In this world, nothing remains the same. Everything - people, places, ideas, concepts, dress, governments, etc., changes over time. Evolution is a slow process of change. We are all changing all the time. ‘Change’ is the law. One of the attributes of ‘God’ is that He/She/It is ‘changeless’. In other words, anything or anyone that is not God changes or transforms itself. Mohan gradually evolved slowly in to a Mahātmā. He became a role model, not only for Indians, but for many world leaders who followed. Many tried his non-violent methods in their own countries and situations with the hope of improving the life of their people. Study of Gāndhi’s life may help generations to come to overcome their fear and inhibition to demand change for the good of the people.
“Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn’t have it in the beginning.”
M. K. Gāndhi
Since our ideas change and evolve as we mature, we cannot remain ‘consistent’ (same) throughout life. Politicians are often accused of ‘flip-flopping’ if they say something different. Gāndhiji was not afraid of telling the ‘truth’ as he thought of at that particular time. He would think about what he had read or experienced, analyze the ideas and situation for days or months or even years, accept them intellectually, and then find ways of putting them in practice. Intellectual progress and spiritual evolution involves continual vigilance, purposeful and positive thinking, and action according to the outcome of this process.
Mohan had many weaknesses when he was growing up.
Rambhā was a maid in the Gāndhi household when Mohan was a child. After working in the same household for many years, servants become part of the family. She came to know that young Mohan was afraid of ghosts, snakes, and burglars. She told him that there were no ghosts but if he was afraid, he could repeat the name of Rāma the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Rāma will protect him under any or all circumstances. As a child, he did repeat this mantra but stopped using it when he went to high school in another town. Later on in his life, he took up this practice of repeating the mantra again.
Mohan found that repeating his mantra with faith worked wonders. He used it when he was depressed or afraid. It also helped him get over any temptation or weakness and develop self-discipline and purity of heart. As he got older, repetition of the name of ‘Rāma’, became so ingrained that when he was shot at point blank range, “Rāma, Rāma” were the last words he said before he fell. This required perseverance and constant practice.
Mohan’s wife Kastur was a role model in overcoming fear. She was not afraid of going out in the dark, or of snakes or anyone. She would defy her husband’s orders of not leaving the house without his permission. In overcoming fear, Kastur was his another ‘Guru’.
Absolute faith in God, the all-pervading energy, is a prerequisite for developing fearlessness.
“A fear-stricken person can never know God and one who knows God will never fear a mortal person.”
M. K. Gāndhi
Slowly he developed unshakeable faith in God. This gave him courage to stand up to the British government, organize non-violent civil disobedience protests, and ultimately tell them to ‘Quit India’.
Later on in his life, he realized that he had to overcome the fear of public speaking and standing up for his rights. Fear and non-violence could not coexist. Often people who were afraid of the authority of tyrants resorted to violent activities like throwing a bomb or shooting and running away. These tactics had not worked in India before. Gāndhi realized that he had to shed all fear of the British if he wanted to change the British rulers.
Gāndhi was not a born leader. He had to work hard to develop qualities slowly and painfully. Public speaking made him freeze. Gāndhi realized that when we are afraid of someone or some other race or religion or nation then we try to either run away or destroy that entity. Bullies will not bully if they are fearless and bullies will not succeed if there is no fear in the hearts of the oppressed. He believed that love, non-violence, and fearlessness are the antidote in dealing with dictators and tormentors.
We worry about our own future and that of our immediate family. ‘What will happen if I run out of money or food?’ It is this fear that motivates us to accumulate wealth, food, and personal possessions. Some are known to have collected hundreds of shoes while others have stashed away money in Swiss bank accounts. Gāndhiji’s advice to all is:
“‘Do not worry in the least about yourself, leave all worry to God’, that appears to be the commandment in all religions.”
If we claim to be non-violent, do not do anything to correct the situation, and suffer atrocities out of fear or weakness, then it is not considered non-violence. Gāndhiji gave an example of mouse and cat. A mouse is not non-violent towards a cat because he knows he is afraid and will never be able to fight with a cat.
“If only our men and women welcome jails as health resorts, we will cease to worry about the dear ones put in jails which our countrymen in South Africa used to nickname ‘His Majesty’s Hotels’.”
M. K. Gāndhi
During school years, Mohan had tried to eat meat to be tall and strong like an Englishman. Later he wrote:
“Strength lies in absence of fear, not in the quantity of flesh and muscle we may have on our bodies.”
M. K. Gāndhi in “Hind Swaraj”, 1909
Usually people who feel weak or inadequate or insecure resort to angry outbursts to show their strength. Anger clouds our judgement and we may overreact to an unpleasant situation. Later we may regret our inappropriate actions. Anger is especially bad for leaders. Some angry leaders have made bad decisions and lead their countries to war with disastrous results.
“I have learnt through bitter experience the one supreme lesson to conserve my anger, and as heat conserved is transmuted into energy, even so our anger controlled can be transmuted into a power which can move the world.”
M. K. Gāndhi in “Young India”, 15 September 1920
What you feel and how you react to something is always up to you. You can choose your own thoughts, reactions and emotions to pretty much everything. You don't have to freak out, overreact or even react in a negative way.
He not only controlled his own anger and angry reaction to the British atrocities, he asked and persuaded his followers to do the same. He firmly believed that negative feelings like anger, revenge, etc., are a waste of energy.
When Mohan was in school, his elder brother got in to debt. Mohan had a gold bracelet on his arm. He cut out a little piece to pay off the debt. His parents came to know about this and the brothers had to tell lies about the loss. Mohan could not bear this and wrote a letter to his dying father to forgive him for cheating and telling lies. His father read the letter, then tore it up without saying a word to Mohan and started crying. This incident affected Mohan so much that decided not to cheat or tell a lie again.
Later on in life, when Gāndhiji was organizing non-violent civil disobedience movement, he was very frank and open about the sacrifices that were required for the freedom of the country. He did not sugar coat his statements and cheat people in believing that it would be quick and easy. At the same time, he informed the British what he was planning to do. This strategy baffled everyone because no one was used to or expected this frankness from the ‘enemy of the empire’.
Mohan married at the age of thirteen and was very passionately in love with his wife. Few years later, his father was very sick and on his death bed. Mohan used to sit with his dying father and make him comfortable by massaging his feet. Once, late at night, he felt very strong desire to be with his young wife. He left his father and went to his room. After some time a servant came to his room to tell him that his father had passed away. This incident, when he was not with his father during his last moments, made him feel very guilty about his weakness. For many years he tried and failed on many occasions to overcome feelings of lust for his wife that he considered a weakness because it interfered with his goals.
We all go through one or more periods in our life when nothing works. We try different approaches — experiment with various ways to improve our lot. Mohan also had many failures in his life and a lot of challenges. The important lesson to learn from his life is ‘how’ he transformed himself. According to him everyone is capable of this self-analysis of their personal situation, try to find solutions, experiment with different approaches, learn from the results, change their attitude and approach, and persevere in their efforts. When he heard, read, saw, or experienced something, he would think about it and learn from that experience. If he thought that it was ‘good’ and in accordance with his principles, then he accepted it, worked hard to practice it and make it a part of his everyday life.
“It is wrong to call me an ascetic. The ideals that regulate my life are presented for acceptance by mankind in general. I have arrived at them by gradual evolution. Every step was thought out, well considered, and taken with greatest deliberation.
Both my continence and non-violence were derived from personal experience and became necessary in response to the calls of public duty. The isolated life I had to lead in South Africa, whether as a householder, legal practitioner, social reformer or politician, required for the due fulfillment of these duties the strictest regulation of sexual life and a rigid practice of non-violence and truth in human relations, whether with my own countrymen or with Europeans.”
M. K. Gāndhi in “Harijan”, 3 October 1936
Many of us try to change the world around us to our way of thinking and standards but that usually does not work.
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
M. K. Gāndhi
It is never easy to change our own ways. Gāndhiji has described the path as:
“I know the path. It is straight and narrow. It is like the edge of a sword. I rejoice to walk on it. I weep when I slip. God's word is: 'He who strives never perishes.' I have implicit faith in that promise. Though, therefore, from my weakness I fail a thousand times, I will not lose faith, but hope that I shall see the Light when the flesh has been brought under perfect subjection, as some day it must.”
M. K. Gāndhi in “Young India”, 17 June 1926
The first step in the process of self-improvement is to realize that there is a problem or a deficiency in our feelings, thinking or actions. Most us can see faults or problems with other people very easily but not in ourselves. He wrote:
“I am painfully conscious of my imperfections, and therein lies all the strength I posses, because it is a rare thing for a man to know his own limitations.”
M. K. Gāndhi
If we can realize our own shortcomings then we can try to find ways to ‘change’ or ‘improve’. There are many who go on making the same mistake over and over again.
“To err, even grievously, is human. But it is human only if there is determination to mend the error and not repeat it.”
M. K. Gāndhi in “Harijan” , 6 Feb. 1937
Self-evaluation is a continuous process that goes on with evaluation and re-evaluation of events, experiences, discussions, and readings. To find out what we are doing right and where do we need to change our ways, constant self-evaluation of all thoughts, speech, and actions is absolutely necessary. He constantly evaluated his own basic values, goals, strategy, and tactics. In a discussion on European civilization, he wrote:
“We rarely find people arguing against themselves. Those who are intoxicated by modern civilization are not likely to write against it. Their care will be to find out facts and arguments in support of it, and this they do unconsciously believing it to be true. A man whilst he is dreaming, believes in his dream. He is undeceived only when he is awakened from his sleep.”
M. K. Gāndhi in “Hind Swaraj” , 1909
The next step consists of arguing against your own ideas and plans, evaluating all pros and cons. It is like walking through a fire to purify yourself. If carried out honestly and rigorously, this self-searching will help with personal development.
Many political, religious, and social leaders think that they have to be consistent all the time. Once they have expressed a view or decided on a path they have to stick to it. If they change their views then they may be called ‘inconsistent’ or ‘flip-flopping’. They have very rigid, inflexible ideas and rules, and go on making the same mistake over and over. Whereas, Gāndhi thought that:
"Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false position."
M. K. Gāndhi
Gāndhi developed a capacity for analyzing objectively (Contemplation - Manan) his own situation and come up with an action plan. Once we realize our shortcomings, we need clear thinking. If we are agitated, angry or depressed we cannot think clearly and are very likely to make wrong decision. Calm careful evaluation of the situation is very important.
This capacity for self-analysis and discriminatory intelligence — distinguishing good from bad, moral from immoral, and ethical from unethical — is called viveka buddhi in Sanskrit.
“The only thing that separates us from the brute is the capacity to distinguish right from wrong.”
M. K. Gāndhi
The epic Mahābhārat tells the story of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ kings, queens, and princes. Anyone who reads it can chose their ‘bad’ or the ‘good’ role models.
“The Mahabharata depicts for all time the eternal struggle that goes on daily between the forces of good and evil in the human breast and in which, though good is ever victorious, evil does put up a brave show and baffles even the keenest conscience.”
M. K. Gāndhi in “Harijan”, 5 September 1936
Even scriptures can be and have been interpreted in many different ways. Religious and political leaders have quoted scriptures to justify telling lies and using violence but he never wavered from his basic principles of ‘truth’ and ‘non-violence’.
Gāndhiji used to receive a lot of letters asking questions about every topic under the sun. Someone asked him “Where do you find the seat of authority?” The questioner probably wanted to know about the final authority — a scripture or a person — that Gāndhiji relied on. He replied:
“It lies here (pointing to his breast). I exercise my judgment about every scripture, including the Gita. I cannot let the scriptural text supersede my reason.”
M. K. Gāndhi in “Harijan”, 5 December 1936
In other words, even the words in scriptures should not be followed blindly but interpreted with properly.
There are a lot of people who read a book or listen to a person and begin to follow that doctrine without questioning or thinking and analyzing. On the other hand, Gāndhi would analyze each and every experience, see whether it was true to his basic principles of truth, non-violence, universal love, etc., and then accept or reject it. This critical thinking is called ‘Viveka Buddhi’ in Sanskrit or ‘discriminative intelligence’, is the highest intelligence that separates the moral from immoral or ethical from unethical actions. This was the final authority for Gāndhi.
“The only tyrant I accept in this world is the ‘still small voice’ within.”
M. K. Gāndhi
After analysis of his circumstances in South Africa and past experiences in India, he concluded that he could not change the world. The only person he could change was himself. He seriously started making changes in his thinking, speech, and behavior.
“I have not the shadow of a doubt that any man or woman can achieve what I have, if he or she would make the same effort and cultivate the same hope and faith.”
M. K. Gāndhi
Gāndhi also realized that the root of all actions and speech was in the mind. A thought arises in the mind and if it is repeated enough number of times and accepted then it results in similar speech and action.
“You are what your deep driving desire is.
As your desire is, so is your will.
As your will is, so is your deed.
As your deed is, so is your destiny.”
Eknath Easwaran in “Upanishads” (Bruhadāranyaka IV.4.5)
In other words, we create our own destiny by our thoughts and actions. All of us can have some control over our thoughts and guide them in proper direction.
“No sinful act was ever done in this world without the prompting of a sinful thought. You have to exercise strict vigilance over every thought...”
M. K. Gāndhi in “Young India”, 27 October 1927
Gāndhiji did not believe in following any religion or book or person or prophet blindly. He put in to practice following teaching of Gautam Buddha:
“Do not accept what I have said to you because it has been said in the past;
do not accept it because it has been handed down by tradition;
do not accept it thinking it may be so;
do not accept it because it is in the holy scriptures;
do not accept it because it can be proven by inference;
do not accept it thinking it is worldly wisdom;
do not accept it because it seems to be plausible;
do not accept it because it is said by a famous or holy monk;
but if you find that it appeals to your sense of discrimination and conscience as being conducive to your benefit and happiness, then accept it and live up to it.”
Gautam Buddha
He took the last piece of advice - “conducive to your benefit and happiness” - one step further to make it ‘conducive to benefit and happiness of all’ not just for himself or his family.
In high school, Mohan experimented with meat diet to become tall and strong like the British so that he could fight with them for India’s independence. Later in England, he tried to become an Englishman by dressing and behaving like them. He failed miserably in both these experiments . Mohan realized his failures and gave up meat diet and trying to be what he was not. He accepted his vegetarian, Indian heritage; focussed on his studies and returned to India as soon as possible. In England, he started cooking and enjoying simple vegetarian dishes. Mohan also started taking long walks to keep himself physically fit.
In South Africa, Gāndhi realized that running away from failure or difficult task did not work. Therefore, he decided to change his attitude, his outlook, and face the situation head-on. Gāndhi started experimentation with alternative ways. If he failed, he was not ashamed of confessing his mistake or failure and tried to find some other solution. His ideas about God, truth, etc. were also evolving. He expressed whatever were his current thoughts without worrying about what he had said in the past.
“I am not at all concerned with appearing to be consistent. In my search after Truth I have discarded many ideas and learnt many new things. Old as I am in age, I have no feeling that I have ceased to grow inwardly or that my growth will stop at the dissolution of the flesh.”
M. K. Gāndhi
In South Africa, Gāndhi gradually got over his fear. Once he went to a barber’s shop to get his haircut. The white barber refused to cut a brown Indian’s hair. Gāndhi went home and cut his own hair. Next day in the court, everyone noticed his unevenly trimmed hair and started laughing. Without feeling sorry for himself or hiding the truth, he told everyone what had happened. He was not afraid of failure, experimenting with various alternatives, changing his ways, and admitting his failure in public.
“I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and non-violence are as old as the hills. All I have done is to try experiments in both on as wide a scale as I could do. In doing so, I have sometimes erred and learnt by my errors. Life and its problems have thus become to me so many experiments in the practice of truth and non-violence.”
He expressed his process of evolution as follows:
“It is wrong to call me an ascetic. The ideals that regulate my life are presented for acceptance by mankind in general. I have arrived at them by gradual evolution. Every step was thought out, well considered, and taken with greatest deliberation.”
M. K. Gāndhi
Experimentation requires effort on the part of the individual. Mental and physical energy to put in to action and different plans are devised to overcome the deficiencies that were identified during contemplation. Sometimes our plans do not work out and then we need the energy to persevere. Great discipline and faith in a higher power are required to continue on with experimentation in spite of failures. Throughout life, Gāndhi experimented with different approaches to achieve his goals. His methods were based on his own experiences, observations of people and events, and books he read.
Mohan was inspired and guided by many people, books, his observations, and experiences in his own life.
Mohan’s parents were Hindus. His mother, Putalibai, visited temple regularly, carried out fasts on special days, and took care of the family diligently. He loved his mother very much. He would do anything to please her. She was his first teacher and role model. She was very religious. Later on in life Mohan adopted the practice of fasting for political reasons. When he left home to go to London to study law, he promised his mother that he will not eat meat, touch wine or other woman. He kept this promise because of his love for his mother. Mohan’s father, Karamachand, was a very loyal minister in a small independent state in Gujarat province of India. He was well known for telling the truth, even if it was not ‘politically correct’ or pleasant to hear for his boss, the king.
Mohan married Kasturbai when they both were 13 years old. Initially they had a stormy relationship. Young Mohan wanted to be the ‘boss’ and teach Kastur to obey all his commands and wishes. Kasturbai was headstrong, did what she thought was right and was prepared to suffer the consequences silently. This was Mohan’s first lesson in non-violent civil disobedience or ‘Satyāgraha’. Later he started learning from Kasturbai instead of teaching her.
Mohan’s father used to invite people from different faiths for discussions. These sessions were open and frank. Mohan used to sit, listen, and learn about other religions. He developed respect, tolerance, and understanding for all religions at an early age.
During his visit to London for the Round Table Conference, Gāndhiji went to talk to children at the Montessori Training College. There he told Madame Montessori :
“I am impatient to realize the presence of my Maker who to me embodies Truth, and in the early part of my career I discovered that if I was to realize Truth I must obey, even at the cost of my life, the Law of Love. And having been blessed with children, I discovered that the Law of Love could be best understood and learned through little children. Were it not for us, their ignorant poor parents, our children would be perfectly innocent...If parents behave themselves while the child is growing, the child will instinctively obey the Law of Truth and the Law of Love...They have perhaps a finer sense of honor than you and I have. The greatest lesson in life, if we would but stoop and humble ourselves, we would learn not from grown-up learned men but from so-called ignorant children.”
M. K. Gāndhi
Swami Vivekānanda was born in 1863 as Narendranath Dutta, six years before Gāndhiji was born. He became a swami and travelled all over India encouraging people to live according to the teachings of the Veda-s. He addressed the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago (1893) and then travelled all over the USA talking about Vedic Hindu Dharma.
He observed that:
“Everything that can weaken us as a race we have had for last thousand years. It seems as if during that period the national life had this one end in view, viz. how to make us weaker and weaker, till we have become real earthworms, crawling at the feet of everyone who dares to set his foot on us.”
Swami Vivekanand
Foreigners had invaded India for more than a thousand years and brutally tried to destroy the culture and will to fight.
His advice to the nation was:
“Stand up, be bold, be strong. Take the whole responsibility on your shoulders, and know that you are the creator of your own destiny. All the strength, succour you want is within yourselves. Therefore make your own future.”
Swami Vivekanand
In “The Mission of Vedanta,” Swami Vivekananda said:
Let us proclaim to every soul: Arise, arise, awake! Awake from this hypnotism of weakness. None is really weak; the soul is infinite, omnipotent and omniscient. Stand up, assert yourself, proclaim the God within you, do not deny Him!”
Swami Vivekanand
In a speech on “The Future of India” he told the nation: