His Words
" I could not 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. The whole gamut of man's activities today constitutes an indivisible whole. You cannot divide social, economic, political and purely religious work into watertight compartments. 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'. "
So much has already been said and written about Mahatma Gandhi. The depth of his personality and range of his work also make it difficult to decide what aspect of his life or work to focus on. There are four aspects of his thought and message, which are of increasing relevance in today’s world. Tolerance, Pluralism The first is his belief in tolerance.
According to him nobody has the monopoly of truth. Much of the suffering endured by humanity during successive epochs of history has been the result of bigotry. The world has never lacked persons who were convinced not only that they were right but that everyone else was wrong. From this, it is but a short step to believe that all countervailing ideologies or value systems must be destroyed. Gandhi rejected this version of truth. He held that no religion teaches intolerance. His prayers every morning and evening were inter faith and consisted of hymns from Hindu, Muslim, Christian and other religious scriptures. He said that we must always appreciate and try to see the validity in our opponent’s point of view.
We must respect the right to dissent. No one has the right to force others to abandon their truth in favour of yours. From this sprang his belief in tolerance. C.Rajagopachari known affectionately as Rajaji, differed from Gandhi on several issues. He was against the launching of the Quit India movement in 1942 and favoured the formation of Pakistan. But Gandhi had the greatest regard for him and he was India’s first Indian Governor General. Ambedkar had serious differences with Gandhi over untouchability but it was Gandhi who insisted that Ambedkar should be free India’s first Law Minister. Gandhi held that Indian society was pluralistic. It is an open civilization with permeable boundaries allowing new influences to flow in and vitalize the old.
Over the centuries, Gandhi said, Indians “blended with one another with the utmost freedom and made India a microcosm of the world.” “Our civilization is a synthesis of different cultures. It is neither Hindu, Muslim, Christian but a fusion of all of them.” All his life Gandhi fought religious hatred and worked for communal harmony and peace. Towards the end of his life this became his mission. He went from village to village in Noakhali and then in Bihar and from Bihar to Kolkata to extinguish the flames of communal hatred.
He firmly believed that India was a plural society. This is a message of Gandhi which is very relevant today. Peaceful Resolution of Conflicts The second aspect I want to emphasize is Gandhi’s belief that conflicts should be resolved peacefully, in a non violent manner. Injustice must be opposed but not in a violent manner. When he was thrown out of a train in Petermaritzberg in South Africa, he could have suffered the humiliation without protest. But Gandhi refused to board the compartment reserved for non Whites and walked all the way to his destination.
He evolved the technique of Satyagraha which means truth force. It was not passive resistance but active opposition to any form of injustice. In South Africa he used it to fight racial discrimination and in India to oppose British rule. Gandhi’s concept of non violent protest, emphasis on means as ends in themselves , the insistence on conversion of the opponent by persuasion rather than coercion are recognized as valid and useable methods in conflict situations. Discussion and persuasion, according to him, were better ways to deal with a conflict situation. He laid stress on compromise, consensus, winning over the opponent, rather than overt clashes. Violence only leads to further violence, it is a vicious circle therefore, avoid violence conflict and find out areas of agreement that could produce a settlement. If all such efforts fail, then one had to launch a satygraha and be prepared to bear all the suffering involved.
" I could not 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. The whole gamut of man's activities today constitutes an indivisible whole. You cannot divide social, economic, political and purely religious work into watertight compartments. 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'. "
So much has already been said and written about Mahatma Gandhi. The depth of his personality and range of his work also make it difficult to decide what aspect of his life or work to focus on. There are four aspects of his thought and message, which are of increasing relevance in today’s world. Tolerance, Pluralism The first is his belief in tolerance.
According to him nobody has the monopoly of truth. Much of the suffering endured by humanity during successive epochs of history has been the result of bigotry. The world has never lacked persons who were convinced not only that they were right but that everyone else was wrong. From this, it is but a short step to believe that all countervailing ideologies or value systems must be destroyed. Gandhi rejected this version of truth. He held that no religion teaches intolerance. His prayers every morning and evening were inter faith and consisted of hymns from Hindu, Muslim, Christian and other religious scriptures. He said that we must always appreciate and try to see the validity in our opponent’s point of view.
We must respect the right to dissent. No one has the right to force others to abandon their truth in favour of yours. From this sprang his belief in tolerance. C.Rajagopachari known affectionately as Rajaji, differed from Gandhi on several issues. He was against the launching of the Quit India movement in 1942 and favoured the formation of Pakistan. But Gandhi had the greatest regard for him and he was India’s first Indian Governor General. Ambedkar had serious differences with Gandhi over untouchability but it was Gandhi who insisted that Ambedkar should be free India’s first Law Minister. Gandhi held that Indian society was pluralistic. It is an open civilization with permeable boundaries allowing new influences to flow in and vitalize the old.
Over the centuries, Gandhi said, Indians “blended with one another with the utmost freedom and made India a microcosm of the world.” “Our civilization is a synthesis of different cultures. It is neither Hindu, Muslim, Christian but a fusion of all of them.” All his life Gandhi fought religious hatred and worked for communal harmony and peace. Towards the end of his life this became his mission. He went from village to village in Noakhali and then in Bihar and from Bihar to Kolkata to extinguish the flames of communal hatred.
He firmly believed that India was a plural society. This is a message of Gandhi which is very relevant today. Peaceful Resolution of Conflicts The second aspect I want to emphasize is Gandhi’s belief that conflicts should be resolved peacefully, in a non violent manner. Injustice must be opposed but not in a violent manner. When he was thrown out of a train in Petermaritzberg in South Africa, he could have suffered the humiliation without protest. But Gandhi refused to board the compartment reserved for non Whites and walked all the way to his destination.
He evolved the technique of Satyagraha which means truth force. It was not passive resistance but active opposition to any form of injustice. In South Africa he used it to fight racial discrimination and in India to oppose British rule. Gandhi’s concept of non violent protest, emphasis on means as ends in themselves , the insistence on conversion of the opponent by persuasion rather than coercion are recognized as valid and useable methods in conflict situations. Discussion and persuasion, according to him, were better ways to deal with a conflict situation. He laid stress on compromise, consensus, winning over the opponent, rather than overt clashes. Violence only leads to further violence, it is a vicious circle therefore, avoid violence conflict and find out areas of agreement that could produce a settlement. If all such efforts fail, then one had to launch a satygraha and be prepared to bear all the suffering involved.
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