World of Philosophy

Author(s): Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan

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pervasive, insisted Gandhi. To borrow, the purushartha terminology dharma should guide not only artha but also kama.
This brings us to another major Gandhian value namely means-end correlation. Gandhi rejected the theory that end justifies the means and insisted on the purity of means. For him ends and means were inseparable. Comparing means to a seed and end to a tree he argued that there is an inviolable connection between the means and the end. The achievement of any goal is dependent on the purity of the means, argued Gandhi. He went to the extent of declaring that 'means are after all everything and gave the aphorism:" as the means so the end."
Thus we can see that Gandhi approached the question of the role of values in life from the personal and structural angles. In order to realize the ultimate goal of life one has to lead a value based life. Gandhi believed in the intrinsic value of moral principles and wanted every one to follow them for their own sake. This, he believed, was essential for self-discipline and selfpurification which were inevitable precondition for achieving the higher goals of life. For this Gandhi and his fellow seekers of truth in the Ashrams developed a system of observing vows or vrata. The well-known eleven Ashram Vows namely truth, nonviolence, non-stealing, non-possession, brahmacharya or chastity/celibacy, control of the palate, bread labour, fearlessness, sarvadharma samabhav or equality and equal respect for religions, swadeshi, non-practice of untouchability which Gandhi and other members of the Ashram followed were the result.
This insistence of Gandhi on personal ascesis and right moral character shall not lead us to conclude that he was advocating a virtue ethics. Of course, for Gandhi personal virtues were important and the cultivation of right moral character was necessary for taking right decisions and making right moral choice. But that was not enough. So while emphasizing the sig. nificance of cultivating personal virtues through the observance of ethical vows Gandhi also advocated the crucial need for the creation of a sociopolitical and economic order - or broadly a new world order - based on moral values which would provide a congenial environment, enabling the individuals to aspire and strive for higher goals of life. Thus, from the personal level Gandhi moved on to the structural, and suggested structural changes.
It is important to bear in mind that Gandhi always emphasized that the choice of moral values and principles must be voluntary and not compulsory. He wrote: "No action which is not voluntary can be called moral. So long as we act like machines, there can be no question of morality. If we want to call an action moral it should have been done consciously and as a matter of duty." (Pyarelal, Epic Fast, 1932). Gandhi also suggested innovation and experimentation in the cultivation and practice of moral values
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