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Law of Karma human souls. They affirm strongly that so long as we are ignorant of our real self, we cannot remove our individuality which does exist for all practical purposes. We have to remove these, our ignorances, beliefs and habits only by recognising, utilising and employing our individualities. The body, family, society and state have all to be organised and utilized for the redemption of the individual from the fetters of ignorant ideas and habits and for the realization of his perfect unity with Brahman.
We may point out Buddhism in this context which does not accept any substance; neither God nor human souls but still believes in the fact of personality created by ignorance and its many effects. In the same way, Shankarites also believe that it is not by ignoring personality but by its correct understanding and reformation of feeling and will through action, that one can realize the supra-personal state of Nirvāņa. For instance, we may take Lord Buddha himself whose active life for the redemption of suffering fellow-beings shows his compassion for all individuals.
But the teachings of Buddha and Sankara were misunderstood and misapplied. The negative elements of their doctrines came to shadow the positive and constructive elements. Similar things happened also in Christianity whose the world denying ascetic practices prevailed over the positive doctrines at times. Here, we may quote Prof. D.M. Dutta : “There is no doctrine in the world which is too good to be corrupted."18
Gandhiji utilized the new positive ideas of Modern India by assimilating them in thought, living them in his life and giving them political and social shapes. This entire experience gave birth to his philosophy of man and life that finally raised the people from slavery. His notion of the presence of God in man amounts to a belief that rnan lias free will, reason, conscience, and love. Man is the architect of his own destiny. If he chooses to use his reason correctly and guides his life by the voice of conscience and lives with his fellow beings with love in his heart, he can realise God and bring heaven on this earth.
Mahatma Gandhi believes that every individual is unique because of his peculiar physical and mental inheritance. What
