Satyagraha includes all that, but it goes further. To the persuasion of words it adds the persuasion of deeds and example, the persuasive force of the sight of courageous men and women so fully convinced of the rightness of their cause that they seek arrest and quietly go to prison or death for their faith. Modern psychologists tell us that much the greater part of our mind is subconscious. If the mind may be likened to a log floating in water, the conscious mind is like the small portion above the level of the water; the subconscious mind is like the greater bulk under the water. Psychologists also tell us that example and suggestion act mainly upon the subconsciousness of the beholder. If this be so, the persuasive power of example by action is much greater than the persuasion of words ad dressed to the smaller conscious mind. The persuasion of Satyagraha is just as peaceful as that of so-called “constitutional agitation,” and it is more potent, swifter, simpler (and therefore better understood by the masses), more direct, more responsible, more sincere and more lasting. It is less capable of perversion by sinister forces acting in the darkness of legislative committee rooms, or by bureaucratic intrigue. It is less apt to produce a whittling down of public feeling and thwarting of public desire. It is more likely to lead to ultimate mutual respect and trust by and among all parties to any given issue, and to eliminate mistakes on all sides. Mass Satyagraha does not abolish legislatures, committees, investigating bodies and conferences. But it controls them, puts them in their proper place, and renders them less capable of doing harm.
Gandhi’s program is more of action than of talk. It calls for regular daily spinning and other social service from every one of those who profess it. It is concrete and psychologically sound. Thought, talk, planning and feeling without corresponding action are psychologically de-
