Vaishali Institute Research Bulletin 3

Author(s): R P Poddar
Publisher: Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology & Ahimsa Mujjaffarpur

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VAISHALI RESEARCH BULLETIN NO.3
positive creative love can be practised only on the basis of fearlessness and it may even be said that perfect Ahimsa means absolute fearlessness. It is the path of the brave. He pleaded only for the heroic non-v
of the brave and was never attached to the non-resistance offered by the weak. He wanted the cultivation of courage as a preparation for ethical life but he wanted this courage to be expressed non violently and not violently. He insisted on the development of that moral courage and strength which proceed from an indomitable will. He said in Noakhali on November 27, 1946 : "The only real guarantee is to be sought in the personal courage of individuals. Everything else depends on it." The operation of Ahimsa is the exercise of soul-force and it is a gospel of strength according to Gandhi. It proceeds from moral and spiritual strength. It is the strongest force known and it is a force of the subtlest kind according to Gandhi. It is a demonstration of the resolute strength of the heroic soul which refuses to hurt any body because every living creature is essentially spirit and fundamentally one with himself. Ahimsa is the farthest removed from a false masquerade for one's weakness.
There is a solid concern for the actual and the concrete in Gandhi's saying that the sword is not the sign of strength but the symbol of fear and weakness. Fear generates suspicion and sometimes even arrogance. The accumulation of fear results in the formation of complexes. Some times it may produce aggressiveness. A greatly disturbing situation of our times is the growth of perverted and maladjusted personalities who are prone to being exploited by demagogues who raise bogeys and scares of different kinds and play upon the fear of the people. Gandhi teaches the psychological efficacy of fearlessness based on spiritusl faith as the way to counteract the blighting influence of political coercion, group jealousies and rivalries and individual appetites.'
Fearlessness is acquired by perfection of personal character and by deep faith in the existence of God. 20 A believer in the reality of kindness of God cares only for truth. Faith in the creative and beneficent power of the Spirit provides to man a firm determination to fight all factors of injustice even at the cost of the sacrifice of one's life.
Gandhi was a perfect devotee of civility and humility but he explicitly, unconditionally and categorically stated that if the only alternatives were cowardice and violence he would choose the latter.21 He was
20. M. K. Gandhi, Harijan (1940): “Becoming fearless can best be
learnt from a living faith in God. Though He is Invisible, He is one's
unfailing protector. He who has this faith is the most fearless of all." 21. M. K Gandhi, “Hindu-Muslim Clashes', (Harijan, Oct. 21, 1939)
Non-Violence in Peace and War, Vol. I, p. 327. “Violence is any day preferable to impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent."