WESTERN INFLUENCE

ON
GANDHIAN THOUGHT
 WHAT IS GANDHIAN THOUGHT

• Gandhian thought is the set of religious and social ideas adopted and developed by Mahatma Gandhi, in
South Africa from 1893 to 1914 and later in India.
• Gandhian philosophy is not only simultaneously political, moral and religious, it is also traditional and
modern, simple and complex. It embodies numerous Western influences to which Gandhiji was exposed, but
is rooted in ancient Indian culture harnessing universal moral & religious principles.
• Gandhian thought emphasizes not on idealism, but on practical idealism.
• Gandhian philosophy is a double-edged weapon. Its objective is to transform the individual and society
simultaneously, in accordance with the principles of truth and non-violence.
• Gandhiji developed these ideologies from various inspirational sources Bhagavat Geeta, Jainism, Buddhism,
Bible, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Tolstoy, John Ruskin among others.
• Truth, nonviolence, Sarvodaya and Satyagraha and their significance constitute Gandhian philosophy and are
the four pillars of Gandhian thought.
 It’s Relevance Now
• The ideals of truth and nonviolence, which underpin the whole philosophy, are relevant to all humankind,
and are considered as universal.
• Mahatma Gandhi's teachings are valid today than ever, when people are trying to find solutions to the more
greed, more violence and change in style of living.
• The Gandhian technique of mobilizing people has been successfully employed by many oppressed societies
around the world under the leadership of people like “Martin Luther King” in the United States, “Nelson
Mandela” in South Africa which is an eloquent testimony to the continuing relevance of Mahatma Gandhi.
• As of October of 2015 there are more than 10.35 millions in prisons, if that is a country ranks 81 on world
population list, It is precisely to fight these big wars that the Gandhian philosophy needed in contemporary
times.
• “In my life, I have always looked to Mahatma Gandhi as an inspiration, because he embodies the kind of
transformational change that can be made when ordinary people come together to do extraordinary things."
-Barack Obama
 Some of the Books that Influenced Gandhi
• Unto This Last - John Ruskin
John Ruskin’s Unto This Last, a collection of four essays on the “politics of economics” is one of his most influential works, so
much so that even Mahatma Gandhi said it was “impossible to lay aside”. Ruskin puts forth the idea of an economy based on the
consideration of humanity and the virtue of pursuing money for vested interests, and that economics must have its roots in ethics. As he
was determined to change his life according to the ideals of the book, Gandhi established the Phoenix Settlement, a place in Africa where
people followed communal living, nonviolence and spirituality based on Ruskin’s teachings and even translated the book into Gujarati, titled
Sarvodaya.
• The Kingdom Of God Is Within You -Leo Tolstoy
With The Kingdom Of God Is Within You, Leo Tolstoy invoked a storm within the Christian community by stating why people must
dismiss violence and look inside themselves for answers pertaining to morals. Tolstoy challenged the modernization of the church and spoke
of a society based on following Jesus’ literal teachings of “turning a cheek” instead of the various other meanings interpreted throughout
time. When Gandhi was growing skeptical of non-violence, it was his favorite author’s book that helped ease his mind. He even mentioned
in his autobiography that this book made him a firm believer in ahimsa. Gandhi’s other favorite books by Tolstoy include The Gospel In Brief
and Letter To A Hindoo.
• Defense And Death Of Socrates -Plato
Socrates a Greek scholar was taken to trial for corruption of the younger generation and for not showing enough respect to the
pantheon of Athens. Plato’s Defense And Death Of Socrates consists of four parts – ‘Euthyphro’, which explores the working and idea of
religion and worship; ‘Apology’, a justification of Socrates’ teachings; ‘Crito’, an explanation of why Socrates refused to run away from his
punishment; and finally, ‘Phaedo’, where Socrates talks about death and immortality. Along with recommending this book, Gandhi also
paraphrased Plato’s work into English as: ‘Story of A Soldier of Truth’ and published it in his newspaper Indian Opinion, and even translated
it into Gujarati.
 LEO TOLSTOY
• Gandhi and Tolstoy have been the two greatest followers of non-violence as a way of life and means of
resistance. According to Gandhi, Tolstoy’s The Kingdom of God is Within You (1893) "left an abiding
impression" on him and the Tolstoy’s idea of “love as law of life” and care for entire mankind greatly moved
him. Gandhi named his second ashram in South Africa after Tolstoy where he experimented with methods of
Satyagraha.
• Tolstoy exercised a greater influence on him. In Hind Swaraj, we can notice that of the twenty books
listed there as many as six were by Tolstoy.
• While being taken to the court in handcuffs following an agitation in Transvaal, he carried with him a copy of
The Kingdom of God is Within You. Tolstoy's concept of "Bread Labor" was included among Gandhi's "Ashram
vows" and resulted in the formation of the Gandhian principle that makes earning a livelihood by the sweat
of the brow mandatory for inmates. The duo had exchanged a few letters before the great writer passed
away in 1910 at the age of 82.
• Gandhi considered three of these – Letter to a Hindoo, The Kingdom of God is Within You, and What
is Art –so important that either he himself translated them or he had others translate them into
Gujarati.
 LEO TOLSTOY
1. The Kingdom of God is Within You
The underlying theme of the book is the question of violence and its peaceful resolution. the book overwhelmed him.
It was a required reading for members of the Phoenix Settlement and Tolstoy Farm. It was his constant companion
during his South African days and all three of his prison stays in South Africa.
2. Letter to a Hindoo
He wrote to Tolstoy. He had also asked permission, if the document proved to be authentic, to have it published in
both English and Gujarati. The permission was readily granted, and Gandhi edited and translated it. The Letter makes two basic
points. The first is that “the chief, if not the sole” cause of the enslavement of India is the absence of a pure religious
consciousness in all nations, including India. Nations no longer believe in a spiritual element in their lives, an element which
manifests itself in the love of God and fellow human beings.
Indians are implicated in their own enslavement. Tolstoy pointed to them that they were repeating “the amazing
stupidity” indoctrinated in them by their European teachers such as Herbert Spencer that force could be resisted only with force.
The conclusion is clear: “If the people of India are enslaved by violence, it is only because they themselves live and have lived
by violence, and do not recognize the eternal law of love inherent in humanity”.

Gandhi is more practical than Tolstoy.

 HENRY DAVID THOREAU
• It was during his time in South Africa that Gandhi developed his concept of "Civil Disobedience." It was the
time when the Indian population in the African country was fighting the "Asiatic Registration Act" introduced
by the colonial government. The law made it mandatory for all Indians over the age of eight to register under
it and carry the card provided afterwards all the time - failing which could lead to a fine, a prison term, or
deportation.

• It was while leading his "Passive Resistance" agitation against the apartheid government's new law that he
read Thoreau's essay titled On the Duty of Civil Disobedience. Written in 1849 at the age of 32, the
transcendentalist thinker vouched for deliberate resistance from people against unjust laws enforced upon
them.

• Gandhi was greatly moved by Thoreau's concept that prison is where a just man belongs under an unjust
government and referred to him as his "teacher." He even credited the American thinker with giving scientific
confirmation to his non-violent mode of agitation.
 HENRY DAVID THOREAU
• The anarchist view of Gandhi was fully supported by Thoreau’s declaration that ‘that government is
best which governs the least’.

• Freedom
Thoreau and Gandhi conceive of Freedom as obedience to law, not so much to law in the narrow legal sense of the term
as to the moral law which is a categorical imperative.

• Right to Resist
Both Thoreau and Gandhi believed that citizens are men first and subjects afterwards. Gandhi thought that it is the height
of good fortune to be in jail in the interest and good name of one’s country.

• Civil Disobedience
Thoreau’s essay on ‘Civil Disobedience’ became a Bible for the Satyagrahis in South Africa, and the teachings of Thoreau
were applied by Gandhi for the uplift of downtrodden millions of Indian workers.
 JOHN RUSKIN
• Ruskin (1819-1900) was an English critic of the Victorian era who was a campaigner against industrial
capitalism. Gandhi was introduced to Ruskin’s “Unto this Last” (published in 1860) by his friend Henry Polak
during a rail journey from Johannesburg to Durban in June 1904. Gandhi said "the great book" influenced him
beyond imagination and transformed his life.
• In Gandhi’s own words, “The book was impossible to lay aside, once I had begun it. It gripped me...
I could not get any sleep that night.”
• “I believe that I discovered some of my deepest convictions reflected in this great book of Ruskin,
and that is why it so captured me, and made me transform my life. A poet is one who can call forth
the good latent in the human breast. Poets do not influence all alike, for everyone is not evolved in
an equal measure. The teachings of ‘Unto This Last’ I understand to be:
1. That the good of the individual is contained in the good of all.
2. That a lawyer’s work has the same value as the barber’s, in as much as all have the same right of earning
livelihood from their work.
3. That the life of labor, that is, the life of the tiller of the soil and the handicraftsman, is the life worth living.”
• “The first of these I knew. The second I had dimly realized. The third had never occurred to me. ‘Unto This Last’
made it as clear as daylight for me that the second and the third were contained in the first. I arose with the
dawn, ready to reduce these principles to practice.”
 JOHN RUSKIN
• Gandhi has drawn inspiration on education from Ruskin. Both of them attach primary importance to
education in their constructive programmes. According to them, education is the discipline of the
inherent instinct of man.
• The writings of Ruskin made Gandhi to realize the dignity of labor and the ideal that action for the
good of all is the most virtuous principle.
• Ruskin’s Unto This Last left such an abiding impact on Gandhi’s life and thought that he started
experimenting the philosophy contained therein, in his own life, renounced property and privileges,
established socialist colonies thereafter, thought in terms of Sarvodaya and gave to the translation of
the book, the title of Sarvodaya, under the impact of Ruskin’s book.
• Gandhi equally believed that differential wage should not be paid for intellectual work in
preference to manual work since intellectual labor should not be treated as superior to
manual labor.
 SOCRATES
• It was during his imprisonment during the Transvaal agitation in 1908 that
Gandhi was introduced to Socrates' "Apology" -- the textual adaptation of the
Athenian philosopher's famous speech while facing a trial in 399 BC.
• Though in military language, Socrates expressed his willingness to lay down
his life for the cause of his belief (the word Apologia means "defense" in
classical Greek). Death shouldn't be a reason to back down from one's
objective, he argued.
• This idea of self-sacrifice inspired Gandhi to formulate his Satyagraha
principles and he called the thinker “a soldier of truth." Gandhi published the
Gujarati translation of "Apology" as instalments in Indian Opinion immediately
after being released from prison.
 RALPH WALDO EMERSON
• Gandhi was not just an ardent critic of urbanization but also a strong advocate
of rural life. In his ideal Indian society, communities existed as self-reliant
villages which used the very minimum resources to meet everybody's "needs"
but not anybody's "wants".
• Gandhi adopted this principle from the theories of US thinker Ralph Waldo
Emerson (1803-1882), whose philosophy revolved around the principle of
self-reliance and moral enhancement. He was introduced to Emerson's
writings during his student days in England.
 Books listed in Hind Swaraj
Some Books that Influenced Gandhi The following books
are recommended for perusal to follow up the study of the
foregoing:
1. The Kingdom of God Is within You—Tolstoy
11. On the Duty of Civil Disobedience—Thoreau
2. What Is Art—Tolstoy
12. Life without Principle—Thoreau
3. The Slavery of Our Times—Tolstoy
13. Unto This Last—Ruskin
4. The First Step—Tolstoy
14. A Joy for Ever—Ruskin
5. How Shall We Escape?—Tolstoy
15. Duties of Man—Mazzini
6. Letter to a Hindoo—Tolstoy
16. Defense and Death of Socrates—From Plato
7. The White Slaves of England—Sherard
17. Paradoxes of Civilization—Max Nordau
8. Civilization, Its Cause and Cure—Carpenter
18. Poverty and Un-British Rule in India—Naoroji
9. The Fallacy of Speed—Taylor
19. Economic History of India—Dutt
10. A New Crusade—Blount
20. Village Communities—Maine
 Summary
• Tolstoy and Gandhi corresponded regularly. Both had similar views on truth and morality and both had the same heroes - Buddha, Socrates and
Mohammed. Tolstoy's book 'The Kingdom of God is within you' overwhelmed Gandhi. Ruskin's book 'Unto this Last' had cast a magic spell on Gandhi so
much so that he paraphrased the book as 'Sarvodaya' and decided to teach from it.
• M. Gandhi himself has said! "Three moderns have left a deep impress on my life and captivated me. Raychandbhai by his living contact; Tolstoy by his book,
"The Kingdom of God is within you"; and Ruskin by his "Unto This Last". Besides these three personalities, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and the Gita and the Bible
were life long sources of inspiration for Gandhi.
• Tolstoy of Russia was the only one with whom Gandhi had some prolonged correspondence. Both Tolstoy and Gandhi worshipped in the common shrine and
the same heroes - i.e. Buddha's Light of Asia, Socrates, Mohammed, Upanishads, Gita. Both of them were not mere philosophers, but teachers of humanity
who endeavored hard to practice what they preached. Gandhi described himself with characteristic candor as Tolstoy's disciple in his letters to Tolstoy.
Tolstoy wrote to Gandhi emphasizing the almost pivotal significance of Gandhi's Satyagraha in South Africa. Tolstoy was the prophet of the latter half of the
nineteenth century and Gandhi of the first half of the twentieth century. Finally Tolstoy's "The Kingdom of God is within you" overwhelmed Gandhi. It left an
abiding impression on Gandhi. Tolstoy manifested independent thinking, profound morality and truthfulness.
• Gandhi read the Bible, especially "The New Testament" and "The Sermon on the Mount" which went straight to his heart. The compassion and renunciation
of Jesus appealed greatly to Gandhi.
• He himself acknowledged his indebtedness to the West in the following words: “I have nothing to be ashamed of if my views on Ahimsa are the
result of my Western education. I have never tabooed all Western ideas, nor am I prepared to anathematize everything that comes from the
West as inherently evil. I have learnt much from the West, and I should not be surprised to find that I had learnt something about
Ahimsa too from the West.”
• Ruskin, the English thinker, was perhaps the most powerful source of inspiration when Gandhi himself described Ruskin's book, "Unto This Last" as "the
magic spell". Gandhi was offered Ruskin's book by Gandhi's intimate friend Mr. Polak and Gandhi read it on his train journey from Johannesburg to Durban.
The book gripped Gandhi so much that its teaching of the book appealed to Gandhi instantaneously and Gandhi paraphrased it into Gujarati as "Sarvodaya"
(The welfare of all). Gandhi learnt the teachings of the book to be:
1. The good of the individual is contained in the welfare of all.
2. All have same right of earning their livelihood from their work.
3. That a life of labor is the life worth living.