The Gandhi Project by Nashid Fareed-Ma’at

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Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 384, excerpt from The Nation’s

Voice, 1947, p. 109 - 110, Part II.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 38 - 39, excerpt from From

Yeravda Mandir, 1932, Chapter I: Truth.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 89.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 265.

Consider the weight of these words regarding true knowledge as many in the community

organizing, peace, and social justice fields engage (or have engaged) in extended studies of

things that have little or no relation to Truth. Many seek college degrees in institutions that

clearly do not honor or engage a genuine study of Truth. Some organizations even deem such

degrees as requirements or preferences for jobs in these fields. In evaluating people for such

jobs, do we consider applicants’ understanding of Truth, as Gandhi did? Are we even able to

make such an evaluation if we have not progressed in our pursuits of Truth and, thus, not

attained the true knowledge needed to realize others who seek Truth? Gandhi stated, “every

problem lends itself to solution if we are determined to make the law of truth and non-violence

the law of life.”

These problems range from societal injustices to interpersonal conflicts to

issues of personal development: for Gandhi, the solution always involves Truth.

Gandhi noted that once we have reached the level of realizing and living Truth:

“all other rules of correct living will come without effort, and

obedience to them will be instinctive. But without Truth it would

be impossible to observe any principles or rules in life.”

This explained, in part, Gandhi’s call for strict adherence to proper living rooted in morality. It

also explained his call for “ceaseless striving after perfection.”

But shortcomings to these calls

are not to be addressed by dwelling on why we are not able to live perfect morality (the

problem), it lays in addressing our ability to realize and then live Truth (the solution). To

achieve this solution, we may rely on religious / spiritual teachings that deal with how to realize

Truth. For Gandhi, the Bhagavad Gita was his “infallible guide of conduct.”

But for others of

different religious and spiritual paths, he acknowledged that they can consult their teachings for

how to realize Truth:

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 39, excerpt from From Yeravda

Mandir, 1932, Chapter I: Truth.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 298.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 352.

“Where there is honest effort, it will be realized that what appear

to be different truths are like the countless and apparently different

leaves of the same tree. Does not God Himself {Truth} appear to

different individuals in different aspects? ... Hence there is nothing

wrong in every man following Truth according to his lights.

Indeed it is his duty to do so.”

Gandhi noted that “a votary of truth must exercise the greatest caution.”

To be a person

of care is vital to not compromising Truth and our pursuit of it. Even something such as

exaggeration, to “allow a [person] to believe a thing which one has not fully verified is to

compromise truth.”

One of the greatest dangers in pursuing Truth carelessly is that we may

become hypocrites. Not only will people be less inclined to value what we say, but many

hypocrites, from the place of hypocrisy, cannot decipher Truth from illusions of “truth.” Gandhi

along with many spiritual teachers throughout the ages declared that “ultimately a deceiver only

deceives himself.”

In our cautiousness, we must be ever-vigilant in insisting on Truth: first

with one’s self, then with others. Do not let cautiousness be a masquerade for a fear that

prevents us from exploring the landscapes of our experiences to deepen our realization and

understanding of Truth. We should not be afraid to make mistakes, we should just avoid making

mistakes because of carelessness. And to avoid harming others by our mistakes, the emphasis of

the Satyagraha path embraces a code of self-suffering to help ensure others are not harmed by

our actions. Within this emphasis, care must be exercised to evaluate the potential impact of our

actions before doing them. Then when non-violent actions are chosen, we must carry them out

with care to fulfill their purpose without harming others. In the world today, so much suffering

(and sometimes death) occurs because of a little carelessness here, a preventable mistake there.

Carefulness combined with wise courage will go a long way to eliminating so much needless

suffering, as well as bettering our understanding of Truth.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Hind Swaraj (Indian Home Rule), 1938 reprint from original publication in 1909,

p. 59, Chapter XVII: Passive Resistance.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 350.

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

Let me stress the importance of embracing courage over fear, for as Gandhi said: “When

a man abandons truth, he does so owing to fear in some shape or form.”

This is part of why

fearlessness is a necessity for the Satyagrahi, one who holds to Truth. Neither should

Satyagrahis surrender to convenience:

“A devotee of Truth may not do anything in deference to convention. He

must always hold himself open to correction, and whenever he discovers

himself to be wrong he must confess it at all costs and atone for it.”

Fear, attempts to hide and not correct wrongs, and deference to prevailing conventions have

created and sustained a lot of suffering in the world. To think if we simply ceased doing these

things, how much suffering would disappear from present and future human existence. One of

the greatest barriers to the expansion of happiness and peace in this world is the predominance of

needless suffering.

By living Truth, we may navigate the flowery meadows and minefields of Karma.

Gandhi observed that humans sow what they reap. Thus, the genuine pursuit of Truth will

deliver Truth to those seekers. Within such a state, we are able to rely on the “inner voice” of

Truth and heed its guidance. But do not let this become a reason for arrogance or self-pride. For

Gandhi warned:

“The seeker after truth should be humbler than dust. The world

crushes the dust under its feet, but the seeker after truth should so

humble himself that even the dust could crush him.”

Do not confuse humility with weakness. Humility, in the sense that Gandhi use the term,

involves removing barriers of selfishness, egotism, and our (limited) self-power to fully embrace

Truth. Remember the earlier quote in which Gandhi stated all of a Satyagrahi’s power comes

from Truth (or God). By realizing our strength in Truth, as opposed to ourselves, we are able to

embody the (greater) strengths of Truth. Therein we will find a happiness that subsides not even

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 38, excerpt from From Yeravda

Mandir, 1932, Chapter I: Truth.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 364, excerpt from Harijan, June 3,

1939.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 459.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 67.

in the midst of suffering. As Gandhi discovered, “even as Truth is eternal, so is the bliss derived

from it.”

And Truth has a strength and happiness that can be embraced from many directions:

“But far be it from me to suggest that you should believe in the

God {Truth} that I believe in. Maybe your definition is different

from mine, but your belief in that God {Truth} must be your

ultimate mainstay. It may be some Supreme Power or some Being

even indefinable, but belief in it is indispensable. To bear all kinds

of tortures without a murmur or resentment is impossible for a

human being without the strength that comes from God {Truth}.

Only in His {Its} strength we are strong.”

THE BEAUTY OF PURITY

“Satyagraha is a process of self-purification, and ours is a sacred

fight, and it seems to me to be in the fitness of things that it

should be commenced with an act of self-purification.”

“True beauty after all consists in purity of heart.”

This section will only briefly address purity since it is encompassed throughout so much

of Satyagraha and will be addressed throughout this book. But as the above quote indicated,

purity involves dealing with the heart. Many religions and spiritual traditions address the heart

in different ways, so I will avoid dealing with specifics of the heart and keep my words on a

more general level.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 504.

Gandhi spelled out very clearly the necessity of purification for Satyagrahis when he

wrote “God {Truth} can never be realized by one who is not pure of heart.”

He went on to say:

“Self-purification therefore must mean purification in all the walks

of life. And purification being highly infectious, purification of

oneself necessarily leads to the purification of one’s surroundings.

“But the path of self-purification is hard and steep. To attain to

perfect purity one has to become absolutely passion-free in

thought, speech and action; to rise above the opposing currents of

love and hatred, attachment and repulsion.”

Passion and attachment are terms whose meanings do not always capture the Hindu context in

which Gandhi meant them. These terms have been the center of debates and spiritual

exploration for millennia, so far be it for me to definitively define them. But on a general level,

passions speak to preferences, likes and dislikes, that sometimes manifest as lusts (which some

may call loves) and hatreds. We sometimes experience passions as strong emotions such as

anger, (self-centered) joy, sadness, fear, etc. Attachments are the connections we form to things

(beings, material entities, sometimes concepts) based on our passions. These connections are

often formed without any consciousness of the attachments made or the passions driving their

formation. Attachments include not only seeking things we like but also avoiding things we do

not like. For example, my passion to prefer feeling “powerful” may drive my attachment to

money -- and all the things I am able to buy, do, and feel (e.g., like I’m important) through my

use of money. The flip side of this attachment would move me to do things that avoid being

without money -- such as being wasteful, not going to work (even if I hate my job). This same

dynamic can apply to even more altruistic passions and attachments, such as helping people for

how it makes me feel and not as a service rendered without regard to how it impacts me.

Passions and attachments can render much confusion because even selfish altruism can

be beneficial to others and sometimes indistinguishable from selfless altruism. There may be a

slight difference between doing a good deed that makes a selfish person happy and a selfless

person performing a good deed and experiencing (with a restrained ego) the happiness that

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 193, excerpt from Young India,

March 19, 1925.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 71, excerpt from Young India, July

14, 1927.

emanates from the act being performed. (This may seem like a foreign concept to someone who

does not regard actions as “living beings” unto themselves that are able to impact other beings

and environments the same way humans can.) Even Gandhi acknowledged the challenge of

distinguishing between the two when he said, “But who is to determine where selflessness ends

and selfishness begins? Selflessness may be the purest form of selfishness.”

Yet we need not

get lost in the quest of trying to decipher selfishness from selflessness. The cultivation of purity

is clear in instilling that we should not live (think, speak, act, etc.) in ways based in personal

(ego) reasons, even if the reasons seem unselfish because they benefit others. The responsibility

of a Satyagrahi is to live in ways based in Truth: despite our passions until we are able to

extinguish (or greatly minimize) our passions; despite our attachments until we are able to attain

a life with no (or very few) attachments. The eradication of selfishness to cultivate selflessness

is a vital part of the search for Truth.

Obviously, the path of purity calls for never-ending introspection and self-examination.

We must develop the means to sufficiently observe and analyze ourselves, even without the

critique of others, so that we can identify our passions and attachments to address them. We

must also see that we do not create new passions or attachments. One way to address these

challenges is to pursue and live Truth. The responsibility of introspection is one that never ends

despite how much progress we make. Gandhi admitted to continuing to struggle with his

passions throughout his life despite the great progress he made regarding them:

“I am trying every moment of my life to attain the requisite purity

of thought, word and deed. As it is, I confess that I am swayed by

many passions. Anger wells up in my breast when I see or hear

about what I consider to be misdeeds. All I can humbly claim for

myself is that I can keep these passions and moods under fair

subjection, and prevent them from gaining mastery over me. But

the standard of purity that I want, for any such heroic measure is

not to have such passions at all and yet to hate the wrong.”

Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 345.

Passions and attachments present a great danger for those seeking Truth. Gandhi

acknowledged such when he wrote:

“A man who is swayed by passions may have good enough

intentions, may be truthful in word, but he will never find the

Truth.”

Passions and attachments can have such an influence on us that they can virtually control us,

often without us being aware of them or their control. They also affect our ability to see things

clearly, in the same way anger (or any strong emotion) can cloud our perception of events, even

mistaking harmless actions as threats. More subtle passions and attachments can even weave

their influence into our pursuit of Truth. For most of us, we begin such pursuit from a place of

ignorance: lacking a genuine understanding of Truth. Thus, the path to Truth often involves

releasing layer after layer of ignorance for what may be a lifelong process. Humans have a long

history of confusing the release of ignorance as being closer to Truth -- and sometimes Truth

itself. Such release may bring us “closer” to Truth in that it allows us to realize portions of Truth

we were previously unable to see. But we should not confuse proximity with the destination,

this leaves the door open for passions and attachments to take root. In a similar manner to

pursuing Truth, for most of us the path to selflessness may progress through various stages of

releasing selfishness. Selfishness is often anchored in passions and attachments and, therefore,

every stage of release usually uncovers more passions and attachments to be relinquished. If we

do not release these passions and attachments at a particular stage, thinking we have attained

selflessness simply because we have attained a more subtle form of selfishness, we will deter (if

not completely end) any continued progress toward a selflessness that will enable us to be free of

passions and attachments. This challenge is further confounded by the difficulty in

distinguishing selflessness from more subtle and evolved forms of selfishness. For these reasons

Gandhi saw the task of maturing to selflessness as a lifelong responsibility that must be explicit

in our work and overseen with a careful, introspective observation. And, again, he emphasized

the pursuit of Truth as a viable way to address this challenge: for few things can better

distinguish selflessness from selfishness than Truth.

The purification process of moving from selfishness (with its passions and attachments)

to selflessness will bring many of our weaknesses to the surface. And, even at times, many will

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 107, excerpt from Young India,

February 18, 1920.

make mistakes and commit wrongs as they work through this process. To this point, Gandhi

confessed:

“To err is human, and it must be held to be equally human to

forgive if we, though being fallible, would like rather to be

forgiven than punished and reminded of our misdeeds.”

It is amazing how much committing wrongs and feeling wronged can act as veils for passions

and attachments to continue their reign over us. To confront this, Gandhi accepted that even in

pursuing Truth with great care (seeking not to create harms by carelessness) he would commit

some wrongs, even some “Himalayan miscalculations.” In acknowledging this about himself, he

knew others would also commit wrongs that he would inevitably be affected by. Thus, the

importance of forgiveness was made evident to him: the honesty to forgive himself for

committing wrongs he attempted not to commit yet still did, and to forgive others who wronged

him. From the perspective of purification, this involves not forming attachments to committing

wrongs (e.g., feeling guilty, punishing one’s self) or being wronged (i.e, making others feel

guilty, seeking to punish them). Rather than assigning guilt or punishments, both which usually

inflict some form of harm upon someone, Gandhi sought to purify a situation of wrong. This

may include making amends, performing acts of love to affected parties to share the beneficence

of love. I stress the importance of making amends, since this has been removed from many

modern understandings of forgiveness, many which seem to accept wrongs without performing

any corrective and healing actions -- or limit such actions to merely paying money or doing jail

time. Forgiveness should not be used as a cloak to excuse wrongs committed by one’s self or

others, and it is only by one’s sincerity that forgiveness will not be played as a charade. But to

respond to all wrongs in ways that seek to bring purity to all affected so all may then seek Truth

lays at the heart of the Satyagraha way.

I will also add that Gandhi’s approach to forgiveness does not get caught up in

distractions such as assigning blame, glorifying victimization, comparing the severity of wrongs,

etc. Gandhi’s approach was simple: there is a wrong, let it be addressed in ways that bring purity

to all affected (those who caused the wrong, those harmed by the wrong), and then let all who

are willing continue to seek Truth.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 265.

In the same way that we seek to move beyond the possession of passions and

attachments, this quest toward “non-possession” should be reflected in all aspects of a

Satyagrahi’s life. Gandhi described his understanding of non-possession in the following way:

“I understood the Gita teaching of non-possession to mean that

those who desired salvation should act like the trustee who, though

having control over great possessions, regards not an iota of them

as his own. It became clear to me as daylight that non-possession

and equability presupposed a change of heart, a change of

attitude.”

As a result of this realization, Gandhi engaged the practice of owning few material possessions.

He lived the art of embracing all experiences, from joyous occasions to great tragedy, with an

equanimity of disposition: to not be moved (via passions or attachments) by whatever he faced,

remaining steadfast in encountering everything from his place on the path to Truth. He sought to

only possess what he needed, reduce (if not extinguish) his wants, and be content (at peace) with

this non-possession approach to life. By doing so, he discovered a greater joy (peaceful

contentedness) than can be found by living the tumultuous duality of joy and sadness in the

realm of passions and attachments. The former (greater joy) is an inner, cultivated state of being

not dependent on anything other than one’s own pursuit of Truth; the later is a reactive,

temporary state always in flux and beyond one’s control, instead controlled by things one often

has no awareness of. Later in the book, I will explore how Gandhi applied this renunciation to

many aspects of his life, even his dietary practices. While acknowledging the ideal state of non-

possession, he left it up to each Satyagrahi to determine for themselves how much non-

possession should be part of their lives. Possessions of all forms (things, thoughts, deeds,

desires, beliefs, etc.) can serve as veils for passions and attachments.

I will close this section by reiterating the infectiousness of purity. It is by this contagious

power of purity that Satyagraha can have a profound transformative effect on others. Gandhi

devoted much study to the (spiritual) science of Satyagraha to increase the pace and depth of the

purification process to then be able to affect change in communities, societies, nations, and the

world. But it must never be forgotten that for every individual Satyagrahi, the process of purity

begins within one’s self. A process that challenges us to uncover our passions and attachments

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 33, excerpt from Young India,

February 4, 1920.

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

xxix.

that we may free ourselves from them. Only then will we develop a purity which emanates a

genuine joy that will infect others and inspire them to seek their own purity. And only people

who have attained such purity should occupy leadership positions in Satyagraha work.

CLOSING WORDS

The previous pages only serve as a general introduction to the vast studies of Truth and

purification. In many respects, the pursuit of Truth and cultivation of purity are so essential to

Satyagraha it is virtually impossible to live and apply Satyagraha without genuinely embracing

these. Although the following pages will certainly deal with these in more depth, I do encourage

the readers to do their own research on these subjects. Such research can surely include

Gandhi’s writings and a study of Hinduism, which greatly influenced his understanding of Truth

and purification. But readers may also consult their own religions and spiritual traditions to

learn more about these virtues. Such study is vital to one’s moral development, and Gandhi

held: “[Humans] of ordinary abilities also can develop morality.”

It is important to remember

that Satyagraha is a spiritual science applied to the social and political realms. Therefore, those

who walk the way of Satyagraha should be rooted in spiritual foundations that will allow them to

carry Truth-force to the social and political realms.

“Let hundreds like me perish, but let truth prevail. Let us not

reduce the standard of truth even by a hair’s breadth for judging

erring mortals like myself.”

˜˜˜