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Writing his autobiography at the age of fifty-six, he looked back upon his early married life and was unduly harsh with himself. His mortification sprung from what he saw as an inordinate obsession. | Writing his autobiography at the age of fifty-six, he looked back upon his early married life and was unduly harsh with himself. His mortification sprung from what he saw as an inordinate obsession. | ||
His consternation with his sexual desire reached its height on the night of his father’s death. Eager to go to Kasturbai, he accepted his uncle’s offer to relieve him of massaging his dying father. Five minutes after he left, a servant knocked at the door telling him, “Father is no more.” He recalled: “If animal passion had not blinded me, I should have been spared the torture of separation from my father during his last moments.... He would have died in my arms.... The shame ... was this shame of my carnal desire even at the critical hour of my father’s death.” | His consternation with his sexual desire reached its height on the night of his father’s death. Eager to go to Kasturbai, he accepted his uncle’s offer to relieve him of massaging his dying father. Five minutes after he left, a servant knocked at the door telling him, “Father is no more.” He recalled: “If animal passion had not blinded me, I should have been spared the torture of separation from my father during his last moments.... He would have died in my arms.... The shame ... was this shame of my carnal desire even at the critical hour of my father’s death.”<ref>Mohondas K. Gandhi, ''The Story of My Experiments with Truth'' (Dover, 1983), p. 26.</ref> | ||
In retrospect, instead of seeing in himself the impulses of a normal teenager, he saw a striving soul diverted from its quest by confrontation with married life. But in the ancient tradition of the saints of both Occident and Orient, he viewed his fleshly nature as an obstacle to be surmounted in the continuing battle to control the senses. | In retrospect, instead of seeing in himself the impulses of a normal teenager, he saw a striving soul diverted from its quest by confrontation with married life. But in the ancient tradition of the saints of both Occident and Orient, he viewed his fleshly nature as an obstacle to be surmounted in the continuing battle to control the senses. | ||
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== Disillusionment with religion == | == Disillusionment with religion == | ||
His parents’ example of devotion notwithstanding, Mohan became disillusioned with religion at an early age. He saw the caste problems, the dominant and rapacious Hindu priests, the oppression of women, and the fact that one-fifth of India—the untouchables—were treated as less than human, and he knew that there must be a better way. He began to “incline somewhat towards atheism.” | His parents’ example of devotion notwithstanding, Mohan became disillusioned with religion at an early age. He saw the caste problems, the dominant and rapacious Hindu priests, the oppression of women, and the fact that one-fifth of India—the untouchables—were treated as less than human, and he knew that there must be a better way. He began to “incline somewhat towards atheism.”<ref>Ibid., p. 30.</ref> | ||
But far from “turning him off” to religion, Mohandas’ anti-religious sentiments quickened his interest and he listened attentively to his father’s frequent discussions with Muslim and Parsi friends on the differences between their faiths and Hinduism, seeking meaning beyond tradition and ritual, selecting a bouquet of ideas appealing to his soul. At that time, he wrote, “one thing took deep root in me—the conviction that morality is the basis of things and that truth is the substance of all morality.” | But far from “turning him off” to religion, Mohandas’ anti-religious sentiments quickened his interest and he listened attentively to his father’s frequent discussions with Muslim and Parsi friends on the differences between their faiths and Hinduism, seeking meaning beyond tradition and ritual, selecting a bouquet of ideas appealing to his soul. At that time, he wrote, “one thing took deep root in me—the conviction that morality is the basis of things and that truth is the substance of all morality.”<ref>Ibid.</ref> | ||
From then on, “Truth became my sole objective . | From then on, “Truth became my sole objective. It began to grow in magnitude every day, and my definition of it also has been ever widening.”<ref>Ibid.</ref> This pursuit of Truth lasted a lifetime, and took him to diverse places. | ||
== Study of law == | == Study of law == | ||
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Then, experimenting with emulation, Mohandas pursued the life of an English gentleman—studying dancing, French, elocution, and violin. But finding that this life did not mesh with his internal Truth, he soon began to simplify, moving to cheaper quarters and cooking his own food. | Then, experimenting with emulation, Mohandas pursued the life of an English gentleman—studying dancing, French, elocution, and violin. But finding that this life did not mesh with his internal Truth, he soon began to simplify, moving to cheaper quarters and cooking his own food. | ||
Since his “curriculum of study was easy, barristers being humorously known as | Since his “curriculum of study was easy, barristers being humorously known as ‘dinner barristers’,”<ref>Ibid., p. 71.</ref> he had plenty of spare time. He studied the classics and became fluent in English and Latin. And in the midst of these secular studies, religion unexpectedly reentered his life. | ||
[[File:Gandhi-1891.jpeg|thumb|upright|Ghandi in London (1891)]] | [[File:Gandhi-1891.jpeg|thumb|upright|Ghandi in London (1891)]] | ||
In 1889, a friend convinced him to read the Bhagavad-gita, the sacred book of Hinduism, which he had never examined before. It made a lasting impact. “The book struck me as one of priceless worth. The impression has ever since been growing on me with the result that I regard it today as the book par excellence for the knowledge of Truth.” | In 1889, a friend convinced him to read the ''Bhagavad-gita'', the sacred book of Hinduism, which he had never examined before. It made a lasting impact. “The book struck me as one of priceless worth. The impression has ever since been growing on me with the result that I regard it today as the book ''par excellence'' for the knowledge of Truth.”<ref>Ibid., p. 59.</ref> | ||
He was also persuaded to read the Bible. The Old Testament did not interest him much, but he was thrilled by the New—especially the Sermon on the Mount. He embraced it as an expression of that which he had known in his heart since birth. Not only did he find it to be interchangeable with the words of the Gita, but also it became the spiritual basis for his revolutionary philosophy. | He was also persuaded to read the Bible. The Old Testament did not interest him much, but he was thrilled by the New—especially the Sermon on the Mount. He embraced it as an expression of that which he had known in his heart since birth. Not only did he find it to be interchangeable with the words of the ''Gita'', but also it became the spiritual basis for his revolutionary philosophy. | ||
Gandhi, previously disillusioned by the narrowmindedness of a Christian missionary, began to reassess his former views. As he saw “devout souls kneeling before the Virgin,” his tolerance for Christianity increased. And when he realized that they “worshipped not stone, but the divinity of which it was symbolic,” he was transported. He had also learned a lot about the British and, like Moses, his study of the conquerors’ laws and customs was of inestimable value in the liberation of his people. | Gandhi, previously disillusioned by the narrowmindedness of a Christian missionary, began to reassess his former views. As he saw “devout souls kneeling before the Virgin,” his tolerance for Christianity increased. And when he realized that they “worshipped not stone, but the divinity of which it was symbolic,”<ref>Ibid., pp. 68, 69.</ref> he was transported. He had also learned a lot about the British and, like [[Moses]], his study of the conquerors’ laws and customs was of inestimable value in the liberation of his people. | ||
But Mohandas’ chief gain in England did not come from his education. Rather, he gained by his increased introspection. No longer the confused adolescent, he was now of the growing opinion “that renunciation was the highest form of religion.” Easily passing the exams at the end of three years’ schooling, Gandhi was called to the bar and duly enrolled in the High Court on June 11, 1891. The next day he sailed for home. | But Mohandas’ chief gain in England did not come from his education. Rather, he gained by his increased introspection. No longer the confused adolescent, he was now of the growing opinion “that renunciation was the highest form of religion.”<ref>Ibid., p. 60.</ref> Easily passing the exams at the end of three years’ schooling, Gandhi was called to the bar and duly enrolled in the High Court on June 11, 1891. The next day he sailed for home. | ||
== Return to India == | == Return to India == | ||
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== Work in South Africa == | == Work in South Africa == | ||
The brutal treatment of Indians in South Africa came as a rude surprise. Gandhi was thrashed and continually insulted by Europeans. The most mild insults were “sammy” (a corruption of swami) and “coolie.” Shocked, intimidated, and disgusted, he wanted to return home. “I might, on the one hand, free myself from my contract,” he later wrote. But, matters weren’t that simple. Gandhi was a man of principle. “On the other hand,” he resumed, “I might bear all the hardships and fulfill my engagement.” | The brutal treatment of Indians in South Africa came as a rude surprise. Gandhi was thrashed and continually insulted by Europeans. The most mild insults were “sammy” (a corruption of swami) and “coolie.” Shocked, intimidated, and disgusted, he wanted to return home. “I might, on the one hand, free myself from my contract,” he later wrote. But, matters weren’t that simple. Gandhi was a man of principle. “On the other hand,” he resumed, “I might bear all the hardships and fulfill my engagement.”<ref>C. F. Andrews, ed., ''Mahatma Gandhi At Work: His Own Story Continued'' (Macmillan, 1931), p. 64.</ref> | ||
“While I was still undecided, I was pushed out of the train one night by a European police constable at Maritzburg.” Sitting in the waiting room, shivering and meditating through the night, “doubt took possession of my mind.” But principle triumphed. “Late that night I came to the conclusion that to run away back to India would be a cowardly affair. I must accomplish what I had undertaken.” | “While I was still undecided, I was pushed out of the train one night by a European police constable at Maritzburg.” Sitting in the waiting room, shivering and meditating through the night, “doubt took possession of my mind.” But principle triumphed. “Late that night I came to the conclusion that to run away back to India would be a cowardly affair. I must accomplish what I had undertaken.”<ref>Ibid., p. 65.</ref> | ||
At the outset, things did not look promising. But Gandhi’s reverence for Truth gave him strength to persevere where few had the courage. For Gandhi, South Africa was a laboratory, a proving ground, and a crucible where the evolving soul discovered the spiritual and soul principles that would shape the mature Mahatma’s life. He settled in the mining province of the Transvaal and spent the next nineteen years of his life fighting in the cause of equal rights for Indians in South Africa. | At the outset, things did not look promising. But Gandhi’s reverence for Truth gave him strength to persevere where few had the courage. For Gandhi, South Africa was a laboratory, a proving ground, and a crucible where the evolving soul discovered the spiritual and soul principles that would shape the mature Mahatma’s life. He settled in the mining province of the Transvaal and spent the next nineteen years of his life fighting in the cause of equal rights for Indians in South Africa. | ||
He soon gained some degree of success and the reputation as the most honest lawyer in town. But | He soon gained some degree of success and the reputation as the most honest lawyer in town. But that was far from satisfying him. "The problem of further simplifying my life and of doing some concrete act of service to my fellow-men [was] constantly agitating me.”<ref>Ibid., p. 97.</ref> | ||
Soon Gandhi’s religious striving reached its peak. Sampling creeds and doctrines of both East and West, he read avidly: the Koran, ''The New Interpretation of the Bible,'' and was “overwhelmed” by Tolstoy’s ''The Kingdom of God is Within You''. Still, he wrote, “I could not accept Christianity either as a perfect, or the greatest religion, neither was I then convinced of Hinduism being such.” | Soon Gandhi’s religious striving reached its peak. Sampling creeds and doctrines of both East and West, he read avidly: the Koran, ''The New Interpretation of the Bible,'' and was “overwhelmed” by Tolstoy’s ''The Kingdom of God is Within You''. Still, he wrote, “I could not accept Christianity either as a perfect, or the greatest religion, neither was I then convinced of Hinduism being such.”<ref>'Experiments with Truth'', p. 119.</ref> | ||
In 1896, Gandhi returned to India for six months to fetch his wife and family. Once settled in South Africa, “I found myself entirely absorbed in the service of the community. The reason behind it was my desire for self-realization. I had made the religion of service my own.” He even nursed a leper with his own hands. | In 1896, Gandhi returned to India for six months to fetch his wife and family. Once settled in South Africa, “I found myself entirely absorbed in the service of the community. The reason behind it was my desire for self-realization. I had made the religion of service my own.”<ref>Ibid., p. 139.</ref> He even nursed a leper with his own hands. | ||
Gandhi sought simplicity and “iron discipline” in his personal life as a means to self-realization. And he was amazingly one-pointed in his quest. He reduced household expenses to a minimum, gave up many European habits, started cutting his own hair and doing his own laundry. His first trials resulted in a scorched collar and ruined hair. When his fellow barristers ridiculed him, he merely expressed his gratitude at being able to give them some fun. | Gandhi sought simplicity and “iron discipline” in his personal life as a means to self-realization. And he was amazingly one-pointed in his quest. He reduced household expenses to a minimum, gave up many European habits, started cutting his own hair and doing his own laundry. His first trials resulted in a scorched collar and ruined hair. When his fellow barristers ridiculed him, he merely expressed his gratitude at being able to give them some fun. | ||
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The Europeans were amazed to see the Indians taking part, for before this they had thought all Indians to be “cowardly and self-serving.” During his years in South Africa, he also served as a nurse during a plague and tended the wounds of the Zulus in the Zulu rebellion, since the British ambulance corps balked at the task. | The Europeans were amazed to see the Indians taking part, for before this they had thought all Indians to be “cowardly and self-serving.” During his years in South Africa, he also served as a nurse during a plague and tended the wounds of the Zulus in the Zulu rebellion, since the British ambulance corps balked at the task. | ||
Keeping his own surroundings immaculate, Gandhi also began vigorously campaigning for sanitation among his co-workers. Cleanliness became an integral part of his philosophy. His willingness to correct Indian faults gained the esteem of the British, who saw that “though I had made it my business to ventilate grievances and press for rights, I was no less keen and insistent upon self-purification.” | Keeping his own surroundings immaculate, Gandhi also began vigorously campaigning for sanitation among his co-workers. Cleanliness became an integral part of his philosophy. His willingness to correct Indian faults gained the esteem of the British, who saw that “though I had made it my business to ventilate grievances and press for rights, I was no less keen and insistent upon self-purification.”<ref>Ibid., p. 191.</ref> | ||
In 1903, a friend lent Gandhi a copy of John Ruskin’s ''Unto This Last'', advocating the simplified life and an economic system that would be equitable to all. Ruskin’s ideas inspired Gandhi to buy a hundred-acre farm near Phoenix, Natal, South Africa. Giving up his now lucrative law profession, he experimented with equal participation in all levels of the community. In doing so, he was challenging apartheid not only in South Africa but in India as well, where the caste system had institutionalized a servant class. | In 1903, a friend lent Gandhi a copy of John Ruskin’s ''Unto This Last'', advocating the simplified life and an economic system that would be equitable to all. Ruskin’s ideas inspired Gandhi to buy a hundred-acre farm near Phoenix, Natal, South Africa. Giving up his now lucrative law profession, he experimented with equal participation in all levels of the community. In doing so, he was challenging apartheid not only in South Africa but in India as well, where the caste system had institutionalized a servant class. | ||
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Gandhi’s desire to reach God had mounted to such heights that he began to think seriously of taking the ''brahmacharya'' vow. ''Brahmacharya'' means, literally, “conduct that leads one to God.” Its technical meaning is self-restraint, particularly in regard to sex. This vow was a tradition among holy men of the East. Gandhi later broadened his definition to include control of the senses in thought, word, and deed. His consideration of ''brahmacharya'' began as a continuation of his desire to control his passions. He believed that his wife should not always be a slave to his lusts. | Gandhi’s desire to reach God had mounted to such heights that he began to think seriously of taking the ''brahmacharya'' vow. ''Brahmacharya'' means, literally, “conduct that leads one to God.” Its technical meaning is self-restraint, particularly in regard to sex. This vow was a tradition among holy men of the East. Gandhi later broadened his definition to include control of the senses in thought, word, and deed. His consideration of ''brahmacharya'' began as a continuation of his desire to control his passions. He believed that his wife should not always be a slave to his lusts. | ||
Whether following the ideal of the Eastern ascetic or the inner necessity for sacrifice to achieve his goals, once convinced of his course of action Gandhi was determined to overcome. So, with the agreement of Kasturbai, he twice attempted to become celibate. But he failed both times. Then in 1906, at the age of thirty-seven, he took a vow of complete renunciation, because | Whether following the ideal of the Eastern ascetic or the inner necessity for sacrifice to achieve his goals, once convinced of his course of action Gandhi was determined to overcome. So, with the agreement of Kasturbai, he twice attempted to become celibate. But he failed both times. Then in 1906, at the age of thirty-seven, he took a vow of complete renunciation, because | ||
<blockquote>I realized that a vow, far from closing the door to real freedom, opened it.... I clearly saw that one aspiring to serve humanity with his whole soul could not do without it.... In a word, I could not live both after the flesh and the spirit.”<ref>Ibid., pp. 180–81, 281.</ref> | |||
Gandhi never broke his vow. Years later, he realized that ''brahmacharya'' was impossible to attain by mere human effort. It was only by acknowledging the power of God within that he could control his senses. | |||
He experimented much with the correct food, exercise, rest, and various disciplines for the ''brahmachari'' (one who practices ''brahmacharya''), but in all of his life, he never once repined once he had taken his final vow. He also attributed the evolution of his philosophy of nonviolence to the fact that he had taken the brahmacharya vow. | His was a very personal vow. He never requested his followers to take it. Gandhi saw his life as simply a segment of Life in its totality which he could not continue to be a part of unless he could merge with it through self-mastery. But ''brahmacharya'' was not without its trials. “Let no one believe that it was an easy thing for me. Even when I am past fifty-six years, I realize how hard a thing it is. Every day I realize more and more that it is like walking on the sword’s edge, and I see every moment the necessity for eternal vigilance.”<ref>Ibid., pp. 182–83.</ref> | ||
He experimented much with the correct food, exercise, rest, and various disciplines for the ''brahmachari'' (one who practices ''brahmacharya''), but in all of his life, he never once repined once he had taken his final vow. He also attributed the evolution of his philosophy of nonviolence to the fact that he had taken the ''brahmacharya'' vow. | |||
[[File:Gandhi Johannesburg 1905.jpg|thumb|upright|Gandhi in front of his law office, Johannesburg (1905)]] | [[File:Gandhi Johannesburg 1905.jpg|thumb|upright|Gandhi in front of his law office, Johannesburg (1905)]] | ||
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== Experiments with civil disobedience == | == Experiments with civil disobedience == | ||
Gandhi’s lifelong experiment in civil disobedience began in South Africa—an experiment which echoed around the world and still reverberates nearly eighty years later. “I can now see,” Gandhi later wrote, “that all the principal events of my life ... were secretly preparing me for it.” | Gandhi’s lifelong experiment in civil disobedience began in South Africa—an experiment which echoed around the world and still reverberates nearly eighty years later. “I can now see,” Gandhi later wrote, “that all the principal events of my life ... were secretly preparing me for it.”<ref>Ibid., p. 284.</ref> | ||
Gandhi gave birth to his revolution, raising his consciousness to the point at which true spirituality could be applied to politics—and that without compromise. He discovered out of the measure of his own heart the inner standard of Love to be the most thoroughly practical means of overcoming evil. | Gandhi gave birth to his revolution, raising his consciousness to the point at which true spirituality could be applied to politics—and that without compromise. He discovered out of the measure of his own heart the inner standard of Love to be the most thoroughly practical means of overcoming evil. | ||
<blockquote>It was the New Testament which really awakened me to the rightness and value of passive resistance. When I read in the Sermon on the Mount such passages as “Resist not him that is evil but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek turn to him the other also.”... I was simply overjoyed, and found my own opinion confirmed where I least expected it.</blockquote> | <blockquote>It was the New Testament which really awakened me to the rightness and value of passive resistance. When I read in the Sermon on the Mount such passages as “Resist not him that is evil but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek turn to him the other also.”... I was simply overjoyed, and found my own opinion confirmed where I least expected it.<ref>''Mahatma Gandhi At Work'', p. 374.</ref></blockquote> | ||
But Gandhi did away with the term passive resistance and searched for an Indian equivalent that would better translate Christ’s example to his people. “Satya (Truth) implies Love: and Agraha (Firmness) serves as a synonym for Force. So I began to call the Indian movement ‘Satyagraha.’ By this I meant the Force which is born of Truth and Love.” | But Gandhi did away with the term passive resistance and searched for an Indian equivalent that would better translate Christ’s example to his people. “Satya (Truth) implies Love: and Agraha (Firmness) serves as a synonym for Force. So I began to call the Indian movement ‘Satyagraha.’ By this I meant the Force which is born of Truth and Love.”<ref>Ibid., p. 150.</ref> | ||
Gandhi wrote: | Gandhi wrote: | ||
<blockquote>The beauty of this method is that it comes up to oneself; one has not to go out in search for it.... God Himself plans the campaign and conducts battles. It can be waged only in the name of God | <blockquote>The beauty of this method is that it comes up to oneself; one has not to go out in search for it.... God Himself plans the campaign and conducts battles. It can be waged only in the name of God. Only when the combatant feels quite helpless—only when the combatant finds utter darkness all around him, only then God comes to the rescue.<ref>Ibid., pp. 7–8.</ref></blockquote> | ||
Gandhi knew that [[Jesus Christ]] had been called the original passive resister, but he saw him as the original ''Satyagrahi''. | Gandhi knew that [[Jesus Christ]] had been called the original passive resister, but he saw him as the original ''Satyagrahi''. | ||
''Satyagraha''’s first trial on a grand scale came in South Africa when, on July 31, 1907, the Asiatic Registration Act was passed to restrict all Indians. “It was better to die,” Gandhi wrote, “than to submit to such a law” that required each Indian to carry a pass at all times and which could be requested of him, even in his own house. | ''Satyagraha''’s first trial on a grand scale came in South Africa when, on July 31, 1907, the Asiatic Registration Act was passed to restrict all Indians. “It was better to die,” Gandhi wrote, “than to submit to such a law”<ref>Ibid., p. 137.</ref> that required each Indian to carry a pass at all times and which could be requested of him, even in his own house. | ||
The Indian community was determined to fight back. Gandhi gave them a weapon which could be used by all. The ''Satyagrahis'' courted jail. Their method was to disobey the offending law until they received a response—any response—but they vowed never to use any form of violence. | The Indian community was determined to fight back. Gandhi gave them a weapon which could be used by all. The ''Satyagrahis'' courted jail. Their method was to disobey the offending law until they received a response—any response—but they vowed never to use any form of violence. | ||
Gandhi was able to weld 13,000 Indians into a single force. One of the first to be arrested, he spent many months in jail in Johannesburg, sometimes in hard labor and other times in solitary confinement. Nearly all of the nonviolent warriors endured the beatings, arrests, jail sentences, insufficient food, and sentences of hard labor “with a smile on their face.... They did not know what it was to be beaten.” | Gandhi was able to weld 13,000 Indians into a single force. One of the first to be arrested, he spent many months in jail in Johannesburg, sometimes in hard labor and other times in solitary confinement. Nearly all of the nonviolent warriors endured the beatings, arrests, jail sentences, insufficient food, and sentences of hard labor “with a smile on their face.... They did not know what it was to be beaten.”<ref>Ibid., p. 288.</ref> | ||
Critics of Gandhi call his philosophy masochistic because people sustained beatings without resisting in the ''Satyagraha'' campaigns. Yet how many more die in war without any sense of self-esteem, without having taken a stand for a moral principle or made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of Truth. ''Satyagraha'' is the strategy of a mastermind (his Master’s mind) who knew the enemy well yet held the salvation and soul integrity of his followers as paramount. | Critics of Gandhi call his philosophy masochistic because people sustained beatings without resisting in the ''Satyagraha'' campaigns. Yet how many more die in war without any sense of self-esteem, without having taken a stand for a moral principle or made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of Truth. ''Satyagraha'' is the strategy of a mastermind (his Master’s mind) who knew the enemy well yet held the salvation and soul integrity of his followers as paramount. | ||
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But even after this show of good faith, Smuts double-crossed him. Instead of repealing the law, Smuts introduced more legislation against the community. Though chagrined, Gandhi realized that: | But even after this show of good faith, Smuts double-crossed him. Instead of repealing the law, Smuts introduced more legislation against the community. Though chagrined, Gandhi realized that: | ||
<blockquote>A Satyagrahi bids good-bye for ever to fear. He is therefore never afraid of trusting his opponent. Even if the opponent plays him false twenty times, the Satyagrahi is ready to trust him for the twenty-first time; for an implicit trust in human nature is his creed.</blockquote> | <blockquote>A Satyagrahi bids good-bye for ever to fear. He is therefore never afraid of trusting his opponent. Even if the opponent plays him false twenty times, the Satyagrahi is ready to trust him for the twenty-first time; for an implicit trust in human nature is his creed.<ref>Ibid., p. 223.</ref></blockquote> | ||
Gandhi’s trust paid off. Smuts’ intrigue backfired and generated sympathy for the Indians in the European community, and Gandhi continued the fight against the Ordinance. On August 16, 1908, he led 2,000 in burning their registration cards at the Hamidia Mosque in Johannesburg. One British reporter likened it to the Boston Tea Party. | Gandhi’s trust paid off. Smuts’ intrigue backfired and generated sympathy for the Indians in the European community, and Gandhi continued the fight against the Ordinance. On August 16, 1908, he led 2,000 in burning their registration cards at the Hamidia Mosque in Johannesburg. One British reporter likened it to the Boston Tea Party. | ||
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<blockquote>When one considers the painful contrast between the happy ending of the Satyagraha struggle and the present condition of Indians in South Africa, one feels for a moment as if all this suffering had gone for nothing, or is inclined to question the efficacy of Satyagraha as a solvent of the problems of mankind. But let us consider this point for a little while.</blockquote> | <blockquote>When one considers the painful contrast between the happy ending of the Satyagraha struggle and the present condition of Indians in South Africa, one feels for a moment as if all this suffering had gone for nothing, or is inclined to question the efficacy of Satyagraha as a solvent of the problems of mankind. But let us consider this point for a little while.</blockquote> | ||
<blockquote>There is a law of nature that a thing can be retained by the same means by which it has been acquired. A thing acquired by violence can be retained by violence alone, while one acquired by truth can be retained by truth alone. The Indians in South Africa, therefore, can ensure their safety today if they can wield the weapon of Satyagraha. There are no such miraculous properties in Satyagraha that a thing acquired by truth could be retained even if truth were given up.</blockquote> | <blockquote>There is a law of nature that a thing can be retained by the same means by which it has been acquired. A thing acquired by violence can be retained by violence alone, while one acquired by truth can be retained by truth alone. The Indians in South Africa, therefore, can ensure their safety today if they can wield the weapon of Satyagraha. There are no such miraculous properties in Satyagraha that a thing acquired by truth could be retained even if truth were given up.<ref>Ibid., p. 369.</ref></blockquote> | ||
It seems that the fault is not in the weapon, but rather in the warriors. | It seems that the fault is not in the weapon, but rather in the warriors. | ||
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Gandhi began by serving the people. If anyone was starving, oppressed, or helpless, Gandhi would take up the struggle. Fighting famine, injustice, and untouchability, he moved up and down the country, exhorting all men to be brothers. Wherever he went, he was not content merely to advocate political reform, but he promoted his entire way of life unceasingly. | Gandhi began by serving the people. If anyone was starving, oppressed, or helpless, Gandhi would take up the struggle. Fighting famine, injustice, and untouchability, he moved up and down the country, exhorting all men to be brothers. Wherever he went, he was not content merely to advocate political reform, but he promoted his entire way of life unceasingly. | ||
While working for peasant emancipation in Champaran, he also opened six primary schools, gave the local villagers lessons in sanitation and waste-disposal, succeeded in changing the diet of the vakils assisting him, set up medical relief centers, and even lobbied for cow protection. However, in most cases, social reforms lasted as long as he was there to oversee them. Since many of his programs were strictly voluntary, only a few were willing to give up everything to serve the people. | While working for peasant emancipation in Champaran, he also opened six primary schools, gave the local villagers lessons in sanitation and waste-disposal, succeeded in changing the diet of the ''vakils'' assisting him, set up medical relief centers, and even lobbied for cow protection. However, in most cases, social reforms lasted as long as he was there to oversee them. Since many of his programs were strictly voluntary, only a few were willing to give up everything to serve the people. | ||
The struggle continued and, faced with a seemingly irreconcilable situation, Gandhi’s inner voice revealed to him another powerful strategic weapon to be used in the practice of ''Satyagraha''. It came to him as he was assisting some mill strikers in Ahmedabad. They began to get tired of their cause and were ready to capitulate. | The struggle continued and, faced with a seemingly irreconcilable situation, Gandhi’s inner voice revealed to him another powerful strategic weapon to be used in the practice of ''Satyagraha''. It came to him as he was assisting some mill strikers in Ahmedabad. They began to get tired of their cause and were ready to capitulate. | ||
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<blockquote>One morning ... unbidden and all by themselves the words came to my lips: “Unless the strikers rally,” I declared to the meeting, “and continue the strike till a settlement is reached, or till they leave the mills altogether I will not touch any food”...</blockquote> | <blockquote>One morning ... unbidden and all by themselves the words came to my lips: “Unless the strikers rally,” I declared to the meeting, “and continue the strike till a settlement is reached, or till they leave the mills altogether I will not touch any food”...</blockquote> | ||
<blockquote>The hearts of the mill-owners were touched, and they set about discovering some means for a settlement.</blockquote> | <blockquote>The hearts of the mill-owners were touched, and they set about discovering some means for a settlement.<ref>''Experiments with Truth'', pp. 388, 390.</ref></blockquote> | ||
The difference between Gandhi and some hunger strikers of recent years is that Gandhi was respected and loved by both sides of the dispute. Gandhi used fasting several times over the years, always as a last resort—once to stop the Indians from killing the British, and again to stop Hindus and Muslims from killing each other. It always accomplished its end. | The difference between Gandhi and some hunger strikers of recent years is that Gandhi was respected and loved by both sides of the dispute. Gandhi used fasting several times over the years, always as a last resort—once to stop the Indians from killing the British, and again to stop Hindus and Muslims from killing each other. It always accomplished its end. | ||
Ever the devoted scientist, Gandhiji ( ji is a term of respect and endearment) was continually developing and refining his sense of Truth. At one time, he became very ill, partly due to his experiments in diet (he was living mainly on nut-butter and lemons). No doctor could help him because he refused to take medicine or injections of any kind. Even beef broth and milk were out of the question because he had taken vows against them. He was at death’s door. | Ever the devoted scientist, Gandhiji (''ji'' is a term of respect and endearment) was continually developing and refining his sense of Truth. At one time, he became very ill, partly due to his experiments in diet (he was living mainly on nut-butter and lemons). No doctor could help him because he refused to take medicine or injections of any kind. Even beef broth and milk were out of the question because he had taken vows against them. He was at death’s door. | ||
Finally a doctor said that he could cure him if he would agree to drink goat’s milk. This meant breaking a vow and thus compromising Truth. | Finally a doctor said that he could cure him if he would agree to drink goat’s milk. This meant breaking a vow and thus compromising Truth. | ||
<blockquote>I agreed to take goat’s milk. The will to live proved stronger than the devotion to truth.... But I cannot yet free myself from that subtlest of temptations, the desire to serve, which still holds me.</blockquote> | <blockquote>I agreed to take goat’s milk. The will to live proved stronger than the devotion to truth.... But I cannot yet free myself from that subtlest of temptations, the desire to serve, which still holds me.<ref>Ibid., p. 411.</ref></blockquote> | ||
== The struggle for Indian independence == | == The struggle for Indian independence == | ||
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After a few successful trials of ''Satyagraha'', he issued a call for widespread civil disobedience for April 18, 1919. But the nation could not control itself. Nonviolence quickly deteriorated into riots when British mounted police accosted the crowds of passive demonstrators. The Indians retaliated brutally, igniting widespread atrocities and massacres on both sides, especially in the northern province of the Punjab. | After a few successful trials of ''Satyagraha'', he issued a call for widespread civil disobedience for April 18, 1919. But the nation could not control itself. Nonviolence quickly deteriorated into riots when British mounted police accosted the crowds of passive demonstrators. The Indians retaliated brutally, igniting widespread atrocities and massacres on both sides, especially in the northern province of the Punjab. | ||
“I had committed a grave error,” Gandhi wrote, “in calling upon the people ... to launch upon civil disobedience prematurely, as it now seemed to me.” Taking the blame for his “Himalayan miscalculation,” Gandhi embarked upon a five-day fast. From 1924–27, he held aloof from political activity and devoted himself to a constructive program of Hindu-Muslim amity, removal of untouchability, and popularization of ''khadi''. | “I had committed a grave error,” Gandhi wrote, “in calling upon the people ... to launch upon civil disobedience prematurely, as it now seemed to me.”<ref>Ibid., p. 424.</ref> Taking the blame for his “Himalayan miscalculation,” Gandhi embarked upon a five-day fast. From 1924–27, he held aloof from political activity and devoted himself to a constructive program of Hindu-Muslim amity, removal of untouchability, and popularization of ''khadi''. | ||
[[File:Gandhi Salt March.jpg|thumb|Gandhi during the Salt March (1930)]] | [[File:Gandhi Salt March.jpg|thumb|Gandhi during the Salt March (1930)]] | ||