Mahatma Gandhi: A Compassionate Rebel

       Mahatma Gandhi can be appropriately described as a splendid example of a Compassionate Rebel.  His worldview and eventful life filled with animated non-violent action was founded on abundance of  compassion and optimism.  Every aspect of his life including his method of struggle based on Satyagraha was informed by compassion which he said is the root of higher thinking and consciousness. 

       Gandhi derived ideals of Satyagrahi from Hinduism, Islam and Christianity

       Satyagraha  was seen and comprehended by Mahatma Gandhi as an ethical weapon which can be employed without any ill will against the opponent and with strength to suffer for the cause of Truth and justice. It encapsulated in its scope the ideals of compassion and combined them with  urge for rebellion anchored on creativity and reconstruction.

He asked a question- who were the Satyagrahis in history or mythology to be followed as role models? After doing some research he located a few Satyagrahis by adopting a broad approach embracing the ideals of reconciliation and understanding.  He described Bhakta Prahalad of Hindu mythology as the first Satyagrahi who in face of persecution in the name of God from his demonic father Hiranya Kashyup remained tuned to his revered God Hari and never prayed Him  to punish his father or subject him to retribution. Gandhiji exhorted Indians to follow the example of Prahalad to fight against British rule without any hatred against Britishers.  

       The second Satyagrahi according to Gandhi was Socrates- from Greek history - who drank poison for his uncompromising adherence to truth. And third Satyagrahi was Jesus Christ whose suffering and crucifixion was a shining example for Gandhi to shape his lifelong work based on rebellious compassion without hatred for any one including those who indulged in inflicting pain and injury. Fourth Satyagrahi for Gandhi was Imam Hussain from Islamic tradition. He willingly suffered and sacrificed his life without resorting to violence and taught Gandhi to see victory in face of defeat And fifth Satyagrahi according to Gandhi was a woman and she was Meerabai who like Prahalad faced persecution from her own family and yet remained tuned to Girdhari, Lord Krishna, and never prayed Him to punish her perpetrators.  She was the only woman Satyagrahi who Gandhi  invoked on numerous occasions in public meetings during freedom struggle to promote its ideals for mobilizing people, uniting them and achieving  independence of India. For instance he used to quote one line from the  hymn of Meerabai that she was tied to Lord Krishna through the  silken thread of love and interpreted the "silken thread" to mean Khadi by using which he deeply felt that Indians would remain connected to poor and deprived whom he called, Daridra Narayan, the God. Meerabai's steadfast adherence to Lord Krishna and her close association with ordinary people including the so called untoucahbles by defying the rigid caste norms governing her  royal lineage and family incensed her  own husband and in laws who poisoned her and threw out from the royal palace. In face of such exclusion and prohibition she composed melodious hymns dedicated to Lord Krishna and in none of those hymns there was a line praying the Lord to eliminate or take revenge on her perpetrators.  Gandhiji used the example of Meerabai to   promote the method of Satyagraha based on love and understanding in face of challenges and hurdles and that method became the basis of   constructive and creative nationalism for achieving independence of India and taking forward the cause of nation building.  Besides, the example of Meerabai as a Satyagrahi gave an instructive gender dimension to the idea of satyagraha.

       In locating example of Satyagrahis in Hinduism, Islam, Greek history and Christianity and educating people that Meerabai was a woman Satyagrahi, Mahatma Gandhi underlined the point that he was inspired by them for the application of Satyagraha as an ethical weapon based on the ideal of inclusion and inclusive approach which remains central to compassion and harmonious understanding of all faiths.

        At a time when the dangerous theory of clash of civilisations is pitting one religion against another and some leaders of public life are promoting hatred in the name of religion, Mahatma Gandhi's derivation of examples of Satyagrahis from many faiths underline a confluential approach which is essential for celebrating commonalities of all faiths for cultivating values of compassion and open mindednes.

       Sound health as one of the qualities of a Satyagrahi

       It is well known that Mahatma Gandhi expounded the idea of Satyagraha by linking  it to the ideals of unbounded optimism and quality leadership based on truth, non-possession, non-violence and disciplining of senses. These are relevant for our own time marked by upsurge of materialism which has caused global warming, and climate change and imperiled the whole planet.

       Satyagraha apart from upholding the cause of open mindedness had a refreshing dimension linked to health and well being. It stressed on physical fitness and sound body.  On one occasion when someone wrote a letter to Mahatma Gandhi requesting him to join his Satyagraha Gandhiji asked him "Can you walk five kilometers a day without getting tired?" In other words one of the qualifications to become a Satyagrahi was the ability to walk a fairly long distance on a day to day basis without getting weary and drained of strength. In fact during Dandi March or Salt Satyagraha commenced on 12th March 1930 from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi to break the iniquitous Salt Law Gandhiji along with his fellow marchers walked 10 to 14 kilometers a day. Even as he was 61 years old and the eldest among marchers  he was walking faster than others without any trace  of fatigue or  exhaustion. During that historic March when some people used a car to fetch some fruits for the consumption of marchers he disapproved it and said in a public speech that rule should be to walk by avoiding the car. In twenty first century world when number of cars have proliferated in geometric proportions releasing enormous quantity of toxic fumes and causing global warming,  climate change and air pollution, the rule prescribed by Mahatma Gandhi in 1930 to avoid the car and walk assumes critical significance for safeguarding our health and protecting air from poisonous emissions of such motorized transportations. It is worthwhile to recall a speech delivered by Gandhiji when he was marching to  Dandi and saw some of his fellow marchers unable to sustain the walk because of fatigue, fever and blisters on feet. He was crest fallen to note that people did not have strength to walk even 10 kilometers a day. He lamented by saying that modern generation of 1930 was weak, delicate and much pampered and wondered as to how they  would serve the nation with such weak bodies.   He then advised them to do exercises of which he described walking as the king of exercises. The weak, delicate and pampered modern generation of  1930 has left behind its progeny which is now more weak, more delicate, more pampered and has become extremely vulnerable  to life style diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and heart disease. India with an unenviable status as  a diabetic capital of the world constitutes a painful and sickening narrative arising out of life style devoid of adequate physical labour.  The criteria of walk which Gandhi prescribed as one of the qualifications to be a Stayagrahi assumes relevance for twenty first century world marked by  sedentary living pattern with high deficit of exercises.    

       Wider Meaning of Non-violence

       We all are familiar with the integral association of Mahatma Gandhi's life with the ideal of non-violence which he said is  as old as hills. It is fascinating to note that he gave a   wider meaning  to non-violence by going beyond its limited connotation of eschewing application of force and weapons to address the issues affecting life. Such wider meaning is of abiding relevance for our time.  For instance his expansive understanding of non-violence in terms of sharpening of mind, engagement through dialogue and discussion, removal of illiteracy, cultivation of habit to accept facts, creating conditions for communal harmony, economic equality and social enfranchisement of women, etc., are extremely relevant for our age which is in the arduous quest for sustainable development to save humanity from apocalypse of environmental disaster. All those wider aspects of non-violence are now there in the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations.

       Religion based on Compassion

       At the heart of such wider meaning of non-violence remain compassion which he said is the basis of all faiths.  In fact he famously said that a religion without compassion is a fraud.  And on another occasion he asserted that a religion is a true religion to the extent that it is rooted in compassion. Such a perspective on religion based on compassion is missing from discourse on religion in politics and public life wherein it is used to polarise people and cause violence to society and humanity.  A compassion based understanding of religion remains deeply relevant to unite people and forge reconciliation and understanding among them and stress on commonalities of all faiths for creating a harmonious social order. It is a categorical imperative to explore Non-violence and Satyagraha in such wide terms in twenty first century world to underline the enduring relevance of Mahatma Gandhi as a compassionate rebel.  

The author served as Officer on Special Duty and Press Secretary to President of India late Shri K.R.Narayanan and had a tenure as Director in Prime Minister's Office and Joint Secretary in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.