Religion as the basis of
the Social Reconstruction in Gandhian thought
India, Our
country, has a rich tradition in religion that it is not a matter of doctrine or
dogma or rites. This has been the tradition that has come down to us from our ancestors.
We welcomed all religions and not only tolerated other religions but also
appreciated them. We considerably borrowed from all religions and so religion
and spirituality are rooted in the minds of Indian people. Hence, we can say
that religion is the soul of Indian life and the decline of our nation, to a
great extent, is due to its retreat from religion.
We are living in a period of
disintegration of faith and growing disillusionment about the traditional
values which have come down to us. These are values which are embodied in the
spirit of India
and helped our country to survive to this day. These are the values which came
to us through the great religions and our culture is a mixture of all these
cults. It is this religion that we require in the contemporary situation.
Mahatma Gandhi understood the mind of Indian people in which religion is a
sustaining forces pertaining to all the spheres of their lives. Hence he
expressed his social, political, and economic ideas in religious terms. He said
‘Man without religion is man without roots. Religion is the basis on which life
structure has to be erected if life is to be real.’1(Gandhi,
Harijan, 2.7.46). He held that public, social, political and economic life
would be much purer if we do it in the spirit of religion. Here in this article
our attempt is to show how Gandhi had placed religion as the basis for his
social reconstruction programme and the dedication of all his work in social,
political and economic fields in the name of God.
Gandhi gave a practical color to the lofty
principles of religion not only in the individual life but in the social plane
also. Truth and ahimsa were regarded as the highest values from the Vedic times,
but these were not always applied in the practical life. They were given the
highest place and practical shape by Mahatma Gandhi. He considered them as a
means of achieving political, social and economic ends and there by as means of
social reconstruction. Here our attempt is to recapitulate how Gandhiji had
used Truth and Ahimsa in his nation-building work and how religion played an
important part in every sphere of his activity.
Religious Philosophy of Gandhi:-
Mahatma Gandhi cannot be regarded as
originating any new system of philosophy. He only tried to assimilate in his
own way the teachings that appealed to him. He tried to apply these teachings
not only in his personal life but also to social, political and economic
problems and he dedicated all his work He told that the whole gamut of man’s
activities constituted an indivisible whole and we cannot divide it into
social, economic, political and purely religious work into watertight compartments.
It provides a moral basis to all other activities which would otherwise lack
reducing life into a maze of ‘sound and fury signifying nothing’. This is the
essence of Gandhism. Thus he wanted religion to be the life force or that
guiding factor of all human activity.
Mahatma Gandhi’s view of religion
is highly practical as he believed that one could reach God only by service to
man. He could not find God apart from humanity. His mission was not only to humanize
religion but also to moralize it. He would reject any religious doctrine that
was in conflict with morality. As it was stated by Gandhi “Let me explain what
I mean by religion. It is not the Hindu religion….but the religion which
transcends Hinduism…which changes one’s very nature, which binds one
indissolubly to the truth within and which ever purifier”2 (Gandhi,
Young India,12.5.20).True religion and true morality are inseparably bound with
each other. If religion in the sense of spiritual realization along with social
advancement and freedom is the end; morality is the means. For Gandhi, “God is Truth,
Love ethics and morality”3. (Gandhi, Young India, 5.3.1925)
He regarded non-violence as the means to morality. He held it as the supreme
virtue and the guiding factor of all affairs of life. It is also the means to
attain Truth which is another name of God.
Truth and Ahimsa:-
Ahimsa and Truth are the guiding principles of
Gandhian philosophy and religion. Ahimsa according to him is the practical
expression of Truth. There is no religion higher than Truth. Gandhiji held that
Truth is the ideal of life and all his activities whether social, political or
humanitarian were directed to the end of the search of Truth.
Gandhiji’s assertion that Truth is God
carries with it a great value in our religious life. He insisted that religion
is based on Truth. The object of devotion should be Truth. This can help to
create a sort of universal brotherhood in respect of religion because worship
of Truth can unify persons belonging to different castes, creeds and religions.
He was of opinion that all persons including the atheist can be brought under
the religion of Truth. Again, reason could reject any thing but not Truth. This
led him to say that “if it is at all possible for the human tongue to give the
fullest description of God…then we must say that God is Truth …But I went a
step further and said Truth is God…”4 (Gandhi, Young India,
31.12.1931).Thus Truth provides common platform for all and it is the only factor
which is completely universal and comprehensive. This, more than anything else
lead Gandhiji to assert the primacy of Truth.
According to Gandhi, if Truth is God,
non-violence and Ahimsa is the way of realizing Him. It is the practical expression
of Truth. It was a part of the spiritual discipline in Indian thought. It was
Gandhi who transferred the ethics of Ahimsa from the individual to the social
plane. Gandhiji always held that “In the course of the search for Truth,
non-violence came to me. Its spread is my life mission. I have no interest in
living except for the prosecution of that mission.”5 (R.K.Prabhu and
U.R.Rao,The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi.p.43).Thus an account of Gandhi’s theory
Truth necessarily takes us to the consideration of his views on the nature of
non-violence.
According to Gandhi, Ahimsa is natural to
man. And once the spiritual side of man is awakened, his non-violent nature
becomes apparent. Ahimsa in its positive aspect is nothing but love and love according
to Gandhi is that energy that cleanses one’s inner life and uplifts him. Ahimsa
demands a sincere effort to free mind from feelings like anger, malice hatred,
revenge, jealousy etc because these create obstacles in the way of love. Thus
for Gandhi we see that the positive aspects of Ahimsa are more basic than its
negative aspects since it represents an essential quality of mankind.
The practice of ahimsa requires an inner
strength, which can only be generated by a living faith in God. The love of God
would turn into a love of humanity because a sincere faith in God will make man
see that all human beings are fellow beings and essentially one. Gandhi thus
showed that the realization of man’s essential oneness with the entire creation
and beyond that, with Supreme Reality or the Truth, is the fulfillment of human
life. Hence we see that the method of reconstructing a non-violent society is
based on the principles of Truth and non-violence. The details to be followed
show how Gandhi put his religious principles based on this Truth and
Non-violence into practice in the different fields of social, political, and
economics.
.Religion and Politics:-
As Gandhiji was a politician
with unshakable religious convictions he was of opinion that politics cannot be
separated from religion since according to him both had the same ideal of
service to mankind. By introducing religion into politics Gandhiji wanted to
introduce morality into politics. He said, “…that is why my devotion to Truth
has drawn me into the field of politics; and I can say without the slightest hesitation
and yet in all humility, that those who say that religion has nothing to do
with politics do not know what religion means”.6 (Gandhi. The Story
of My Experiments with Truth.p383).He clung to the moral and religious
considerations even in the fields of politics. And he did not hesitate to say
that “my politics and all other activities of mine are derived from my religion”7.
(Gandhi, Harijan, 2.3.1934). Thus Gandhiji clearly points out that his
political outlook was influenced by the spirit of religion.
The principles of Truth and non-violence
which forms the pivot of Gandhi’s political activity are basically religious
principles. He brought down these principles from the heights of
spiritualization to the day to day life of common man. By this he wanted to
show that there is nothing bad about politics if it was guided by moral and
religious principles. Hence He stated that,”…for me there is no politics devoid
of religion. …politics bereft of religion is a death trap because it kills the
soul”8. (Gandhi, Young India, 3.4.1924 p112). He firmly held that success in politics
should be achieved only by truthful means. Thus Gandhiji revolutionized
politics by introducing the maxims of ethics and religion.
Satyagraha as the method of Truth in Politics:-
Satyagraha was introduced by Gandhi into
politics as a technique of Truth and Ahimsa. From the very word it follows that
it is ‘ agraha’ of ‘satya’ and thus it means holding fast to truth. As a means
it implies sticking to the truth while endeavoring to procure the end through
such non-violent methods as non-co-operation and fasting. It was in the
political field that Gandhi made successful use of this means.
In fact, Satyagraha appears to Gandhi
almost as a religious pursuit. It rests on a religious belief that there is one
God behind everything and being, and as such the same God resides in every one
of us. Satyagraha demands selfless and sincere pursuit of Truth without any
consideration of any advantage or gain. Gandhiji describes it as a force
against violence based on love. There must be love for the opponent. Thus Satyagraha
is based on the conviction that through love ahimsa and conscious suffering the
forces of evil an be neutralized because this is the Divine way, the way of
Truth. Gandhi believed that this technique is universal in its applications. It
is the most powerful weapon to resist violence and secure social, economics or political
emancipation
.Impact of Religion on Gandhian Economic thought:-
The real force behind Gandhiji’s economic reorganization
can be traced back to India’s
spiritual tradition. Love for all mankind finds expression in Truth and
non-violence and these forms the basis of Gandhian economics. As poverty leads
to moral degradation, Gandhi strove to uplift India’s economy. He dreamt of an India
which is happy economically as well as spiritually. Providing the basic
necessities of human life to poor and hungry millions was the first concern of
Gandhiji’s economic thinking. Material progress should be achieved by
preserving the essentials of humanity and religion.
The economic basis of society must be a moral
one, i.e., society must be based on love and trust. This would naturally
prevent economic exploitation. Gandhiji takes personal effort as the primary
need for the economic growth of the individual as well as the nation. In other
words, one has no right to eat without any labour in any form. For earning his
own bread one must do some manual work. Thus Gandhian economic programme was
based upon the ideal of self sufficiency.
Gandhian socialism as inspired by religion:-
Gandhiji considered economic
equality as the main key to socialism. The religious influence in Gandhi has
moulded his idea of socialisms in a different perspective. He gave a simple and
practical idea of socialism which was different from western trend. Other
socialists like Marx were never bothered about the means to achieve socialism,
but Gandhiji insisted that it should be achieved by non-violent peaceful means.
Socialism as Gandhi believed should be evolved out of the traditions and
culture of the country. So Gandhiji tries to introduce religious principles
like Truth and non-violence. According to him Truth and ahimsa must incarnate
in socialism.
Again,
Gandhi was against western type of socialism because it suppressed freedom of
the individual. About western type of socialism he opined that “I want freedom
for full expression of my personality. Under socialism, there is no individual
freedom. You own nothing, not even your body.”9. (Gandhi, Harijan,
4.8.1946). Freedom, according to him, is necessary in the pursuit of truth. His
philosophy was based upon the long standing religious belief on the freedom of
human soul. He believed that freedom was the chief postulate of morality and
religion.
But he does not subscribe to the view that
complete individual freedom altogether devoid of social obligations is an
essential condition of civilized society. It is only in society that man’s
aspirations, interest and goals are realized in the true sense of the term.
This reciprocity of relation between man and society was well recognized by
Gandhiji. He held that moral resistance through the principles truth and
non-violence must be the guiding principle to regulate the relationship between
the individual and society. Thus it is evident that even in his idea of socialism
Mahatma Gandhi takes resort of the ideas of Truth and Ahimsa. Hence we can say
that Gandhiji’s religious thought paves the way to a higher life through this
world.
Concluding Remarks:-
To conclude, we can say the greatest
contribution of Gandhi lays in transforming religion from a system of ritual
into a practical code of conduct. This was the new interpretation that he gave
to religion. This trend of socializing religion started in India during
the time of Sri Ramakrishna and was further advanced by Swami Vivekananda and
culminated in Mahatma Gandhi. He himself gave a religious color to every field
of action. The political system that is guided by the forces of religion can
withstand the most difficult circumstances.
In
the realm of reality which he expressed as ‘Truth’ he maintained that reality
is neither wholly material nor wholly spiritual but a combination of both. We
can also say that in the religious stand point Gandhi successfully synthesized
theism and atheism when he declared reality as ‘Truth’. In the field of
morality and values Gandhi sought to bring about a synthesis between ends and
means.
From the above account it is clear that if
leaders of today are influenced by similar virtues of religion, it will go a
long way in reducing the present crisis in India. Political life as we find
today stands blind to all religious values. Our age needs politicians who are
not merely motivated by the considerations of power and economic gains but by
human considerations. As it is said in the last chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita Gandhi
wanted the spiritual vision and social service to go together .Here he
indicated the double purpose of human life i.e.; personal purpose and social
efficiency. Gandhiji tried to emphasize this particular point to bring about a
peaceful condition of human existence. It is expected that this Gandhian
technique will bring about a revolution in the near future, if not immediately.
Reference:-
1. Gandhi, M.K, Harijan, 2.7.46
2. .,
,, Young India
12.5.20, p.
3. ,,
,, ,, ,, 12.3.25.p
4. ,,
,,,, ,, 31.12.1931.
5. R.K.Prabhu and
U.R.Rao, The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi,
p.43.
6. Gandhi, M.K, The story of My Experiment with Truth.p.383.
7. Gandhi, M.K, Harijan, 2.3.1934.
8.,, ,, Young
India 3.4.1924,p.112.
9.,, ,, Harijan,4.8.1946
Dr.P.I.DEVARAJ,
Dr.SYAMALA.K,
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