E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

32 Contextualising Gandhian Thoughtmaintained that his principles were ‘as old as hills’. However,in an unprecedented way he has revolutionised the concept andworking of non-violence. As an activist votary of non-violencehe has shown its efficacy in dealing with evils of exploitationand injustice that have plagued humanity in its political,economic and social fields.Various dimensions of Non-violenceGandhi believes that non-violence is not a cloisteredvirtue to be practised by the individual only for his own peaceand salvation. Rather it should be taken as a rule of conduct forthe entire humanity. He considered non-violence as the greatestforce at the disposal of mankind. It is noted that prior to Gandhinon-violence was taken as a virtue to be practised mostly at theindividual level. But it was Gandhi who revolutionised theconcept by taking it to level of common masses. For Gandhinon-violence was not merely a personal virtue, but a socialvirtue to be cultivated and practised by all. In his own words,”The religion of non-violence is not meant merely for the rishisand saints. It is meant for the common people as well. Nonviolenceis the law of our species as violence is the law of thebrute. 1 It is evident from the above that Gandhi took theconcept of non-violence to the cosmic level.Gandhi believed that as limited beings, we cannot grasptruth in its entirety. The problem arises when people claim thatthey own the whole truth, and hence they would be justified inimposing it on others, without any restraint. To avoid such anundesirable situation, Gandhian non-violence seeks to ensuredialogue as a basis of mutual trust between conflicting parties.This would help them to understand truth in its relative terms.Gandhi had tremendous faith in the method of dialogues. Allhis life, he worked through dialogues with everybody includinghis own self. His philosophy provides space for persons fromdifferent strands of life to come together and open up for