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१००
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written
श्रमण / अप्रैल-जून/ १९९६
"The denial of all sorts of violence means to follow the path of unbiased love. Love is the highest and the only code of life. In other words it is an endeavour towards the union of all human souls so that they may behave gently with one another. The application of force never harmonizes with love. As soon as the force is accepted the love vanishes away.26
So, Tolstoy has criticized Christian civilization which on the one side tries to follow the path of love or the path of Non-violence and on the other it permits the use of force.
Mahatma Gandhi Mahatma Gandhi, one of the contemporary Indian philosophers is known as most prominent propounder of non-violence of his time. In his philosophy Non-violence is not limited only to metaphysics, religion and ethics but it has been extended upto the social, political and economic thinkings. Non-violence has been flourished equally in Gandhi's thought as well as in his practical life. He has adopted it as the only weapon for fighting against British-Government, in order to achieve India's freedom.
God, Truth and Ahimsa God, Truth and Ahimsa are the basic constituents of the Gandhian philosophy. Whatever may be the problem the Gandhian philosophy gets its solution through these three. Gandhiji has accepted God as truth and also truth as God. So many times he has said - God is Truth and Truth is God. God or Truth may be approached through Non-violence. Therefore Truth is the end of human life while Non-violence is its means. Gandhiji while removing the doubt concerning levels of Truth and Ahimsā has said very clearly
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‘Ahimsa is not the goal. Truth is goal. But we have no means of realizing truth in human relationships except through the practice of Ahimsā. A steadfast pursuit of Ahimsa as inevitably bound to truth not so violence. That is why I swear by Ahimsā. Truth came naturally to me. Ahimsa I acquired after a struggle. But Ahimsa being the means we are naturally more concerned with it in our For Private & Personal Use Only
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