Gandhian thought covers many aspects of human life. Gandhi, as leader of Indian national movement, and as prolific writer has commented on very many things. His thought is multi-dimensional and covers political, social, economic, religious and ethical aspects of human life. His ideas emerged partly from his inner religious convictions, partly from the exigencies of forging strategies for a mass political movement and partly from the influence of others such as Tolstoy, Carlyle and Thoreau. Gandhi was also influenced by ethical principles embedded in Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism and Christianity. It is impossible to cover all aspects of Gandhian thought within a short span. However, we will discuss those aspects of Gandhian thought which have a special bearing on ethics.
There is of course a difficulty in that no part of Gandhian thought can altogether be separated from ethics. His ideas are generally expressed in moral categories or terminology. Ethical theories provide the underpinnings for Gandhian thought in any sphere. Evolution of Gandhian ideas took place within a matrix of non-violent mass political struggle. In the process, they went through some twists and turns. Any general outline of Gandhian ethical ideas has to concern itself with the major ethical streams which flow through them. We will now consider the major moral themes embedded in Gandhianthought.
Gandhi is not an academic thinker. Further, as a mass leader, he was concerned more with praxis or practice than with theory. He had to communicate with untutored masses. Although his thoughts are not illogical, they are based on premises whose truth is taken for granted. These premises are essentially the core moral values to which Gandhi subscribes. Gandhi has a feeling of inner certainty about them. Based on such values, Gandhi has created a moral system which also served as the framework for his political practice. In this sense, Gandhi’s ethics and his political action are intertwined.
Gandhi has a deep and abiding faith in God, and has written extensively about his conception of God. However, these ideas, really speaking, belong to theology or religious theory. So, we need not discuss the nature of God in Gandhian thought. But a few words on the subject are necessary since Gandhi derives his political ideology from his desire to realise God. His conception of God–though Gandhi was fond of Lord Rama–is not derived from any particular religion. He regards God as an impersonal force and benevolent governor of the world. God is present (or immanent) in every human soul.
We will now consider how Gandhi’s chief moral ideas and practices follow from his conception of God. It is impossible to establish clear logical links in his thought processes because the ideas involved are mystical. In other words, they belong to religious mysticism than to pure logic. Gandhi considers that the ultimate goal of man is to realise the vision of God. And realisation of God is impossible unless one follows the path of truth, love, non violence and service to humanity.
Gandhi narrates various divine attributes and posits equivalence between these individual attributes and God. Incidentally, God in Hindu conception is eternal, all knowing, all powerful and absolutely benevolent. God has no form or qualities — Nirguna, Nirakara Brahman. The representations of God in Hindu temples are symbolic. The Christian God is personal, and has the triune form of Father, Son (Christ) and Holy Spirit (Christ’s appearance in spiritual form after his crucifixion).
Returning to Gandhi’s conception of God, we may note that Gandhi regards God as Truth, Love, Fearlessness, and the source of Light and Life. He says that God and his Law are the same. God is also Truth-Knowledge-Bliss (Sat-Chit-Ananda).
Gandhi draws several conclusions from these equivalences. Men should emulate, to the extent they can, the divine attributes in their conduct. Of course, as human beings, men can never reach the perfection of divine virtues. However, they should strive with all their strength to follow the virtues
of truth, love, nonviolence, tolerance, fearlessness, charity and service to mankind. Men have to uphold the right, regardless of the personal consequences they may face. As we shall see, Gandhi urges Satyagrhis (those keen in pursuit of truth or a right cause or nonviolent protestors) to adopt these virtues.
As mentioned above, Gandhi equates God with truth and love. Love is another name of nonviolence. Gandhi regarded that men should be guided by the objective of realizing the vision of God. This aim should inform all their activities—personal, political or social. Now, as God is truth and love or nonviolence, practising these two virtues is the way to reach God.
Gandhi equates God also with truth. He designated his religion as ‘religion of truth’. To start with, Gandhi used to say that God is truth. Later, he changed it to ‘truth is God’ to show that truth constitutes the divine essence. He uses a metaphor to explain his meaning. Individual man is like a spark of truth. When all the sparks combine, they result in an indescribable divine conflagration.
Gandhi’s metaphor is rather obscure. In modern logic, truth and falsehood are the properties of propositions. Modern philosophers subscribe to two theories of truth. One is called the correspondence theory of truth. It says that a statement is true if what it alleges describes an existing state of affairs in the world. A true statement corresponds to some fact in the world. For example, ‘there is a dog near the gate’. This statement will be true if there is really a dog near the gate.
The second conception of truth is based on coherence theory. It says that a statement is true if it is consistent with a system of ideas or beliefs that one holds. In other words, a true idea is part of a consistent set of beliefs. In the first view, truth reduces to a question of empirical verification. In the coherence theory, truth is a matter of logical consistency.
Gandhi’s idea of truth is not taken from epistemology or theory of knowledge. He views truth in the form it often takes in lofty discussions of religion, theology and metaphysics. It is an ideal of human conduct; it shows how men should order their social, political and economic world. It applies to entities such as political or social causes and movements. Thus Gandhi regarded that the Indian struggle for independence stands for truth because it represents a just struggle for national and individual autonomy. Truth in this sense is not amenable to strict logical analysis. It is part of what we would now call ‘a value system’. However, one can examine whether the things described as ‘truth’ form part of a consistent set of ideas. There is no doubt that ‘truth’ in this meaning fits into the larger canvas of Gandhian thought.
Incidentally, we may note here Tolstoy’s influence on Gandhi. Tolstoy says, “The heroine of my writing is she, whom I love with all the force of being. She who always was, is and will be beautiful is truth.” Gandhi announces: “I am devoted to nothing but truth and I owe no discipline to anybody but truth.”
There is another way in which Gandhi’s concept of God underpins his practical actions. As we have already noted, realisation of vision of God ought to be man’s principal aim in life. The only way to see God is through his creation and by identifying oneself with it. This is possible only through service to humanity. Gandhi speaks in this context of merging oneself with humanity and
of regarding oneself as a part of a larger whole. Gandhi’s emphasis on social service also follows from this view. There is no escape from social service to those in search of divine vision. It has to be the be-all and end-all of their life.
For Gandhi, human brotherhood and oneness follow from the unity of life. As part of God’s creation, men share the same life. There can be no real differences between them. From this angle, distinctions based on gender, caste, creed, language and nationality are trivial; what counts is the underlying unity of life of mankind. One can see that the principle of unity of life leads to Gandhian concepts of secularism or religious toleration, human equality, and explains his life long battle against untouchability.
As Gandhi identified God with virtues, it follows that men should be pure in heart. Gandhi insisted on cleanliness even in its physical manifestations. The Ashrams and their surroundings had to be spic and span with no litter, dirt or filth. He believed in the adage that cleanliness is next to godliness. Morally, Gandhi advocated self-purification. This is part of the personal morality derived from religion. Modern readers will feel that Gandhi pushed some ideas to excess. He had a natural revulsion to non vegetarian food. His autobiography shows that his onetime secret consumption of meat in childhood proved traumatic. He also appears to have been troubled by the normal sexuality which is part of marriage.
More importantly, Gandhi firmly believed that even for attaining noble objectives, men have to only adopt good means. No good can follow from bad deeds, even if they are well intentioned. In this regard, we may also recall the saying that, “The path to hell is paved with good intentions”. This is known as the ‘ends and means’ debate. Some writers (e.g. Machaivelli) argue that bad means can be used to achieve good ends. What matters is the end. The sacrifices which society bears in adopting evil means are compensated by the noble ends which are attained.
However, few thinkers now support the view that ends justify the means. Human experience has shown that in the name of pursuing noble ends, untold misery and suffering have been inflicted on innocent men and women. This happened during religious wars which Catholics and Protestants fought in Europe during the sixteenth century. A more recent example is from Soviet Union. Stalin pursued an utterly ruthless policy of collectivization of private farm holdings in pursuit of communist ideology, and in the process massacred millions of Kulaks or Russian peasants. For pursuing the putative ideals, Stalin used evil means unmindful of their terrible human costs.
Gandhi constantly emphasised that means have to be pure. This follows ipso facto from the conception of God as the embodiment of virtues. In following unethical means in any matter, we will be acting in opposition to divine injunctions. He regarded ends and means as interchangeable terms.
Now, we proceed to a consideration of the main concepts associated with Gandhian thought. First, we outline the idea of non violence or ahimsa. Before doing so, we need to briefly outline Gandhi’s conception of the moral order in the universe. The world is such that men can realise their moral
ideals. Man has a divine spark in him. As a spiritual being, he cannot follow the mores of animal life or its ruthless struggles. Violence and self-assertion are alien to him. Rather he is benevolent with a desire to help others. The will to power–the desire to subjugate and crush others–is not a part of his nature. He is gentle, humble, kind, generous, loving and considerate. Gandhi sides with those philosophers like Rousseau and David Hume, who regard man as inherently good and benevolent. His conception of humanity is radically opposed to those thinkers who regard man as essentially selfish and bent upon imposing his will ruthlessly on others. Gandhi also believed that men are reasonable, willing to see the viewpoints of others, and partly accommodate their viewpoints through rational discussion.
Gandhi explained ahimsa in negative and positive terms. The negative view of ahimsa implies the following.
¤ It is refraining from killing or injuring others.
¤ One should not harm anyone by thought, word or deed.
¤ Violence has to be shunned in all its aspects.
The positive view embraces the following aspects.
¤ Non-violence does not just mean that one avoids injuring others. One should also show overflowing love to mankind and all living beings.
¤ Ahimsa is closely linked to truth, and to man’s search for God. As God is truth and love and as love is ahimsa, man can realise God only by pursuing ahimsa. Gandhi regards truth and non-violence to be inseparable.
Many prerequisites are necessary for steadfast pursuit of ahimsa. Foremost among these are truthfulness and fearlessness. Men need only fear God and no one else. If men obey God, they need not worry about any human agency. From this follows the doctrine of Satyagraha which denotes fearless pursuit of truth. Satyagraha is the name which Gandhi gave to the peaceful protests against British rule in India.
Ahimsa requires complete self-purification. It also needs faith in the existence of soul which is distinct from body. Ahimsa is described as ‘soul force’, ‘power of Atman’, ‘power of love’ and utter selflessness.
Selflessness in turn signifies total indifference to body. It seems that Gandhi’s aim is to strengthen the resolve of the freedom fighters, and to encourage them to be prepared to undergo bodily pain. Anger and hatred are the opposite poles of ahimsa. Hatred is a very subtle form of violence.
Men should rather win over their enemies by love. One should not reply violence with counter violence. Ahimsa means that one’s love should be extended to one’s enemies. It is similar to Christ’s injunction: Love thy enemy.
Non-violence, in its active sense, includes truth and fearlessness. Gandhi insists that non-violence is not a creed of inaction. Nor is it for the weak or the timid. Non-violence does not signify meek acceptance of evil. It is better to be violent than to be cowardly. Gandhi naturally feared that nonviolence may become a convenient alibi for avoiding confrontation with the British rulers.
Non-violence requires humility for it relies solely on God. One does not use any physical means to resist force. Non-violence is superior to vengeance which is based on apprehended harm.
Vengeance is better than meek surrender to superior force. But forgiveness is the best for it shows strength and courage. In sum, many qualities — such as truthfulness, selflessness, absence of anger, pride and hate, benevolence, altruism, courage, magnanimity, humility and total submission to God
— are comprised in nonviolence.
Gandhi advocated that evil should be tackled by means of non-violent non-cooperation with it. One should hate the evil deed but not its perpetrator. The logic for this belief is that men are the children of the same God, and that attacking even a single individual is an attack on the whole of humanity. If all cooperation with evil is withdrawn, it will have nothing to act upon.
This logic applies to individuals as well as to institutions and systems. To fight an unjust system Gandhi advocated non-violent non-cooperation. To fight the British imperial rule, Gandhi relied on civil disobedience and passive resistance. Gandhi borrowed the idea of civil disobedience from Henry Thoreau, a famous American thinker. Thoreau’s books relevant in this context are Resistance to Civil Government and his autobiography A Yankee in Canada. A civil resistor simply ignores the authority of the government. He opposes the unjust laws imposed on him without resorting to violence.
Gandhi traces all social, political, economic and religious problems to violence. Non-violence holds the key to the solution of these problems. Gandhi argues that non-violence can be a potent weapon in the hands of masses. Non-violent non-cooperation of masses is not a rebellion; it is a revolution — but an evolutionary revolution. Gandhi considered such mass movements as bloodless revolutions in the sphere of spirit and thought.
Gandhi often resorted to fasting as a weapon of Satyagraha. He thought that fasting has a spiritual value and that it heightens the effect of prayer. For those who believe in nonviolence, it is an ultimate weapon. In extreme situations, a Satyagrahi should be prepared to fast unto death.
A Satyagrahi is the foot soldier of the passive resistance movement. He has to embody the virtues of truth and nonviolence. The effectiveness of the civil disobedience movements will depend on him; he will also be on display as a model of Gandhian values. Gandhi prescribes various virtues which a Satyagrahi needs to cultivate.
A Satyagrahi should be truthful, nonviolent, honest, and eschew material possessions and sexual desires. Realisation of God is impossible if one does not eradicate sexual desire. Sexual act in so far as it promotes procreation is noble. Any other use of it is a sin. Brahmacharya (avoiding sexual activity) has to be observed in thought, word and deed—Mano, Vacha, ftarmani.
Gandhi prescribes a severe code for the Satyagrahi which includes harsh moral discipline, control of senses and ascetic self-denial. The qualities which a Satyagrahi has to cultivate are shown in the table below.
Humility | Silence | Renunciation |
Self-sacrifice | Thought control | Non-violence |
Universal benevolence | Non use of drinks and drugs |
He should earn his living; he has to do manual work and cut down his wants to bare necessities. He should show respect to all men and women and to all religions. He has to discharge his duties diligently without making undue claims. He should be like an enthusiastic voluntary soldier ever ready to undertake onerous tasks.
In this connection, we may recall the 11 vows which residents of Kochrab and Sabarmati ashrams had to observe,
The vows were:
¤ Satya: Truth
¤ Ahimsa: Non-violence
¤ Brahmacharya: Celibacy
¤ Asvada: Control of the palate
¤ Asteya: No stealing
¤ Aparigraha or Asangraha: Not having personal possessions
¤ Sharira Sharama: Physical labour
¤ Swadeshi: Indigenization
¤ Abhaya: Fearlessness
¤ Asprishyaatanivarana: Removal ofuntouchability
¤ Sarva Dharma Sambhava: Respect for all religions
The first five were the most important and are found in all religions. Bapu called them ‘Panch Mahavratas’. The world may have seen Gandhi as a freedom fighter and political leader, but in his heart he was a ‘sadhak’ - one who is in search of God. He believed that the service of humankind was the best way to realise God, which was the driving force behind most of his rules.
Introduction
Gandhian ethics cover economic sphere also. Gandhi says that everyone should earn his bread with his own hands or through manual labour. He calls it bread labour, and it alone gives man his right to eat. It is impossible for a few to amass wealth without exploiting the rest. Exploitation is a form of violence. As men have a right to live, they are entitled to the means of securing food, shelter and clothing.
Gandhi does not propose drastic or violent means of bringing about economic equality. Ideally, wealth should be distributed equally among all members of the society. As this is impracticable, Gandhi proposes that wealth should be shared equitably. He urges that people should reduce their wants and live a simple life. This process will release resources which can be used to help the poor.
Doctrine of Trusteeship
Gandhi has introduced a concept in which the rich are regarded as trustees of wealth. Ultimately, as all property belongs to God, the excess or superfluous wealth which the rich possess belongs to society and should be used for supporting the poor. Wealthy people have no moral right to what is more than their proportionate share in national wealth. They simply become trustees for the disproportionate share of God’s property they hold. They have to use it for helping the poor.
Gandhi and Marx
Gandhi opposes forcible distribution of wealth since it will lead to violence. He therefore proposes that the wealthy have to hold their excess wealth as trustees and help the poor. This view differs sharply from communist and socialist ideologies. Karl Marx argued that capitalists and workers (or rich and poor in general terms) are antagonistic classes and that there is an ongoing class war between them. Marx advocates communist revolution through violent overthrow of the capitalist State. Gandhi favours class harmony, nonviolence and voluntary sharing of wealth by the rich.
Gandhi also identified what he called as seven social sins. These are politics without principles; wealth without work; commerce without morality; education without character; science without humanity; pleasure without conscience and worship without sacrifice.
Religious Tolerance
Gandhi was the greatest advocate of religious tolerance. He preached equality of religions based on the following principles:
¤ God is unfathomable and unknowable and reigns above us all.
¤ God reveals himself in many ways all the time and evokes human religious sentiments.
¤ Nonviolence is a central theme of all religions.
¤ All religions are prone to errors and imperfections.
¤ All religions are continually evolving towards realisation of higher truth.
Gandhi regarded that the essence of Christianity lies not in Christology but in its conception of ethics as the means to truth. Boundless love and absence of retaliatory violence are fundamental tenets of Christianity.
In the present time, the Gandhian emphasis on communal harmony is especially relevant to national integration. Gandhi did not merely pay lip sympathy to communal harmony. He considered it as a means of promoting an unbreakable bond of brotherhood between followers of different religions. It has to be rooted, according to Gandhi, in equal respect for all religions. One must show for other religions the same regard he accords to his own. If people adopt this attitude, religion will no longer be a source of discord but of harmony. All religions preach that men should live harmoniously.
Summary
¤ The Hindu conception of the four principal moral ends of life consists of — Dharma (moral law), Artha (wealth), Kama (desire), and Moksha (salvation).
¤ Dharma is the correct way in which a human being has to fulfil his personal, social and moral needs.
¤ Some hold that it is a command of God. Other writers consider that moral law is not embodied in God, but that it is a moral ideal which transcends the physical world of space and time.
¤ Artha in the sense of wealth stands for material means of well-being.
¤ Kama refers to desires common to men living within family fold.
¤ Hindu ethics subordinate happiness to dharma or virtue.
¤ The ultimate goal which Hinduism prescribes is that soul should be liberated from the
constraints of the physical world and its myriad problems.
¤ Moksha means that the self lives in its pure spiritual form or essence free from the encumbrances of the physical world of senses or of the material universe of space and time.
¤ Hinduism also has an ethic which links an individual’s morals to his membership of a social
group. It is the famous Varnashrama dharma.
¤ Apart from the morals arising from one’s station in society, there are duties which have to be performed at different stages of life – Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha and Sanyas.
¤ In modern age, it means that one has to faithfully work wherever one is employed.
¤ Bhagavat Gita is the chief religious and moral treatise of Hindus.
¤ Bhagavat Gita prescribes that man should perform his duty without any desire for its fruits, without attachment and aversion, and without getting distracted by selfish and base motives. In brief, duty has to be performed for its own sake. Duties are performed for the welfare of humanity and for the good of all living creatures. Ultimately, duties have to be performed for realizing the vision of God.
¤ One has to control bad emotions such as – attachment, aversion, illusions, fears, lust, grief, anger, hatred, malice and envy. What we would call positive emotions are to be cultivated. These include universal goodwill and benevolence, kindness towards people in trouble, magnanimity, serenity, indifference to worldly concerns, and love and devotion to God.
¤ Unlike in Buddhism and Jainism, God is central to the moral system of the Gita.
¤ According to Gita, there are three paths to the realisation of God – through action, devotion and knowledge.
¤ Gita associates a man’s station in life, his Varna, and his psychological attributes. Experience shows that one’s profession generally leaves a mark on one’s character. Modern psychology also refers to human psychological types.
¤ Virtues which the Gita mentions are characteristic of the three principal occupational groups of the society. In modern terms, they can be associated with intellectual, heroic and commercial virtues.
¤ Comparison of Hindu ethics with Western moral ideals like hedonism, utilitarianism or
Kant’s ideas of duty is generally inappropriate.
¤ Bhagavat Gita mentions both positive and negative emotions.
¤ At one level, Gita’s message is addressed to those who are totally concerned with realisation of God. Such idealistic injunctions and a pronounced ‘other worldliness’ may create an impression that the message of Gita, though sublime, is unsuited to the normal situations of social life. But the message of Gita, rooted as it is in the concept of human duty, is universal and timeless in its appeal and relevance.
¤ To understand ancient Indian writers, we have to enter their social world using historical
and psychological imagination.
¤ Law of karma is a matter of faith. It is not a verifiable scientific idea.
¤ ftarma theory leads to social and economic conservatism. Though it is not the same as fatalism, and though the effects of bad deeds can be overcome, it has created a negative or
fatalistic outlook. In modern times, Swami Vivekananda worked indefatigably to remove these cobwebs from the Hindu psyche.
¤ Manu regarded the customary law of the society or achara as the standard. It is sanctified by practice over many generations. For Manu, Vedas provide the moral standard. He also recognises conscience as a source of law.
¤ Indian ethics consider moderation (samyama) as a moral standard. We can find these ideas in Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism.
¤ In Indian ethics, both political law and divine law are mentioned as moral standards.
¤ Jainism dates back to sixth century B.C.
¤ Like Buddhism, Jainism also arose partly in reaction to the ritualism which marked Vedic
religion.
¤ Ahimsa is a core moral principle of Jainism. It lays down that no existent being with life or the essence or potential of life should be injured.
¤ For a Jain, life is a spiritual odyssey towards divine consciousness.
¤ The five common moral principles applicable both to monks and householders consist of: refraining from violence towards any living things; speaking the truth; refraining from theft; shunning adultery; and eschewing greed for material wealth.
¤ The concept of God or a supreme being governing the universe is lacking in Jainism. The world, in its view, is governed by natural laws. In this regard, Jainism has a parallel in Stoicism. Anotheraffinitywith Stoicismconsistsin itsadvocacyofausterebodilyandmentaldiscipline.
¤ In their pursuit of self-perfection, men have to abandon pride. In a way, this idea also finds an echo in Christianity — pride is one of the seven deadly sins.
¤ Jainism traces human pride or arrogance to eight sources.
¤ The essence of Buddha’s teaching is contained in the Four Noble Truths.
¤ The four truths are: the truth of dukkha; the truth of the origin of the dukkha; the truth of
cessation of dukkha; and the truth of the path leading to the cessation of dukkha.
¤ The three types of dukkha are: dukkha of ordinary suffering; the anxiety or stress in trying
to hold on to things that are continuously changing; and the dukkha of conditioned states.
¤ The purpose of understanding the nature of dukkha is to transcend it.
¤ The origin of dukkha is traced to craving (tanha) conditioned by ignorance (avijia). Craving runs along three tracks – all linked to attachment to sensual pleasures and worldly objects.
¤ The third noble truth is cessation of all the unsatisfactory experiences and their causes in a
manner that they cannot recur.
¤ Cessation of dukkha is the objective of Buddhist spiritual practices.
¤ The fourth noble path is the way to end dukkha. It is called the eightfold path.
¤ It consists of: Right Understanding; Right Thought; Right Speech; Right Action; Right Livelihood; Right Effort; Right Mindfulness; and Right Concentration. The first three paths help in understanding the nature of dukkha. The fourth path is a practical means of overcoming dukkha.
¤ Right view is the intellectual aspect of wisdom.
¤ Right intention is commitment to moral and mental self-improvement.
¤ Right speech is route to moral discipline which sustains other virtues.
¤ Right action includes: acting kindly and compassionately; to be honest; to respect the
belongings of others; and to avoid sexual misconduct.
¤ Right livelihood implies that one should follow righteous means of earning bread and that wealth has to be earned only through legal and nonviolent ways.
¤ Right effort refers to harnessing psychic energy towards production of wholesome mental
states.
¤ Buddha says that we should perceive the world clearly and should not get carried away by the working of intellectual processes. For this purpose, he recommends four foundations of right mindfulness.
¤ These are contemplation of body, of feeling, of state of the mind and of the phenomena.
¤ Right concentration signifies single-pointedness of the mind in which all mental faculties are unified and directed towards a single object. This leads to a mental state without passions, to self-control and tranquility.
¤ To concentrate on complete self-realisation, men need to follow three golden rules of taking shelter in Buddha, in Dharma and in Sangha.
¤ Buddhism prescribes various morals for harmonious family and social life.
¤ Buddha preached that everyone should cultivate happiness, security and peace.
¤ Buddhism steers a middle course between extreme self-denial and excessive pursuit of material pleasures.
¤ Buddhism has a strong streak of altruism. It advocates universal compassion, benevolence and kindness to all life forms.
¤ Buddhist approach is based on a rational outlook.
¤ Gandhian thought is multi-dimensional and covers political, social, economic, religious and ethical aspects of human life. His ideas emerged partly from his inner religious convictions, partly from the exigencies of forging strategies for a mass political movement and partly from the influence of others such as Tolstoy, Carlyle and Thoreau.
¤ Ethical theories provide the underpinnings for Gandhian thought in any sphere. Evolution of Gandhian ideas took place within a matrix of non-violent mass political struggle. In the process, they went through some twists and turns.
¤ Gandhi has a deep and abiding faith in God, and has written extensively about his conception of God.
¤ He regards God as an impersonal force and benevolent governor of the world. God is
present (or immanent) in every human soul.
¤ Gandhi considers that the ultimate goal of man is to realise the vision of God. And realisation of God is impossible unless one follows the path of truth, love, non-violence and service to humanity.
¤ Men should emulate, to the extent they can, the divine attributes in their conduct.
¤ Gandhi equates God with truth and love; as God is truth and love or nonviolence, practising
these two virtues is the way to reach God.
¤ Gandhi equates God also with truth. He designated his religion as ‘religion of truth’
¤ Truth for Gandhi is not an epistemological concept; it is part of what we would now call ‘a value system’.
¤ Tolstoy influenced Gandhi in his thinking on truth.
¤ Gandhi preached that the only way to see God is through his creation and by identifying
oneself with it. This is possible only through service to humanity.
¤ For Gandhi, human brotherhood and oneness follow from the unity of life. As part of God’s
creation, men share the same life.
¤ As Gandhi identified God with virtues, it follows that men should be pure in heart. Gandhi
insisted on cleanliness even in its physical manifestations.
¤ Gandhi firmly believed that even for attaining noble objectives, men have to adopt only
good means.
¤ Gandhi constantly emphasised that means have to be pure. This follows ipso facto from the conception of God as the embodiment of virtues.
¤ Man has a divine spark in him. Gandhi also believed that men are reasonable, willing to see the viewpoints of others, and partly accommodate their viewpoints through rational discussion.
¤ Gandhi explained ahimsa in both negative and positive terms. These have been mentioned earlier as points.
¤ Ahimsa requires complete self-purification. It also needs faith in the existence of soul which is distinct from body. Ahimsa is described as ‘soul force’, ‘power of Atman’, ‘power of love’ and utter selflessness.
¤ Many prerequisites are necessary for steadfast pursuit of ahimsa. Foremost among these are truthfulness and fearlessness. Men need only fear God and no one else.
¤ Gandhi advocated that evil should be tackled by means of non-violent non-cooperation with it. One should hate the evil deed but not its perpetrator.
¤ If all cooperation with evil is withdrawn, it will have nothing to act upon.
¤ Gandhi argues that non-violence can be a potent weapon in the hands of masses. Non-violent non-cooperation of masses is not a rebellion.
¤ A Satyagrahi is the foot soldier of the passive resistance movement. He has to embody the virtues of truth and non-violence. Gandhi prescribes various virtues which a Satyagrahi needs to cultivate.
¤ Gandhian ethics cover economic sphere also.
¤ Gandhi says that everyone should earn his bread with his own hands or through manual
labour. He calls it bread labour, and it alone gives man his right to eat.
¤ It is impossible for a few to amass wealth without exploiting the rest.
¤ Gandhi has introduced a concept in which the rich are regarded as trustees of wealth. Ultimately, as all property belongs to God, the excess or superfluous wealth which the rich possess belongs to society and should be used for supporting the poor.
¤ Gandhi’s ideas on economics differ radically from Marxianideas.
¤ Gandhi was the greatest advocate of religious tolerance. He preached equality of religions
based on certain fundamental principles.
¤ In the present time, the Gandhian emphasis on communal harmony is especially relevant to national integration. Gandhi did not merely pay lip sympathy to communal harmony. He considered it is a means of promoting an unbreakable bond of brotherhood between followers of different religions.
PRACTICE QUESTIONS
1. What are the four moral ends of Hinduism? Outline them in brief
2. How can we interpret Varnashrama dharma in the modern context?
3. Briefly distinguish Hindu ethics from hedonism, utilitarianism and Kantianism.
4. What is the law of karma? Can it come in the way of individual initiative and effort?
5. Some thinkers consider that Hinduism is too metaphysical and other worldly. Do you agree? Give reasons in support of your answer.
6. Are there any aspects of Hindu ethics which are relevant to modern administrators?
7. What are the positive moral principles which can be derived from Hindu ethics?
8. What are the five moral ideas which Jainism emphasises?
9. Briefly outline the differences between Jain and Hindu ethics.
10. What are the four noble truths of Buddhism? Discuss briefly.
11. Outline briefly the eightfold path to enlightenment which Buddha preached.
12. Discuss some parallels between Buddhism and modern ideas on emotional intelligence.
13. What aspects of Buddhist teaching are based on human rationality?
14. What is the relevance of Buddha’s message to modern Indian society?
15. Outline briefly how Tolstoy, Ruskin and Thoreau influenced Gandhi.
16. How did Gandhi’s conception of God influence his ideas and actions?
17. Briefly discuss Gandhi’s concept of non-violence. Has it any relevance in dealing with Naxalite movement?
18. Discuss Gandhi’s ideas on truth.
19. Explain Gandhi’s concept of Satyagraha. Do you think that Gandhi adopted it only as a political strategy since India could not hope then to fight against the might of the British Empire?
20. Briefly discuss Gandhi’s concept of non-violent non-cooperation.
21. Explain briefly the concept of trusteeship which Gandhi proposed? Is it realistic?
22. Write short notes on; (i) Nishkama Karma (ii) Achara (iii) dharma (iv) karma
(v) ‘pride’ in Jain morality (vi) origin of dukkha (vii) Right Speech (viii) Right Livelihood (ix) samyama (x) soul force (xi) bread labour.
REFERENCES
Jadunath Sinha, A Manual of Ethics
S. Radhakrishnan, The Hindu View of Life
Cambridge University, The Ancient History of India (older text)
Surendranath Dasgupta, A history of Indian Philosophy Volume 1
