For Global Peace with Social Justice in a Sustainable Environment

Jethalal Joshi and Mahatma Gandhi

Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav

Senior Gandhian Scholar, Professor, Editor and Linguist

Gandhi International Study and Research Institute, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India

Contact No. – 09404955338, 09415777229

E-mail- dr.yadav.yogendra@gandhifoundation.net;

dr.yogendragandhi@gmail.com

Mailing Address- C- 29, Swaraj Nagar, Panki, Kanpur- 208020, Uttar Pradesh, India

Jethalal Joshi and Mahatma Gandhi

Jethalal Joshi was ex-member of Rajya Sabha; formerly a teacher of Rajkot Rashtriya Shala. I see no harm in fact there would be advantage in chanting the Gayatri mantra while plying the takli, especially when there is sacrificial spinning, i.e., as gesture of sympathy for the poor. Your wife should visit her father’s place clad in khadi only and if her parents urge her to give up khadi, she should gently convince them. Her parents’ displeasure, she should bear with calm. If she has neither this courage nor the strength to bear her parents’ displeasure she should, as long as it might be necessary in order to please them, wear whatever clothes they give her. You need not take the vow of having only one meal a day. It is wrong and also harmful to eat at one time a quantity equal to two meals. Of course one should give up the evening meal and eat sparingly at the other meals. Let me know what present occupation is and also what else you are equipped to do, your educational qualifications and so on. Perhaps you can get good milk from the Ashram. Make enquiries there. Milk from the Ashram cannot be delivered at your residence. 1

I would advise you to see the Secretary of the Ashram and there take up some work if you find any. There is little possibility of my coming to the Ashram during this year. 2 It is certainly not a fast if you eat fruits. The aim behind a fast may be purification of the body or of the mind or of both. A fast contributes very little to purification of the mind. You will find the replies to the other questions in Niyamavali. 3 Think more deeply about brahmacharya and strive to observe it. You need not be in a hurry to start eating with others or to take the vow of [non-] possession. Peace is found in ceaseless service. We cannot give the best service without perfect humility. Being without desire is to look forward to nothing and how can one who has renounced expectation be ever disappointed? One should read regularly the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana to cultivate such a state of mind. 4

What you say about children is true. Your suggestion regarding malaria is worth considering. Concerning the calf, the issue was not only about non-violence. According to my definition of non-violence, there was certainly no violence in killing it. The question was whether or not it was a duty to kill it. I felt that it was. You can get slivers for a few days, but you should learn quickly to make them yourselves. 5 The means of overcoming desire explained in the Gita is God’s grace, and that is obtained through worship of Him. 6

I am not competent to reduce the subscription in the form of hand-spun yarn. A thousand a month ought to be an easy job for you. As far as I remember, it would fulfil the provision of the Goseva Sangh’s constitution if you continue your efforts in regard to milk. 7

You must obtain a testimonial from the Vidyapith; only then can something be done. 8 In the matter of sticking to ideals it is as much essential to be tolerant of others as it is to be strict with one’s own self. Members of the family too are to be brought round with humility. Impatience or use of force indicates lack of faith in the ideal. If you want to see me you can come at 4 o’clock on any day, other than Monday, when I am at the Ashram. 9 I have received other letters similar to yours and I am drafting a statement with reference to them. Please read it. 10

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