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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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 patented his first

invention. 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

~t - 7■Lt’ §6 o- p 7

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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 MohanIn 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

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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 the ruler of Porbander and he was

accused of giving wrong advice. 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.

78

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, by

inspiring and guiding the masses. He created a sort of political will

among the people. 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

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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 of Anarchy 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

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In unvanquishable number

Shake your chains to earth like dew

Which in sleep has fallen on you-

Ye 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

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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. A majority of them were

illiterate and poor. 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.

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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.

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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. On his return to India,

Gandhiji acquired the prestige of a leader. 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

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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

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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

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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.

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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 co-

workers, 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

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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

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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

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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

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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. In his hands

journalistic writing, first 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. Below is the solid ground

work, the basic foundation of religion. 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

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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. Only at the end of his life did he try a

ballpoint....... 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

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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. He

spiritualised politics. 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. It is impossible to live without a

metaphysic.”62 Gandhiji was a philosopher - a spiritual rather than

materialist. 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. That

informing power or spirit was God. 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 Avatar, an

incarnation, 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 Without belief in the presence of God he would

not live. 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

REFERENCES:

l.Sumitra Gandhi Kulkami. Gandhi Mere Pitamah (Hindi), Tr to

Kannada, by Dr.T.C.Pumima. (Taranga, Kannada Weekly Magazine

(ed), and pub by, T.Satish U.Pai, Manipal, Manipal Press Ltd,

Karnataka, India, 3rd Feb 2005), P.15.

2 M.K.Gandhi. My Student Days. T.A.Hingomi(ed). (Bombay,

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1969), P.3.

3.M.K.Gandhi. The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Selected

Works. Voi.I. (Ahmedabad, Navjivan Publishing House, 1993-94),

P.3.

4 .Louis Fischer. The Life of Mahatma Gandhi. (Bombay, Bhartiya

Vidyabhavan, 1990), P.15.

5. R.K.Prabhu and U.R.Rao. The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi.

(Ahmedabad,, Navjivan Publishing House, 1967), P.80, or Harijan.

18.3.1933 - P.6 and 17.8.1934. P.213).

6. Ibid. P.183, or Young India,06.08.1925, P.213.

7. Dipali Singh. Great Leaders - M.K.Gandhi. (Bombay, Learners

Press Ltd, 1999), P.7.

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),

P.29.

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),

P.56.

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

Gandhi Vol.VI (1940-1945). (Bombay, Published by, Vithalbhai

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, 1993-

94), 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 of My 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 of An 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, 1993-

94), 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).

Vol.9. No.3. July 1987), PP. 143-144.

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 of Indian 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 of My 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.