powerful, Satyagraha must in the end prevail.
Satyagraha, as practiced in India during the last thirty years, has had its failures. There have been errors of judgment on the part of the leaders, and violent action by satygrahis who joined the movement from mixed motives. But when all is said, there is no other movement in modern times which has accomplished so much with so little. Impractical as Gandhi’s principles may appear to the practical man, the fact remains that Satyagraha has worked. India today is free, not through the use of guns, airplanes or tanks, but through the discipline of self-suffering. And is it an overstatement to say that Britain too is cleansed, because she had the moral courage to grant this freedom?
We in the West, who sit daily under the shadow of war, should at least make the effort to explore this principle, for it presents a challenge both to our Christianity and our humanity. If soul-force can work—and its effectiveness has been proven—why do we hesitate to put in practice that which is a derivative of our own religion? Can it be that the moral leadership of the world is passing to the East?
The question has often been raised whether Mr. Gandhi was not a secret, though unbaptized Christian. The answer is no. Mr. Gandhi had a feeling of kinship with all religions. Since “all faiths outlined by men are imperfect, the question of comparative merit does not arise. All faiths constitute a revelation of Truth, but all are imperfect and liable to error. Reverence for other faiths need not blind us to their faults. We must be keenly alive to the defects of our own faith also, yet not leave it on that account, but try to overcome those defects. Looking at all religions with an equal eye, we would not only not hesitate, but would think it our duty, to blend into our faith every acceptable feature of other faiths.”[1] Such tolerance does not mean indifference towards one's own faith , but a more intelligent and purer love for it. Through toleration of other faiths we come to a better understanding of our own.
In response to a direct question asking why he remained a Hindu, Mr. Gandhi said: “Being born in a Hindu family, I have remained a Hindu. I should reject it, if I found it inconsistent with my moral sense or my spiritual growth. On exam-
- ↑ From Yeravda Mandir, pp. 38-39.
