For Global Peace with Social Justice in a Sustainable Environment

Love and Mahatma Gandhi- VII

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

Love and Mahatma Gandhi- VII

I ask all those who cherish love towards me to utilize it in furtherance of the union we all desire. I know that the task is difficult. But nothing is difficult if we have a living faith in God. Let us realize out own weakness and approach Him and He will surely help. It is weakness which breeds fear and fear breeds distrust let us both shed our fear, but I know that, even if one of us will cease to fear, we shall cease to quarrel. Nay, I say that your tenure of office will be judged solely by what you can do in the cause of union. I know that we love each other as brothers. I ask you, therefore, to share my anxiety and help me to go through the period of illness with a lighter heart. 1 I am convinced that it is the prerogative of man to rise superior to the eternal duel and to attain equanimity, and the only way we can do so is by practising to the fullest extent the truth force, otherwise described as love-force or soul-force. You will not expect me to argue out the point. I can only place before you my conviction based upon prolonged experience during which I cannot recall a single occasion when this force has not completely answered. No doubt it requires the cultivation of patience, humility and the like. 2

I would love to do it. The external political activity is not of my seeking. I therefore cannot give it up of my will. If God desires that I should develop the Ashram by being in it, He will make my way clear. If it is a real organic growth, I know that it will continue to make progress whether I am in it our outside. After all, if any such institution has to depend merely upon one man’s existence on earth, it has to perish with him, but if it is to be of a permanent character, it must depend for its existence upon its own independence and internal vitality. Nor need we be impatient about their progress or success. It is sufficient if we do the best according to our lights and leave the rest to Him who disposes of everything. I think you have done well in not taking upon your shoulders the grave responsibility of taking young women in the Ashram so long as you have no woman worker who can stand on her own and who can become a wall of protection to such girls. I shall hope that your own wife will be such in time. 3

The great saint wrote his Ramayana in my opinion, to glorify Rama’s name. For me it has been a talisman. My nurse, whom I used to love as my mother, and in whose company much more of my time was passed in childhood than in my mother’s, used to tell me that if I thought of evil spirits at night and dreaded them, I could ward them off by repeating the name of Rama. Having faith in the nurse, I followed her prescription, and whenever at night vague fears seized hold of me, I used to recite the sacred name, and it answered the purpose. As I grew old, the faith weakened. My mentor, the nurse, was dead. I ceased to take the name of Rama, and my fears revived. In the jail I read the Ramayana with greater attention and still greater devotion than ever before, and whenever I felt lonely or felt the pride in me rising and telling me that I could do something for India, to give me due humility and to make me experience the presence of the Almighty, and thus to remove my loneliness, I used calmly to recite the name Rama with all the halo that Tulsidas has surrounded it with. I cannot put in words the indescribable peace that then came on me. As you know, Mr. Banker was torn away from me for some time. When he rejoined me, he related his own experiences to me. He used to experience all kinds of dreadful things after the cell-door was cruelly locked upon him. But he related to me graphically how the recitation of the name calmed him and gave him strength also to shed all those unbecoming fears. I, therefore, send you the much-tried prescription. Think, whenever you feel you are excited, of Rama and the peace giving nature of the recitation. Continue to recite the name slowly, forgetting everything, and considering yourself as one of the tiniest atoms in the mighty universe, and God willing the excitement will subside, and you will experience a blissful peace. The sages of old knew from experience what they were saying when they prescribed for troubled souls Ramanama, Dwadash Mantra and such other things. The more I think of them, the more true all those mantras appear to me today. I wish you could have faith enough to repeat Ramanama or such mantra which memory might have hallowed for you, and I know that you will soon be yourself again. 4

Moreover, seeing me is not likely to be of any benefit to you. It is an indication of your love for me, but it is an exaggerated indication. The love itself is a great force, and I should have you apply that force not to seeing me, but to the service of the people. 5 I would love to have you, Begum Saheba and the whole of your suite, but the accommodation in this big bungalow is now limited. I could easily take care of you, that is to say, you will be left to take care of yourself and make yourself as comfortable as it is possible in a place that has been turned into a hospital. I am lying in the midst of patients. Maganlal’s daughter Radha and Vallabhbhai’s daughter Manibai are both here and they are much weaker than I am myself. Prabhudas though not bed-ridden is also an invalid, and I have invited mad Majli too to come here and how I would love to nurse the Big Brother also. But that can only be after convalescence. Let there be no mistake about the motive in having all these patients here. You may know that I am a better nurse than a politician, if I am one at all, and what is more, I felt ashamed to be occupying a big bungalow like this all alone when there were patients, some of whom, brought up under me from infancy, requiring far greater care, attention and change than I did. 6

Though, therefore, A Mussalman or a Christian or a Hindu may despise me and hate me, I want to love him and serve him even as I would love my wife or son though they hate me. So my patriotism is for me a stage in my journey to the land of eternal freedom and peace. Thus it will be seen that for me there are no politics devoid of religion. They subserve religion. Politics bereft of religion are a death-trap because they kill the soul. 7 You need not apologize for its length. It is all very interesting and shows the deep interest you are taking in the Ashram and Nature Cure. My difficulty is to digest milk made out of nuts. I tried it during my convalescence after that violent attack of dysentery. I should love to give it a re-trial, but I do not want just now to make any risky experiment in dietetics. 8

In my humble opinion, the most important task before us today is to repair the breach in Hindu-Muslim unity which has occurred at many places. Till there is genuine love uniting the followers of the different faiths, we should not hope for swaraj or prosperity. I am fully convinced that, without such love, all our efforts will be in vain. I am eager to give my views about how the breach may be repaired, but I request readers to have patience in this matter also. I must discuss this problem, too, with the leaders. 9 Mr. Weatherly has laid down a universal proposition that “non-co-operation is a way of violence”. A moment’s thought would have shown the falsity of the proposition. I am non-co-operate when I refuse to sell liquor in a liquor-shop, or help a murderer in his plans. My non-co- operation, I hold, is not only a way of violence, but may be an act of love, if love is the motive that has prompted my refusal. The fact is that all non-co-operations are not violent and non-violent non-cooperation can never be an act of violence. It may not be always an act of love for love is an active quality which cannot always be inferred from the act itself. A surgeon may perform a most successful operation and yet he may have no love for his patient. Mr. Weatherly’s illustration is most unhappy and incomplete for the purpose of examination. If the milk drivers of New York have a grievance against its Municipality for criminal mismanagement of its trust and if, in order to bend it, they decided to cut off the milk supply of the babies of New York, they would be guilty of a crime against humanity. But suppose that the milk drivers were underpaid by their employers, that they were consequently starving, they would be justified, if they have tried every other available and proper method of securing better wages, in refusing to drive the milk carts even though their action resulted in the death of the babies of New York. Their refusal will certainly not be an act of violence, though it will not be an act of love.

They were not philanthropists. They were driving milk carts for the sake of their maintenance. It was no part of their duty as employees under every circumstance to supply milk to babies. There is no violence when there is no infraction of duty. Suppose further that the milk drivers in question knew that their employers supplied cheap but adulterated milk and another dairy company supplied better but dearer milk and they felt for the welfare of the babies of New York, their refusal to drive the milk carts will be an act of love, even though some short-sighted mother of New York might be deprived of the adulterated milk and may not have bought better but dearer milk from the more honest dairy company whose existence has been assumed for the purpose of our argument. 10

Thus, it is clear that non-co-operation is not violence when the refusal of the restraint is a right and a duty, even though by reason of its performance some people may have to suffer. It will be an act of love when non-co-operation is resorted to solely for the good of the wrongdoer. Indian non-co-operation is a right and a duty, but cannot be regarded as an act of love because it has been undertaken by a weak people in self-defence. 11 Now he can hear his inner voice. He asks the God within him: “Though insulted, do I yet love my brethren? Am I ready to serve them? Shall I be able to submit even to blows and kicks with their shoes?” If the in-dwelling God answers all these questions in the affirmative, then he is fit to take the second step. Now he may start non-co-operation in the spirit of love. Such non-co-operation means giving up all rights-but not duties. What are the rights of this poor servant as a member of his community to be invited to community dinners and to be eligible for marriage within its circle? He should, with humility, give up both these rights, and then he will have done his duty. If the elders of the community cast him off like a thorn saying in the arrogance of their authority, “One invitee less at dinners, one prospective bridegroom less,” strike his name off the register, the poor servant, instead of despairing, should have confidence that from the pure seed sown by him will grow a huge tree.

After fulfilling his duty not before may he sings: To work I have the right, never to the fruit thereof. To live thus like a sannyasi is what living in a forest means for him. In non-co-operation imbued with love there is no room at all for licence. Self-restraint alone can give it beauty. The seed which has been sown needs to be watered with self-restraint. One who thinks, “If my children do not get partners in my community, I shall find partners for them in another and will enjoy the pleasures of feasting elsewhere”, is neither a man of restraint nor a non-co-operator, but a hypocrite. A non-co-operator who is a man of restraint will do tapascharya, living in the village of his community. It is said that in the presence of love, hatred vanishes. Living in the Himalayas, this man of God cannot claim to practise non-violence towards the community’s leaders and hope to melt their hearts thereby. If the leaders of the community have disregarded him, one reason may be that they have taken him to be a thoughtless, unmannerly young man. He has yet to prove that, though poor and young, he is neither devoid of thought nor unmannerly, but is humble and thoughtful. Working in such a spirit and serving the members of his community on occasions demanding his service and yet not hoping for a return, he will find others joining the movement for reform Even though they may not be offering non-co-operation [against the community], their sympathy will be with him. As proud of our sacrifices and in the arrogance of our views, we abuse our friends who co-operate with the Government; this self-controlled young man will not abuse his caste-fellows because they are not with him, or express agreement with his ideas but do not go beyond that and join him in non-co-operation. He will show nothing but love for them and win their hearts. It will be his experience every day that love is the philosopher’s stone. But even if he does not have this experience immediately, he will not be impatient, but will keep up his faith that the seed of love can produce nothing but the abundant fruit of love. 12

Would I, then, help such an effort? If asked this question, I would have to reply in the negative. I think I have courage enough. Without it one cannot be a satyagrahi. A coward cannot adopt Satyagraha as his dharma. That he may do so out of fear is another matter. But I cannot ride two horses at a time. Ever advancing on the path of Satyagraha, I wish to become an image of Truth, wish my whole being to be filled with Truth. I have, therefore, deliberately renounced the path of living by killing others. I wish to learn and act upon, the mantra of dying to live. I should like to live only through the world’s love. Anyone who regards me as his enemy may kill my body this very moment. It is ever my prayer that, even at such a moment, there should be nothing but love in my heart. Following this path that I do, I cannot help, do not wish to help, any effort of self-defense through using force. Though I persuade myself that I live like a beggar, there is no convenience that I do not enjoy. How far I deserve the unbounded love of my friends will only be known if some person, in his kindness, makes up an honest account after my death. But this non-availability of cow’s milk has again set me thinking. In India, a country in which live countless people whose religion enjoins love for all living creatures, where there are crores of zealous Hindus who venerate the cow as mother, how is it that it is only here in India that cows are in a wretched condition, that their milk is scarce, that such milk as is available is adulterated, and that milk of any sort is beyond the reach of the poor? For this, neither the Muslims nor British Rule can be blamed. If anyone is at fault, it is the Hindus, and even their indifference is not deliberate but the result of ignorance. 13

About five years ago, a learned well-wisher had commented that my Gujarati was “weaker even than a raw matriculate’s”. A friend who had heard the comment did not like it. When he reported it to me, I said that the comment was correct and was prompted by no hatred towards me but by love of language. What I had said then about that criticism holds good even today. 14 My point is simple. In face of the awful fact of starvation and homelessness, all argument and all opposition must be hushed. Generations hence, when all our evil acts will have been forgotten, posterity will cherish the treasured memory of every simple act of love shown by the one to the other. I therefore ask every Hindu reader who will extend the hand of love and fellowship to his starving Moplahs brother and sister and their children, to send his or her mite, and I shall endeavour to see that it is properly distributed among the most deserving among the Moplahs. The reformers, I am sure, do not seek to force their views upon the community; they strive to touch its heart. Outside pecuniary help must interfere with the love process if I may so describe the method of Satyagraha. Thus viewed, the proposed Sikh free kitchen I can only regard as a menace to the frightened Hindus of Vaikom. 15

I would not say that, since Hindus have been playing music for 40 years, they should not now be prevented from doing so even if they have been in the wrong. A wrong does not become right because it has been going on for a long time. But matters can be set right not by means of the sword but by persuasion. If the Hindus of Visnagar are in the wrong, they must be shown their mistake. They should be won over by persuasion. If they do not understand and continue to play music, the Muslims’ prayers will not go in vain for that reason. Whether prayers will have their fruit or go in vain depends on the worshipper’s sincerity. I have read that the Prophet could pray undisturbed even in the midst of battle, in the din of clashing swords, the neighing of horses and the hiss of arrows. It was with love that he won the hearts of the idol-worshippers of Mecca. Why do the Muslims of Visnagar forget this heritage, the illustrious example of the Prophet? I have read in the Koran that it is obligatory upon Muslims to say prayers, but I have neither read nor heard that it is their right or their duty to prevent others forcibly from playing music nearby. They can appeal to the Hindus with love. If the latter will not listen, they can ask Hindus and Muslims outside Visnagar to help. The Muslims have no other course, nor have the Hindus, but reconciliation. 16

I have received a number of letters from Muslim friends sending me good wishes for Id. thanks them for their love for me. I am sure they do not wish me to write to them individually to convey my thanks. I also wish them all a happy Id. At a time like this, when there is widespread distrust between the two communities, even a little evidence of sincere love is as pleasant as a small patch of greenery in an otherwise barren scene. The only way to prove that the letters of greetings are prompted by genuine love is to take up activities which strengthen the bond between Hindus and Muslims. I hope that the friends who have sent me the messages will take every opportunity to plant seeds of amity in the country. 17

I can understand that the condition of many men must be as pitiable as this gentleman’s. The relation between a man and his wife is so delicate that a stranger’s intervention can do little good. Satyagraha signifies pure love. When love between husband and wife becomes wholly pure, it reaches its perfection. There is no place in it then for sensual pleasures or for any touch of selfishness. That is why the poets have conceived and expressed the longing of the individual self for the Supreme Self in terms of conjugal love. Such pure love is rarely to be found anywhere Desire for marriage springs from attachment, from intense attachment. When that attachment has developed into an unselfish bond and one has no desire for physical contact does not even think of it when one atman completely merges itself in another, we then see that one gets a glimpse of the love of the Supreme Atman. This is a rather crude way of expressing the idea. The love I want the reader to conceive is completely free from desire. I have not become so free myself as to be able to describe it aright and I know, therefore, that I cannot command the language which can describe it. But a pure reader will be able to imagine for himself what that language ought to be. Since I believe in the possibility of such love between husband and wife, what can Satyagraha not do? The Satyagraha I mean is not what is nowadays known by that name. Parvati resorted to Satyagraha against Shankar by doing penance for thousands of years. Rama did not do what Bharata wished and so the latter retired to Nandi gram. Rama was in the right and so was Bharata. Either kept his pledge. Bharata took away Rama’s wooden sandals and, worshipping them, attained to the perfection of yoga. Rama’s tapascharya did not exclude external happiness; Bharata’s was unparalleled. For Rama it was possible to forget Bharata, but Bharata had Rama’s name on his lips continually. God, therefore, made himself the servant of his servant. This is an example of purest Satyagraha. Truly speaking, neither won, or, if anyone can at all be said to have won, it was Bharata.

Tulsidas said that, if Bharata had not been born, Rama’s name would not have been invested with the holiness it possesses, and in that way presented to us the supreme truth of love. If my correspondent would forget for a while the physical aspect of love and cultivate the spiritual feeling which lies behind the love of husband and wife I know that it cannot be cultivated by conscious effort, that it reveals itself, if at all, spontaneously I can say with confidence that his wife will burn her foreign clothes that very day. Let no one ask why I advise such a big effort for a trivial thing or say that I have no sense of proportion. Small events bring about changes in our life which deliberately planned occasions or so-called important events do not. I can quote from my experience no end of examples of Satyagraha between husband and wife, but they, too, I know, may be misused. I think the present atmosphere is poisonous. In view of this, I would not commit the sin of confusing the judgment of this correspondent, who has put to me a frank question, by citing my experiences. I have, therefore, merely explained the highest state. I leave it to him to choose a suitable remedy conforming to it for meeting his difficulty. The position of women is delicate. Whatever one does about them smacks of the use of force. Life in Hindu society is hard, and that is why it has remained comparatively pure. I think a husband has the right to exercise only such influence as he can through pure love. If one of them at any rate overcomes carnal desire altogether, the task will become easy. It is my firm opinion that mainly, if not wholly, the man himself is responsible for the defects which he sees in woman. It is he who teaches her love of finery, who decks her out in what is regarded as attractive apparel. Then the woman gets used to these things and, later, if she is not able to follow her husband the moment he chances to change his way of life, the fault lies with him, not with her. Hence the man will have to have patience. If India is to win swaraj by peaceful means, women will have to contribute their full share in the effort. Swaraj will certainly stay far off as long as women hanker after foreign cloth or mill made cloth or silk. 18

Satyagraha implies absolute love and non-violence. Fasting as a weapon can only be used against a lover, a friend, a follower or co-worker who, on account of his love for you and the sufferings you undergo actually, realizes his mistake and corrects himself. He purifies himself of an evil which he knows and acknowledges being an evil. You recall him from his evil ways to the correct path. A son can fast against a father addicted to drink to cure him of his evil. The father knows it to be an evil and realizes the enormity of it by the sufferings of the son and he corrects himself. My followers and co-workers who resorted to violence in Bombay knew that violence was against the principle of non-co-operation. Only they deviated from that fundamental principle. My fasting brought home to them their mistake and they corrected it. 19

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