Gandhi and the Religious Saints - Report Example

Gandhi and the Religious Saints Introduction Mohandas Gandhi was a pre- eminent ideological and political leader of India at the time of Indian independence movement. He was the pioneer of Satyagraha which is a resistance to tyrannical rule through the instrument of mass civil disobedience. Mass civil disobedience is a philosophy whose foundation is total non-violence. Gandhi Mohandas led India to its independence. He also inspired movements for civil freedoms and rights across the world. Religious saints described by William James on the other hand are Christians who have fully dedicated their lives to God. They have given their lives fully to Christian life. James has searched into the life of saint Teresa of Avila for example. The saint’s strife for godliness is very much analysed by James. The focus of the saints on the relationship with God is also a subject which has been deeply analysed by William James. There are similarities and differences which arise from the character displayed by the religious saints as described by James and Gandhi’s life as described by Erik Erikson. Similarities The saints in pursuance of a relationship with God will follow the godly principles of total obedience to the laws of God. These are divine laws and they are meant to be obeyed so as to maintain the relationship with God. These laws are commandments. For example saints advocate for peace love and unity. The laws of God require that no one should kill or steal from another. They advocate for loving the neighbour as one loves themselves. In simple terms the saints are bound by the total non-violence principles. Gandhi had similar values like the saints. He led the Indian to their independence. He inspired movements for civil freedoms and rights all over the world. Amazingly his idea of movements was not founded on violence and blood shedding rather it was firmly founded on Ahimsa which means total non violence. This depicts the human and the value of human life that was deep in his marrow. He first employed the non violent civil disobedience in South Africa as an expatriate lawyer. Morality was at the core of Gandhi’s life. His value for human life could not depict otherwise. He was a morally upright man and this was his value. This is also unique with the saints. Human life is regarded highly. This is not only a moral duty for the saints but also obedience to one of the ten commandments that thou shall not kill another person. The saints in obedience to God have to remain truthful and always follow in the way of truth. Saintliness and purity cannot go together with lies. The saints strive to live a pure life and thus the truth has to be their guiding principle. Indeed it is one of the commandments that one should not tell lies. (James, 311) expounds on obedience to God. The truth was also Gandhi’s torch. Gandhi’s efforts were geared towards practice of non-violence and the truth was the guidance in all situations. He also advocated for the others to do the same. The saints in their strife for godliness make numerous sacrifices which include choosing to live poor life. James has described the saint’s character of asceticism which means self surrender. The saints have to overrule all the ordinary inhibitions of the carnal man and their flesh. The saints find pleasure in sacrifice and asceticism. There are characters of the saints such as charity which depict their ability to live selfless lives (James, 273-274). For them it’s not about them but the others first. This selflessness and sacrifice are also depicted in Gandhi’s life. Gandhi’s Satyagraha or the non-violence movements for civil rights and freedom required a sacrifice of the self for his people. They required enormous discipline both for the followers and the leader. Erik advances that it also required insight and was not unlike the goal of psychoanalysis in regard to self suffering, truth and non-violence. (Erik, 439) states “in both encounters only the militant probing of vital issue by non violent confrontation can bring to light what insight is ready on both sides.” Erik here expressly recognizes the element of probing which indeed requires self sacrifice. Devotion is another character which is comparable to both the saints and Gandhi. Saints devote their whole live to a life of building a relationship with God and doing his will. This is not an easy task considering that they are humans and have the human mind of striving to acquire material things. It is only devotion that keeps them truthful to their course. Similarly Gandhi was a human being with needs and human interest for a good life. But he had to give up all his personal interest for his course and devotion was the only thing that glued him to his course. The strength of the soul is one of the characteristic James attributes to saintliness (James, 272-273). He advances that personal motives and inhibitions which are commonly omnipotent become very insignificant and unnoticeable. The saint changes to be patience and fortitude. Contrast Gandhi in his pursuit for the truth and morality was not motivated by any religious belief. It was in his early childhood that he learnt the virtues of the truth and humane character. The Indian classics, most important the stories maharaja harischcandra and shravana greatly impacted his life from his early childhood. Gandhi had an early self identification with the truth and love and this is traceable to the epic character found in Indian classics. Thus it is notable that the anchor of his morality is not based on any religion at all. On the other hand the religious have their moral character founded on a religious belief. The saints have to remain truthful, non-violent and peaceful because that is what the divine law of God requires of them if they have to remain in a relationship with their God. There are commandments of God requiring that one should love his neighbour. Another one requires that one should not lie or kill. These are set rules that the saints have to follow. Whereas Gandhi followed the truth because it was inherently in him the saints follow the truth because it is a command and they have to obey. Erikson has exposed the personal life of Gandhi. He got married at the age of 13 years which is too tender. When he got married he did not even understand the reason for getting married. On the other hand the saints totally devout their lives to God and they never get married. James has discussed Saint Teresa’s life as one of total devotion to God. Purity to the saints also includes sexual purity. The religious saints had to live a life of godliness which requires sexual purity. This was not attributed to Gandhi as he is described by Erikson to have had sexual asceticism which had disastrous effects on his two sons and the nation. Is it helpful to understand Gandhi in terms of saintliness? Yes it is important to understand Gandhi’s life in terms of saintliness. This is for quite a number of reasons. It is a sure way of learning that Gandhi’s really was a personal decision to live his life in that manner. It is also important in understanding the extent of his values for morality. This is based on the reasoning that the world knows the saints as almost flawless people. Every virtue on earth is attributed to saints. In the day to day world one may even hear a comment that so and so is a saint. This is attributed to the virtues which that specific person upholds. So from the worldly perspective saintliness connotes a good person of high moral integrity. Thus for one to know how good a person Gandhi was it is important to look at the attributes of saints which were seen in his own life. For example selflessness in this material world is only attributed to saints. No human being is willing to sacrifice his time and energy for the benefit of the other person and in the world this can only be attributed to a saint. However, when we see such attributes to Gandhi we are able to understand the extent of his goodness and soundness in character. Conclusion There are many striking similarities between Gandhi and the religious saints. This is important as we are able to understand why this man is a historical figure and a hero. However, as a human being he is not flawless and had his own personal failures which include sexual asceticism which was disastrous to his two sons and also on a nation that needed to have reasonable practices of birth control and not the unreachable sexual continence ideal. Despite the flaws Gandhi is one in a million and his life should be celebrated for many generations to come. Work cited Erikson, Erik. Gandhis Truth: On the Origins of Militant Nonviolence. New York. Norton & Company, Inc. 1993. James, William. The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature. New York. Simon & Schuster publishers. 1902 Read More