Truth and Nonviolence
At Page #5-6 – Mangalprabhat – Gandhiji talks about Satya – Truth and “Ahinsa” – Nonviolence.
Gandhiji says that normally when we talk of Non-violence – we carry a belief of physical non-injury. It means, if you are not injuring or hurting somebody physically – you feel that you have practiced non-violence. This is a broader perspective.
But Gandhi wants to extend the concept of non-violence. He gives some examples. He says bad thoughts constitute violence. False talks are violence. Jealousy is violence. Praying for somebody’s ill is violence. Being possessive is also a form of violence.
Truth and non-violence are interwoven. They are two parts of a same coin. They are inseparable. Truth is the end and non-violence – may be means to an end.
Since we can control the means, which is handier. Non-violence is the first step. In that sense, truth is God. If we don’t worry about the end (God), but if we cling onto the means – non-violence, probably some day we will reach at a point where we meet God.
According to Gandhiji, Non-violence is not a discrete happening. You practice it one day or for one person and leave it next day or for some other person – it does not work that way. Non-violence has to appear in each act of life. He felt that non-violence is good for individual as well as for larger sect of people.
Gandhi to support his views cites historical events. He says let us peep back into the history and we find that human as a race is getting non-violent by and by. Look at this: we had been hunting during initial years of civilization. Some of us were even cannibals. Later we realized better ways beyond hunting. We started agriculture. We settled down from nomadic state. We, as humans built cities and towns. The world has witnessed various prophets and priests all of whom have taught non-violence. This was natural since violence could only lead to an end of this world and extinction of humans.
My Interpretation:
OUR DOUBTS:
Normally when we hear about non-violence, our paradigm revolves around the fact that we must not resort to physical fights.
The physical aspect of non-violence is fairly convincing to most of us. So every day street fights and murders are not so rampant. Though physical violence occurs, but in comparison to total number of people and interactions happening every day, they are few.
It is also true that we no longer take out daggers and swords every now and then. Neither do we run to kill our opponents in every day life.
Gandhiji, however talks about other part of nonviolence that extends in the mental and spiritual part.
This part of non-violence is not very convincing at the first instance. To those whom this aspect convinces, find great difficulty in practicing it.
Applicability of non-violence and its benefits in legal, corporate and personal worlds:
As pointed out earlier, the principals of non-violence and truth sound archaic.
Very first questions that we may want to push on the table, if we open our heart and tell out our feelings honestly are:
1. How is non violence going to help me?
2. My opponents don’t practice it – why should I?
3. I cannot survive if I try to step into shoes of saint – and you talk of non-violence!
4. In a world of business, we have to tell lies, we have to fool others, and we have to respond to events in a way they react to us…
5. These things look great in books – they are useless in practice!
6. Non-violence is a word used by cowards and sadist who have no ability to respond.
The points raised above are very genuine. They are not wrong and they make more sense then nonviolence. But, I must say after lending analysis that they are incomplete and represent single dimension that is misleading.
When I hear Gandhians (followers of Gandhi) talking about Gandhi’s principals, I find amazing stiffness – sort of sadist people in them. They are a fracas of “Tanpura” (Indian Musical Instrument). But can we add spice and hip hop to his great ideas without losing its great flavor and benefits it offers? Let us see.
When I read first these thoughts, I was deeply inspired, but doubts came in. I must confess. It did not simply work – I thought how is this going to apply? I mean for example, lawyers take wrong adjournments, they fool their clients – bill them extra hours, they give advice that encourage people to litigate and even if they do pre litigation review, they do it many times even if they are sure about legal position and a clear advice without pretending to research could clear off the matter. They write articles in journals, not with an intention of educating people, but to attract clients. Don’t lawyers envy each other? Can a lawyer openly confess to his client and say – he believes that opponent has a better lawyer? Doesn’t each of us do it in some form or other? For example, a known person suddenly becoming very successful and we find no happiness or admiration for that success. Rather may not even like to hear that! That is envy!
May be this is smoke that clouds our minds.
Not only lawyer but all of us in different parts of life in different professions do this thing often, knowingly or unknowingly.
We tend to be self centered. But the difficulty comes, when we are not truly self-centered. We don’t even know what is good for us from a selfish standpoint – be it selfish.
One thing that we must accept is a fact that genetically we are in a race for survival and the fittest survives – one who can adapt to change survives most.
But a survival of uncivilized is different from civilized. Once in higher state of mental standards the rules of game become different – although the principal of survival continues.
When we talk about rules of game – what do we want? We want honestly for us. We want people to be honest to us. When we buy car or a house we don’t want to be dumped with crap lot. In relations we want our wife to practice fidelity. We want our child to work hard and grow up shouldering responsibility. We want our business associate to be honest to us. We want our debtors to make timely payment to us and so on is the list. Yeah!
But how are we going built up a rendezvous like that? I mean if you go to a church or temple you meet people who like to worship and you go to a brothel you meet people having physical cravings.
You shall reap what you sow – there are no short cuts. Now if you are a person intrinsically supporting violence or back stabbing, you will be supported by people who also enjoy that. May be, if you are too good at creating designs for trapping people – you lead your band. It is great to be a gang of that sort because, things work right. A devil team resounds well because they manage to subdue people. But – when you do that remember you are never surrounded by people with high ethics or sense of integrity. You will built a mess around you and survive so long as you can handle the mess. The moment your evil team finds you weak, they withdraw support you – they tear you to pieces because that is a rule of game you play. You enjoyed the rules when you won and you must not complain foul when others practice same sins you patronaged.
Say in the group of lions – those carnivorous – moment principal lion is injured or incapacitated, he is ousted and sometimes in such a great misery that wolves tear off lions. Now remember human counterparts – all of us care for older ones – don’t we? So in a human concept growing physically old does not necessarily by implication mean death – of course unless you have sown distrust, selfishness, lack of attention in your children – you get great results.
Here the principal of survival - the natural principal remains intact. That principal is not wrong and neither invalid. But the rules of game change.
Gandhi’s ideas to my understanding should be applied for changing the rules of the game. The rules of the game that Gandhi talks support the basic principal of survival. Rather that old man quietly whispers – if you want survival – you have to practice non-violence.
If you want your friends and your associates, customers and your family viz. wife, child and all others around you to be honest to you – first give honesty. Shun people who cannot simply accept honestly as a basic idea. If you do that you built a long lasting relation. Relation – where you eat mangoes you have sown for years.
So from selfish point of view – Gandhi’s principals are very appealing and make sense.
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