Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="G.D.1.nirmal" data-source="post: 11519317" data-attributes="member: 80976">n applying these principles, Gandhi did not balk from taking them to  their most logical extremes in envisioning a world where even  government, police and armies were nonviolent. The quotations below are  from the book "For Pacifists."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-69" target="_blank">[70]</a> The science of war leads one to dictatorship, pure and simple. The  science of non-violence alone can lead one to pure democracy...Power  based on love is thousand times more effective and permanent than power  derived from fear of punishment....It is a blasphemy to say non-violence  can be practiced only by individuals and never by nations which are  composed of individuals...The nearest approach to purest anarchy would  be a democracy based on non-violence...A society organised and run on  the basis of complete non-violence would be the purest anarchy.   I have conceded that even in a non-violent state a police force may  be necessary...Police ranks will be composed of believers in  non-violence. The people will instinctively render them every help and  through mutual cooperation they will easily deal with the ever  decreasing disturbances...Violent quarrels between labor and capital and  strikes will be few and far between in a non-violent state because the  influence of the non-violent majority will be great as to respect the  principle elements in society. Similarly, there will be no room for  communal disturbances....   A non-violent army acts unlike armed men, as well in times of peace  as in times of disturbances. Theirs will be the duty of bringing warring  communities together, carrying peace propaganda, engaging in activities  that would bring and keep them in touch with every single person in  their parish or division. Such an army should be ready to cope with any  emergency, and in order to still the frenzy of mobs should risk their  lives in numbers sufficient for that purpose. ...Satyagraha  (truth-force) brigades can be organised in every village and every block  of buildings in the cities. [If the non-violent society is attacked  from without] there are two ways open to non-violence. To yield  possession, but non-cooperate with the aggressor...prefer death to  submission. The second way would be non-violent resistance by the people  who have been trained in the non-violent way...The unexpected spectacle  of endless rows upon rows of men and women simply dying rather than  surrender to the will of an aggressor must ultimately melt him and his  soldiery...A nation or group which has made non-violence its final  policy cannot be subjected to slavery even by the atom bomb.... The  level of non-violence in that nation, if that even happily comes to  pass, will naturally have risen so high as to command universal respect.   In accordance with these views, in 1940, when invasion of the British  Isles by Nazi Germany looked imminent, Gandhi offered the following  advice to the British people (Non-Violence in Peace and War):<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-70" target="_blank">[71]</a> "I would like you to lay down the arms you have as being useless for  saving you or humanity. You will invite Herr Hitler and Signor Mussolini  to take what they want of the countries you call your possessions...If  these gentlemen choose to occupy your homes, you will vacate them. If  they do not give you free passage out, you will allow yourselves, man,  woman, and child, to be slaughtered, but you will refuse to owe  allegiance to them."   In a post-war interview in 1946, he offered a view at an even further extreme: "Hitler," Gandhi said, "killed five million Jews. It is the greatest  crime of our time. But the Jews should have offered themselves to the  butcher’s knife. They should have thrown themselves into the sea from  cliffs... It would have aroused the world and the people of Germany...  As it is they succumbed anyway in their millions."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-71" target="_blank">[72]</a>   However, Gandhi realised that this level of nonviolence required  incredible faith and courage, which he believed everyone did not  possess. He therefore advised that everyone need not keep to  nonviolence, especially if it were used as a cover for cowardice: "Gandhi guarded against attracting to his satyagraha movement  those who feared to take up arms or felt themselves incapable of  resistance. 'I do believe,' he wrote, 'that where there is only a choice  between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence.'"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-72" target="_blank">[73]</a>   "At every meeting I repeated the warning that unless they felt that  in non-violence they had come into possession of a force infinitely  superior to the one they had and in the use of which they were adept,  they should have nothing to do with non-violence and resume the arms  they possessed before. It must never be said of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khudai_Khidmatgar" target="_blank">Khudai Khidmatgars</a> that once so brave, they had become or been made cowards under <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khan_Abdul_Ghaffar_Khan" target="_blank">Badshah Khan</a>'s  influence. Their bravery consisted not in being good marksmen but in  defying death and being ever ready to bare their breasts to the  bullets."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-73" target="_blank">[74]</a>   Gandhi also came under some political fire for his criticism of those  who attempted to achieve independence through more violent means.  According to a report in the Frontline magazine, he did plead several  times for the commutation of the death sentence of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagat_Singh" target="_blank">Bhagat Singh</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajguru" target="_blank">Rajguru</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhdev" target="_blank">Sukhdev</a>  including a personal visit on 19 March 1931 and in a letter to the  Viceroy on the day of their execution, pleading fervently for the  commutation.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-Frontline-74" target="_blank">[75]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill" target="_blank">Winston Churchill</a>    said that it was "nauseating" to see Gandhi, "a seditious Middle Temple  lawyer, now posing as a fakir of a type well-known in the Middle East,  striding half-naked up the steps of the Vice-regal palace. .. to parley  on equal terms with the representative of the King-Emperor".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-75" target="_blank">[76]</a> He continued this argument in a number of articles reprinted in Homer Jack's The Gandhi Reader: A Sourcebook of His Life and Writings.  In the first, "Zionism and Anti-Semitism," written in 1938, Gandhi  commented upon the 1930s persecution of the Jews in Germany within the  context of Satyagraha. He offered non-violence as a method of combating  the difficulties Jews faced in Germany, stating, If I were a Jew and were born in Germany and earned my livelihood  there, I would claim Germany as my home even as the tallest Gentile  German might, and challenge him to shoot me or cast me in the dungeon; I  would refuse to be expelled or to submit to discriminating treatment.  And for doing this I should not wait for the fellow Jews to join me in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_resistance" target="_blank">civil resistance</a>,  but would have confidence that in the end the rest were bound to follow  my example. If one Jew or all the Jews were to accept the prescription  here offered, he or they cannot be worse off than now. And suffering  voluntarily undergone will bring them an inner strength and joy...the  calculated violence of Hitler may even result in a general massacre of  the Jews by way of his first answer to the declaration of such  hostilities. But if the Jewish mind could be prepared for voluntary  suffering, even the massacre I have imagined could be turned into a day  of thanksgiving and joy that Jehovah had wrought deliverance of the race  even at the hands of the tyrant. For to the God-fearing, death has no  terror.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-76" target="_blank">[77]</a>   Gandhi was highly criticised for these statements and responded in  the article "Questions on the Jews" with "Friends have sent me two  newspaper cuttings criticising my appeal to the Jews. The two critics  suggest that in presenting non-violence to the Jews as a remedy against  the wrong done to them, I have suggested nothing new...what I have  pleaded for is renunciation of violence of the heart and consequent  active exercise of the force generated by the great renunciation.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-Homer-322-77" target="_blank">[78]</a> Gandhi's statements regarding Jews facing the impending <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust" target="_blank">Holocaust</a> have attracted criticism from a number of commentators.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-78" target="_blank">[79]</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Buber" target="_blank">Martin Buber</a>  wrote a sharply critical open letter to Gandhi on 24 February 1939.  Buber asserted that the comparison between British treatment of Indian  subjects and Nazi treatment of Jews was inappropriate; moreover, he  noted that when Indians were the victims of persecution, Gandhi had, on  occasion, supported the use of force.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-79" target="_blank">[80]</a> Unsurprisingly, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler" target="_blank">Adolf Hitler</a> told the British Foreign Secretary <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Halifax" target="_blank">Lord Halifax</a>  in 1937 that the British should "shoot Gandhi, and if this doesn't  suffice to reduce them to submission, shoot a dozen leading members of  the Congress, and if that doesn't suffice shoot 200, and so on, as you  make it clear that you mean business."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-80" target="_blank">[81]</a> Gandhi commented upon the 1930s persecution of the Jews in Germany  within the context of Satyagraha. In the November 1938 article on the  Nazi persecution of the Jews quoted above, he offered non-violence as a  solution: The German persecution of the Jews seems to have no parallel in  history. The tyrants of old never went so mad as Hitler seems to have  gone. And he is doing it with religious zeal. For he is propounding a  new religion of exclusive and militant nationalism in the name of which  any inhumanity becomes an act of humanity to be rewarded here and  hereafter. The crime of an obviously mad but intrepid youth is being  visited upon his whole race with unbelievable ferocity. If there ever  could be a justifiable war in the name of and for humanity, a war  against Germany, to prevent the wanton persecution of a whole race,  would be completely justified. But I do not believe in any war. A  discussion of the pros and cons of such a war is therefore outside my  horizon or province. But if there can be no war against Germany, even  for such a crime as is being committed against the Jews, surely there  can be no alliance with Germany. How can there be alliance between a  nation which claims to stand for justice and democracy and one which is  the declared enemy of both?"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-81" target="_blank">[82]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-82" target="_blank">[83]</a>   Vegetarianism As a child, Gandhi experimented with meat-eating. This was due  partially to his inherent curiosity as well as his rather persuasive  peer and friend Sheikh Mehtab. The idea of vegetarianism is deeply  ingrained in Hindu and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jain" target="_blank">Jain</a> traditions in India, and, in his native land of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gujarat" target="_blank">Gujarat</a>, most Hindus are vegetarian and so are almost all Jains.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-83" target="_blank">[84]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-84" target="_blank">[85]</a>  The Gandhi family was no exception. Before leaving for his studies in  London, Gandhi made a promise to his mother, Putlibai, and his uncle,  Becharji Swami, that he would abstain from eating meat, taking alcohol,  and engaging in promiscuity. He held fast to his promise and gained more  than a diet: he gained a basis for his life-long philosophies. As  Gandhi grew into adulthood, he became a strict <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacto_vegetarianism" target="_blank">vegetarian</a>. He wrote the book The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-85" target="_blank">[86]</a> and several articles on the subject, some of which were published in the London Vegetarian Society's publication, The Vegetarian.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-86" target="_blank">[87]</a>  During this period, the young Gandhi became inspired by many great  minds and was befriended by the chairman of the London Vegetarian  Society, Dr. Josiah Oldfield. Having also read and admired the work of Henry Stephens Salt, the  young Mohandas met and often corresponded with the vegetarian  campaigner. Gandhi spent much time advocating vegetarianism during and  after his time in London. To Gandhi, a vegetarian diet would not only  satisfy the requirements of the body, it would also serve an economic  purpose as meat was, and still is, generally more expensive than grains,  vegetables, and fruits. Also, many Indians of the time struggled with  low income, thus vegetarianism was seen not only as a spiritual practice  but also a practical one. He abstained from eating for long periods,  using <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting" target="_blank">fasting</a>  as a form of political protest. He refused to eat until his death or  his demands were met. Gandhi noted in his autobiography that  vegetarianism was the beginning of his deep commitment to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmacharya" target="_blank">Brahmacharya</a>; without total control of the palate, his success in Bramacharya would likely falter. Gandhi also experimented with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruitarianism" target="_blank">fruitarianism</a>,  stating in his autobiography, "I decided to live on a pure fruit diet,  and that too composed of the cheapest fruit possible ... Raw groundnuts,  bananas, dates, lemons and olive oil composed our usual diet."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-87" target="_blank">[88]</a>  However, late in life he broke his discipline and started taking goat's  milk on the advice of his doctor. This lapse of discipline bothered him  to his dying day, and he wrote, "The memory of this action even now  rankles my breast and fills me with remorse, and I am constantly  thinking how to give up goat's milk." He never took dairy products  obtained from cows because of his view initially that milk is not the  natural diet of man, disgust for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow_blowing" target="_blank">cow blowing</a>,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-88" target="_blank">[89]</a> and, specifically, because of a vow to his late mother. Nai Talim, Basic Education   Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nai_Talim" target="_blank">Nai Talim</a>Nai Talim  is a spiritual principle which states that knowledge  and work are not separate. Gandhi promoted an educational curriculum  with the same name based on this pedagogical principle.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-89" target="_blank">[90]</a> It can be translated with the phrase 'Basic Education for all'.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-90" target="_blank">[91]</a>  However, the concept has several layers of meaning. It developed out of  Gandhi's experience with the English educational system and with  colonialism in general. In that system, he saw that Indian children  would be alienated and 'career-based thinking' would become dominant. In  addition, it embodied a series of negative outcomes: the disdain for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manual_work" target="_blank">manual work</a>, the development of a new elite class, and the increasing problems of industrialisation and urbanisation. The three pillars of Gandhi's pedagogy were its focus on the life-long character of education, its social character and its form as a holistic process. For Gandhi, education is 'the moral development of the person', a process that is by definition 'life-long'.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-91" target="_blank">[92]</a> Brahmacharya, sexuality  <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gandhi_at_Darwen_with_women.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Gandhi_at_Darwen_with_women.jpg/220px-Gandhi_at_Darwen_with_women.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a>      <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gandhi_at_Darwen_with_women.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a> Gandhi with textile workers at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwen" target="_blank">Darwen</a>, Lancashire, 26 September 1931. When Gandhi was 16 his father became very ill. Being very devoted to  his parents, he attended to his father at all times during his illness.  However, one night, Gandhi's uncle came to relieve Gandhi for a while.  Gandhi retired to his bedroom and had sex with his wife. Shortly  afterward a servant came to report that Gandhi's father had just died.  Gandhi felt tremendous guilt and never could forgive himself. He came to  refer to this event as "double shame." The incident had significant  influence in Gandhi becoming celibate at the age of 36, while still  married.    <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-92" target="_blank">[93]</a> This decision was deeply influenced by the philosophy of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmacharya" target="_blank">Brahmacharya</a> — spiritual and practical purity — largely associated with celibacy and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asceticism" target="_blank">asceticism</a>.  Gandhi saw Brahmacharya as a means of becoming close with God and as a  primary foundation for self-realisation. In his autobiography he tells  of his battle against lustful urges and fits of jealousy with his  childhood bride, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasturba_Gandhi" target="_blank">Kasturba</a>.  He felt it his personal obligation to remain celibate so that he could  learn to love, rather than lust. For Gandhi, Brahmacharya meant "control  of the senses in thought, word and deed.".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi#cite_note-93" target="_blank">[94]</a> Simplicity  <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gandhi_and_Mountbatten_drink_tea.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Gandhi_and_Mountbatten_drink_tea.jpg/220px-Gandhi_and_Mountbatten_drink_tea.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a>      <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gandhi_and_Mountbatten_drink_tea.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a> </blockquote>

Verification: Haya warak paha keeyada? (haya wadi kireema paha)

Top Bottom