E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

191 Contextualising Gandhian Thoughtrevolution could also succumb to the temptations and the logicof power. They too might abuse power. The answer to theproblem of power, therefore, lay in altering the very concept ofpower, in investing it with an ethical content, in freeing it fromobsession with domination are coercion, and relating it to thefunction of promoting self-restraint, and initiating, inducingand mobilising collective action in pursuit of social objectives;Gandhi lighted on the idea of Trusteeship as the answer to theproblem of power and the means of transforming the verynature of power.Power had to be tamed and transformed by minimisingits concentration;fostering an attitude of trusteeship in thosewho held power; and universalising and maximising thereadiness and ability to resist the abuse of power. The means ofachieving this was decentralisation, trusteeship, andSatyagraha.To characterise ahimsa and aprigraha as ethical idealsis not to dismiss them as interlopers in the field of socialdynamics. To Gandhi, ethical norms or principles were notmeant exclusively for those who sought salvation in a penancegrove. Ethical norms relate to man’s conduct in society. Theyare meant to govern his relationship with, and attitudes to, othermen and women in society. It is, therefore, inconceivable thatthey have value only for ordering the personal life of theindividual. What is of relevance and value to each constituentof society must undoubtedly have relevance and value to thelife or the aggregate or 'totality' of the constituents, that is,society. What was good for the part had to be good for thewhole, and what was bad for the part had to be bad for thewhole.Truth and Non-violence are the sine qua non forcohesion and harmony in any society. A society that does not