Gandhi and the path of Ahimsa

Gandhi and the path of Ahimsar
Vinod Anandr
The concept of Ahimsa occupies a central position in Gandhi’s
thoughts. It would not be correct to say that the inspiration behind the
idea of Ahimsa came from Mahatma Gandhi solely, from the spiritual
traditional in India, or from any unified religious tradition for that
matter. The idea is to be found in the teachings of Buddha, Mahavira
and Jesus Christ. However, we find in Gandhi’s thought continuity in
this regard as well as the modification of elements in the idea,
reinforcing its historical relevance in a wholly new perspective.
Similarly significant is Gandhi’s inner search for truth, which Gandhi
called his experiments with truth, in relation to the concept of Ahimsa.
The evolution the idea in Gandhi recognises a deeply humanist
standpoint, quite central to the underlying humanism of Gandhi’s
outlook on life. The idea does occur in the thoughts of some of the
greatest thinkers of the 20rnthrn century. However, one has to turn tor
Gandhi for further understanding of its significance.
The application of this idea of Ahimsa in the contemporary world ofrnpolitics of the 20rnthrn century has been much discussed and debated;
however, aspects of its deeper significance are still to be explored.
Significantly, Gandhi’s spiritual convictions pointed at the need and
radical social change. For India, it meant the social transformation of
the caste-based traditional Indian society. Certain immediate social
and political goals too have connected with this need for social
transformation.
Therefore the non-violence of Gandhi’s thought can be understood
better in the context of India’s social history. Now, this is because in
our history, the forces of violence have a distinct character. There are
deep-rooted social origins behind the manifestations of violence inr
Indian society.
Gandhi tried systematically to build up an alte
ative model of nonviolence; his political understanding also matured through a change in
the historical perspective. Gandhi did not read history of India in the
same way as Tilak and Aurobinda did and the changed perspective was
closely related to his belief in the efficacy of non-violence as a means
of ending the alien rule in India. Gandhi also changed the course of the
freedom struggle substantially by placing Ahimsa in place of the earlier
militancy as the main plank: for India’s freedom struggle. As a
corollary to this, Gandhi envisioned the total transformation of India’srnsemi-feudal society through the acceptance of the new norms of social
justice.
1The evolution of a new social and political consciousness through the
dynamic transformation of society has many aspects and Gandhi’s own
contribution in this had more than one dimension: These are:
• Ahimsa was the avowed means of India’s history; it also implied
the complete identity of means and end;
• Gandhi strove manfully to establish Ahimsa as the sole criterion
for the success or failure of the freedom struggle;
• Gandhi stressed the need for a liberalist, humanist and fullydemocratic consciousness based on a decentralised social
structure;
• With his deep insight into the process of social history, Gandhi
could see the relation of the caste system and the practice of
Sati to other forms of social violence prevalent in Indian society.
The Indian nationalist struggle was at a critical stage when Gandhi
arrived from South Africa. Mot only the Marxists, there were others in
the Congress fold who thought differently. The freedom struggle itself
turned violent on several occasions. These developments left a deep
impression on Gandhi’s mind even before the ‘Quit India’ movement of
1942 was in the final phase of the struggle.
No doubt, the concept of Ahimsa is also deeply related to the need ofrnchanging the character of the state. However, the immediate
prerequisite was to bring about a new social reorganisation though a
radical and voluntary social reform movement, which Gandhi stressed
upon all along.
In essence, Ahimsa is a path, a totality of approach, it cannot be a
matter of tactics or strategy, its ultimate sanction is in the individual
and what it requires isn’t an intellectual grasp of ideology, but, a change of heart.