of life for the individual
and the society gathers up in one sweeping whole, the moral, material and
organizational
gains
of
political
democracy
and
economic
socialism....... This is what Gandhiji means by Swaraj, Ram Raj, the
kingdom of God on earth.”74 The Swaraj of Gandhiji was liberation on all
fronts. Gandhiji believed in the moral value of actions. He often insisted
that what is good must be hard to achieve and must involve suffering.
He also believed in the converse : Whatever involves voluntary
suffering and is being achieved with an effort must be good.
The
philosophy which he adopted for himself was the good of all, as it took
for its objective the evolution of the whole of human society. According
to Gandhiji, the ultimate aim of man is realization of God, and his
activities, that is man’s activities-political social and religious-have to be
guided by the ultimate aim of the vision of God.
118
Gandhiji had an unflinching belief in God, he felt his presence
everywhere, because God is sarvantaryami, that is, he is in every atom of
a particle. In the course of declaring one of the most fundamental beliefs
of his and the presence of God, he said : “ I am surer of his existence than
of the fact that you and I are sitting in this room.........Blast my belief in
God and I am dead.”75
not live.
Without belief in the presence of God he would
When it came to defining him Gandhiji said, God is very
difficult to define, he cannot be described by words, because he is
different from everything that each one of us perceives him as such and
such by our senses and describe by our own language. His presence is
only to be felt and is a matter of felt experience.
Gandhiji’s
main
emphasis was on action and practice, on living a life according to truth
perceived by each one from day to day. The spiritual truth, according to
Gandhiji, is to be realized only by spiritual experience obtained through a
disciplined, holy life.
Proper moral training is required for the
realization of God. To realize God as the supreme unity it is essential to
realize unity with all the creatures of the world. Gandhiji, by means of
prayer and faith, prepared himself to realize God present in the hearts of
millions of Indians. He sought to realize God through the service of
mankind.
It was a deep and intense spiritual aspiration for the realization of
spiritual oneness and perfection which inspired Gandhiji all the time. His
philosophy cannot be thought of in isolation from his total thought and
action. Gandhiji preached and followed whatever philosophical principles
he advocated. It is very clear that the moral and ethical code of conduct
he evolved was an expression of the beliefs he held, and the philosophy
of life he went on formulating.
Day-to-day truth of experience he
upheld as God, and he universalized his philosophy. No one usually
119
denies the truth of their experiences, not certainly the scientist. Gandhiji
had the temperament of a scientist. He approached the problems of life
and found solutions for them in a novel and scientific way.
Science
always aims at finding truth. Gandhiji experimented with truth by testing
it out in his day-to-day life. He was ever ready to sacrifice his life for the
sake of truth.
Gandhiji’s approach to the truth of life was scientific.
Man, the
thinking animal, compared to other living creatures, is alone having the
advantage of self-introspection, self-criticism and would progress through
his own effort.
The main core of social life on which the whole of
modem society should stand is truth and non-voilence. If violence
prevails everywhere the social structure will break into pieces. Society is
intact because of the prevalence of non-violence and of love. The culture
of non-violence means the culture of moral values.
It is only in
spirituality that an individual will try to know himself fully. Gandhiji laid
a great emphasis on Ahimsa. Non-violence is utterly false if it does not
include love, friendship, benevolence or charity within its compass. He
was certain that non-violence would always triumph.
Gandhiji touched upon so many fields of activities. He would not
accept violent means for achieving political independence.
Gandhiji
upheld eleven moral principles ; they are Truth, Non-violence,
Brahmacharya, Control of the palate, Non-stealing, Non-possession,
Fearlessness, Removal of untouchability, Equality of Religion, Bread
Labour and Swadeshi. Among these principles he gave importance to
Truth and Non-violence, or, simply, Truth.
120
To the question, does Gandhism deserve to be destroyed ? He gave
this answer : “Gandhism be destroyed, if it stands for error. Truth and
Ahimsa will never be destroyed ; but if Gandhism is another name for
sectarianism, it deserves to be destroyed.”76 Gandhiji’s activities always
stood for experiments with truth.
Gandhism finds its fulfillment in
spirbuality. On the whole, his ethics, no doubt, is rooted in the Indian
tradition, and has close affiliations with the Christian tradition as well.
The Gandhian way aims at a healthy and strong society as well as
individuals. Since his philosophy is based on love, truth, honest labour
and simple living, he wanted good fellowship to prevail by the removal of
cowardice and violence from both our heart and mind. His philosophy
consists of the general principles and fundamental concepts which he
made the basis of his search after truth, in his long, eventful rich life.
Therefore, he can be called a philosopher. He had the open mind of a
philosopher, a philosopher who goes on experimenting with truth, and
keeps on seeking truth with sincerity.
Gandhiji was not merely a political personality - he was a reformer, a
philosopher and a thinker as well. He gave this world the ideas of truth,
non-violence and satyagraha a trinity of moral principles, of eternal moral
values. It was through non-violence and satyagraha that India won its
independence.
Therefore, Gandhiji is rightly regarded as a great
philosopher and a thinker.
His life and example constitute for us today a challenge to the
privileged class who live in comfort,
away from the poor. We
concentrate primarily on increasing material production in order to build
the nation, rather than uplifting the poor people.
Falsehood, lust for
power and wealth, selfishness, violence are in the forefront of our
121
national life. Gandhiji was able to hold back the modem drift towards
materialism and violence, because his eyes were fixed clearly on a
fundamentally spiritual goal, the attainment of truth and non-violence.
It should be remembered that even the harshest critics of Gandhiji
admit one thing and that is : Gandhiji had led a decent, pure and honest
life, and that his achievements in the field of metaphysics have to be
accorded the highest place.
122
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2 M.K.Gandhi. My Student Days. T.A.Hingomi(ed). (Bombay,
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3.M.K.Gandhi. The Story ofMy Experiments with Truth. Selected
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4 .Louis Fischer. The Life ofMahatma Gandhi. (Bombay, Bhartiya
Vidyabhavan, 1990), P.15.
5. R.K.Prabhu and U.R.Rao. The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi.
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6. Ibid. P.183, or Young India,06.08.1925, P.213.
7. Dipali Singh. Great Leaders - M.K.Gandhi. (Bombay, Learners
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8. M.K.Gandhi. From Yeravda Mandir. (Ahmedabad, Navjivan
Publishing House, 1992), P.3.
9. M.K.Gandhi. The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Selected
Works. Voi.I. (Ahmedabad, Navjivan Publishing House, 1993-94),
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10.J.M.Upadhyaya. Mahatma Gandhi - A Teacher's Discovery.
(Gujrat, Sardar Patel University, 1997), P.56.
123
11. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. Vol.I. (1884-1896). (Delhi,
The Director Publication Division, Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting, Govt, of India, 1958), P.3.
12. M.K.Gandhi. The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Selected
Works. Vol.I. (Ahmedabad, Navjivan Publishing House, 1993-94),
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13 .Collected works of Mahatma Gandhi. Vol.I. (1884-1896). (Delhi,
The Director Publication Division, Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting, Govt, of India, 1958), P.64.
14. D.G.Tendulkar. Mahatma - Life of Mohandas Karamchand
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K.Jhaveri and D.G.Tendulkar.(1953), P.155.
15. M.K.Gandhi. The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Selected
Works. Vol.I. (Ahmedabad, Navjivan Publishing House, 1993-94),
P.128.
lo.Nirmal Kumar Bose. (ed). Selections from Gandhi. (Ahmedabad,
Navjivan Publishing House, 1948), P.214.
l7.M.K.Gandhi. The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Selected
Works. Vol.I. (Ahmedabad, Navjivan Publishing House, 1993-94),
PP. 149-150.
lS.Louis Fischer. The Life of Mahatma Gandhi. (Bombay, Bhartiya
Vidyabhavan, 1990), P.488.
19.Sisirkumar Das. A History of Indian Literature.if 9\ 1-1956).
Struggle for Freedom : Triumphs and Tragedy. (Delhi, Sahitya
Academy, 1995), P.64.
20.M.K.Gandhi. Selected Letters.
Selected works of Mahatma
Gandhi Vol.V. (Ahmedabad, Navjivan Publishing House, 199394), P.56.
124
21. M.K.Gandhi. Satyagraha in South Africa. Selected Works. Vol.III.
(Ahmedabad, Navjivan Publishing House, 1993-94), PP. 56-57.
22. Louis Fischer. The Life of Mahatma Gandhi. (Bombay, Bhartiya
Vidya Bhavan, 1990), P.150.
23.Ibid. P. 150.
24. James Cameron. Men of Our Time : Mahatma Gandhi. Political
Thinkers of Modern India - Verinder Grover, (ed) (Delhi, Deep
Publications, 1990), P.300.
25. R.K.Prabhu and U.R.Rao. The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi.
(Ahmedabad, Navjivan Publishing House, 1967), P.102 or Harijan,
17.08.1947, P.281.
26.Ibid. P. 13 or Young India 11.09.1924. P. 298.
27.Bipin Chandra. Amales Tripathi, Barun De. Freedom Struggle.
(New Delhi, National Book Trust, India, 2004). P.35.
2S.M.K.Gandhi. The Story ofMy Experiments with Truth. Selected
Works. Vol.I. (Ahmedabad, Navjivan Publishing House, 1993-94),
P.332.
29. Jawaharlal Nehru. An Autobiography. (New Delhi, Penguin Books
India, 2004), P.79.
30. Nirad C. Chaudhuri. Autobiography of an Unknown Indian.
(Mumbai, Jaico Publishing House, 2003), P.467.
31 .Ibid. P P.513-514.
32. B.K.Ahluwalia. Sardar Patel: A Life. (New Delhi, Sagar
Publications, 1974). PP. 140-141.
33. Nirad C. Chaudhuri. Autobiography ofAn Unknown Indian.
(Mumbai, Jaico Publishing House, 2003). P. 515.
125
34.Jawaharlal Nehru. An Autobiography. (New Delhi, Penguin Books
India, 2004) P.136.
3 5.Louis Fischer. The Life of Mahatma Gandhi. (Bombay, Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan, 1990), PP. 335-336
36.Bipin Chandra. Freedom Struggle. (New Delhi, National
Book Trust, India, 2004), P.l 11.
37.1bid. PP. 218-219.
38. D.G.Tendulkar. Mahatma : Life of Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi. Vol.I. (1869 - 1920), Foreword by Jawaharlal Nehru.
(Published by, Vithalbhai K. Jhaveri and D.G.Tendulkar, Bombay,
1951), P.XIV.
39. M.K.Gandhi. The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Selected
Works. Vol.II. (Ahmedabad, Navjivan Publishing House, 199394), P.416.
40. Harijan. June 18, 1946, P.210.
41. Young India.ivXy 2,1925, P.232.
42. Diptymoyee Das. Gandhi as a Philosopher. (Gandhi Marg,New
Delhi, Journal of Gandhi Peace Foundation. R.R.Diwakar (ed).
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43. Maxim Gorky. On the Art and Craft of writing. (Mascow, Progress
Publishers, 1972), P.167.
44. R,.K.Prabhu and
U.R.Rao.
The
Mind
of
Mahatma
Gandhi.(Ahmedabad, Navjivan ublishing House, 1996). PP. 40-41.
cr Satyagraha Leaflets, No,5, 17.9.1919 and Harijan 18.8.1946
P.270; 1.5.1947, P.93.
45. Jawaharlal Nehru. An Autobiography. (New Delhi, Penguin books
India Pvt. Ltd., 2004), P. 532.
126
46. Bhabani Bhattacharya. Some Reflections on Gandhi, the Writer.
(Gandhi Marg. New Delhi, Journal of Gandhi Peace Foundation,
G. Ramachandran (ed). Vol.13 No.3 July 1969), P.197.
47. Bhabani Bhattacharya. Gandhi the Writer. (New Delhi, National
Book Trust, India, 1969). P.16.
48. RJR..Diwakar. The Creative Thought of Gandhi: Political Thinkers
of Modern India, M.K.Gandhi. Virender Grover (ed). (New Delhi,
Deep Publications, 1990), P.239.
49. Rameshwar Gupta, The Indian Writer’s Responsibility. (The
Journal of Indian writing in English. G.S.Balarama Gupta (ed).
Gulbarga, Dept, of English, Gulbarga University, India Vol.I. No.l
Jan. 1973), P.77.
50. H.M.Williams. Indo-Anglian Literature (1800-1970). (Bombay,
Orient Longman, 1991), P.104.
51 .Remain Rolland. Mahatma Gandhi: The Man who Became
one with the Universal Being. (New Delhi, Shristi Publishers
and Distributers, 2000), PP. 18-19.
52.Bhabani Bhattacharya. Gandhi the Writer. (New Delhi, National
Book Trust, India, 1969), P.l 10.
53.Ibid. PP 105-106.
54.K.R.Srinivas Iyengar. Indian Writing in English. (Delhi, Sterling
Publishers pvt. Ltd. 1985), PP. 248-249.
55.1bid. P.272.
56.M.K.Naik. History ofIndian English Literature. (New
Delhi, Sahitya Academy, 1982), P.125.
127
57. Kamal Ahmed. Wise Words and Fools Gold. ( Deccan
Herald, Pub by The Printers (Mysore) Pvt. Ltd. Hubli, Karnataka,
India, Thursday, Nov.21, 1996) P.18.
58. Quoted by Kamal Ahmed. Wise Words and Fools Gold. (Deccan
Herald, Pub by The Printers (Mysore) Pvt. Ltd. Hubli, Karnataka,
India, Thursday, Nov.21, 1996) P.18.
59. M,K.Gandhi : The story ofMy Experiments with Truth. Selected
Works. Vol.II. (Ahmedabad, Navjivan Publishing House,
1993-94), P.583.
60. V.P.Varma. Philosophical Foundations of Gandhi’s Political
Thought.
Gandhi and Politics in India. Verinder Grover (ed).
(New Delhi, Deep Publications, 1987). P.21.
61. D.G.Tendulkar. Mahatma - Life of Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi. - Vol-4 (1934-38). (Bombay, Published by, Vithalbhai K.
Jhaveri and D.G.Tendulkar, 1952), PP 387-88.
62. Aldous Huxley. Ends and Means. (London. Chatto and Windus,
1957), P.252.
63. M.K.Gandhi. My Philosophy of Life. Anand T.Hingomi (ed).
(Bombay, Pearl Publications, 1961), P.l. or Young India April 9,
1925.
64. Benoy Gopal Ray. Gandhian Ethics. (Ahmedabad, Navjivan
Publishing House, 1958), P.5.
65. Aldous Huxley. Ends and Means. (London, Chatto and Windus,
1957), PP. 3-4.
66. M.K.Gandhi. My Philosophy of Life. Anand T. Hingomi (ed).
(Bombay, Pearl Publications, 1961), PP 1-2 or Harijan ,Mar.28,
1936.
128
67. R.K.Prabhu and U.R.Rao. The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi.
(Ahmedabad, Navjivan Publishing House, 1996), PP.443-444 or
Young India 10.01.1929 P.10 and 13.09.1928 p. 308.
68. M.K.Gandhi. The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Selected
Works. Vol. I. (Ahmedabad, Navjivan Publishing house, 1993-94),
P39.
69. R.R.Diwakar. Gandhi : A Practical Philosopher. (Bombay,
Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, 1965), P.18.
70. M.K.Gandhi. The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Selected
works. Vol. I. (Ahmedabad, Navjivan Publishing House, 1993-94),
P.xix.
71. MLK.Gandhi. My
Religion.
Bharatan
Kumarappa
(ed).
(Ahmedabad, Navjivan Publishing House, 1996), P.3.
72. R.K.Prabhu and U.R.Rao. The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi, preface
to the third Edition. (Ahmedabad, Navjivan Pulishing House,
1996), P.Xvii.
73.Ibid. P. 17. or Harijan, 25.7.1936, P.185.
74. J.B.Kripalani. Gandhian Thought. (New Delhi, Gandhi Smarak
Nidhi, Orient Longmans ltd, 1961), P.140.
75. R.R.Diwakar. Gandhi: A Practical Philosopher. (Bombay Bhartiya
Vidya Bhavan, 1965), P.28.
76. M.K.Gandhi. My Philosophy of Life. Anand T.Hingomi.(ed).
(Bombay, Pearl Publications pvt. Ltd, 1961), P.3.