________________
Religion, Practice and Science of Non-Violence
our ends to be pure and, therefore, selfless... Three-fourths of the miseries and misunderstandings in the world will disappear, if we step into the shoes of our adversaries and understand their standpoint. We will then agree with our adversaries quickly or think of them charitably. In our case there is no question of our agreeing with them quickly as our ideals are radically different. But we may be charitable to them and believe that they actually mean what they say. They do not want to open the roads to the untouchables. Now whether it is their self-interest or ignorance that tells them to say so, we really believe that it is wrong of them to say so. Our business, therefore, is to show them that they are in the wrong and we should do so by our suffering. I have found that mere appeal to reason does not answer where prejudices are age-long and based on supposed religious authority. Reason has to be strengthened by suffering and suffering opens the eyes of understanding. Therefore, there must be no trace of compulsion in our acts. We must not be impatient and we must have an undying faith in the means we are adopting. I know that it is a difficult and slow process. But if you believe in the efficacy of satyagraha, you will rejoice in this slow torture and suffering, and you will not feel the discomfort of your position as you go and sit in the boiling sun from day to day. If you have faith in the cause and the means and in God, the hot sun will be cool for you. You must not be tired and say, 'how long'; and never get irritated. That is only a small portion of your penance for the sin for which Hinduism is responsible."
68
The satyagrahis followed the principles to a word. When the rainy reason came, the road, being on low ground, was flooded. Still they continued to stand, at times up to their shoulders in water, while the police kept up the cordon in small boats. The shifts had to be shortened to three hours. Self-suffering was a characteristic attitude of the satyagrahis. For sixteen months, they suffered physically both from attacks of their orthodox opponents and from the inclemency of the weather. So just was their patience that even after the police cordon had been withdrawn, they persisted in peaceful satyagraha, with the aim of making their opponents understand their point of vew. The endurance and the consistent non violence of the
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
