Was Politics Essentially Religious For Gandhi? |
G. Veerraju
Gandhi's ideas about society are closely and
integrally related to his philosophy of spiritualizing social problems,
politics and the activities of man. Some of his important ideas affecting
the society as a whole are the concept of Ramarajya, Swaraj, Sarvodaya and
Trusteeship. His thought pervades economics, sociology and politics while
deriving inspiration from metaphysical and ethical values. Gandhi himself
proclaimed that all social activities were interconnected and had their
basis in religion:
The whole gamut of man's activities today
constitutes and indivisible whole. You cannot divide social, economic,
political and purely religious work into watertight compartments. I do not
know any religion apart from human activity.1 Fundamentally, he believed that all men were equal, whether born in the East or the west. He fought against the British rulers who encouraged the doctrine of racial superiority, and the Brahmins who delighted in their caste superiority. He believed in inherent equality of all men and asserted that the final goal of all religions was to realize this essential oneness or advaita. |
Doctrine of Trusteeship
According to Gandhi, all men should have a
right to equal opportunity, though they are not equal in their capacities.
People with talents utilize their skills and earn more. Gandhi said that
talented people who become rich should be the trustees to the wealth. In
other words, major parts on one's earnings must be used for the welfare of
the society. It is like the earnings of all sons going to the common
family.2
Gandhi believed that in a village, for
example, a zamindar has to take up the welfare of the people. He has to
help the farmers to get their children educated by establishing schools.
Some of the unnecessary buildings owned by the zamindar may be given for the
welfare of the village in order to start schools and hospitals. Gandhi
wanted villages to be abodes of peace and effort. That is why he wanted the
zamindars to take care of the entire village by advising the farmers to
clean their roads, well and tanks. He was of the opinion that the farmers
of the land have equal share as that of the zamindars. The entire village
should be maintained as a family and clashes between the farmers and the
zamindars, or any class war will not arise. Gandhi referred to a popular
saying that all land belongs to God. Therefore, land does not belong to any
particular people but to all people and to the State. He pointed out that
farmers should own land cooperatively and it should be tilled and cultivated
collectively and everyone should enjoy the fruits to labour.
The doctrine of trusteeship advocates
self-reformation of the landowning class. It does not believer in private
ownership of property, even admist the power of the State in regulating the
ownership of property. Consequently, an individual will not be free to use
his property for selfish interest. Similarly, a minimum living wage is to
be given to the workers and the maximum income that is to be allowed to a
person should be fixed. Lastly, the doctrine of trusteeship asserts that
the production of various goods should be in accordance with the needs of
the society.
The doctrine of trusteeship has its basis in
Indian tradition influenced by the Upanishadic saying that the universe is
pervaded by God, the Almighty, renunciation is the way to enjoyment and,
therefore, one should not covet the wealth of another.3
Gandhiji says: Words like aparigraha (non-possession) and sambhava (equality) gripped me. How to cultivate and preserve that equality was the question……..My study of English law came to my help. Snell's discussion of the maxims of equity came to my memory. I understood more clearly in the light of the Gita teaching the implication of the word 'trustee'.4 |
Swaraj
The idea of 'Swaraj' or self-rule is one of
the philosophical principles that motivate man for attaining a complete
individuality and also for the reorganization of the society. Dadabhai
Naoroji and Balgangadhar Tilak used the term Swaraj for the attainment of
national Independence. Gandhi felt that self-rule or 'Swaraj' was nothing
but self-determination of the individual while taking decisions without
depending upon others. The notion of 'Swaraj' first dwells in the
individuals and will be manifested in his actions. Then an individual will
be free to become what he desires; similarly, the 'Swaraj' of a people
determines their destination. Thus, his idea of 'Swaraj' though has a
political meaning is grounded in the individual.
According to Gandhi, an individual should be
simple and without selfishness to guide others. Gandhi compared this as
follows:
A Sannyasi having attained Swaraj in his own
person is the fittest to show us the way.5
According to Gandhi, this is nothing but the
assimilation of individual self-role into communal self-reliance. The word
'Swaraj' is different from independence. Independence may mean to do
anything one desires. But Swaraj is a self-disciplined role. It is moral
autonomy of the individual depending upon self-purification, which gives the
strength to make our claims practical outwardly. Gandhi writes at one place
how the sense of Swaraj is based upon the change in the people. Buddhadeva
Bhattacharya traces out this doctrine from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
wherein Swaraj or self-rule is originally mentioned as the autonomy of moral
self in controlling the senses.6
Gandhi also stated that it is a Vedic word,
which indicates self-rule and self-restraint. The concept of Swaraj in the
hands of Gandhi is transformed into a way of inward thinking and outward
action. It is not a gift but a result of self-awareness, which is gained
through self-effort. Therefore, an external threat to our freedom is to be
explained by recognizing our own weaknesses. If we are able to know our
weaknesses we can remove them. The Government controls us if we were weak.
Gandhi's analysis of the concept of Swaraj intended to emphasize national
freedom or collective self-rule on the basis of individual self-rule.
Though there was the concept of Swaraj before Gandhi's emergence in the
national movement, he insisted on individual Swaraj because after
independence he found that the real Swaraj has not been attained. On this
point Raghavan Iyer is of the opinion that Gandhi b3eleived that the
individual liberty might be safer under foreign rule.7
To sum up, for Gandhi, Swaraj did not mean
getting India freedom from English rule, but educating the masses to a sense
of their capacity to regulate and control authority.8 It is not to be the monopoly of the wise and the wealthy but for all including the farmer and the starving millions. Nor it should be the rule of a particular religious community but the rule of all, safeguarding the interests of all people including the poor. |
Ramarajya
The Swaraj of Gandhi indicates a free state
where there is no government control. Especially the minorities' rights
should be protected with a secular motive. It is a democratic state in
which even manual labour is recognized and every opinion respected. Gandhi
says:
Democracy is not a state in which people act
like sheep. Under democracy individual liberty of opinion and action is
jealously guarded.9
Gandhi's idea of State represents a moral and
spiritual standpoint and the political is essentially religious and without
religion politics is like a corpse. Therefore, base on his belief Gandhi
has shown the way of unification of politics and religion. Incidentally,
Gandhi wants a State, which suits to our country and described Ramarajya as
follows:
We must have ours suit suited to ours. What
that can be is more that I can tell. I have described it as Ramaraj, i.e.,
sovereignty of the people based on pure moral authority.10
The concept of Ramarajya is the political
vision of Mahatma Gandhi, which was based upon the classical Indian myth of
Ramarajya, in ideal polity, ascribed to Satya Yuga or Krita Yuga, the Golden
Age lost in the mists of antiquity and pre-history. The story was found in
classical scriptures like Valmiki's Ramayana in which Rama defeated Ravana
who represented the forces of evil. After that Rama established a kingdom
of righteousness and justice. Thus in his struggle against the British
Empire, Gandhi wanted to educate the people with the terms known to them. According to Gandhi, Ramarajya is nothing but the kingdom of God on earth; and a perfect democracy without caste, colour, class and religious prejudices. Ramarajya is a State where there should not be inequalities between the rich and the poor. |
Doctrine of Sarvodaya
Doctrine of Sarvodaya has often been referred
to as non-violent socialism. Gandhi visualized the establishment of a new
system of moral sanctions in the society based on the idea of the universal
harmony. Society and nature are both subject to justice and unity. A
society cannot exist in space without nature. Gandhi believed that every
social order should be maintained with collective pursuit based upon
tolerance and ahimsa or non-violence. After understanding the values of
different economical principles by various political orders, Gandhi tried to
formulate a new type of action for the existing social order and political
system. This was found in his doctrine of Sarvodaya.
Sarvodaya means the welfare of all; Gandhi
developed this idea after studying Ruskin's Unto This Last, a book given to
him by Mr. Polak in South Africa. In his autobiography he writes:
I determine to change my life in accordance
with the ideals of the book……the one that brought about an instantaneous and
practical transformation in my life was Unto This Last.11
According to Gandhi's idea of Sarvodaya,12 (a)
and individual is good who seeks the good of all, (b) as every man has the
right to live by the earning from his work, the lawyer and the barber have
the same value, (c) both the lives of the tiller of the soil and the
handicraftsmen are worth living. In the later days of his life Gandhi used
the term Panchayat Raj for Sarvodaya.13
Acharya Vinoba Bhave and Jayaprakash Narayan
later popularized his doctrine of Sarvodaya. Source: Anasakti Darshan; Volume 2 No. 1; January – June 2006 |