Gandhian ideals

As humankind struggles to find ways of living responsibly in the ``global village,'' many of Gandhi's teachings appear pertinent again and are receiving renewed attention. The direction of his thought is challenging and points to a holistic worldview.

Truth and nonviolence, both of which are discussed in other chapters of this book, were Gandhi's most cherished principles. Gandhi writes: ``Truth resides in every human heart, and one has to search for it there, and to be guided by truth as one sees it. But no one has a right to coerce others to act according to his own view of truth.''[3] Gandhi teaches that Truth is God, and that it is our sacred duty to seek it.If Truth was to Gandhi the Ultimate End (i.e. God), then ahimsa (nonviolence) was the perfect means of attaining that end. Gandhi writes: ``Non-violence is the greatest force man has been endowed with. Truth is the only goal he has. For God is none other than Truth. But Truth cannot be, never will be, reached except through non-violence   That which distinguishes man from all other animals is his capacity to be non-violent. And he fulfils his mission only to the extent that he is non-violent and no more.''[16] From these two fundamental principles can be ``derived'' all of his other teachings:

Oneness and Equality of Religions

Gandhi teaches that all faiths spring from the same ultimate, timeless, eternal Religion. He writes: ``The root of all religions is one and it is pure and all of them have sprung from the same source, hence all are equal.''[17] ``Let no one even for a moment entertain the fear that a reverent study of other religions is likely to weaken or shake one's faith in one's own.''[18] ``This study of other religions besides one's own will give one a grasp of the rock-bottom unity of all religions and afford a glimpse also of that universal and absolute truth which lies beyond the `dust of creeds and faiths'.''[18]

Sarvodaya and Collective Trusteeship

Sarvodaya is the name given to Gandhi's ideal of nonviolent socialism. Gandhi teaches that one should earn no more money than is enough to support oneself and one's family, and advocates voluntary sharing of excess wealth. While wealth should be used for the common good of all rather than for the private gain of a few, Gandhi condemns its forceful redistribution: ``Wealthy people should act as trustees of the wealth. But if they are robbed of this wealth through violent means, it would not be in the interest of the country. This is known as communism. Moreover, by adopting violent means, we would be depriving society of capable individuals.''[19]

Village Autonomy

Gandhi advocates independence for the common people, not just for those who rule over them. Thus, while Gandhi is best known as a freedom fighter who brought India independence from Britain, his primary aim was independence for the grassroots of society. He writes: ``Independence must begin at the bottom.''[20] ``My idea of village swaraj [self-rule] is that it is a complete republic, independent of its neighbors for its own vital wants, and yet interdependent for many others in which dependence is a necessity.''[21]

Decentralization of Power

According to Gandhi, centralized government is inherently prone to violence. Therefore Gandhi advocates decentralization of political power. Explaining his metaphorical vision of the structure of a future nonviolent society, Gandhi writes: ``Life will not be a pyramid with the apex sustained by the bottom. But it will be an oceanic circle whose centre will be the individual always ready to perish for the village, the latter ready to perish for the circle of villages, till at last the whole becomes one life composed of individuals, never aggressive in their arrogance, but ever humble, sharing the majesty of the oceanic circle of which they are integral units.''[22]

Self-reliance

Swadeshi (Self-reliance) is mainly understood to mean a protectionist technique that Gandhi employed against the mercantilistic policies of the British, whereby the masses were urged to abstain from cloth manufactured outside India, and instead to use cotton, silk, or wool cloth made in India. But Gandhi gives it a broader meaning: ``Swadeshi carries a great and profound meaning. It does not mean merely the use of what is produced in one's own country. That meaning is certainly there in swadeshi. But there is another meaning implied in it which is far greater and much more important. Swadeshi means reliance on our own strength. We should also know what we mean by `reliance on our own strength'. `Our strength' means the strength of our body, our mind, and our soul. From among these, on which should we depend? The answer is brief. The soul is supreme and therefore soul-force is the foundation on which man must build.''[23]

Machines

Gandhi strongly disapproved of machinery, since in his time machines typically led to the concentration of economic and political power in the hands of a few, extremely rich people.[24] Today, of course, the reverse appears to be possible. For example, information technology has led to decentralization, rather than centralization, of power. It would be interesting to know what Gandhi would have to say about the Internet, for he wrote: ``Every machine that helps every individual has a place. But I must confess that I have never sat down to think out what that machine can be.''[25] ``I would prize every invention of science made for the benefit of all.''[26] Although Gandhi's original fears about machines have proven unfounded, nevertheless industrialization and automation have not automatically led to an equitable distribution of work and leisure time.

Yajña and Service

Gandhi teaches that work should be done with pure motives, without desire for any type of reward, in a spirit of service. When work is thus performed, it becomes an act of yajña (sacrifice). He writes: ```Yajña' means an act directed to the welfare of others, done without desiring any return for it, whether of a temporal or spiritual nature. `Act' here must be taken in its widest sense, and includes thoughts and word, as well as deed. `Others' embraces not only humanity, but all life.''[27]

Passive Resistance

The word Satyagraha was coined during Gandhi's lifetime to describe passive resistance, as developed and practiced by Gandhi in South Africa. The term can be literally translated in English as ``insistence on truth.'' Satyagraha was Gandhi's nonviolent method of resisting injustice and violence in their various manifestations. Essentially, it consists in nonviolent noncooperation with the protagonists of violence. As a method of last resort, Gandhi did use civil disobedience--passive resistance in its most disruptive (and violent) form. Gandhi's method of nonviolent noncooperation is a true and tried technique that has been successfully used to fight violent and systematic human rights violations in a number of states. Examples of leaders who have adapted the method include Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Human Rights and World Citizenship

Gandhi teaches that every human right is fundamentally related to some reciprocal responsibility towards the world. He writes: ``All rights to be deserved and preserved come from duty well done. Thus the very right to live accrues to us only when we do the duty of citizenship of the world. From this very fundamental statement perhaps it is easy enough to define the duties of man and woman and correlate every right to some corresponding duty to be first performed. Every other right can be shown to be a usurpation hardly worth fighting for.''[28]

Ramarajya and World Federation

According to Gandhi, it is possible to establish Ramarajya, or the Kingdom of God, on earth. Indeed, he seems to have believed in its inevitability. But before this can happen, nations must renounce violence towards each other and learn to live in peace. He explains that ``a world federation is possible of realization and in that case it would not be necessary for countries to maintain armed forces.''[29] ``There can be no world federation of countries ruled by armies.''[29]

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