The Gandhi Project by Nashid Fareed-Ma’at
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25
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 345, excerpt from Young India,
September 6, 1928.
26
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 73, excerpt from Young India,
October 13, 1927.
27
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 202, excerpt from Harijan, April
15, 1933.
28
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 87, excerpt from Harijan, March
25, 1939.
29
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 294, excerpt from Harijan, June 3,
1939.
131
purification will easily inspire confidence and automatically purify the atmosphere around
them.”
25
Thus, in efforts to combat evil (i.e., injustice, harm, destruction), a Satyagraha effort
“requires no prestige save that of truth, and no strength save that of self-suffering which comes
only from an immovable faith in one’s cause and from a completely non-violent spirit.”
26
Regarding Truth, “The reformer must have consciousness of the truth of his cause.”
27
If you
have little or no understanding of a cause you claim to stand for, this is a problem that should be
addressed before engaging in actions that require the willingness to suffer. An appropriate
education / development process will enable individuals to fulfill the following mandate Gandhi
issued to Satyagrahis: “He should avoid artificiality in all his doings. He acts naturally and from
inward conviction.”
28
One of the aims of the Satyagraha education process (addressed in
Chapter 8) is that it develops people to not act from mere knowledge, but inner moral
convictions which may be supported by knowledge. Knowledge alone does not equate to
strength, which is a component of the soul / spirit that can be cultivated through moral training.
In this age of brutal violence, Satyagrahis must be prepared to undergo immense
suffering. Again, needless suffering should be avoided but “Satyagraha means readiness to
suffer and a faith that the more innocent and pure the suffering the more potent will it be in its
effect.”
29
At the point of redundancy, I emphasize Satyagrahis must possess the readiness and
willingness to suffer, but not seeking suffering itself. I am reminded of stories told to me about
the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in which people would get “freedom high.” After protests in
which participants were brutally beaten, other people would come, sometimes from the other end
of the country, to participate in follow-up protests looking to get beat up too. These people
30
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 275, excerpt from Young India,
May 8, 1930.
31
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 113, excerpt from Young India,
June 16, 1920.
132
associated getting beat with affecting social change, but this is a point of confusion. If the
suffering of violence could affect such change we should be living in an idealistic paradise of
justice given the immense amount of violence that has occurred over the past century alone. It is
the willingness to suffer combined with innocence (as a moral virtue, not a social label) and
purity that empower suffering to affect change. And it is this innocence and purity that are
lacking in many contemporary efforts to affect social change, rendering them weak and
sometimes completely impotent. Also remember that Satyagraha, as an universal tool, was
devised to be applicable not only in an age of violence but also in an age of beneficence: one in
which violence does not exist. In such an age, the willingness to suffer will probably be
worthless since it has little value in a world where there is no suffering. But surely innocence
and purity will remain powerful forces in such a world. Understanding this, I’ll let you decipher
what holds more importance even in today’s age: the willingness to suffer or innocence and
purity?
In this age of brutal violence, those who commit evil may engage in extremely brutal acts
upon those who nonviolently resist them -- even mass killings and extended persecution and
repression. Gandhi discovered a relevant (spiritual) scientific law to deal with this reality:
“For, according to the science of Satyagraha, the greater the
repression and lawlessness on the part of authority, the greater
should be the suffering courted by the victims.”
30
Satyagrahis should not avoid acts of violence inflicted on them by their opponents. Gandhi
presented the following guidance for how to handle such violence, including extreme violence:
“The way to do better is to avoid, if we can, violence from our side
and thus quicken the rate of progress and to introduce greater
purity in the methods of suffering. ... Progress is to be measured by
the amount of suffering undergone by the sufferer. The purer the
suffering, the greater is the progress.”
31
32
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 113, excerpt from Young India,
June 16, 1920.
133
The point about Satyagrahis not committing violence was addressed earlier (in Chapter 5):
committing acts of violence only furthers cycles of violence. But bearing the suffering of others
in a non-retaliatory manner equates to a portion of (if not the entire) fire burning itself out.
Purity and innocence add more impact to this fire burning itself out. In this way, the science of
Satyagraha can measure progress by such suffering.
WHY BE WILLING TO SUFFER AND SACRIFICE?
In understanding and applying this (spiritual) scientific law, Gandhi encouraged
Satyagrahis “to take up suffering voluntarily and to find joy in it.”
32
Again, this excludes
needless violence, but Satyagrahis should be willing to bear violence afflicted upon them by
their opponents. Do not mistake this call to suffer voluntarily with being a masochist: a
Satyagrahi should not seek joy from the pain but instead for what bearing such suffering attains
and brings one closer to. Remember, the quest for Truth is essential to Satyagraha and those
upon this quest will find happiness in everything that brings them closer to Truth. This is not
merely an inner realization of Truth -- if so, Gandhi might have sought to be a hermit or a recluse
in an ashram. The manifestation of justice and other forms of beneficence in society brings us
all closer to Truth, but especially those explicitly and consciously seeking Truth. This fact may
be hard to comprehend for those not seeking Truth, but those who choose to seek it and mature
on this quest will come to see the validity of this statement. So an act of suffering that brings a
Satyagrahi closer to Truth will make her or him happy: a natural consequence of arriving closer
to the destination of Truth. This same principle applies to other beneficent acts that bring us
closer to Truth: such as prayer, meditation, helping others, constructive service within the realm
of Swaraj, etc. In fact, if we engage in suffering that does not result in such happiness, we
should reflect upon our actions. It may not be an immediate happiness, since some efforts
require endurance and patience over an extended period of time: but an episode of suffering
while standing up for Truth-guided values that does not bring us happiness indicates a failure of
some kind on our part. It will often indicate a lack of purity or understanding of our cause, but
there may be other reasons for such lack of happiness that have much, if not everything, to do
with ourselves -- and little, if anything, to do with our opponents. Thus, Gandhi’s earlier calls
for self-introspection and analysis. But these calls should be heeded throughout any Satyagraha
33
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 314, excerpt from Young India,
September 30, 1926.
134
effort and what is revealed seriously considered: even if it means ending, short of the intended
goal, a massive Satyagraha campaign that took years of preparation -- something Gandhi himself
did.
I will also warn about getting caught up in concepts of fairness and (ethical)
accountability. In Satyagraha suffering, one may take on a higher proportion of loss and harm
for destructive acts one did not commit. And by many moral measures of justice, it is unfair that
an innocent person suffers for the wrongs of others, that those who committed the wrongs should
be held “accountable” for their acts. Yet Satyagraha holds moving closer to Truth as more
important and beneficial than seeking an instance of accountability in a larger situation of
injustice where evil continues to exist and expand. In such situations, Satyagrahis are content to
accept temporary “unfair” circumstances (via suffering) to move toward a more lasting (if not
permanent) reality of beneficence and justice attained by moving (one’s self and others) closer to
Truth.
It is for the happiness and other benefits of being brought closer to Truth that Satyagrahis
are willing to meet even death for their cause. First and foremost, this requires that Satyagrahis
be unattached (have no attachments) to the objective of their efforts. To this point, Gandhi
wrote: “A Satyagrahi is always unattached to the attainment of the object of Satyagraha.”
33
(The
issue of attachments was discussed in Chapter 3.) Attachment to the desired goal or other things
in life can prevent us from being willing to sacrifice our lives in the effort to manifest the desired
goal. If we are not willing to sacrifice our lives, any significant threat to our lives can render our
efforts to a meaningless compromise or defeat. And such threats are not beyond normal tactics
in an age of brute violence, even if they are empty threats presented with a facade of real force.
The power of the willingness to sacrifice our lives, which does mean the willingness to be killed
in our efforts to carry out our cause, is a strength Gandhi acknowledged as being at the heart of
Satyagraha:
“To lay down one’s life, even alone, for what one considers to be
right, is the very core of Satyagraha. More, no man can do. ... The
sword of the Satyagrahi is love and the unshakeable firmness that
34
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 380, excerpt from Harijan, March
17, 1946.
35
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 111, excerpt from Young India,
May 12, 1920.
36
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 197, excerpt from Young India,
June 4, 1925.
135
comes from it. He will regard as brothers the hundreds of goondas
[ruffians] that confront him and instead of trying to kill them he
will choose to die at their hands and thereby live.”
34
Part of what Gandhi meant by living after dying regards the life of the soul beyond the existence
of the physical body. But it also included the cherished memory other Satyagrahis should have
and sustain of those who sacrificed their lives to advance a just cause:
“it is better to die helpless and unarmed and as victims rather than
as tyrants. I would have the future generations remember that we
who witnessed the innocent dying did not ungratefully refuse to
cherish their memory.”
35
With a genuine willingness to face death, a Satyagrahi will stand firm in the midst of all
the cross-currents that arise in efforts to affect just change. Gandhi also warned that such a
Satyagrahi:
“may not be impatient with blind orthodoxy, nor be irritated over
the unbelief of the suppressed people. He must know that his
suffering will melt the stoniest heart of the stoniest fanatic...”
36
The impatience of blind orthodoxy was addressed in the previous sections on the importance of
patience and self-introspection. One of the imminent dangers of being irritated by the unbelief
of others is that this irritation can quickly transform into an anger that pollutes our purity, thus
making us and our work impure. But even if such irritation doesn’t become anger, it certainly
can distract us from more important things in the Satyagraha process. As I’ve repeated many
times throughout this book, Satyagraha is a process of transformation and conversion: a process
that changes those who embrace Satyagraha, their opponents, and others directly and indirectly
37
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 194, excerpt from Young India,
March 19, 1925.
38
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 191, excerpt from Young India,
March 19, 1925.
136
affected by the injustice Satyagrahis confront as well as the beneficence they share. With
sustained purity, patience, and the willingness to suffer, our Satyagraha work will have the
opportunity to melt the “stoniest hearts” and / or render them powerless in preventing just
change. Gandhi explained how to achieve this even with those having the stoniest hearts:
“Our business, therefore, is to show them that they [our opponents]
are in the wrong and we should do so by our suffering. I have
found that mere appeal to reason does not answer where prejudices
are age-long and based on supposed religious [or other types of]
authority. Reason has to be strengthened by suffering and
suffering opens the eyes of understanding. Therefore, there must
be no trace of compulsion in our acts. We must not be impatient,
and we must have an undying faith in the means we are
adopting.”
37
Gandhi augmented the above point with another statement:
“But experience has shown that mere appeal to the reason
produces no effect upon those who have settled convictions. The
eyes of their understanding are opened not by argument but by the
suffering of the Satyagrahi. The Satyagrahi strives to reach the
reason through the heart. The method of reaching the heart is to
awaken public opinion. Public opinion for which one cares is a
mightier force than that of gunpowder.”
38
To Gandhi, awakening public opinion didn’t mean propaganda (in the contemporary sense) or
manipulation of the public’s thoughts or feelings, as is often attempted by many today -- even
some who profess to be for the people. Nor did it include shifting people’s impressions to stated
political and social goals or using sensationalistic or melodramatic media to move people to a
39
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Hind Swaraj (Indian Home Rule), 1938 reprint from original publication in 1909,
p. 19, Chapter I: The Congress And Its Officials.
40
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 382, excerpt from Harijan, March
31, 1946.
41
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Hind Swaraj (Indian Home Rule), 1938 reprint from original publication in 1909,
p. 28, Chapter V: The Condition Of England.
137
desired position. Gandhi’s approach to public opinion is reflected in the following quote about
what newspapers should aspire for:
“One of the objects of a newspaper is to understand popular feeling
and to give expression to it; another is to arouse among the people
certain desirable sentiments; and the third is fearlessly to expose
popular defects.”
39
Gandhi’s emphasis on encouraging others to seek Truth was strongly reflected in his fulfillment
of the above three objectives. Therefore, he was not content to merely have people express their
desires and discontents from a place rooted in illusion; but instead, in understanding their points
of view, he humbly yet strongly encouraged (and sometimes challenged) them to seek Truth --
and to express their points from a place of seeking Truth. He saw Satyagraha as “a process of
educating public opinion, such that it covers all the elements of society and in the end makes
itself irresistible.”
40
To this end, he began and wrote for a number of newspapers throughout his
life such as Indian Opinion, Young India, and Harijan. Through these he wrote regular columns
to the Indian people as well as responded to letters received from them. He also wrote numerous
pamphlets and books to continue and inspire public dialogue among Indians. Yet, he never
regarded newspapers and other media as things to be controlled by an elite group to manufacture
public sentiment. He saw great danger in this:
“To the English voters their newspaper is their Bible. They take
their cue from their newspapers which are often dishonest. The
same fact is differently interpreted by different newspapers,
according to the party in whose interests they are edited. One
newspaper would consider a great Englishman to be a paragon of
honesty, another would consider him dishonest. What must be the
condition of the people whose newspapers are of this type?”
41
42
Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 287.
43
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 202, excerpt from Harijan, April
15, 1933.
138
He saw the media as having a mandate to serve the people in line with the above stated
objectives:
“In the very first month of Indian Opinion, I realized that the sole
aim of journalism should be service. The newspaper press is a
great power, but just as an unchained torrent of water submerges
whole countrysides and devastates crops, even so an uncontrolled
pen serves but to destroy. If the control is from without, it proves
more poisonous than want of control. It can be profitable only
when exercised from within. If this line of reasoning is correct,
how many of the journals in the world would stand the test? But
who would stop those that are useless? And who should be the
judge? The useful and the useless must, like good and evil
generally, go on together, and man must make his choice.”
42
Gandhi opposed any efforts by groups to force their views upon the public. Instead he
sought to educate the public about his causes and allow the rightness of these to touch the hearts
of the people. If his cause was just and presented in an effective, pure, and honest manner (as
guided by Truth), Gandhi felt this would suffice to touch the hearts of the general public. He
trusted they would see the validity of his cause even if, for other (usually oppressive) reasons,
they chose not to support it immediately. But even this suppressed support -- fertilized with
consistent pure effort, patience, and suffering -- would eventually blossom to an expressed (and
sometimes active) support. And in the social fertilization of public opinion, Gandhi was explicit
in appealing to the public’s hearts:
“This conversion can only be brought about by an appeal to their
hearts, i.e. by evoking the best that is in them. Such an appeal can
be made by the appellants’ prayers, fasting and other suffering in
their own persons, in other words, by their ever increasing purity.
It has never yet been known to fail. For it is its own end.”
43
44
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 77, excerpt from Young India,
August 8, 1929.
45
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 323, excerpt from Harijan, April
21, 1946.
46
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 313 - 314, excerpt from Young
India, September 30, 1926.
139
Gandhi saw this process succeed throughout human history: from the early efforts of the rishis in
spreading the Hindu sacred writings throughout India to the Swaraj efforts of his lifetime. Even
the study of other peoples throughout the world confirmed the power of this approach, such that
he was moved to write:
“When public opinion is sufficiently roused against a social abuse
even the tallest will not dare to practise or openly to lend support
to it. An awakened and intelligent public opinion is the most
potent weapon of a Satyagrahi.”
44
CONSIDERATIONS FOR A SATYAGRAHA FAST
Before continuing, I want to clarify some points about using fasting to appeal to the
hearts of others. This use of fasting differs from fasts engaged for personal spiritual growth,
cultivation, and purification. Fasts to appeal to others, which Gandhi sometimes called
Satyagraha fasts, are to be used “only as a last resort when all other avenues of redress have been
explored and have failed.”
45
But he also instituted strict conditions upon such fasts, including
one that has particular importance in the context of suffering:
“But Satyagraha in the form of fasting cannot be undertaken as
against an opponent. Fasting can be resorted to only against one’s
nearest and dearest, and that solely for his or her good.”
46
The first point in the above quote is extremely important. Imagine if Gandhi took a fast against
the British government (his opponent), vowing not to eat until the British granted India its
independence. The British government, who had no personal association with him or genuine
concern for him, would be happy to wait and watch him waste away to death as it refused to
47
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 321, excerpt from Harijan, October
31, 1940.
140
concede to his request. And, in a sense, Gandhi would get what he deserved in pursuing death:
for it makes no sense to put the fate of your life in the hands of an entity that does not care about
you, especially when in an adversarial relationship. And if Gandhi stopped the fast short of
death, he would appear hypocritical or foolish to have engaged a path that he did not pursue to
completion. Such a fast -- whether resulting in death, serious injury, or early termination --
would amount to giving victory to his opponent. This is contrary to the standard of Satyagraha
to (nonviolently) fight our opponents by living our values to the fullest, even if this means
bearing suffering imposed by our opponents. This leads to a key point: Satyagrahis do not
impose suffering on themselves to stand for their causes, even as they are willing to bear such
suffering inflicted by their opponents. This same principle applies to fasting.
But the dynamic of fasting differs when it comes to dealing with those we have a
personal connection or association with. Such fasts can only be taken to benefit those the fast is
taken against: that the desired outcome of the fast benefits them, not necessarily the person
taking the fast. Let me first state that Gandhi warned:
“Fasting is a fiery weapon. It has its own science. No one, as far
as I am aware, has a perfect knowledge of it. Unscientific
experimentation with it is bound to be harmful to the one who
fasts, and it may even harm the cause espoused.”
47
Therefore, much careful deliberation must be engaged when considering a fast -- and this
consideration must occur before beginning a fast! As stated earlier, a fast should only be
considered as a last resort, after all other options for resolution have failed. Gandhi also required
that:
“Those who want to go in for a Satyagrahi fast should certainly
posses some personal experience of fasts for spiritual purification.
Fasts for ridding the body of impurities are also beneficial. In the