131169

Darza, Sabrina W.
Ph111 Gandhi
Dec 1, 2017
When means and ends are one and the same

In the Indian struggle for freedom from its British imperialists, non-violent civil
disobedience was the central instrument for its national movement. Led by Mahatma
Gandhi, this philosophy and way of life was the tool that enabled an oppressed
colonial nation to rebel against the authority of British rule with conviction and without
fear.
When we look at the concept of non-violence, it would be incorrect to
understand it as simply not doing violence. It is not passive reception of
maltreatment of human rights and dignity, but can also be thought of as positive
action and resistance for change. It has a different logic, and can even be thought of
as the noblest defense of one’s rights.
We see the case for the strength of non-violence in India, where they were
able to humble the British government through a peaceful civil disobedience
movement. The aim of non-violence then, is to win over your adversary’s heart and
mind. It isn’t about inflicting suffering on another, but to be willing to suffer in order to
bring about change.1 Gandhi’s adherence to non-violence was a statement of belief,
non-negotiable, and sacred.
It is important to understand that this was not simply a political tactic for
liberation. On the contrary, this spirit of non-violence came about through an inner
realization of spiritual unity within Gandhi himself.2 His dedication to the struggle for
Indian freedom, and his insistence on non-violent means was a result of his new
understanding of India, and he saw in both the West and the East, a universally valid
spiritual tradition.3

Philosophy of truth and non-violence

According to orthodox Hinduism, the human soul goes through an infinitely
long series of earthly reincarnations. Death, therefore, is seen only as incident in a

1
“Non-violence”. BBC. Accessed on December 1, 2017.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/war/against/nonviolence.shtml.
2 Ibid.

3 Thomas Merton (ed.), Gandhi on Non-Violence (New Directions Paperbook, 1963), 7.

foreordained cycle of rebirths. Until Gandhi, this religiously grounded act of
resignation toward death had kept natives resigned to their fate and death, and
unable to improving their current conditions.4
When he was in London for school, he was able to learn more about
Christianity. In reading the Bible, he discovered in the New Testament, the Sermon
on the Mount. He found that it resembled the same principle of a Gujarati verse he
had learned as a child: “For a bowl of water, give a goodly meal; For a kindly
greeting bow thou down with zeal…..But the truly noble know all men as one, And
return with gladness good for evil done.”5 Jesus’ messages as well, which reiterated
that “ “Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And
if any man take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak too.” Gandhi then, by his own
admission, had not formulated any new principles or value, rather he restated and
reinterpreted timeless principles.6 His thought was influenced by numerous streams,
but it was Hinduism that provided him with utmost spiritual satisfaction.7 In Jesus
Christ’s living example of compassion, and returning evil with God, he was able to
draw parallels with the Gita’s teachings of renunciation, selfless work, and surrender
to God.8 He admits “I do not believe in the exclusive divinity of the vedas. I believe
the Bible, the Koran, and the Zend Avesta to be as much divinely inspired as the
Vedas.”9
For Gandhi, religion was fundamental, and all the rest of his thought and
activity grew out of his belief in a God, a living force, whom he identified with truth.
Non-violence succeeds only when we have a living faith in God.10 That was to him
the central fact of the universe. The two basic maxims for non-violence were: (1)
Ahimsa is the supreme Law or Dharma, and (2) There is no other Law or Dharma
than Truth.11
Gandhi said:
“I claim to be a passionate seeker after truth, which is but
another name for God. In the course of that search the
4 Calvin Kytle, Gandhi, Soldier of Non-violence: an introduction (1982),13.
5 Ibid, 39.
6 S.R. Bakshi, Gandhi and his Techniques of Satyagraha (Sterling Publishers Private Limited), 3.
7 Ibid.
8 Uma Majmudar, PhD, American Vedantist, “Mahatma Gandhi and the Bhegavad Gita”, Last modified,

December 6, 2014. Accessed on December 1, 2017. http://americanvedantist.org/2014/articles/mahatma-gandhi-

and-the-bhagavad-gita/.
9 Mkgandhi.org, “Why I am a Hindu”. Young India, 6-10-'21. Accessed on December 3, 20`7.

http://www.mkgandhi.org/truthisgod/22hindu.htm.
10 Thomas Merton, 65. I-191

11 Thomas Merton, Gandhi on Non-Violence, 67.

 discovery of non-violence came to me. Its spread is my
life mission. I have no interest in living except for the
prosecution of that mission.”12

Truth and non-violence formed the essence of his faith. The first principles
on which he even founded his own ashram were for the “vow of truth” and the
“doctrine of Ahimsa.” Truth in this sense, does not simply mean the kind that
characterizes honesty. It goes beyond that, as a rule to life, and as the law of our
being.13. Just as, literally, Ahimsa means ‘non-killing,’ for Gandhi, it also hosts a
world of meaning, and goes beyond that. It also maintains that you may not offend
anyone, nor may you harbor any uncharitable thought even against someone who
identifies as your enemy.14 It is a positive state of love, but it does not mean
tolerating the evil-doer’s wrong. The active state of Ahimsa requires resisting the
wrong-doer by dissociating from him, even if it may offend him or injure him.15
The Gita’s universal appeal is in its essence, that the ultimate purpose of
human life is to achieve a mystical or experiential union of one’s self with the
supreme being (tat tvam asi: “That thou art”).16The follower of ahimsa only fears
and seeks refuge in God. In doing so, he glimpses the Atman (transcendent self).17
There is an unalterable law that governs every being. When one is able to see this
transcendent Atman, love for transitory things, such as the body, is cast away.
Violence is needed to protect the external world; non-violence for the protection of
the Atman, and one’s honor.
Satyagraha, literally meaning, ‘the firm grasping or holding on to truth’,
however, Gandhi uses this by extension, as resistance to non-violent means.
'Satya' which derives from the Sanskrit word 'Sat' meaning being, abiding, actual,
right, self-existent essence.18 In the Indian tradition of thought, Sat in its highest
sense stands for the absolute, archetypal Truth.19 For Gandhi, therefore, satya
embraces not only factual and logical truth but also moral truth and metaphysical

12 Thomas Merton (ed.), Gandhi on Non-Violence, I-282, 39.

13 Ibid, 11.
14 C. F. Andrews, Mahatma Gandhi’s Ideas (London, George Unwin LTD), 5.
15 MKGandhi.org.The Meaning of Non-violence. Young India, 25-8-‘20, p. 2. Accessed on December 3, 2017.

http://www.mkgandhi.org/voiceoftruth/meaningofnonviolence.htm.
16 Uma Majmudar.
17 Thomas Merton (ed.), Gandhi on Non-Violence, I-335, 38.
18 Geoffrey Ostergaard, Gandhian nonviolence and passive resistance. CivilResistance.info. Accessed on

December 3, 3027. https://civilresistance.info/ostergaard

19 Ibid.
truth.20 It is according to Gandhi, superior to armed resistance because it is holding
on to Truth or God, and can never be used to defend a wrong cause.21 This
devotion to Truth, is the sole justification of our existence because life is seen as a
search for self-actualization. It is striving for the absolute, which is both immanent
and transcendent. It is consciousness of God within. The concept of non-violence
then, can be universalized because of the understanding of interdependence
because of the awareness of the oneness of all.22 He adds that in clinging to the
truth that we are all one under the skin, that there is “no such thing as a 'win/lose'
confrontation because all our important interests are really the same, that
consciously or not every single person wants unity and peace with every other.” 23
Finding God, however, is not as easy as it sounds. Inclination to violence is
an expression of weakness. Even though his followers saw him as Bapu, and
Gandhiji, they still struggled because ahimsa, is not for the weak but for the strong.
They had not achieved the inner unity he had. Their satyagraha was not pure and it
was used as a means to achieve unity and freedom, while he saw that it must
necessarily be the fruit of inner freedom.24 It was not satyagraha that failed, but
rather, those who used it for pragmatic ends instead of abiding it as a spiritual
creed. We see that as he engages in the struggles of his people, in seeking truth
and justice, he liberates the truth in himself by seeking true liberty for all. The self-
evident truth is that freedom is to be shared equally by all. 25 This is why, it is in non-
violence that the masses have a tool which enables any child, woman or elder to
stand up for the Truth. Strength resides in the spirit. The beauty of this message of
wisdom, is not simply for India alone, but for the entire world. Gandhi’s message
was valid for India and insofar as it represented the awakening of a new world.
Hence, it was both at once both Indian and universal.
This Indian experience established a pattern of peaceful movements around
the world, manifesting the fact that there are some indisputable and essential
values-religious, ethical, spiritual, and philosophical-which man everywhere needs
and without which he cannot live. In South Africa, Nelson Mandela launched a

20 Ibid.
21 Thomas Merton, 42.
22 K. D Gangrade, Conflict Resolution through non-violence: Development without destruction (Concept

Publishing Company, 1990), 120.

23 MKGandhi.org. “Africa Needs Gandhi”.Accessed on December 1, 2017.

http://www.mkgandhi.org/africaneedsgandhi/gandhi's_philosophy_of_nonviolence.htm
24 Thomas Merton, 10.
25 Thomas Merton, 28. II-35.
movement against apartheid, in America, Martin Luther King fought for the rights of
African-Americans. All of which, succeeded. Gandhi argues that violence would
only breed more violence. We also see this when we study the World Wars. The
subjugation of Germany paved the way to the Second World War.
Gandhi said: “I am superstitious enough to believe that all such sins that a
nation commits react upon it physically.”26 It is a crucial element in Gandhi’s thought
that in human action, means cannot be separable from ends. Means are not just
instruments, because they are a part of continuous chain of decisions, events, and
repercussions. However, non-violence is both a means, and an end.

Reflection
“Your readiness to suffer will light the torch of freedom which can never be put out” 27

Even Gandhi admits that no one can practice perfect non-violence. However,
he still sees the commonness in humanity, in their inherent goodness and their
capacity to develop their full potential of non-violence. Gandhi wanted us to realize
that people could learn to bear and overcome evil, because if one can avoid evil by
suffering through it himself, one should do so, for it is better than to render evil for
evil. Hatred and violence will die from disuse if we choose to become and remain
non-violent. Violence will only continue to breed violence and perpetuate hatred.
Looking back at what I have learned from the semester, Verse 103 of the
Dhammapada says that “Though one may conquer a thousand times a thousand
men in battle, yet he indeed is the noblest victor who conquers himself.”28 This
conquering of myself can be done through the forgiveness of one who has wronged
me. Suffering will inevitably be a part of the human existence from the moment you
are born to the moment that you pass, and that means we must accept it. Not blindly,
not resignedly, and not even just by following the eightfold path of wisdom, or by
following whatever religious belief one ascribes to.
Peace will not come undeservedly, and in order to become a satyagrahi, that
is, one who is consecrated to the non-violent defense of truth, I must extend all

26 C.F. Andrews, ChXIX.

27 Thomas Merton, 56. II-10.

28 Treasury of Truth. “Verse 103. Self-Conquest Is The Highest Victory” Accessed on December 2, 2017.
http://www.buddhanet.net/dhammapada/d_thous.htm
efforts to be in the right mind, to act well, not just for myself but for others as well.29 I
must be free from my bodily attachments, and live for the freedom of my soul. It is in
understanding that the only real liberation is one that liberates both the oppressor
and the oppressed. As an instrument of God, there must be ahimsa in my heart,
because Truth never damages a cause that is just.30
In the Philippine context, it was actually a reminder of a work that one of our
own Filipinos had written. In Jose Rizal’s work, Eli Filibusterismo, written at a time
where we ourselves had been colonizes, Padre Florentino advocates for non-
violence when he says that “Hate only creates monsters; crime, criminals; only love
can work wonders, only virtue redeem. If our country is one day to be free, it will not
be through vice and crime, it will not be through the corruption of its sons, some
deceived, others bribed; redemption presupposes virtue; virtue, sacrifice; and
sacrifice, love.”31 God is justice, and He cannot abandon His cause. The Filipino
must win it by deserving it and upholding each other’s dignity. Now more than ever, I
believe that we should be reminded of how we are going to achieve certain goals as
a nation. With the drug war today, will fear and violence really serve this country in
the long-run? Similarly, non-violence born of cowardice is not genuine ahimsa. After
this administration, will people revert back to their ways? If we’re going to progress, it
must be sustainable. I am but one in a population of millions, but I too can be a
catalyst for change. I can do so in my own little ways, by being more patient, more
understanding. To take things further, what if each and every person did one kind
deed to another? It may not seem like much, but it would make a world of difference,
and one for the better at that.

29 Thomas Merton, 35.

30 Thomas Merton, 33. II-151.
31 John Schumacher, The Noli as a Catalyst of revolution. p.97.