E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi and the Encounter …. 23Western and his total lack of parochialism.Let us come to certain specifics. The most seriouscriticism raised against Indian culture was that it was toootherworldly and less life-affirming. This was probably becausein the Hindu view of life moksha or salvation in the sense ofcomplete liberation from the cycle of birth and death wasposited as the ultimate goal of life and therefore, the materialdimension of existence or what is generally termed as thisworldliness was, by and large, ignored. This also led to a kindof fatalism resulting in social stagnation and a number ofensuing social evils. As a proclaimed Sanatani Hindu Gandhishared the Hindu view that moksha is the ultimate goal of life.But he did not accept the life-negating fatalism associated withit. On the contrary Gandhi’s approach to life was one of lifeaffirmationand world-affirmation. This, in fact, was one of themany ideas that he accepted from Western culture. ThoughHindu philosophy affirmed advaita or monism according towhich all creations are the manifestation of the UltimateReality i.e., God, Hindu society was hierarchically organizedand there were social discrimination and segregation. Unlikemost Hindus Gandhi believed in social equality and was a lifelongcrusader for achieving equality at all levels. Gandhihimself has admitted his indebtedness to Western thinkers likeJohn Ruskin in developing his social philosophy. Theorganisation of Gandhi’s ashrams is another point at hand.In the Indian tradition ashrams were havens of peoplewho retire from active social life with the sole objective ofseeking salvation or moksha. For Gandhi, on the contrary,ashrams were not spiritual retreats but centres of action wherepeople who shared the same ideals lived worked together totransform personal as well as collective lives. They were alsotraining centres where volunteers were trained for working fornonviolent social change. For developing this new model of the