The author is former Vice-Chancellor of
Gujarat Vidyapith, Ahmedabad, a university founded by Gandhiji in 1920, and is
engaged in charitable works in rural areas.
Humanity in general has been optimistic and
so it should be. However, there have been times when all has not been well and
the business as usual approach can and has landed the humanity in deep crisis.
In the distant past, most crises have arisen due to natural calamities. In
recent times, however, many of the crises have been man-made. A seemingly major
crisis has hit the humanity today. It is the deepening environmental and
ecological crisis. The intense desire of human beings to control nature and
exponentially increase the materialistic living are said to have led to the
present crisis. In the context of our country the nature of the crisis is the
same. The impact is so hard that our socio-cultural values at society level and
ethical values at individual level have gradually been vanishing. In totality,
one can see the crisis arising due to the irresponsible and often irreversible
behaviour of most of us. In our cultural parlance there is serious disturbance
and discord between Vyakti (Individual), Samashti (Universe) and Prakruti
(Nature).
Gandhiji understood the problem and offered
a solution with potential to restore and perhaps build harmony among vyakti,
samashti and prakruti. In case of India, the immediate crisis is
related to character. Gandhiji’s life was his message and was about continuous
character-building, a process that was initiated from childhood. With his
departure his message was conveniently forgotten. The result is that people
with character and integrity are at a premium both in public and private lives.
Unethical means in business have become the norm rather than the exception. In
fact, the world over the business management schools are trying to introduce
ethics and spirituality courses in the curricula. Recently, a Bench headed by the
then Chief Justice of India gave a judgement with regard to the Vyapam case in
Madhya Pradesh where the students were admitted to medical college fraudulently
and had completed the course. Upon disqualification, they had filed a petition.
The judgement read, ‘If we desire to build (our) nation on the touchstone of
ethics and character, and if our determined goal is to build a nation where
only rule of law prevails, then we cannot accept the claim of appellants
(students) for suggested social gains (by allowing them to keep the degrees on
the condition of doing social service free of cost for some years)’. This is
just one illustration of many in the country.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi transformed his
persona to a level that earned him the title of Mahatma. The process of
transformation began from a very early age. Mohan’s regard for service began
with service of his parents and later turned into service of humanity. Watching
a play of Harishchandra, he wrote, ‘To follow the truth and to go
through all the ordeals Harishchandra went through was the one ideal it
inspired in me”. Truth and honesty got engraved permanently on the young
Mohandas’s mind and changed his personality completely in the years to come. At
a young age he learned three aspects of improving the self: Sveekruti –
acknowledgement, Pashchatap – repentance, and Prayashchit –
willingness to accept punishment for wrong-doing. He also thought that it was
possible for others to do the same; he expected that every individual should,
indeed, do so. As a student in England he remained faithful to the oath he made
to his mother not to touch wine, woman and meat. His resolve to being truthful
and honest under the most trying circumstances helped him to acquire a strong
self-discipline.
By the age of twenty five years, young
Gandhi had accepted and had become a staunch practitioner of honesty, truth and
non-violence. Gandhi firmly internalised the value of firm resistance with
self-suffering in the situations of injustice and exploitation rather than inflicting
injury and violence to the perpetrator. It was this Gandhi who went on to
lead the South Africa Satyagraha between 1896 and 1914 and after that
became the central figure in India’s fight for Independence. Gandhi fought for
his liberty and freedom and for the freedom of communities by using non-violent
protest – Satyagraha. Self-discipline is what is needed in order to be a
Satyagrahi for fighting for one’s own liberty and freedom, and for
serving the society and its causes. Once he practised being a truthful Satyagrahi,
he suggested others to try it.
He gave eleven vows or Mahavrats. 1. Satya – Truth, 2. Ahimsa or Love, 3. Brahmacharya
or Chastity / Control, 4. Aswada – Control of the Palate, 5. Asteya
– Non-Stealing, 6. Aparigraha – Non-Possession, 7. Abhaya –
Fearlessness, 8. Sprushya bhavana – Removal of Untouchability, 9. Shareera
Shrama – Bread Labour, 10. Sarvadharma Samabhava – Tolerance:
Respect of all Religions, 11. Swadeshi – Use of Products Made in India.
This is practical idealism as we shall see. (All these eleven vows can be
adopted by a Gruhastha.) This is the key for character-building and we
should take the core values and start the work at all ages with special
emphasis on education of children in the country.
The second point is about the environmental
and ecological crisis. Gandhiji had anticipated today’s problem in 1909 in his
small treatise Hind Swaraj. His criticism of the modern civilization was
the following:
‘Let us first consider what state of
things is described by the word “civilization”. Its true test lies in the fact
that people living in it make bodily welfare the object of life… The people of
Europe today live in better-built houses than they did a hundred years ago.
This is considered an emblem of civilization and this is also a matter to
promote bodily happiness. Formerly, they wore skins and used spears as their
weapons. Now, they wear long trousers, and, for embellishing their bodies, they
wear a variety of clothing and, instead of spears, they carry with them
revolvers containing five or more chambers. If people of a certain country, who
have hitherto not been in the habit of wearing much clothing, boots, etc.,
adopt European clothing, they are supposed to have become civilized out of
savagery… Men will not need the use of their hands and feet. They will press a
button, and they will have their clothing by their side. They will press
another button, and they will have their newspaper. A third and a motor-car
will be in waiting for them. They will have a variety of delicately dished up
food. Everything will be done by machinery. Formerly, when people wanted to
fight with one another, they measured between them their bodily strength; now
it is possible to take away thousands of lives by one man working behind a gun
from a hill. This is civilization.’
Indeed, it all applies to the India of
today. The industrial revolution is all about material production to meet
material needs. Science led to technologies and technologies largely produced
material comfort. Information technology in the beginning showed some potential
to be an equalizer, but soon went into the same control lines – in the hands of
few powerful people with money and power. Protestant Ethics had justified the
‘this worldly affairs’, especially creating material wealth for family and
society to live comfortably as divine. And free market was the best agency
which would provide equal opportunity to all, thus simultaneously optimising
individual and social welfare. It was presumed that the civil society that
would result out of such protestant values would be virtuous. The virtue of
civil society, if left to its own devices, were said to include good character,
honesty, duty, self-sacrifice, honour, service, self-discipline, tolerance,
respect, justice, civility, fortitude, courage, integrity, diligence,
patriotism, consideration for others, thrift and reverence.
But as capitalism flourished the Protestant
values gave way. Gluttony, pride, selfishness and greed became prominent. These
are precisely the Christian sins. Communist society could do no better than the
Orwellian phrase ‘some are more equal than others’! The modern economic
progress has increased the tension among the nations. Human footprint is
dangerously self-destroying. Conflicts within and between the countries and
military violence and killings are said to have been more than the total loss
that occurred during the Second World War.
Like the West celebrates individual liberty,
Gandhiji too upholds individual liberty but with responsibility to self, fellow
humans and nature. The individual and societal efforts have to be mended and
mentored in a way where vyakti’s interface with samashti is
harmonious; every vyakti is an essential part of the processes in samashti.
However, vyakti’s mind-set in interacting with samashti and prakruti
has to be the following:
Ishavasyam
idam sarvam Yatkinchit Jagatyam Jagat;
Ten
tyaktena bhunjitha maa grudha kasya swid dhanam
Whatever there
is changeful in this ephemeral world, all that must be enveloped by the Lord.
By this renunciation (of the world), support yourself. Do not covet the wealth
of any one.
With
advancements in science and technology as well as human achievements, nature
has to be treated with respect and humanity must not cancel tomorrow. Although
individual freedom is the ultimate goal, humanity needs to go on the Gandhian
way of education for freedom. Gandhiji himself was a learner till the last day
of his life. His kind of education that would inform / influence the
preferences and choices of individuals was not only confined to Indians, but
also to world citizens. The resultant position would not be that of pursuing
limitless wants. It is imperative that the desire to acquire more and more
should decline. The era of equality of rights and opportunities can then be
established. If people adopt the eleven vows listed earlier, harmony and
‘equality of rights and opportunities’ are possible globally. With practise of
the vows, the relationship between humans and nature would alter, averting the
ecological crisis. When vyakti (individual) changes and becomes
responsible and focuses on development of inner self, peace will evolve in samashti
(universe) and harmony with prakruti (nature) will return. Gandhi
beckons.
