Kodaikanal Gandhi Prize: First Prize 2020

The Kodaikanal Gandhi Prize

First Prize

Gandhiji’s Philosophies in Today’s World

An Essay by Ishita Pandey

Kodaikanal Gandhi School

It is the perfect weather outside. Neither sunny nor raining, but flawlessly cloudy. Soft winds dance across the farm, tickling the hair against her face, inviting her to come out and join them. Soon, she sees a group of children, who have run out, taking the invitation of the breeze. They laugh, chase, even fall; yet, they are having the time of their lives. She wishes to join, her heart begs to once again be a part of that innocence, that childhood, that.... But no, she is a young lady of ten years, no longer the careless little girl who could run with the wind and dance in the rain. She now has the responsibility of marriage, which has shut down all the other elements of her life. She hears her mother-in-law calling her in the kitchen, but for a ghost of a second she wants to rebel, say no, run into the wild to join those kids. But just in that second, she remembers to listen to her mind instead of her heart. Her face automatically turns away from the window, a fake smile plasters itself on her face, and she walks down to the kitchen, just the way a well-mannered lady of ten years should.

To many of us this situation may seem bizarre, but it is actually one of the social evils prevalent in India as well as certain places in the rest of the world, which Mahatma Gandhi was vehemently against. He himself had married his wife Kasturba when she was only 14 years old, and in his autobiography, ​The Story of My Experiments with Truth​, he condemns this by saying, ‘I can see no moral argument in support of such a preposterously early marriage ... In doing so there was no thought of our welfare, much less our wishes. It was purely a question of their own convenience and economy.’ Gandhiji recollects the factors which joined him and Kasturba in this relationship, hurling them into the ocean of life with no knowledge or experience. After becoming more mature, he realised his true roles and responsibilities towards his wife, and tried to fulfil his duties as a caring husband. Taking inspiration from the life of such an accomplished man, it is evident that we should take action against this deleterious custom by spreading the knowledge of the drawbacks of such a tradition in our society. However, this is not the only ‘Gandhian’ ideal which is relevant in our world today, and upon true rumination, one would come across various thoughts and actions practiced by Gandhiji, which if brought back would be highly beneficial to our society.

Looking at today’s world which has rapidly developing nuclear weapons, a gap between the rich and the poor so large that it would take years to truly fill, and propaganda and fake news manufactured by politicians, overdosing the minds of the public, Gandhiji would not have been proud. It would be apparent to him that our world is losing its connection with the morals of brotherhood, respect and the upliftment of all, values which were essential to him throughout his life. Not only is the world losing track of these principles, but the very home country of Gandhiji, India, seems to be deviating from his ideals, as well. Heavy corruption, violent protests and social evils which still prevail to this day are evidence of the fact that our country has not managed to live up to the vision Gandhiji imagined. Certainly, a deeper understanding of the ideals of ‘Gandhism’ and the determination to practise them in our lives, would be most beneficial in today’s world. If the Gandhian pillars of sarvodaya, satyagraha and an unbreakable trust in truth are brought into everyday practices then, not just our country, but the entire world could truly be transformed.

Sarvodaya is an ideal which aspires for the upliftment of all and although it may seem like an impractical concept, its application can lead to the creation of a much more united society. The caste system of India, which Gandhiji was so vehemently against, can be abolished through belief in the ideal of sarvodaya. Harijana, meaning people of God, was the name assigned by Gandhiji to those of the lower caste who were originally called untouchables, giving them the respect they deserved, just as any other person of the country. Putting this philosophy into practice and wanting to inspire others to consider it as well, Gandhiji refused to enter temples where the Harijana were not allowed. He once said, ‘I do not want to be reborn. But if I have to be reborn, I should be born an untouchable, so that I share their sorrows, sufferings and affront levelled at them, in order that I may endeavour to free myself and them from the miserable conditions.’ His extreme compassion and desire to help such people must be brought into our lives, as well. In the seemingly developed world of today, discriminatory biases such as this not only exist, but they often guide people’s lives, determining their behaviour towards others and the principles which they adhere to. To prevent such backward thinking from controlling our societies, we must take inspiration from Gandhi’s belief of treating everyone equally, as is portrayed in his autobiography, ​The Story of My Experiments with Truth​, ‘It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honoured by the humiliation of their fellow beings.’ Once we begin to think in this manner by humbling ourselves and treating everyone with equal respect, we would truly create heaven on Earth.

As we all know, Gandhiji willingly offered much of his life for the struggle for the independence of India which he called Swaraj, but his fight did not end there. He believed that to truly reach a state of full independence, we must gain freedom from the social evils destructing the country from within, such as child marriage, sati and the caste system. He once said in reference to the country’s behaviour towards the Harijana that ‘Swaraj is a meaningless term, if we desire to keep a fifth of Indians under subjugation and deliberately deny them the fruits of national culture,’ and it still applies to us till this day. In today’s India, even after 73 years of gaining independence from Britain, we are still ruled under the scourge of racial and gender discrimination of those times. Bringing back Gandhiji’s vehement opposition to such customs, we can only claim to be a country which has fully achieved freedom once such illegitimate and harmful social evils of our society are overthrown.

As can be seen throughout the decisions Gandhiji took during his life, all of his ideas stem from the need for self-evolution before changes in the rest of society can be achieved. This ability to change yourself is only achieved in strong-willed people. The principles of Gandhism may appear to be simple, but upon true application of the ideals of tolerance, non-violence and truthfulness in some of life’s most testing situations does one realize the extreme dedication and commitment required to maintain these ideals. Many would claim that the practice of ahimsa, non-violence, is a weapon of cowards, but the claim itself is incorrect. Ahimsa extends to something much beyond the level of fighting and considering it as a weapon is paradoxical to its very essence of non-violence. Instead, it should be understood as the belief that all humans have been originated from one united being and to hurt another is to hurt oneself. Many do not realise that one must be emotionally and psychologically strong to be able to accept harm and not retaliate, making non-violence not a weapon but a trait of the courageous. It must be realised that ahimsa does not mean sitting back and allowing for cruelty to take place, but it is actually a vehicle of justice where, with strong will and conviction in the power of non-violence and active love, one is able to change the other’s perspectives and achieve righteousness.

This is shown most vividly in the chapter ‘The Test’ from Gandhiji’s autobiography, in which he is mobbed and beaten by the white Natals of South Africa to the limit where he faints. These people were under the impression that Gandhiji had made baleful comments about them in India, which was untrue. Although he was not at fault and had almost died due to the misconception of the white Natals, Gandhiji decided not to prosecute any of his assailants, saying that ‘... I do not hold the assailants to blame... I am sure that, when the truth becomes known, they will be sorry for their conduct.’ It feels almost impossible to imagine a man with such strong belief in the power of truth and non-violence that even though he almost lost his life, he was still able to react with kindness. Taking a leaf from his book of life experiences and unending attempts to live a life full of compassion and ahimsa, we must apply these morals in order to end violent protests and unjust wars with neighbours which often result in the death of thousands of innocent people, to reach the state of a tight-knit society, which avoids conflict and works to reach the vision of the world Gandhiji had once imagined.

These beliefs also become the basis of Gandhiji’s ideal of satyagraha, which literally translates to an effort in the direction of truth. The aim of satyagraha is to cultivate a sense of moral right and wrong in the oppressors and, as stated by Reinhold Niebuhr, a renowned theologian, such an approach of defiance is able to ​’rob the opponent of the moral conceit by which he identifies his interests with the peace and order of society.’ In this way, satyagraha is able to instill a sense of moral understanding in the hearts of those committing sinful deeds, causing them to understand and ultimately end their vile actions. Surprisingly, Gandhiji believed that one should give ‘his opponent the same independence and feelings of liberty that he reserves to himself and he will fight by inflicting injuries on his own person,’ which is extremely hard to apply in our practical lives. When faced with a person doing wrong towards our interests, we immediately look for ways in which the person could be weakened in their advancements and stopped; however, Gandhiji asks us to have strong belief in the acts of non-cooperation and civil disobedience, branches of the tree of satyagraha, through which the opponent will realise his mistake and finally stop indulging in them. The amount of determination and patience that such an action requires makes satyagrahis the real warriors compared to those who resort immediately to arms in the face of crisis. If brought into our world, satyagraha and ahimsa coupled together may solve many grievous problems without anyone having to even raise a hand.

Following these ideals does not only cater to overthrowing oppressors but also to a way of life. People who adhere to this ideal must be willing to ‘always keep an open mind and be ever ready to find that what we believed to be truth was, after all, untruth,’ as Gandhiji proclaimed. To him, the absolute truth was the ultimate reality of the universe, something he regarded as God, because he felt it to be the only source of certainty in life. All other aspects of life were uncertain to him and therefore, he strived to catch a glimpse of what he believed was the only constant in this continuously changing world. Gandhiji also connected the importance of humility to one of the most essential factors in the search for truth, saying that, ‘The seeker after truth should be humbler than the dust. The world crushes the dust under its feet, but the seeker after truth should so humble himself that even the dust could crush him. Only then, and not till then, will he have a glimpse of truth.’ Through this we understand how deeply intertwined these values are and which further exemplifies that only when a person is able to forego all emotions of hate, greed and egotistic pride can he venture out in the search for truth.

Gandhiji’s fervent support of the ideology of truth in practice was the basis of our country’s motto of ‘Satyameva Jayate,’ meaning that truth always prevails. It attempts to inspire people to live a life of truthfulness by being honest to themselves, the people around them and their country by becoming more accepting of the fragments of truth perceived by others in a diverse society, allowing us to become more united. In today’s world of fake news, propaganda and information which has been filtered endlessly, the impact of this ideal and Gandhiji’s vision of truth seems to be reducing. Therefore, it is essential to restore public faith in the ideal that our nation stands for truth and honesty. Although it is a large goal to achieve, the seeker after truth must be earnest and determined, making changes within himself before a change in the society can be achieved. Once we, the civilians of our nation, take the onus of revolutionising the current state of our country by taking even the smallest actions such as refusing to pay bribes, working in accordance with the law and condemning all forms of corruption, the ideal of truth will be restored throughout the country.

Although we have progressed tremendously from the times of the British rule against which Gandhiji led the entire nation to a revolution, our country today is still in dire need for a revolution; however, this time, it is against an oppression which has taken the form social evils, violence and the everlasting influence of fake news. Nevertheless, the true state of swaraj and freedom from unethical actions can only be achieved once all citizens truly understand the thoughts and actions that Gandhiji lived by and strive to implement them in their everyday lives. Respecting all humans through a belief in sarvodaya, practising the belief of ahimsa and satyagraha and living a life that goes forth on the lesser travelled road of truth, we can unite to make our nation and our world a place full of brotherhood and love. Certainly, upon achieving this resolve of non-violence, respect and humility, there is no problem in the world that we cannot solve. Through these ideals we must take actions and decisions to aspire to change ourselves and grow as a nation because as Gandhiji said, ‘You must be the change you wish to see in the world.’

References

Gandhi, M K and Mahadev Desai. ​An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth​, Gbd Books, 2012.

Baura, Rajen. ‘Relevance of Gandhi In Modern Times | Articles on and by Gandhi’. Mkgandhi.Org​:​https://www.mkgandhi.org/articles/relevance-of-gandhi-in-modern-times.html​.

Parida, Om. ‘Relevance of Gandhianism in Today’s World’, Times Of India Blog,​ 2019. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/the-rock-bottom/relevance-of-gandhianism-in-todays- world/​.

Mishra, Pankaj. ‘Gandhi for The Post-Truth Age’, ​The New Yorker,​ 2018. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/22/gandhi-for-the-post-truth-age.