Gandhian Outlook by S. Radhakrishanan
SIMPLIFIED
VERSION OF THE ESSAY
Gandhiji was basically a religious
man. Being a religious man, he rose above all particular group loyalties and
became a universal man. He made the world believe that religious and asked people
to follow them. He became an example for the whole world that even in the
present world, where cunningness and cheating are prevalent, following the path
of truth, love, and peace is possible.
He practised the religious theories
of truth and non-violence in the freedom struggle. He also motivated the whole
world to follow these theories by setting an example himself. He followed the
principles of all religions. Hindus followed the doctrines of Abhaya and Ahimsa, fearlessness
and love. Buddhists give stress to Prajna and Karunas, wisdom and compassion.
Christians follow the path of truth and freedom, and Muslims speak about one
God and one family on earth. Gandhiji followed and implemented all these ideals
of different religions in his whole life and lived for them.
Gandhiji wanted people to be humble
and to understand and respect all religions, because all religions have the
essence of truth. He believed that if we follow this doctrine, the feeling of
brotherhood and peace will spread all over the world. He believed that other
religions should also be regarded as respectable as his own. It is only love
that can make us feel the same way. When he had to take some important action,
he used to question himself, fast and pray, and explore his brain to find
the way to take action. This was the line of action that Gandhiji used to
follow. His ways were in accordance with religion.
Gandhiji's wide perspective (view) of
thinking made him earn the image of an international personality. He used
weapons of peace for the cause of India and set an example for the whole world
that such peaceful methods can be adopted internationally. He gave the world
the message that political freedom can be achieved without being violent. He
proved that the earlier methods of achieving political motives, such as
violence, deceit, and cunningness, are not acceptable in a well-aware and
civilized society. He won freedom with non-violent methods and gave a lesson
not only to the nation but to the rest of the world. He fought for the freedom
struggle of India not just because of patriotism or because he belonged to
India, but because of his deep love for humanity.
He wanted to enable mankind to see
problems from different perspectives and way of thinking. His fight was not for
India alone; it was for humanity. He believed that we may have conflict with
Englishmen, but that doesn't mean that we ought to hate them, as both
Englishman and Indians belong to the mighty Divinity. Gandhiji's point is that
even though we have differences, we are still brothers. This feeling would make
us love evildoers and hate the evil only. He performed his actions with the
essence of truth and compassion for the humanity, which made him a universal
man.
According to Gandhiji, widespread
confusion, uncertainty, and fear is due to our unclear goals. The human mind
needs a diet of truth and universal brotherhood to satisfy its hunger. Gandhiji
stressed love and compassion for other people. He wanted humanity to rise above
the narrow boundaries of minor divisions of religion, race, and region to get
real human unity in this world. He asked people to take religion more
seriously, as it preaches that our primary loyalty must be to the human race.
Looking at the last decade, though we
have made great progress in intellectual penetration, wonderful scientific
achievements, and leadership, these developments are not contributing enough to
the appeal of universal brotherhood. A sense of world citizenship is required
to be inculcated in young men and women. It is needed to make them understand
that world brotherhood comes before national loyalties, just as family loyalty
comes after national loyalties, if the world wants to escape disaster. Gandhian
outlook single-mindedly appealed the whole world to unite together for the development
and for the sake of humanity.
Gandhiji dreamed about an
international society that has different nations as its branches and that a
world state would possess executive authority, a kind of police force that
would be used only to maintain normal local life and not military power. He
visualized the sort of world state that would take initiatives to eliminate
rivalries among nations.
Radhakrishnan too feels that it is
necessary to establish a world organization, a world police, a world court, a
world bank, etc. to maintain unity and brotherhood in the world. He further
says that the idea of demilitarizing ourselves should be put into practice. And
only police should be established to maintain internal order. This is possible
only when people, particularly those in power, make non-violence their
religion. Radhakrishnan says that history has proved that the military might
have no solution for disputes. So it is our duty to find out the solution to
the complex problems in a civilzed manner and permanently. He believes that
demilitarizing is the only bitter pill that has to be swallowed by the world's
nations to establish peace all around the world. He believed that efforts made
to maintain world peace and unity should be truthful and fair so that they would
result in a better outcome.
According to Radhakrishnan, it is the need of the hour
for the world to unite under a single umbrella. And world organization is the
means to achieve this. He says that world peace and unity are not dreams in a shrinking
world. They are a necessity and an essential condition for the survival of the
human race.
