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VOL. 39 : 4 JUNE, 1927 - 1 SEPTEMBER, 1927
1
1. LETTER TO SECRETARY, A.I.S.A.
NANDI HILLS,
June 4, 1927
DEAR SIR,

With reference to your letter of the 31st ultimo, I have already said that the Karnatak Agency may be supplied with funds in anticipation of the Council\u2019s approval provided of course that Jamnalalji has approved Regarding Maharashtra what Jamnalalji says should be done. But I suggest that Sjt. Dastane should be fully satisfied about the wisdom of the decision. He would see the wisdom of consolidating what has already been undertaken.

Let Satis Babu\u2019s letter be circulated. His insistence shows the
necessity of holding the Council meeting as early as possible.
Yours faithfully,
BAPU
From a microfilm: S.N. 19779
2. LETTER TO V. S. SRINIVASA SASTRI
NANDI HILLS,
June 4, 1927
MY DEAR BROTHER,

I remain unaffected by the effusion which the Chronicle has passed on to you and you to me. Of course you do not expect absolute smooth sailing. Such imbecile opposition you will have. But I know that you will stand unmoved. You will have the solid backing of the vast majority of the Indian population.

I sent you a little note1 two three days ago, which I hope was
duly delivered to you. May God guide your footsteps.
Yours sincerely,
BAPU
From a photostat: S.N. 12358
1Vide \u201cLetter to V. S. Srinivasa Sastri\u201d, 1-6-1927
2
THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI
3. LETTER TO S. D. NADKARNI1
NANDI HILLS,
June 4, 1927
DEAR FRIEND,

I am glad that you are moving our friends on your side to open a local public temple2 to the so-called untouchables. I hope that the forthcoming meeting will pass the contemplated resolution unani- mously, and if they do, they will be doing justice more to themselves than to whom we have so long held under suppression. My opinion is our temples have been forsaken by God. Because of our ungodly treatment of a portion of our countrymen, God has made Himself untouchable, unapproachable and unseeable. God will re-enter our temples only when we have opened not merely our temples but our hearts to these fellow-countrymen and fellow-religionists.

Though your letter for Young India does not seem to me to rise to the height of some of the former communications you have been good enough to send me, I propose to publish it3 as soon as I can, if only for the well-meaning and well-meant hits at me which I know are intended to travel far beyond me, in the hope that they will produce some impression.

I hope my message will be in time for the meeting. I got your letter only last evening and I am sending you the message by the return post.

Yours sincerely,
BAPU
S. D. NADKARNI, ESQ.
KARWAR
(N. KANARA)
From a photostat: S.N. 14617
1 In reply to a letter written on behalf of the workers of Karwar, seeking
Gandhiji\u2019s opinion on the question of \u201cuntouchables and temple entry\u201d.
2To Vithoba
3Published under the caption \u201cOn Behalf of Untouchables\u201d, in Young India,
30-6-1927;v i d e also \u201cOur Shame\u201d, 30-6-1927.
VOL. 39 : 4 JUNE, 1927 - 1 SEPTEMBER, 1927
3
4. LETTER TO RAMDAS GANDHI
June 4, 1927

You will have to struggle. Manliness consists in struggling. It is such struggling that moulds us. Hence be fearless and fight on. Never lose heart, and, if the enemy succeeds in throwing you down though you may have fought with all your strength, do not get dejected in the least. Be on your feet again and resume the fight. When we do not share responsibility for our defeat, we have no cause at all for shame, for then our defeat is no defeat. You should be very vigilant so that you may not have involuntary emission during sleep, and, if you feel the desire aroused at any hour during the night, you should without a moment\u2019s delay, get out of bed immediately and drink some cold water, then sit in cold water and pour a jugful of cold water over the genitals. Often we become calmed down by walking about for a while and repeating Ramanama. Moreover, whenever we are unoccupied we should recall to mind perfectb r a h m a c h a r i s like Bhishma1 and others, that is to say, we should think of their strength of mind. If these seem too distant in time, we should reflect on the lives of Andrews, Pearson, Kitchin and others. If even these seem too remote, at any rate we have with us the five\u2014Vinoba, Balkrishna, Surendra, Chhotelal and Krishnadas. We can cite other examples from India; you should tell yourself that you can certainly do what they can. You should also reflect from time to time on daily readings from theG i t a ; that too can give us great peace of mind.

[From Gujarati]
From the manuscript of Mahadev Desai\u2019s Diary. Courtesy: Narayan Desai
5. LETTER TO SHARADABEHN KOTAK
June 4, 1927

What you write about the problem of thieves is quite right. My putting the question to you did not mean that I expected you to be able to find the solution immediately. It was intended to make all the women think. Men must do their duty of protecting women. But after

1 A character in theM a h a b h a r a t a who early in life took a vow of celibacy and
observed it throughout his long life.
of 00

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