Gandhi: The Immortal Symbol
of Love
Dr. Sir S. RADHAKRISHNAN
Gandhi was a revolutionary
thinker. He worked for a major change in human nature. His is the voice of the
age to come, and not that which is fading and should fade away. We must give a
new purpose and direction to the future and not acquiesce in things as they
are. Revolutions are based on intensity of purpose and not inertia or
indifference.
We are at the crossroads
of history. Man’s greatest enemy is not disease or famine or demographic explosion,
but nuclear weapons which in war may completely destroy civilization and in
peace inflict grievous and lasting damage on the human race.
Gandhi sought to prepare
us for life in a disarmed world. We must pull out of the world of strife and
hatred and get ready to work on the basis of cooperation and harmony.
Satyagraha is his substitute for war and is based on an absolute adherence to
truth, practice of love and self-suffering by the resister in cases of
conflict.
The will to revolution is
strongest when conditions are at their worst. Intelligent, informed people and
men of goodwill are acutely aware of the greatest threat to human survival
posed by a nuclear war. Though no sane person would vote for such a war, we are
doing everything in our power to bring it about! Such is the paradox of human
nature that while we do not consciously want a thing, yet unconsciously and
irrationally we happen to work for it. The arms race with devastating weapons
is growing apace and not slowing down. So long as we do not have complete
nuclear disarmament, the temptation for the use of nuclear weapons is very
real.
We are not able to develop
a firm attitude of purposeful hostility to the danger of universal destruction.
We are courting it by our attitudes and actions. We seem to be moving towards a
world catastrophe with our eyes wide open and our ears deaf to the voice of
truth.
punyasya phalam icchanti punyam necchanti maanavaah
na paapaphalam icchanti paapam kuryanti yatnatah
There is a fatal imbalance
between what man is and what he wishes to be. This discord is responsible for
our unrest. We talk like wise men but act like lunatics. We cannot prepare for
war and at the same time for a world community. Cavour
exclaimed. “If we did for ourselves what we do for our country....what rascals
we should be!” We are tormented by inner uneasiness and pangs of conscience.
The warring sides of our nature require to be reconciled if we are to defeat fratricial tendencies in us. We must break our self-will,
the pride of goism which is widespread in all sides
of our life. In man there is always an urge to self-transcendence, but until it
becomes absolute unselfishness, narrow loyalties and destructive rivalries will
prevail. The unrest in the world is a reflection of our inner disharmony.
A people are saved not by
their military leaders or industrial magnates, or by their priests and
politicians but by their saints of implacable integrity. Religion is the
discipline by which we are helped to overcome the discord in our nature and
integrate our personality. Gandhi was essentially a religious person. By the
practice of spiritual exercises, by fasts and prayers, he aimed at the
production of a new type of human being, fearless, greedless and hateless. Man is still evolving.
If we reflect on the
history of religious development, we will be surprised at the amount of
intellectual ingenuity, passion and zeal spent on the task of defining the
Supreme to which silence or poetry would seem to be the most appropriate response.
Self- righteousness breeds fanaticism. None but fools and fanatics are quite
certain of their views of God. With crusaders there is no arguing.
Before God there is
neither Greek nor barbarian, neither rich nor poor,
neither master nor slave. They are all citizens of the one commonwealth,
members of one family. For Gandhi religion is a personal encounter with the
Divine. He struggled hard to get that insight into reality for over 40 years.
In the spirit of Hindu religion he looked upon the Divide not only as a
transcendental. Absolute but as a personal God. He was truly a bhakta with an unflinching faith in God.
The light of truth
manifests itself in holy living. A truly religious person cannot hold back but
should lead. He cannot remain silent when he should speak up. He should not
compromise when he should stand fast. Gandhi’s faith in brotherhood is not a
transcendental absolute but a call to mate it immanent in the facts of life.
His demand is not a counsel of defeat and despair. Ethical values have
relevance to social facts. We must face up to the ugly facts of sin, pride and
greed. Human nature is essentially good and it is opposed to tyranny, injustice
and authoritarianism. Gandhi appeals to the hearts of men to root out fear,
guilt and faith in force. He tried to make his religion a vital part of his
life and applied it to the different problems he faced.
The tradition of tolerance,
not merely in a negative, but in a positive, sense, that is anappreciation
of other faiths, has been with us for centuries. Tolerance is not apathy, but
is conviction without condescension. Distances in space and time are abridged
through the devices of technology. Humanity is intimately united though deeply
divided. Responsible leaders of different faiths insist on the converging
concern of the people for the welfare of humanity. The convergence of common
purpose is the hope of the future.
Satyagraha
Many of the tensions that
exist in the world today grow out of important conflicts of interest. They
result from a lack of understanding of the feelings, needs, purposes and
objectives of people and governments.
Peace is not the absence
of conflict but it is the ability to cope with it. Satyagraha is based on love,
not on hate: on loving one’s opponents and suffering to convert them. It is
resistance to sin and not to the sinner. Aggressiveness is not an essential
part of human nature. Combativeness can be replaced by meekness and gentleness.
(Satyagraha demands discipline and may entail self-sacrifice, suffering, fasting,
imprisonment, and death, yet it has the supreme virtue of providing means
consonant with the highest ends.) The Cross indicates that the love which
suffers is more powerful than the force which inflicts suffering.
Racial Conflict
The greatest problem we
face today is that of racial conflict. Different races have come together as
they never did before. Gandhi had to face racial antagonism early in his career
in South Africa. He tried to rouse his neighbours to
a higher sense of humanity–the reconciliation of the people of different races.
He sought to overcome prejudices and asked for the surrender of privileges.
Race prejudice and discrimination are social phenomena.
Race problems are
man-made. Race prejudice is not an innate phenomenon. It is the result of
social training. The division of races into superior and inferior is of recent
history. The universal declaration of human rights pleads for equality among
races. It stresses the dignity of man and the value of the individual.
On the 5th of April,
Friday, the world was shocked to hear of the tragic assassination of Martin
Luther King Jr. He tried to work for social justice and racial equality through
methods of non-violence. He spoke in March, 1963, from the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial of a dream he had:
So even though we face the
difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. I have a dream that
one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed–that
all men are created equal. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi,
a state sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an
oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will
one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today. And if America is to be a great nation, this must become
true.
If we deny victory to
violence and adopt the methods sanctified by the life and death of Martin
Luther King Jr., America will recover her soul and become a great nation, and
humanity will move up many steps towards real freedom.
In India Gandhi struggled
hard to achieve communal harmony. In spite of his earnest efforts he did not
succeed to the extent he desired. The partition of India was an admission of
failure to achieve communal harmony. In December, 1947, when I last met Gandhi, I asked him about his feelings on the partition of
the country which he condemned in very strong terms. “It is not a question of
details but of principle. So no compromise is permissible on fundamental
principles.” His answer was, “I am too old to start a campaign now and my
trusted lieutenants have agreed to it”.1
Towards the end of his
life he was a lonely and frustrated man. Deep disillusion entered his soul
before the assassin’s bullet entered his body.2 Even
now we have unfortunately communal disturbances. It only shows that we have a
long way to go.
Inequalities between the
rich and the poor nations are a source of disquiet. Poverty, disease, ignorance
and illiteracy in the poorer nations are constant sources of discontent. The
poor and new nations are increasingly aware of their position and are anxious to
improve it. Nobody is willing to live in poverty and no body believes that it
is something to which we are destined. If the poor are not to die of hunger,
they will be obliged to take by force what others have. The violence will call
for counter-violence. Society must so organize that disparities between the
rich and the pour are diminished. Gandhi asked for freedom for the starving
million of India. His aim was complete identification with the poorest of
mankind, longing to live no better than they. Economic development of all parts
of mankind is essential if we are to remove a sense of humiliation and
resentment.
Political conflicts are
among the most formidable. Gandhi tried to plead with the British Government by
his method of Satyagraha.
Nationalism is more a state
of emotion than a rational thesis. While Gandhi believed in some good qualities
of the Indian people he also said that he would let India disappear if thereby
the world could be saved. Speaking to the Rotarians of Calcutta on August 18,
1925, Gandhi said:
We want freedom for our
country, but not at the expense or exploitation of others, not so as to degrade
other countries. For my own part I do not want the freedom of India if it means
extinction of England or the disappearance of Englishmen. I want the freedom of
my country so that other countries may learn something from my free country, so
that the resources of my country might be utilized for the benefit of mankind.
Just as the cult of patriotism teaches us today that the individual has to die
for the village, the village for the district, the district for the province,
and the province for the country, even so a country has to be free in order
that it may die, if necessary, for the benefit of the world. My love,
therefore, of nationalism is that my country may become free, that if need be, the
whole country may die, so that the human race may live. 3
The British thought he was
a trouble-maker. In St. Mary’s at Oxford, in the paneling on the ceiling, the
architect, in accordance with medieval traditions, put in a reference to
contemporary events which would help to determine the date. There over the
staircase on the farther side of the High Street, we have the British lion
putting its tongue out, a wild Irishman, the Russian bear and Gandhi in his loin-cloth
with his glasses on. These are some of the people who gave a great deal of
trouble to the British in those days. The movements of non-violent non-cooperation
hurt the pride of the British. The transfer of power to India and Pakistan took
place in the middle of August, 1947.4 This
was followed by the achievement of independence by many other States. But still
we have parts of Africa under colonial rule.
Political ideologies
divide the world today. Man is inclined to regard his own principles as wholly
right and the opposing ones as wholly wrong. From the time of the Greeks and
the barbarians, the Roman and the Carthagenians down
till today, these conflicts assume a religious character. The main problem is
to overcome the distrust in others as well as in ourselves. It is not possible
to believe what others say if we are convinced that what we hold is absolutely
true. We must be able to discriminate between truth and propaganda.
Gandhi tried by raising
the status of Harijans and the poor and treating men
and women as equals to develop an integrated society in India. This integration
is still at work and not complete. Innocent people distrust one another and
are indulging in looting, arson, pillage and damage to property. The
difficulties are ignorance, mutual distrust, discrimination, and lack of
employment. These must be attacked if the situation is to improve. It is not
the time for angry reactions. By indulging in violence we hurt ourselves. There
can be no freedom, no equal opportunity, no social justice in environment of
mob rule and lawless behaviour.
Unfortunately the
so-called youth movements, student behaviour, strikes
and demonstrations do not lay sufficient stress on the need for
self-discipline. In the name of grievances, which some people seem to enjoy,
they encourage self-indulgence and defiance of established authority. They are
symbolic of the spirit of dissent in an aroused nation. If nations are to
preserve their spiritual health they must check the increasing tendency to
dishonesty in public life, corruption in business, etc. Whatever religion we
may profess, self-restraint is its primary demand. Enjoyment is through
renunciation, says the Upanishad. We must work for a revolutionary
social order in a spirit of dedication.
We should realize from
history that great cultures are the results of intercourse with other cultures.
Christian civilization arose from an intercourse of Jewish heritage with Greek
thought and Roman organization. Today the great cultures have come together and
we must look upon man in his diversity and as a whole. The authority of the
spirit can bring about unity and salvation of mankind.
Non-Violence
In this rapidly changing
world where there are changes in communication, transport and space travel, the
human being is getting eliminated. He becomes a thing, a mere object. His hopes
and visions yield to the material ends of increased production and consumption.
He finds it difficult, if not impossible, to exercise independent judgment. We
have no personal dimension. We have lost our desire for private life. We become
helpless pawns with no freedom or choice of action. We become parts of a huge
machine and we sacrifice ourselves in an ecstasy of enthusiasm for the good of
the machine.
When conflicts occur
between races, nations and religions, they have to be overcome by a great
loyalty to the human race which should supersede all other subordinate royalties
–racial, national or credal.
Gandhi’s non-violence is
based on the higher aspects of human nature, which rebel against tyranny,
injustice and authoritarianism. The values derive from the hearts and will, of
men. Gandhi believes in the tremendous urge in human nature for peace and
freedom. The society which he aims at is already universally present in the
hearts of men though it may lie submerged. We have to bring it to the surface
by fighting the evil forces, political, social and psychological. For Gandhi,
non-violence involves an inner war, which requires us to defeat fear, greed,
anger and guilt. Whenever a great personality arises he challenges the spirit in
us and reminds, us that we are not just animals but
human beings. Gandhi’s purpose was to advance man’s progress towards a rational
world order. Education is the means by which we can build a democratic world
community. It assumes that man has freedom to shape his own future. We must
direct the evolutionary process towards the goal of a world without fear,
without hate and without war. This ambition was too high to succeed. The God of
the Gita suggests, “Bring me thy failure.” Judged by the death on the
Cross, Jesus mission was a failure but it has changed history.
We are familiar with the
age-old question: What would happen if an irresistible force met an immovable
body? The result would be an inconceivable disturbance until the force of the
spirit subdues the environment to its own pattern. The tumult would become a travail. Gandhi’s “failure” brought nearer the goal of a
world based an sanity and peace.
We must act as though the
ideal is attainable. We must try for the impossible to realize whatever is possible.
Peace is not a possession but a perpetual aspiration.
Gandhi had great faith, in
spite of appearances to the contrary, that a period of peace and freedom is
within the realm of the possible and within our reach. The Kingdom of God is
near at hand. Men of faith and dedication, conviction and sanity are the
followers of Gandhi’s ideals and creators of the future. They are the hope, the
promise: we have to work for the fulfilment of the
new social order. Gandhi is the immortal symbol of love and understanding in a
world wild with hatred and torn by misunderstanding. He belongs to the ages, to
history.
References
1 July 14, 1947: Prayer
Meeting. He said “I do not agree with what my closest friends have done or are
doing.”
2 October 2, 1947. On his last
birthday, in reply to felicitations, he said, “Where do congratulations come
in? It will be more appropriate to say condolences. There is nothing but
anguish in my heart.”
3 Tendulkar, Mahatma, Vol. II. p.
263.
4 Lord Attlee took the
final steps in the grant of independence to India. An American journalist said
to Attlee. “I agree in principle with your policy in India and Burma but I
cannot help thinking you have pushed on too fast. Would it not have been better
to delay a few years and make such great changes more slowly?” To This Lord
Attlee replied, “No doubt we could have held India and Burma for two or three
years longer. But we could have done so only at the cost of a great expenditure
of men and money and in doing so we should have made certain that when they
achieved independence they did so in bitterness and in a determination to break
clear of Britain for ever. You cannot build or maintain a commonwealth on a foundation
of bitterness and distrust. The only safe foundation is friendship and common
interest. We have turned nations who might have been enemies into friends. That
is worth taking risks for.”
From Mahatma Gandhi: 100 Years