All Men Are Brothers (Life & thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi as told in his own words) Compiled & Edited by : Krishna Kripalani Introduction by : Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan Price: Rs. 40/- Printed & Published by : Jitendra T Desai Navajivan Mudranalaya Ahmedabad 380 014 (INDIA) All Men Are Brothers PUBLISHER'S NOTE (Indian Edition) We have great pleasure in issuing this cheap edition of the UNESCO's publication, All Men Are Brothers. It is a selection from the writings of Mahatma Gandhi compiled for the UNESCO, for presenting in one handy volume, the life and thoughts of the Mahatma as told in his own words. The UNESCO publication is in English, to be followed by French and Spanish editions. As all know, copyright in Gandhiji's writings vests in the Navajivan Trust. Therefore the UNESCO, through the Government of India had approached the Trust for permission to publish their selections from Gandhiji's writings in book form. The Trust had very gladly given them this permission. Accordingly, the book was out by the end of 1958 and has by now run into four impressions. The Navajivan Trust thought that a cheap edition for readers in India, of this important publication from Gandhiji's writings, might be a welcome thing, and hence the Trust approached the UNESCO for permitting the issue of a cheap edition in English and in Indian languages also, with Dr. Radhakrishnan's Introduction. The UNESCO has kindly granted us this permission. Hence this issue of the book for Indian readers. The Trust thanks the UNESCO for this permission. The book is entirely a reprint of the UNESCO publication minus the interesting pictures it contains. We have given only one picture as frontispiece, which has made it possible for us to reduce the price appreciably. 30-10-1960 www.mkgandhi.org Page 2 All Men Are Brothers FOREWORD (Unesco Edition) At its ninth session, which was held in New Delhi in November 1956, the Unesco General Conference adopted, on the proposal of the Delegation of Uruguay, a resolution authorizing 'the Director-General to arrange for the publication of a book containing selections from Gandhi's thoughts preceded by a study of his personality'. The General Conference wished thus to provide an opportunity for Unesco to pay homage to both the person and the writings of a man whose spiritual influence has extended throughout the entire world. The texts have been selected to appeal to a wide public and are intended to illustrate and make better known the different aspects of Gandhi's personality and writings. H. E. Sir Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, Vice-President of India, has kindly accepted to write a short introduction which describes the main features of the Mahatma's philosophy and his influence in furthering friendship and understanding between peoples. Unesco is greatly indebted to H. E. Sir Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan for his highly valuable co-operation, as well as to those Indian authorities who collaborated in the preparation of this book. Special tribute is also paid to Shri K. R. Kripalani, Secretary of Sahitya Akademi, for his highly competent assistance. It is planned that the present publication in English will be followed by French and Spanish editions. www.mkgandhi.org Page 3 All Men Are Brothers INTRODUCTION S. Radhakrishnan A great teacher appears once in a while. Several centuries may pass by without the advent of such a one. That by which he is known is his life. He first lives and then tells others how they may live likewise. Such a teacher was Gandhi. These selections from his speeches and writings compiled With great care and discrimination by Shri Krishna Kripalani will give the reader some idea of the workings of Gandhi's mind, the growth of his thoughts and the practical techniques which he adopted. Gandhi's life was rooted in India's religious tradition with its emphasis on a passionate search for truth, a profound reverence for life, the ideal of non- attachment and the readiness to sacrifice all for the knowledge of God. He lived his whole life in the perpetual quest of truth: 'I live and move and have my being in the pursuit of this goal.' A life which has no roots, which is lacking in depth of background is a superficial one. There are some who assume that when we see what is fight we will do it. It is not so. Even when we know what is right it does not follow that we will choose and do right. We are overborne by powerful impulses and do wrong and betray the light in us. 'In our present state we are, according to the Hindu doctrine, only partly human; the lower part of us is still animal; only the conquest of our lower instincts by love can slay the animal in us.' It is by a process of trial and error, self-search and austere discipline that the human being moves step by painful step along the road to fulfillment. Gandhi's religion was a rational and ethical one. He would not accept any belief which did not appeal to his reason or any injunction which did not commend to his conscience. If we believe in God, not merely with our intellect but with our whole being, we will love all mankind without any distinction of race or class, nation or religion. We will work for the unity of mankind. 'All my actions have their rise in my inalienable love of mankind.' 'I have known no distinction between www.mkgandhi.org Page 4 All Men Are Brothers relatives and strangers, countrymen and foreigners, white and coloured, Hindus and Indians of other faiths whether Mussalmans, Parsees, Christians or Jews. I may say that my heart has been incapable of making any such distinctions.' 'By a long process of prayerful discipline I have ceased for over forty years to hate anybody.' All men are brothers and no human being should be a stranger to another. The welfare of all, Sarvodaya, should be our aim. God is the common bond that unites all human beings. To break this bond even with our greatest enemy is to tear God Himself to pieces. There is humanity even in the most wicked1. This view leads naturally to the adoption of non-violence as the best means for solving all problems, national and international. Gandhi affirmed that he was not a visionary but a practical idealist. Non-violence is meant not merely for saints and sages but for the common people also. '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.' Gandhi was the first in human history to extend the principle of non-violence from the individual to the social and political plane. He entered politics for the purpose of experimenting with non-violence and establishing its validity. 'Some friends have told me that truth and non-violence have no place in politics and worldly affairs. I do not agree. I have no use for them as a means of individual salvation. Their introduction and application in everyday life has been my experiment all along.' 'For me, politics bereft of religion are absolute dirt, ever to be shunned. Politics concerns nations and that which concerns the welfare of nations must be one of the concerns of a man who is religiously inclined, in other words, a seeker after God and Truth. For me God and Truth are convertible terms, and if anyone told me that God was a God of untruth or a God of torture I would decline to worship Him. Therefore, in politics also we have to establish the Kingdom of Heaven.' In the struggle for India's independence, he insisted that we should adopt civilized methods of non-violence and suffering. His stand for the freedom of www.mkgandhi.org Page 5 All Men Are Brothers India was not based on any hatred for Britain. We must hate the sin but not the sinner. 'For me patriotism is the same as humanity. I am patriotic because I am human and humane. I will not hurt England or Germany to serve India.' He believed that he rendered a service to the British in helping them to do the right thing by India. The result was not only the liberation of the Indian people but an increase in the moral resources or mankind. In the present nuclear context, if we wish to save the world, we should adopt the principles of non-violence. Gandhi said: 'I did not move a muscle, when I first heard that an atom bomb had wiped out Hiroshima. On the contrary I said to myself: "Unless now the world adopts non-violence, it will spell certain suicide for mankind".' In any future conflict we cannot be certain that neither side will deliberately use nuclear weapons. We have the power to destroy in one blinding flash all that we have carefully built up across the centuries by our endeavour and sacrifice. By a campaign of propaganda we condition men's minds for nuclear warfare. Provocative remarks fly about freely. We use aggression even in words; harsh judgments, ill-will, anger, are all insidious forms of violence. In the present predicament when we are not able to adjust ourselves to the new conditions which science has brought about, it is not easy to adopt the principles of non-violence, truth and understanding. But on that ground we should not give up the effort. While the obstinacy of the political leaders puts fear into our hearts, the common sense and conscience of the peoples of the world give us hope. With the increased velocity of modern changes we do not know what the world will be a hundred years hence. We cannot anticipate the future currents of thought and feeling. But years may go their way, yet the great principles of satya and ahimsa, truth and non-violence, are there to guide us. They are the silent stars keeping holy vigil above a tired and turbulent world. Like Gandhi we may be firm in our conviction that the sun shines above the drifting clouds. We live in an age which is aware of its own defeat and moral coarsening, an age in which old certainties are breaking down, the familiar patterns are tilting www.mkgandhi.org Page 6 All Men Are Brothers and cracking. There is increasing intolerance and embitterment. The creative flame that kindled the great human society is languishing. The human mind in all its baffling strangeness and variety produces contrary types, a Buddha or a Gandhi, a Nero or a Hitler. It is our pride that one of the greatest figures of history lived in our generation, walked with us, spoke to us, taught us the way of civilized living. He who wrongs no one fears no one. He has nothing to hide and so is fearless. He looks everyone in the face. His step is firm, his body upright, and his words are direct and straight. Plato said long ago: 'There always are in the world a few inspired men whose acquaintance is beyond price.' S. Radhakrishnan New Delhi 15 August 1958 www.mkgandhi.org Page 7 All Men Are Brothers 01. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL It is not my purpose to attempt a real autobiography. I simply want to tell the story of my numerous experiments with truth, and as my life consists of nothing but those experiments, it is true that the story will take the shape of an autobiography. But I shall not mind, if every page of it speaks only of my experiments. (AMG, 4) My experiments in the political field are now known, not only to India, but to a certain extent to the 'civilized' world. For me, they have not much value; and the title of 'Mahatma' that they have won for me has, therefore, even less. Often the title has deeply pained me; and there is not a moment I can recall when it may be said to have tickled me. But I should certainly like to narrate my experiments in the spiritual field which are known only to myself, and from which I have derived such power as I possess for working in the political field. If the experiments are really spiritual, then there can be no room for self-praise. They can only add to my humility. The more I reflect and look back on the past, the more vividly do I feel my limitations. (AMG, 4) What I want to achieve―what I have been striving and pining to achieve these thirty years―is self-realization, to see God face to face, to attain Moksha. I live and move and have my being in pursuit of this goal. All that I do by way of speaking and writing, and all my ventures in the political field, are directed to this same end. But as I have all along believed that what is possible for one is possible for all, my experiments have not been conducted in the closet, but in the open; and I do not think that this fact detracts from their spiritual value. There are some things which are known only to oneself and one's Maker. These are clearly incommunicable. The experiments I am about to relate are not such. But they are spiritual, or rather moral; for the essence of religion is www.mkgandhi.org Page 8 All Men Are Brothers morality. (AMG, 4-5) Far be it from me to claim any degree of perfection for these experiments. I claim for them nothing more than does a scientist who, though he conducts his experiments with the utmost accuracy, forethought and minuteness, never claims any finality about his conclusions, but keeps an open mind regarding them. I have gone through deep self-introspection, searched myself through and through, and examined and analyzed every psychological situation. Yet I am far from claiming any finality or infallibility about my conclusions. One claim I do indeed make and it is this. For me they appear to be absolutely correct, and seem for the time being to be final. But at every step I have carried out the process of acceptance or rejection and acted accordingly. (AMG, 5) My life is one indivisible whole, and all my activities run into one another, and they all have their rise in my insatiable love of mankind. (SB, 45) The Gandhi's belong to the Bania caste and seem to have been originally grocers. But for three generations, from my grandfather, they have been prime ministers in several Kathiawad States. . . My grandfather must have been a man of principle. State intrigues compelled him to leave Porbandar, where he was a Diwan, and to seek refuge in Junagadh. There he saluted the Nawab with the left hand. Someone, noticing the apparent discourtesy, asked for an explanation, which was given thus: 'The right hand is already pledged to Porbandar.' (AMG, 11) My father was a lover of his clan, truthful, brave and generous, but short- tempered. To a certain extent he might have been even given to carnal pleasures. For he married for the fourth time when he was over forty. But he was incorruptible and had earned a name for strict impartiality in his family as well as outside. (AMG, 12) www.mkgandhi.org Page 9 All Men Are Brothers The outstanding impression my mother has left on my memory is that of saintliness. She was deeply religious. She would not think of taking her meals without her daily prayers. . .She would take the hardest vows and keep them without flinching. Illness was no excuse for relaxing them. (AMG, 12-13) Of these parents I was born at Porbandar.....I passed my childhood in Porbandar. I recollect having been put to school. It was with some difficulty that I got through the multiplication tables. The fact that I recollect nothing more of those days than having learnt, in company with other boys, to call our teacher all kinds of names, would strongly suggest that my intellect must have been sluggish, and my memory raw. (AMG, 14) I used to be very shy and avoided all company. My books and my lessons were my sole companions. To be at school at the stroke of the hour and to run back home as soon as the school closed―that was my daily habit. I literally ran back because I could not bear to talk to anybody. I was even afraid lest anyone should poke fun at me. (AMG, 15) There is an incident which occurred at the examination during my first year at the high school and which is worth recording. Mr. Giles, the Educational Inspector, had come on a visit of inspection. He had set us five words to write as a spelling exercise. One of the words was 'kettle'. I had miss pelt it. The teacher tried to prompt me with the point of his boot, but I would not be prompted. It was beyond me to see that he wanted me to copy the spelling from my neighbour's slate, for I had thought that the teacher was there to supervise us against copying. The result was that all the boys, except myself, were found to have spelt every word correctly. Only I had been stupid. The teacher tried later to bring this stupidity home to me, but without effect. I never could learn the art of 'copying'. (AMG, 15-16) It is my painful duty to have to record here my marriage at the age of thirteen. As I see youngsters of the same age about me who are under my care, and think www.mkgandhi.org Page 10