Page Text
________________
A Journey of Ahimsa
humanity and he succeeded in his experiment not only with truth but with non-violence, too. He is an example worth emulating in the present violent-prone society.
He considered non-violence to be a powerful force. It does not mean that one should not resist evil or injustice. He told the villagers, who had fled from the village Betiya when the police attacked them and raped the women, that they had not done the right thing. It was an act of cowardice. They should have stayed on and offered resistance without the thought of revenge. Those, who are prepared to die, can only teach the lessons of non-violence, not those who are afraid of death. Once a Pathan attacked him in 1908. His elder son, who was not with him at that time, wanted to know what was expected of him if he had been at that time. He asked: "I could not have behaved the way you wanted me to, for I would not tolerate someone attacking you. What should be done? Should I attack the person, or stand and watch the man attacking you or run away leaving you to your fate?" Gandhi said: "If you run away, or do not defend me, it is cowardice. It is better to use brute force than to be a coward. You should defend by fighting the attackers, if you cannot defend by imperilling your own life." This is the reason why Gandhiji joined the Boar war. He had helped the government at the time of Julu rebellion and also helped the British Government during the war. He believed that evil or wickedness be fought with non-violence and it is more effective way. He said: "Killing every Englishman will not result in any good for the country or bring about our independence. Let us reform a person than to do evil unto him."
He was wedded to non-violence and said he would prefer to die than to deviate from its path. His non-violence was not
173
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
| SR No. | 006587 |
| Book Title | Jainism The Cosmic Vision |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Kumarpal Desai |
| Publisher | UK Mahavir Foundation London |
| Publication Year | 2008 |
| Total Pages | 276 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 12 MB |