India of My Dreams

accumulate wealth. Therefore the non-violent way is evidently superior. The rich man
will be left in possession of his wealth, of which he will use what he reasonably
requires for his personal needs and will act as a trustee for the remainder to be used
for the society. In this argument honesty on the part of the trustee is assumed.
As soon as a man looks upon himself as a servant of society, earns for its sake, spends
for its benefit, then purity enters into his earnings and there is ahimsa is venture.
Moreover, if mens minds turn towards this way of life, there will come about a
peaceful revolution in society, and that without any bitterness.
It may be asked whether history at any time records such a change in human nature.
Such change has certainly taken place in individuals. One may not perhaps be able to
point to them in a whole society. But this only means that up till now there has never
been an experiment on a large scale in non-violence. Somehow or other the wrong
belief has taken possession of that ahimsa is pre-eminently a weapon for individuals
and its use should, therefore be limited to that sphere. In fact this is not the case.
Ahimsa is definitely an attribute of society. To convince people of this truth is at once
my effort and my experiment. In this age of wonders no one will say that a thing or
idea is worthless because it is new. To say it is impossible because it is difficult is again
not in consonance with the spirit of the age. Things undreamt of are daily being seen,
the impossible is ever becoming possible. We are constantly being astonished these
days at the amazing discoveries will be made in the field of non-violence .But I
maintain that far more undreamt of are daily being seen, the impossible is ever
becoming possible. We are constantly being astonished these days at the amazing
discoveries in the field of non-violence. The history of religion is full of such examples.
To try to root out religion itself from society is a wild goose chase. And were such an
attempt to succeed, it would mean the destruction of society. Superstition, evil
customs and other imperfections creep in from age to age and mar religion itself
remains because the existence of the world in a broad sense depends on religion. The
ultimate definition of religion may be said to be obedience to the law of god. God and
his law are synonymous terms. Therefore God signifies an unchanging and living law.
No one has really found him. But avatars and prophets have by means of their tapasya,
given to mankind a faint glimpse of eternal law.
If, however, in spite of the utmost effort, the rich do not become guardians of the
poor in true sense of the term and the latter are more and more crushed and die of

www.mkgandhi.org

Page 66

India of My Dreams

hunger, what is to be done? In trying to find the solution to this riddle I have lighted on
Non-violent Non-co-operation and civil disobedience as the right and infallible means.
The rich cannot accumulate wealth without the co-operation of the poor people in
society. Man has been conversant with violence from the beginning, for he has
inherited this strength from the animal in his nature. It was only when he rose from the
state of a quadruped (animal) to that of a biped (man) that the knowledge of the
strength of ahimsa entered into his soul. This knowledge has grown within him slowly
but surely. If this knowledge would become strong and would learn how to free
themselves by means of non-violence from the crushing inequalities which have
brought them to the verge of starvation
Harijan, 25-840

What India needs is not the concentration of capital in a few hands , but its
distribution so as to be within easy reach of the 7 lakhs of villages that make this
continent 1900 miles long and 1500 miles broad
Young India, 23- 3- 21

www.mkgandhi.org

Page 67

India of My Dreams

Chapter 19
INDIAS RECORD OF NON-VIOLENCE
I have ventured to place before India the ancient law of self- sacrifice. For Satyagraha
and its offshoots, Non-co-operation and civil resistance are nothing but new names for
the la of suffering. The Rishis, who discovered the law of non-violence in the midst of
violence, were greater warriors than wellington having themselves known the use of
arms they realized their uselessness, and taught a weary world that its salvation lay
not through violence but through non-violence. Non-violence in its dynamic condition
means pitting of ones whole soul against the will of the tyrant. Working under this law
of our being, it is possible for a single individual to defy the whole might of an unjust
empire to save individual to defy the whole might of an unjust empire to save his
honour, his religion, his soul, and lay the foundation for that empires fall or its
regeneration. And so I am not pleading for India to practice non-violence because it is
weak. I want her to practice Non- Violence being conscious of her strength and power.
No training in arms is required for realization of her strength .We seem to need it,
because we seem to think that we are but a lump of flesh. I want India to recognize
that she has a soul that cannot perish and that can rise triumphant above every
physical weakness and defy the physical combination of a whole world.
Young India, 11-8-20

That Indians are not a nation of coward is proved by the personal bravery and daring of
her marital races, whether Hindu, Mussalman, Sikh or Gurkha. My point is that the
spirit of fighting is foreign to Indias soil and that probably she has a higher part to play
in the evolution of the world. Time alone can show what is to be her destiny.
Young India, 22-6-21

Indias past training for ages, I mean the training of the masses, has been against
violence. Human nature in India has advanced so far that the doctrine of non violence
is more natural for the people at large than that of violence.
Young India 26-1-22

www.mkgandhi.org

Page 68

India of My Dreams

India has never waged was against any nation. She has put up sometimes ill-organized
or half-organized resistance in self defense pure and simple. She has, therefore not got
to develop the will for peace. She has that in abundance whether she knows it or not.
The way she can promote peace is to offer successful resistance to her exploitation by
peaceful means. That is to say she has to achieve her independence by peaceful
means. If she can do it will be the largest contribution that any single nation will have
made towards world peace.
Young India 4-7-29

www.mkgandhi.org

Page 69

India of My Dreams

Chapter 20
THE SARVODYA STATE
Many have shaken their heads as they have said, But you cant teach non-violence to
the masses. It is only possible for individuals and that too in rare cases. That is, in my
opinion, a gross self-deception. If man-kind was not habitually non-violent, it would
have been self-destroyed ages ago. But in the duel between forces of violence and
non-violence the latter have always come out victorious in the end. The truth is that
we have not had patience enough to wait and apply ourselves whole-heartedly to the
spread of non-violence among the people as means for political ends.
Young India, 2-1-30

To me political power is not an end but one of the means of enabling people to better
their condition in every department of life. Political power means capacity to regulate
national life through national representatives. If national life becomes so perfect as to
become self-regulated, no representation becomes necessary, there is then a state of
enlightened anarchy. In such a State everyone is his own ruler. He rules himself in such
a manner that is never a hindrance to his neighbour. In the ideal State, therefore,
there is no political power because there is no State. But the ideal is never fully
realized in life. Hence the classical statement of Thoreau that government is best
which governs the least.
Young India, 2-7-31

I look upon an increase in the power of the State with greatest fear, because although
wile apparently doing good by minimizing exploitation, it does the greatest harm to
mankind by destroying individuality which lies at the root of all progress.
The State represents violence in a concentrated and organized form. The individual has
a soul, but as the State is a soulless machine, it can never be weaned from violence to
which it owes its vey existence.
What I disapprove of is an organization based on force which a State is. Voluntary
organization there must be.

www.mkgandhi.org

The Modern Review, 1935, P.412

Page 70