The Gandhi Project by Nashid Fareed-Ma’at
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A Context for Organizing:
Reflections on Gandhi’s Approach to
Satyagraha (Non-violence)
Volume 1
Nashid Fareed-Ma’at
A Context for Organizing: Reflections on Gandhi’s Approach to Satyagraha (Non-violence)
Volume 1 (April 2010)
by Nashid Fareed-Ma’at
Copyright © 2010
A Context for Organizing:
Reflections on Gandhi’s Approach to
Satyagraha (Non-violence)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ..........7
THE ROOTS OF SATYAGRAHA
Chapter One: Transcending Historical Amnesia.....13
Chapter Two: The Spiritual Foundation (of Satyagraha) ....27
Chapter Three: Walking the Path of No Harm.....41
THE FUNDAMENTALS OF SATYAGRAHA
Chapter Four: Swaraj (Self-rule) is Part of the Search for Truth...66
Chapter Five: A Force More Powerful than Violence....95
Chapter Six: The Satyagraha Approach to (Self-)Suffering....121
Chapter Seven: From the Power of One to the Power of Many . . . 146
Chapter Eight: The Satyagraha Approach to Education....168
A MEANS OF LAST RESORT: CIVIL RESISTANCE AND DISOBEDIENCE
Chapter Nine: The Temperament of Civil Resistance....190
Chapter Ten: In Search of a Comprehensive Definition of Civil Disobedience . 234
Chapter Eleven: Civil Disobedience: Application of a Last Resort - Part One . 250
Chapter Twelve: Civil Disobedience: Application of a Last Resort - Part Two . 290
Chapter Thirteen: The Closing.......310
É
where there is Truth, there can be no harm
É
all (genuine) strength emanates from humility
the deeper the humility, the more pure and potent the strength
É
a soul that knows its strength
can conquer all the violence in the world
without lifting a single finger
how much more can be accomplished
when that soul commits to act
when many such souls form a community
to live the collective strength of their souls
É
1
Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. xxvii.
2
Throughout the book I use the term “Gandhi’s approach,” but it should be understood that his approach
was not arrived at in a vacuum. His approach was definitely influenced by others, including fellow seekers of Truth
who contributed to his understanding of Satyagraha (non-violence). Please keep this mind as you read the book, that
these unnamed persons may be remembered -- even if not by name.
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A Context for Organizing:
Reflections on Gandhi’s Approach to
Satyagraha (Non-violence)
INTRODUCTION
“Far be it from me to claim any degree of perfection for these
experiments. I claim for them nothing more than does a
scientist who, though he conducts his experiments with the
utmost accuracy, forethought and minuteness, never claims any
finality about his conclusions, but keeps an open mind
regarding them. I have gone through deep self-introspection,
searched myself through and through, and examined and
analysed every psychological situation. Yet I am far from
claiming any finality or infallibility about my conclusions.”
1
Welcome! Peace and Blessings!
This book is an in-depth examination of Gandhi’s approach
2
to Satyagraha, more often
translated as “non-violence” in English. As indicated in the above quote, Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi approached Satyagraha as a science: a spiritual science that moved him to
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conduct social actions, which he deemed as experiments, in the political and social realms. But
do not let the humility of his scientific approach fool you: although he refrained from making
many final conclusions about Satyagraha, I, as an observer and student of Satyagraha, firmly
declare that there are many definitive lessons to be learned from Gandhi’s approach. Looking at
the state of the community organizing, peace, and social justice fields, and their significant
decline in influence and impact upon communities throughout the world, I have been moved to
write this book as a way to encourage today’s (and future) activists to look back to Gandhi and
his approach for useful guidance. Many contemporary presentations and applications of “non-
violence” have departed drastically from Gandhi’s approach, even as many modern activist
streams point back to or have been significantly influenced by Gandhi’s work in India and South
Africa. Some contemporary approaches to “non-violence” have even ignored or omitted key
foundational elements of non-violence (Satyagraha) while claiming to still be “non-violence” or
“non-violent.” Instead of writing a book that bashes the arrogance and foolishness of such
approaches, I follow Gandhi’s example of his never ending work of educating the masses about
what Satyagraha truly is and how it can be lived. Satyagraha is a way of life, not a set of tactics
to be employed to wage protests, resistance, or discontent -- or to garner media attention. Its
foundation is clearly spiritual, not political. It is a way of life that demands its followers to
embrace it completely, not partially in certain aspects of life that wade between Truth and
delusion. I have no doubt that if readers genuinely understand what this book conveys, there will
be a major shift in our approach to community organizing, peace, and social justice work. We
will embrace, as Gandhi did, a way of life that seeks Truth in complete humility, empowered by
the genuine strength of our souls, that transforms ourselves and others to expand the blessings of
beneficence and justice in ways that honor ahimsa (no harm) and shed all forms of delusion,
compulsion, violence, fear, and weakness.
This book is written primarily for people in America, but this doesn’t render it useless for
people in other parts of the world. As I witness the unfolding realities that shape our embrace of
the second decade of the twenty-first century, Gandhi’s lessons call to me like a candle flame
flickering in the wind. American culture has become so increasingly violent that even many who
proclaim to be “peaceful” do so in very violent ways. This issue is addressed repeatedly
throughout the book, so I won’t go into it now, but as Gandhi taught: it is virtually impossible to
realize Truth living a life that is immersed in violence and harm. If we do not remove violence
and harm from our lives, it is extremely unlikely that we will see Truth. And without Truth, it is
extremely difficult -- if not impossible -- to be peaceful. Thus, there is a pressing need for
people in America to re-evaluate and examine our cultures and values. (The same applies to
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many people throughout the world, particularly with the exportation of American culture via
globalization.) This evaluation and examination of our cultures and values are very important
aspects of Satyagraha (non-violence), aspects often removed from contemporary presentations of
it. But even when these aspects are acknowledged, some ignore Gandhi’s approach to
actualizing these: for Gandhi, his first aim was to radically transform who he was as he sought
Truth, and then seek to extend this transformation outward to others, beginning with his family
and neighbors in quest of reaching all people within India. His approach was based in humility
and enduring patience, which informed his great willingness to suffer for others that they may
realize the power and beauty of transforming to live and seek Truth. In many respects, it is the
absence and abandonment of this approach that has rendered the community organizing, peace,
and social justice fields weak. And I say weak, because even our apparent strengths rarely
emanate from cultivated souls that humbly embody the great power of Truth. Thus, a method
that unified and empowered masses of people to seek justice and beneficence -- including the
liberation of colonized countries -- struggles to merely address injustice and destruction today.
We have abandoned and ignored the lessons that will enable us to realize the genuine strength of
the Satyagraha way. But it is not too late to return to these lessons and apply them, that we may
contribute to re-establishing and advancing the spiritual science of Satyagraha.
This book draws heavily from three main sources. The first is Gandhi’s autobiography,
titled: An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth. (The original autobiography
was actually written in Gujarati, an Indian language; I have utilized an English translation by
Mahadev Desai.) Like much of Gandhi’s writings, his autobiography was written primarily to
the people of India and, thus, there was a shared context for understanding his words given his
ongoing public discussion with the masses through various newspapers, writings, and
community organizing. It’s interesting to note that his autobiography is not typical of most
biographies that seek to catalog and explain various notable experiences in a person’s life.
Instead, his autobiography seeks to convey the predominant theme in his life: his unending,
humble pursuit of Truth. Even his various experiments (or experiences) with Truth, as he called
them, sought to impart to readers that the most important lesson he had to offer them is: seek
Truth. This pursuit can be done in a wide variety of ways since Truth can be approached in a
wide variety of ways, but he implored readers -- explicitly and implicitly -- to set on their own
individual quests for Truth. This point is a fundamental cornerstone of Satyagraha, which
literally means holding on to Truth. There is much from this autobiography that shaped and
guided the writing of this book.
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The second main source is a book titled: Non-violent Resistance (Satyagraha). The book
is a collection of various writings from Gandhi throughout his Satyagraha work. It is mostly
filled with articles and excerpts from two newspapers Gandhi published and wrote for: Young
India and Harijan. Gandhi used these newspapers to engage in public dialogue with the Indian
masses, writing articles to expound on the facets of Satyagraha as well as respond to letters sent
to him by readers. He realized the engagement of public opinion was a powerful tool in
Satyagraha, and sought to inform public sentiment as well as provide a forum for the public to
voice their own thoughts and opinions. Excerpts from these newspapers in this book will be
indicated in the footnotes of quotes, also stating the original publishing date. Non-violent
Resistance (Satyagraha) also includes excerpts from other books such as Hind Swaraj (which
will be addressed in the next paragraph) and From Yeravda Mandir (which includes letters
Gandhi wrote to his ashram while imprisoned). Non-violent Resistance (Satyagraha) seeks to
portray the scope of Gandhi’s Satyagraha work in his own words as reflected through writings he
wrote to the Indian people during the course of his life. The collection is a valuable resource as
it presents Gandhi’s efforts to explain various components of Satyagraha to a population that, at
times, challenged the validity of his teachings. The book also allows readers to get a sense of the
evolution Gandhi went through in his many years of living Satyagraha: many core elements
remain constant while the depth of his practice drove him to make adjustments in his quest to
make Satyagraha more efficient and powerful.
The third main source is a book titled: Hind Swaraj (Indian Home Rule). This short book
(75 pages) was originally published in 1909 and lays out Gandhi’s insistence that Indian quests
for independence be rooted in traditional Indian culture. Swaraj, which means self-rule or home-
rule, rejected any approach that sought to Europeanize Indians or their quest to liberate
themselves from British colonialism. This rejection of European culture, particularly for its
glorification of commerce (economic exploitation) and violence, is probably a major factor in
why Swaraj is absent from most European and American presentations of Satyagraha (non-
violence). Yet, Gandhi saw Swaraj as a vital part of Satyagraha. His insistence on embracing
ancient Indian values (as rooted in traditional Indian morality and religions) strongly informed
his pursuit of and holding on to Truth as a way to affect just and beneficent change.
And let me encourage readers to read these books for themselves: An Autobiography: The
Story of My Experiments with Truth; Non-violent Resistance (Satyagraha); and Hind Swaraj
(Indian Home Rule). These books are available at many libraries and bookstores, and online.