mindofmahatmagandhi

The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi
04. MY MISSION
I AM not a visionary. I claim to be a practical idealist. The religion of nonviolence
is not meant merely for the rishis and saints. It is meant for the
common people as well. Non-violence is the law of our species as violence is
the law of the brute. The spirit lies dormant in the brute and he knows no law
but that of physical might. The dignity of man requires obedience to a higher
law-to the strength of the spirit. (YI, 11-8-1920, p3)
There are more instances than one in my public life when, with the ability to
retaliate, I have refrained from doing so and advised friends to do likewise. My
life is dedicated to the spread of that doctrine. I read it in the teachings of all
the greatest teachers of the world-Zoroaster, Mahavir, Daniel, Jesus,
Muhammad, Nanak and a host of others. (YI, 9-2-1922, p85)
Non-violence is the first article of my faith. It is also the last article of my
creed. (YI, 23-3-1922, p166)
I am but an humble explorer of the science of non-violence. Its hidden depths
sometimes stagger me just as much as they stagger fellow-workers. (YI, 20-11-
1924, p382)
Mission of Satyagraha
My mission is to teach by example and precept under sever restraint the use of
the matchless weapon of Satyagraha; which is a direct corollary of non-violence
and truth. I am anxious, indeed I am impatient, to demonstrate that there is no
remedy for the many ills of life save that of non-violence….
When I have become incapable of evil and when nothing harsh or haughty
occupies, be it momentarily, my thought-world, then, and not till then, my
non-violence will move all the hearts of all the world. I have placed before me
and the reader no impossible ideal or ordeal. It is man's prerogative and
birthright.
We have lost the paradise only to regain it. If it takes time, then it is but a
speck in the complete time-circle. The Divine Teacher of the Gita knew when
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