Do We Really Know Gandhiji?
Varsha Das
Gandhiji is timeless and is relevant to the whole world whatever may be any given country's socio-economic-political conditions. But I do wonder whether we have remained relevant to him, whether we are wise enough to grasp the deeper meaning of his world view. There is a saying in English that the problem with the kitten is it soon becomes a cat! The past is forgotten as the present is so overbearing! Man's greed, arrogance and self- centeredness are growing at such a speed that we, at times, don't seem to relate to things and events that happened even ten years ago. We want to grab whatever is in front of us. Some of us say, forget the past, move forward. Some others say, learn from the past before you plunge into unknown waters. Yet others say, keep with you only the relevant things of the past, throw the rest into the sea! I guess our choice will depend on our own wisdom, our understanding of inter- relatedness of all the phenomena.
Even during Gandhiji's lifetime there were many who disagreed with him on various issues. And I come across hoards of people nowadays who hold grudges against Gandhiji out of sheer ignorance of the facts. They say that the country was divided because of Gandhi or he did not do enough for the Scheduled Castes or he should have supported Subhash babu in his INA movement or he should have saved Bhagat Singh from the gallows or he was callous towards his own family members or he was against machines and so on. My only request to those who harbour such doubts and grudges is, please read Gandhiji's writings with his eyes and heart.
If we can read five books written by Gandhiji we will definitely understand his intent and how much did he exert for gaining justice and dignity for others. My obvious choice is Hind Swaraj, History of Satyagraha in South Africa, Gandhiji's autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Mangal Prabhat and Constructive Programmes. I am not recommending them in this order, but each one opens a new window, a deeper understanding about this man on whom maximum numbers of books are written in the world and who is translated into maximum number of languages of the world.
Gandhiji's very first slim book Hind Swaraj, was written in 1909 in Gujarati. He was evolving all the time, moving forward from truth to truth, he was confessing his mistakes and presenting his rectified views publicly. Hind Swaraj was his dream and vision of liberated India, the rule of self and the rule on oneself. To commemorate the centenary of Hind Swaraj we had planned to organise an exhibition of photographs at the National Gandhi Museum. What visuals can one get from a slim book full of revolutionary ideas? I read the Gujarati, Hindi and English versions again and again, till it sank in me. And then we came up with wonderful contemporary visuals that accompanied quotations from the book.
For example where Gandhiji speaks about the role of speedy mode of transport in spreading the germs of plague we displayed the photographs of a train, a ship and an airplane. And next to it was placed a newspaper cutting of 2009 that gave the news of how H1N1 entered India through a person who came from abroad!
At another place Gandhiji says, "The machine should not be allowed to cripple the limbs of man." Here we had one photograph of a huge section of a textile mill in which lots of machines were controlled by a single man. The profit went to the owner of the mill. Another photograph showed a number of men and women plying their charkhas-spinning wheels. And the profit was shared by all of them. Along with these photographs we also displayed a khadi handkerchief and a couple of slivers, poonis that could be touched and felt by the visitors. Some visitors who had read Hind Swaraj but were not able to grasp its essence were happy to understand some of the main points through these visuals. Gandhiji believed in production by the masses and not mass production.
The second book is History of Satyagraha in South Africa. The concept of non- violent resistance for justice and dignity of life emerged and was put into action in South Africa. Gandhiji, who had gone there as a barrister Mohandas returned to India after 21 years as a new person, a Mahatma. His was a collective struggle, not just for himself. This whole process of creative metamorphosis in him and emergence of new philosophy - Darshan, which required tremendous inner strength took place in South Africa. Nelson Mandela, the first President of liberated South Africa said, "The Mahatma is an integral part of our history because it is here that he first experimented with truth: here that he demonstrated his characteristic firmness in pursuit of justice; here that he developed Satyagraha as a philosophy and a method of struggle."
The next must read book is Gandhiji's autobiography known as The Story of My Experiments with Truth. It is a frank narration of his life, of his feats and follies, strengths and weaknesses. This story is only up to 1920. Gandhiji mentions in the last 'Farewell' chapter that his life from that point onward had become so public that there was hardly anything about it that people did not know. However, even up to 1920 there is a lot to understand and learn. I had read it as a school girl and when I read again as a grown up woman the same words and incidents had a new and much deeper meaning for me. Some criticise Gandhiji on the basis of confessions made by him. We need to realise one thing here, if he had not mentioned them in his autobiography no one would have ever known about them! He was a human who made mistakes, but tried never to make the same mistake again and was not afraid of talking about them. There were no secrets in his life.
While Gandhiji was imprisoned in Yervada jail in Poona in 1930 he used to receive scores of letters from the inmates of Sabarmati Ashram. They, without their mentor around, were as if losing their focus. A couple of them requested Gandhiji to guide them personally. At that point Gandhiji decided to write about the Eleven Vows he wanted the Ashramites to follow. On every Tuesday after the Morning Prayer, he gave a discourse on the importance of each vow, wrote it down and dispatched it for publication. These were then compiled in the form of a booklet with the title Mangal Prabhat because they were written and sent on Tuesday mornings. This was like a fresh breeze of hope, confidence and a feeling of rejuvenation for the Ashramites.
Eleven vows recommended for them were for a simple and harmonious life, for a continuous process of inner change and for creating a solid spiritual foundation. The very first vow is Truth (satya), the next is non-violence (ahimsa), third is observance of celibacy (brahmacharya) and others are Control of the Palate (aswada), Non-Stealing (asteya), Non-Possession (aparigraha), Physical Labour (parishrama), Swadeshi (Use and service of indegenous), Fearlessness (abhaya), Removal of Untouchability (asprushyata nivarana) and Tolerance (sahishnuta). They mutually support and sustain each other and most importantly, help in character building. In Gandhiji's words, "I feel and I have felt during the whole of my public life that what we need, what a nation needs, but we perhaps of all the nations of the world need just now, is nothing else and nothing less than character-building." In the 21st century these words remind us of what we have completely forgotten!
A vow according to Gandhiji is unshakable determination. It enables one to endure inconveniences; one determines never to give up. Gandhiji's explanation of each vow opens a new window. We realise their profundity and scope when we read them through his glasses. Let us for example, look at one vow of aparigraha, non- possession. It does not stop at non-possession of material wealth. In one of his letters to his nephew Narandas he wrote on August 26, 1930, "It is worth remembering that there should be non-possession of thought, similar to non-possession of things. A person who fills up his brain with unnecessary knowledge is a hoarder. All those thoughts which keep us away from god or do not take us towards the god are included in 'hoarding'. This definition has been given by the god in the 13th chapter." Gandhiji is referring to the 13th chapter, Kshetra-Kshetrajna-Vibhaga-Yoga of Bhagavad Geeta. When he used to fill only a small metal pot of water from the Sabarmati river some onlookers used to ask him, why only this much? His reply was, 'is this river solely mine?' This small sentence shows Gandhiji's concern for others and also towards preservation of natural resources. Take only as much you require to meet your need. Nature has sufficient for everyone's need but not for anyone's greed.
Gandhiji was loved and deeply respected because he practiced what he preached. His life was simple and his needs were few. Let me share with you one interesting episode. Gandhiji had left for London by the Rajaputana ship from Bombay on August 29, 1931 to attend the Second Round Table conference. Two British spies boarded the ship at Marseilles. One officer from the customs department went to check Gandhiji's luggage. Gandhiji showed the luggage and told him, "I am a poor beggar. All that I have in my luggage is- six spinning wheels, porringers from the jail, one container of goat's milk, six loin-clothes and a towel and my honour - which may not be of much value!" These are the words of the man who practiced the vow of non-possession.
The only book Gandhiji wrote in English was on Constructive Programmes -Rachanatmak Karyakram. These were a series of articles written since 1940 and were later published by Navajivan in the form of a booklet. It was a big undertaking comprising 13 different issues. In his reply to a query by one of the correspondents on August 18, 1940 Gandhiji listed the topics of those articles as follows:
"1. Hindu-Muslim or communal unity; 2. Removal of Untouchability; 3. Prohibition; 4. Khadi; 5. Other village industries; 6. Village sanitation; 7. New or basic education; 8. Adult education; 9. Uplift of women; 10. Education in hygiene and health;
11. Propagation of Rashtra Bhasha (National language); 12. Cultivating love of one's own language; and 13. Working for economic equality. This list can be supplemented if necessary, but it is so comprehensive that I think it can be proved to include items appearing to have been omitted."
Gandhiji had mentioned them not in order of importance, but he jotted them down just as they came to his mind. In the present day predicament we may like to add water conservation, environment, ecology and so on. But I must hasten to clarify that these would be taken care of if action is taken on the Eleven Vows and 13 Constructive Programmes. They together take care of the self, society and the environment. They take in their fold spiritual, social, economic and political spheres.
(The above are excerpts from the book titled "Looking for Gandhi in our Times" by Varsha Das. The book can be purchased at Rs 300 from Publications Division website and from Publications Division emporia across the country. E-book of the same can be purchased from Publications Division website and Amazon Kindle at Rs. 225).