E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

205 Contextualising Gandhian Thoughthis mind and heart. The appeal can work only if we prepare theground; one has to create a conducive climate for the appeal towork. This can be done by removing fear 47 and creating anawareness of his dependence on the cooperation of those whoare asking for change. He would then realise that theSatyagrahi is not against his personal interests. In fact, he (theSatyagrahi) is willing to safeguard the adversary's legitimateinterests. What the Satyagrahi is opposing is the pursuit of selfinterestat the cost of the interest of the community. Even as therich man prizes his interest, everyone prizes his own interest.Aggrandizement involves inroads into the legitimate andsimilar interests of others. The Satyagrahi is only demandingretreat from these incursions, and not the extinction of thegenuine self interest of the adversary, The Satyagrahi is onlyasking for a reconciliation of his (adversary's) self-interest withthe interests of all others. The Satyagrahi enables the adversaryto see this in two ways one, non-aggression, i.e., desisting fromphysical action that creates the fear that the object of theSatyagrahi is to annihilate him, and other, non-cooperation.Non-aggression enables the 'adversary' to see thedifference between the needs of self-preservation and therequirements of self aggrandizement. When he thus begins tosee the difference, the Satyagrahi tries to make him realise thatself-aggrandizement has been possible only because of thecooperation of those at whose cost he is seekingaggrandizement. When the victims of his aggrandizementwithdraw their cooperation, he realises that the fruits of hisaggrandizement did not depend on any inherent virtue of hisown, but on the cooperation of others. He will then be willingto agree to retreat from self-aggrandizement to the needs ofself-preservation. This self preservation includes thepreservation of his riches as well his status in society.Dispossession takes away both. Violent dispossession may take