Nonviolence concepts and applications

Ghandi

The recent turmoil in Iran illustrates the continued relevance of Gandhi's concepts of Satyagraha, peaceful protest, and the non-violent individual's role in effecting Swaraj. Gandhi's observations of British domination over its colonies also coupled well with his sophisticated understanding of Western philosophy. For Gandhi, Satyagraha referred not just to the liberation of a people from colonial rule. Satyagraha's goal was complete independence: what the mahatma referred to as Swaraj. Gandhi's concept of Swaraj is remarkably similar to John Stuart Mill's theory of individuality and well-being. For example, in On Liberty, Mill writes, "the free development of individuality is one of the leading essentials of well-being," (Chapter 3). Kant also extols the virtue of individuality and intellectual liberty in "What is Enlightenment?" Gandhi's non-violent individual is not merely a person who refrains from the use of force in a political protest. Rather, the non-violent individual is a self-contained individual who acts independently of the state. The goal of non-violence and of Satyagraha is not the creation of a political state but the creation of a state of enlightenment.

A Satyagrahi, a non-violent individual, cultivates a mental state that coincides with the act of peaceful protest. The non-violent individual resists anger and hatred, for example, because such negative emotions can too easily be transferred into aggression against the oppressor. Therefore, the Satyagrahi is a well-disciplined individual who is willing to endure personal sacrifices such as imprisonment. Gandhi explicitly inferred a moral component to Satyagrahi. Both Kant and Mill would concur with Gandhi's vision of the Satyagrahi but for different reasons. Kant would affirm the inherent ethical righteousness in Satyagrahi. Gandhi would have agreed fully with Kant's philosophy of ethical duty. In other words, Gandhi's Satyagraha is based on a deontological ethic. Although Mill's ethics were more utilitarian in nature, Gandhi would have argued that Swaraj is an ideal goal and that Satyagrahi is the best means to achieve it.

Gandhi's Satyagrahi cultivates a spiritual attitude. The Satyagrahi is ideally a person who refrains from excess, who does not drink alcohol or do drugs, and who eats as simply as possible and preferably a vegetarian diet. Gandhi himself practiced the principles of Satyagraha, advising others to do the same because they would lead to the achievement of individual enlightenment. An enlightened, non-violent individual becomes a strong leader in the community, a role model, and someone who is most able to affect change. The Satyagrahi places the greater good of the whole before personal wants and desires. In this way, Satyagraha can be conceived of as a utilitarian practice as well as a deontological ethic. Yet for Gandhi, Satyagraha is an inherently desirable state of being and not merely a means to an end.

The end result of Swaraj remains key to Satyagraha, however. Just as Kant and Mills championed the rights of individuals over the rights of governments, so too did Gandhi. Gandhi's philosophy was never intended to create a political state or states on the subcontinent. Instead Gandhi sought to actually and symbolically liberate the individual Indian from an oppressive state of being. The average Indian was beholden both to the Raj and also to a socially stratified, outmoded society that hindered religious and personal freedom.

Thus, liberation was to be experienced not only in the liberation of Indians from colonial rule but also in the liberation of Indians from the caste system. To Gandhi, colonialism poisoned the individual spirit and prohibited personal liberty. Overthrowing colonialism could never have depended on Duragraha, political protest borne of anger. Satyagraha is the only ethical means to accomplish the goals of liberation. Gandhi was also keenly aware of the problems that existed independently of the British Raj such as the mistreatment of Dalit/untouchable caste members. Any individual who is a slave to the state must be liberated according to the theory of Swaraj.

Gandhi would have addressed the situation currently taking place in Iran similarly to the way he addressed colonial India. While Gandhi might have lauded the Persian people for protesting the presidential elections, and congratulated all those who suffered personally for the greater good, he might have suggested that the Iranian people question the very foundation of their society. Full equality for women, for example, would be a core concern for Gandhi. Gandhi might also have noted that while a belief in God is essential to the practice of Satyagraha, that individuals must develop their own internal moral compass independent of the clerical establishment of Islam. Both Kant and Mill would have concurred that individual freedoms and liberties are the ultimate goal for the political and social transformation of Iran.