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Ethics
Gandhi's 'Religion of Truth' is essentially an ethical one, which is practical and immediate like Jain institution of vows (Anuvratas for laity and Mahavratas for monks). However Gandhi did not make any distinction between minor and major vows, even though he prescribed them primarily for Ashramites, who lived the life closer to that of a monk. The institution of vows enforce listening to the inner voice of conscience; without, it looks upon as all as part of the one world. To practice such ethics, one has to move towards ascetic self-discipline (based on Ahimsa) to empower oneself and to use its energy (called Truth force or soul force by Gandhi) for the good of others. To achieve his twin objectives, Gandhi established a set of eleven Vratas (vows/observances) as code of conduct. These eleven vows consist of
The first five minor vows are Anuvratas or vows of a Jain votary, namely: Limiting violence, not-speaking lies, nonstealing, limiting possessions and partial celibacy. For monks, Jains call these major vows and each vow is to be practised in full i.e. without any limits. This categorisation of vows encourages everyone accept the need to practice observances as per their inclinations and capacity."
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• The next six more observances are like applications of the first five vows to achieve social objectives thus constituting eleven observances or Ekadash vratas. Gandhi used the expertise of eminent sociologists and philosophers like Ruskin, Tolstoy, Gokhale, Tilak and Thoreau and the way of life of Rajchandra to establish the norms and practice of these observances.
Gandhi mixed both categories of vows for himself and for every inmate (called Ashramite) of his Ashram who were required to follow these eleven Vratas (observance). These vows were
Pg.152 Gandhi & Jainism
