The Gandhi Project by Nashid Fareed-Ma’at

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Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 284, excerpt from Young India,

April 2, 1931.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 376, excerpt from Harijan, August

4, 1940.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 35, excerpt from Young India,

November 3, 1927.

151

mind is non-violence of the weak or the cowardly and has

therefore no potency.”

The strength of collective Satyagraha is rooted in the individual potency each Satyagrahi

cultivates within one’s mind, as connected to one’s heart, to be manifested through all the

components of one’s being. Gandhi made the following statement in regards to solitary

Satyagrahis, but it applies to all Satyagrahis:

“The solitary Satyagrahi has to examine himself. If he has

universal love and if he fulfills the conditions implied in such a

state, it must find its expression in his daily conduct.”

The daily expression of universal love brings us to the challenge of perfection, a

challenge Gandhi felt every Satyagrahi could fulfill. Imagine the power of an individual whose

every living moment of every single day is a living expression of universal love. Consider the

impact such a person will have on their family, community, nation, and the world:

“for the exercise of the purest soul-force, in its perfect form, brings

about instantaneous relief. For this exercise, prolonged training of

the individual soul is an absolute necessity, so that a perfect

Satyagrahi has to be almost, if not entirely, a perfect man

[human].”

We will explore some components of such training in Chapter 8 (on education), but Gandhi

clearly acknowledged the attainable potential of becoming a perfect Satyagrahi and, thus, a

perfect human. He even went further than acknowledging this with the following

encouragement:

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 176, excerpt from Young India,

December 26, 1924.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 35 - 36, excerpt from Young India,

November 3, 1927.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 30, excerpt from Young India,

January 21, 1920.

152

“I have repeatedly stated that Satyagraha never fails and that one

perfect Satyagrahi is enough to vindicate Truth. Let us all strive

to be perfect Satyagrahis. The striving does not require any

quality unattainable by the lowliest among us. For Satyagraha

is an attribute of the spirit within. It is latent in every one of

us. Like Swaraj it is our birthright. Let us know it.”

(emphasis

mine)

Gandhi was adamant in encouraging people to sincerely seek perfection, a component of the

quest for Truth. He reasoned:

“We cannot all suddenly become such [perfect] men, but if my

proposition is correct -- as I know it to be correct -- the greater the

spirit of Satyagraha in us, the better men will we become. Its use,

therefore, is, I think, indisputable, and it is a force, which, if it

became universal, would revolutionize social ideals and do away

with despotisms and the ever-growing militarism under which the

nations of the West are groaning and are being almost crushed to

death, and which fairly promises to overwhelm even the nations of

the East. If the past struggle has produced even a few Indians who

would dedicate themselves to the task of becoming Satyagrahis as

nearly perfect as possible, they would not only have served

themselves in the truest sense of the term, they would also have

served humanity at large.”

The realization of this perfect Satyagrahi potential informed Gandhi to declare: “In

Satyagraha success is possible even if there is only one Satyagrahi of the proper stamp.”

But

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 288, excerpt from Young India,

May 7, 1931.

153

the potency of a perfect or near-perfect Satyagrahi cannot be achieved by even great numbers of

people who do not live the Satyagraha way:

“It is possible to fight a non-violent battle even with one

Satyagrahi. But it, i.e. a non-violent battle, cannot be fought with

a million non-Satyagrahis. And I would welcome even an utter

failure with non-violence unimpaired rather than depart from it by

a hair’s breadth to achieve a doubtful success. Without adopting a

non-compromising attitude so far as non-violence is concerned, I

can see nothing but disaster in the end.”

This should be a clear warning to those in “non-violent” efforts who are more concerned with the

quantity of people involved rather than the quality of those involved. A main reason for the

decades-long decline in the community organizing, peace, and social justice fields has been the

decline of the quality of those involved. Putting the increasing societal acceptance of immorality

aside, very few people in these fields seek the perfection of Satyagraha -- in fact, such talk

doesn’t even exist in the vocabulary of many people in these fields. Many have compromised

this and other values of the Satyagraha (or non-violence) way for things that can be measured in

quantity: money (funding), superficial victories (i.e. getting a law passed even if society will not

live or enforce the spirit of that law), and temporary increases in people participation that often

fade because the quality of such people rarely exceeds the standard of hypocrisy. (And

remember, those who do not live a soul-based strength are very vulnerable to hypocrisy.)

Instead of starting small, which Gandhi’s life experiences directly reflected, or even beginning

anew with a small group -- again directly reflected in Gandhi’s life experiences -- many seek to

build on meaningless measures of quantity that in no way address the quality of people involved.

Clearly, this challenge of quality must be addressed through Satyagraha education and training,

which will be addressed in the next chapter. But Gandhi also made the following adjustment in

considering potential Satyagrahis due to the (lack of) quality issues of many involved in

Satyagraha campaigns:

“I have definitely stiffened in my demands upon would-be

Satyagrahis. If my stiffness reduces the number to an insignificant

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 295 - 296, excerpt from Harijan,

June 24, 1939.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 313, excerpt from Young India,

September 30, 1926.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 467.

154

figure, I should not mind. If Satyagraha is a universal principle of

universal application, I must find an effective method of action

even through a handful.”

We would be wise to heed these lessons Gandhi learned and apply them in our own work.

And lastly for this section, as much as the power of collective Satyagraha rests on

individual Satyagrahis, “Satyagraha can never be resorted to for personal gain.”

THE POWER OF MANY SATYAGRAHIS

“Satyagraha is essentially a weapon of the truthful. A Satyagrahi

is pledged to non-violence, and, unless people observe it in

thought, word and deed, I cannot offer mass Satyagraha.”

Only when we have progressed upon the path of becoming one pure Satyagrahi can we

consider involving others in collective Satyagraha work, or what Gandhi called “mass

Satyagraha.” Key among such considerations is the preparation necessary for people to engage

in such work. Some of this was addressed in the previous section on becoming one pure

Satyagrahi, but some things go beyond the individual development process and require

additional preparation. To proceed into the domain of mass Satyagraha without such preparation

would be a monumental mistake.

Gandhi made such a mistake in his work in India, which he dubbed his Himalayan

Miscalculation: when he “committed a grave error in calling upon the people in the Kheda

Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 469.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 3, excerpt from Young India,

March 23, 1921.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 470.

155

district and elsewhere to launch upon civil disobedience prematurely.”

Let’s briefly define

civil disobedience as “civil breach of unmoral statutory enactments.”

And Gandhi would

emphasize the civil in the name and definition, as will be explored in his thoughts on civility

later in this section. Within this civil context, he explained:

“Before one can be fit for the practice of civil disobedience one

must have rendered a willing and respectful obedience to the state

laws. For the most part we obey such laws out of fear of the

penalty for their breach, and this holds good particularly in respect

of such laws as do not involve a moral principle. ... Such

compliance is not, however, the willing and spontaneous

obedience that is required of a Satyagrahi. A Satyagrahi obeys the

laws of society intelligently and of his own free will, because he

considers it to be his sacred duty to do so. It is only when a person

has thus obeyed the laws of society scrupulously that he is in a

position to judge as to which particular rules are good and just and

which unjust and iniquitous. Only then does the right accrue to

him of the civil disobedience of certain laws in well-defined

circumstances. My error lay in my failure to observe this

necessary limitation. I had called on the people to launch upon

civil disobedience before they had thus qualified themselves for it,

and this mistake seemed to me of Himalayan magnitude.”

Obedience of laws among Satyagrahis is essential. As stated earlier, Satyagrahis can challenge

unjust laws, but this challenge must be based in a history of being law-abiding citizens. Also,

abiding by laws can teach citizens the power dynamics of laws in creating a social order and

framework that upholds and furthers the aims of a society. In actuality, it is not the laws that

have power (as some have declared from a point of delusion), but the citizens’ cooperation in

following the laws that empowers such laws to have potency. For Satyagrahis, their societal

aims will be in alignment with the quest for Truth and, thus, empowered laws can be utilized to

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 91, excerpt from Harijan, June 10,

1939.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 91, excerpt from Harijan, June 10,

1939.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 140, excerpt from Young India,

January 19, 1922.

156

create and sustain a just society seeking beneficent aims. But these realizations may be lost to

those who never abide by laws as a matter of duty, as Satyagrahis do.

The lessons learned from Gandhi’s Himalayan Miscalculation led him to refrain from and

advise against others conducting mass Satyagraha where there was “neither adequate training nor

discipline among the people.”

And for him, “Mere abstention from physical violence will not

answer our purpose.”

He used affirmative measures to evaluate whether individuals were

adequately prepared for mass Satyagraha. These included the tenets of Satyagraha (seeking

Truth, purity, ahimsa, etc.), discipline, (soul-based) strength, and moral fortitude. His evaluation

also included elements of Swaraj, such as spinning and wearing khadi and engaging in

constructive service. He held as a non-negotiable mandate for all would-be participants in mass

Satyagraha that they “must be non-violent in thought, word and deed, and must be living in

perfect friendliness with all whether co-operators or non-co-operators.”

If these measures were

not met to satisfaction, Gandhi would refuse to engage in mass Satyagraha campaigns. The

standard of acceptable measures varied to each situation: in one instance, a single pure

Satyagrahi may be enough to guide a less pure but willing group into mass Satyagraha in a way

that would not spoil their efforts. In other situations, Gandhi saw it as necessary to have a group

of pure individuals before considering mass Satyagraha; and such a group was weighed against

the willingness of a larger community to stay within or support the propriety codes of Satyagraha

behavior. When the balance of such factors was sufficient, Gandhi would proceed with mass

Satyagraha; when the balance was insufficient, he would refrain from mass Satyagraha and

instead suggest education and development activities to prepare for mass Satyagraha. And, as

stated earlier, Gandhi increased the standards for proceeding to mass Satyagraha as he became

wiser, especially after experiencing the devastating effects of embarking on mass Satyagraha

prematurely.

The above paragraphs pointed out critical lessons for those who hold to the tenet that

doing something is better than nothing. In some ways, this statement may be true but this

Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 469.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 200, excerpt from Young India,

January 14, 1926.

157

“something” can be essential preparatory activities to properly engage in mass Satyagraha and

civil disobedience activities. Pursuit of such activities without proper preparation can result in

destructive outcomes that fare worse than non-action or the destructive activities of our

opponents. For as Gandhi warned:

“If those amongst whom I worked, and whom I expected to be

prepared for non-violence and self-suffering, could not be non-

violent, Satyagraha was certainly impossible. I was firmly of

opinion that those who wanted to lead the people to Satyagraha

ought to be able to keep the people within the limited non-violence

expected of them.”

Another way to prepare for mass Satyagraha is through constructive service. As

discussed in Chapter 4 (on Swaraj), in India this service included khadi work, village sanitation,

literacy and community schooling, health services, and more. The cultivating aspects of such

service was powerful enough to move Gandhi to declare: “It is a golden rule to follow out every

direct action with constructive work, i.e., work of conservation.”

The following quote further

connects the use of constructive service with preparing people to embrace Satyagraha (non-

violence):

“I have been told that people cannot be non-violent overnight. I

have never contended they can. But I have held that by proper

training they can be, if they have the will. Active non-violence is

necessary for those who will offer civil disobedience, but the will

and proper training are enough for the people to co-operate with

those who are chosen for civil disobedience. The constructive

work prescribed by the [Indian National] Congress is the proper

training. Those, therefore, who wish to see India realize her

destiny through non-violence should devote every ounce of their

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 307 - 308, excerpt from Harijan,

June 1, 1940.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 218, excerpt from Young India,

August 16, 1928.

158

energy towards the fulfillment of the constructive programme in

right earnest without any thought of civil disobedience.”

The above indicated that Gandhi acknowledged different levels of preparation for those in

differing levels of engagement of mass Satyagraha. Those going to the front lines of civil

disobedience required more training than those who would play a supportive role to front line

participants. Also note that the key requirement to receive such training was the will to be non-

violent. He didn’t put any other requirements on those who would seek such training, such as a

high school diploma, college degree, or personal / professional references. Those providing non-

violent training and engaged in non-violent work should note that Gandhi’s approach to

developing participants to engage in mass Satyagraha included the will to do so, personal

development (in quest of Truth), and constructive service. He used these as qualifications for

those engaging in Satyagraha work, not formal educational requirements, work experience, or

other prevailing employment qualifications often used today. With a committed will, a person

can overcome all the challenges involved in transforming to become a Satyagrahi, regardless of

how easy or hard such transformation may be. And for Satyagraha trainers, patience and hope

will suffice in helping them assist trainees through the transformation process.

Gandhi even used constructive service as a way to measure which organizations were

part of the Satyagraha (non-violence) fold:

“they will not become a non-violent organization unless they

undergo a process of what may be called continuous corporate

cleansing. This they can only do by engaging in carrying out a

well thought out constructive programme requiring combined

effort and promoting common good. In other words before they

can claim to have become a non-violent organization, they must

receive education in non-violence not through speeches or

writings, necessary as both may be, but through an unbroken series

of corporate acts, each evoking the spirit of non-violence.”

Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 437.

159

Contemporary societies are slowly realizing the beneficial impact of engaging in

constructive service, more commonly called community service today. But I will stress that

Gandhi emphasized constructive service that promoted the “common good,” which often goes

beyond the more limited focus of many special interest focused initiatives that have grown more

popular, often with corporate sponsorship. I would challenge those seeking constructive service

in the vein that Gandhi advocated to genuinely measure the impact of any service they consider

engaging in, to ensure it truly serves a common good accessible to all members of a particular

community. Gandhi would have serious reservations about service efforts that actually benefit

those who organize and administer such efforts more than those the service purports to benefit:

i.e., an anti-poverty organization that spends more on operating their organization (salaries,

administrative costs, rent, etc.) than serving the poor. And Gandhi would surely encourage

anyone looking to engage in service activities to seek Truth, which will better enable us to

honestly make such an evaluation of potential activities without deluding ourselves.

Another key element of mass Satyagraha is civility, which Gandhi acknowledged was no

easy task:

“Experience has taught me that civility is the most difficult part of

Satyagraha. Civility does not here mean the mere outward

gentleness of speech cultivated for the occasion, but an inborn

gentleness and desire to do the opponent good. These should show

themselves in every act of a Satyagrahi.”

The desire to do our opponents good doesn’t need to feel the same way it does to do good for a

loved one, but Satyagrahis should walk with a general welfare for all that does not exclude but

includes our opponents. Such civility is a key ingredient in the science of Satyagraha, in part,

because of how much incivility is a common trait of violence. You may remember in Chapter 5

how Gandhi sought to distinguish Satyagraha from common characteristics of violence such as

rudeness, disrespect, and threatening and aggressive behavior. And as Satyagraha is concerned

with genuine action aligned with a pure heart, performance of civil behavior falls short of the

Satyagraha measure if it does not emanate from a pure heart. Modern culture has de-emphasized

the power of genuine civility which may make some question its worth. But Gandhi knew the

Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 437.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 436.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 437.

160

power of genuine civility, particularly in connection with Satyagraha, and thus warned that if

people “resorted to incivility it would spoil their Satyagraha.”

I will end this section with some brief words about money, which will be addressed in

more depth in Chapter 11. When considering mass actions in today’s age, money (or more often,

the lack of it) is often cited as a challenge to carrying out mass actions. Gandhi would quickly

refute all such arguments:

“Satyagraha could not be conducted simply by means of money.

Money is the thing that it least needs.”

He always placed emphasis on the previously addressed factors over money, for what would be

the point of funding an uncivil, unprepared effort that would not uphold the tenets of

Satyagraha? Such would eventually fail and prove to be a wasted effort, even if it achieved

some temporary achievements. But a prepared group that embodied the tenets of Satyagraha

would not be stopped by a lack of money from engaging in Satyagraha activities and affecting a

lasting change. He held that “Satyagrahi volunteers had to learn the new lesson of simplicity.”

His stance was influenced by his vow of non-possession, but it does speak to the reality that a lot

can be done with a little. This approach also acknowledges that justice and beneficent change

are not bound to material things, even if an outcome of such change manifests in materials things

-- even a vast redistribution of societal wealth. A simple, focused approach highlights how much

the real dynamics of change reside within people, not things outside of them. Humanity has a

long history of using money (and other material things) to confuse this fact, but this is a fact

Satyagrahis must be constantly aware of. Being ever-mindful of this fact will not allow

Satyagrahis to fall for the trap of being limited by a lack of money. It will assist them in being

more efficient and careful in using money (and other resources) to affect a process of change that

must occur more within people than outside of people. It will also encourage genuine creativity,

which artists throughout the ages have demonstrated as a great power.

“If there are many such real Satyagrahis, they will certainly

transform the atmosphere in an immensely short time, even as