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we should hold all as dear as our nearest and dearest kith and kin and that we should make no distinction between them.”l 45
Swadeshi or Use Locally Made Goods: Gandhi explained his concept of Swadeshi in wider context, i.e. not only with respect to economics, but with reference to total lifestyle in these words: “Swadeshi is that spirit in us which restrict us to use the service of our immediate surroundings to the exclusion of the more remote. Thus, as for religion, in order to satisfy the requirements of the definition, I must restrict myself to my ancestral religion i.e. to the use of my immediate religious surrounding. If I find it defective, I should serve it by purging it of its defects. In the domain of politics, I should make use of the indigenous institutions and serve them by curing them of their proven defects. In that of economics, I should use only things that are produced by my immediate neighbours and serve those industries by making them efficient and complete where they might be found wanting."149 He also urged people to prefer local products. Gandhi warned the votary of Swadeshi against making it a fetish. “To reject foreign manufactures merely because they are foreign and to go on wasting national time and money in the promotion of one's country of manufactures for which it is not suited, would be criminal folly, and a negation of the Swadeshi spirit. Swadeshism is not a cult of hatred. It is a doctrine of selfless service that has its roots in the purest Ahimsa, i.e.
Love."147
According to the Gandhi, Svadharma in the Gita interpreted in terms of one's physical environment gives us the Law of Swadeshi. Gandhi quotes The Gita "It is best to die performing one's own duty or Svadharma as against Paradharma, or another's duty, that is fraught with danger."148 Further Gandhi explains: "What The Gita says with regard to Svadharma equally
Pg.180 | Gandhi & Jainism
| SR No. | 007798 |
| Book Title | Gandhi And Jainism |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Shugan C Jain |
| Publisher | International School for Jain Studies |
| Publication Year | 2017 |
| Total Pages | 339 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 120 MB |