Herald of Revolt - Gandhiji

HERALD OF REVOLT – GANDHIJI

J.C. KUMARAPPA

It is probably too early yet to appraise the results of Gandhiji’s advent in this century. But one who runs may read the signs of the times. Since the opening of this century, the conditions have been such that, according to Hindu traditions, it was high time Providence did send someone to set things right. In every phase of human activity deterioration had set into the very core of life.

Even the fundamental binding factor between God and man, and man and man—Religion—has become a pure ritual and had lost its function. Instead of drawing people together and bringing about goodwill and understanding it had fast developed into an instrument of division. It drove the wedge in between nation and nation, and further split itself into denominations warring with each other. Factions and sects within tore up every religion into shreds. God-bestowed intelligence was utilised in hair-splitting arguments of things it was not given to man to understand. Awe and superstition had taken the place of love and reverence. Hatred and suspicion had become universal. Trust and confidence was nowhere to be found. Sincerity had made room for stage-acting. Spiritual and moral values had become fit only for derision. Faith in material progress left no place for trust in God. With these changes, religion became merely a cloak for the resourceful to cheat the unwary wayfarer of his possessions. From being a silver thread to bind priceless pearls in a necklace religion was transformed into a treacherous spider’s web fatal to the simple unsuspecting people.

In the daily activity of the people, exploitation of the weak by the strong became the order of the day. No doubt, great accumulations of wealth, unprecedented in the past, were to be noticed everywhere; but this went alongside dire poverty and distress among the masses of the people. While there was rapid creation of wealth, the organised destruction of property and neglect of human needs seemed to have outstripped their apparent wellbeing. While natural needs of the many in food, clothing and shelter were overlooked, there was solicitous care for producing delicate shades of nail polish and lip sticks for the fastidious but wealthy ones!

Society offered no equality of opportunities to all. There were ones with great privileges while many had to face life with hardly any equipment – physical, mental or spiritual. Social injustice, based on caste, colour, creed and wealth was bearing down the hope and vision of millions.

To crown it all, political power became the birthright of the playboys of fortune and they retained it by might. A few handful, in the name of democracy, but in reality by skilful manoeuvring of the form democracy takes, had succeeded in keeping the world moving in the direction they chose.

Thus there was a great deal out of joint in this world of ours. No constitutional reforms would have been adequate enough to have left any impression on a world distracted by so many evils. At the most, constitutional methods would have made but a patchwork of recasting society. What such a society needed was a crucible in which it could be melted down and remoulded, and Gandhiji’s advent was to provide such a crucible at this juncture of human history and development.

By nature he was not a mild-tempered, sweet-tongued constitutional reformer but a revolutionary armed with a mighty bludgeon to smash to smithereens all obstacles that stood in his way. His soul force, backed by the technique of Satyagraha, would brook no obstacles.

He had no arguments to the dialecticians but the inner voice, which others had to take it or leave it on his own personal affidavit. He had the courage of his conviction to stand by himself where others failed to support him. He had the detachment of outlook to yield a proper perspective and clarity of vision. No material chains could bind or hamper him on the way, as his renunciation provided the master key to all shackles. When the world held nothing to tempt him, what personal ambition could foil him from his objective? This is the equipment of a revolutionary. These are too powerful to be wielded by any mild reformer.

There was no idle chanting of beads in his religion. The Vedas and the Gita were inspired by Divinity no doubt. But how far can we follow them blindly? The spirit of the Mentor within us will guide us into all Truth and lighten our darkness. Even Ahimsa finds its limitations in our being. Divinity inspired the writers of the sacred books, but it was men who wrote them down. To err is human. So, even sacred books may be challenged in their interpretations, if we approach our difficulties in deep humility and prayer. Man can comprehend nothing that is absolute. He can understand things only in relation to his mortal being.

It was this revolutionary outlook on religion, we may say, more than any other one thing that helped him to deal hammer blows to sinful growths on all paths of life that encountered Gandhiji. With this challenging attitude he tested every yardstick. Was a man with a white skin superior to one with brown, black, red or yellow? While by the local standards the customary answer would have been an emphatic “Yes.” He gave an emphatic “No” to this question. This started Gandhiji on his mission of righting the wrongs and challenging traditionally accepted values.

Can society contemplate affording within itself a place for the unprivileged or the underprivileged? If not, should it outlaw such? Gandhiji’s reaction to this problem made him the knight errant of the untouchables. He shook the foundations of Hindu orthodoxy over smashing this religious, social and economic inequality, making it almost his life work.

Is professing belief in one Supreme Being consistent with differentiating between one religion and another? Present religions are indications of man’s inability to see God, the one Father. Such differences are unworthy of all that is holy and spiritual in religion. “Sarva Dharma Samanatva” [All religions are equal] was an article of faith with Gandhiji. This belief found its place in his “Ram Dhun” by his addition to that prayer “Ishwar Allah Tero Nam. Sabko Sanmaty De Bhagawan.” We may well say he laid down his life to establish this fundamental unity of all religions. He met his death at the hands of some orthodox Hindus, who could not subscribe to this belief which would make Hindus and Muslims brothers.

To Gandhiji, religion was not a matter for the shrine, mosque, or the Church. He brought it to the market place where the world foregathers. It is in our every day sets that worship of the almighty should find expression. Great ones before Gandhiji have taught us to seek God in the mire and mud and in the dust and dirt of life. But it was left to Gandhiji to show the way how to do it. He brought home to many the immorality of “buying cheap and selling dear” maxim. He made us realise that love to our neighbour must find expression in our consideration for his welfare. If he has to stint himself and his family of prime needs because we attract him without purchasing power, we might, in effect, cheat him. If by an offer of higher returns we tempt him to produce goods catering to our luxury while others are left without prime necessities we are again deceiving him and harming others. Our moral obligations pursue us into the market place and go beyond the money nexus. Jesus taught us service of the needy is service to God – In as much as ye have done it unto the least of these ye have done it unto me – Gandhiji has given us a programme by following which we shall feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and thus carry out Jesus’ precepts. Our daily routing should follow lines by which our acts will glorify our Father in heaven, and thus usher in peace and goodwill among men.

While many thinking idealists would want to do away with war between nations and thus avoid all destruction, Gandhiji has taught us that war is the unavoidable result, not of armaments of nations, but of the violence within us. While we may help in preaching the banishing of war, the real method of doing away with war is for us, each one, taking to a life that will not encroach on the rights of our fellow men. If everyone led such a life there will be no occasion for wars. The implication of this doctrine is that we must be self-sufficient in our daily needs. If the individual himself cannot be self-sufficient then a large unit of society should strive to attain self-sufficiency. That is the effective way to pacifism. Many of the apparent causes of war are rooted in the need for economic overlordship where we depend on others for our needs.

In propagating this theory and advocating a simple life as a means of putting this proposition into practice, Gandhiji ran counter to al modern devices to banish war and to the appeal of many advocates of the philosophy of multiplicity of wants to increase the incentive for work and to raise the standard of living. To underline his precepts he went up the steps of Buckingham Palace in his usual loin cloth! Such was his strength of conviction.

His revolutionary character would not leave the political field. He held that all power rested with the people, however humbly placed they might be. Immediately he set about devising means of overthrowing by mere soul force the mighty British Empire armed to the teeth. His political direct action attained its end and the foreigners are no longer in power politically.

All this has brought out that there is one thing unique in Gandhiji’s revolution. While most other revolutionaries distinguished themselves in any one field of action – Religion, Education, Economics and Sociology or Politics – Gandhiji played the revolutionary role in all walks of life and did not feel called upon to limit his activities. His life was one open revolt to what all he found round him and in the attempt to set it right he laid down his life.  “Mahatma Gandhi ki Jai.”

(Undated, but written after Gandhiji’s martyrdom in 1948. Source: Kumarappa Papers, NMML)