Gandhi as a Philosopher: Convergence of East and West -Siby K. Joseph
Gandhi as a Philosopher:
Convergence of East and West
Siby K. Joseph
(Text of the lecture ‘Gandhi as a Philosopher: Convergence of East and West’ in the Two Day National Seminar on Convergence in Philosophy’ organised by Department of Philosophy, Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam on 5th and 6th December 2023 .)
Prof. Vinodkumar Kallocikal in his presidential address opined that Gandhi was the light of humanity and referring to Dr. K.
P. Shankaran and others he described Gandhi as a philosopher par excellence. I had the privilege and opportunity to read
and edit some of the articles for a book project of Prof. K. P. Shankaran, Gandhi
and Centrality of Ethics. Philosophy was one of the key areas dealt
in the book. In the introductory article Shankaran wrote “The love of wisdom is
not just of ‘knowing that’ but more importantly it is a love of practical
knowledge. What kind of a practical know-how is the object of this love? I
believe it is the know-how that transforms a person from her baser state of
being to an ethically higher state of existence.``[i] The second chapter of the book was ‘Reognising
Gandhi the philosopher’ here the author makes a pertinent
observation “It is not often that Gandhi is portrayed as a philosopher.
To me, Gandhi is as significant as the Buddha of the Nikayas and the Socrates
of Plato’s early dialogues. These three men are unique because, like Confucius
of China, they can be credited with inventing philosophical ways of life that
were led by ethics as opposed to others led by metaphysics…. Unfortunately for
Gandhi, the understanding that he was a philosopher is only slowly getting
recognised. The credit for recognising Gandhi as a philosopher mainly goes to
two philosophers belonging to the Analytic tradition of philosophy — Akeel
Bilgrami and Richard Sorabji”[ii]
He also throws light on the reason why Gandhi’s philosophical significance
is not duly recognized. He wrote “The reason, I think, is that once
Christianity banned all non-Christian ways of life in Europe in 529 CE,
philosophy re- emerged in 17th century Europe as a purely theoretical
discipline by shedding its life practices. With that, the idea
of ‘philosophical ways of life’ became extinct in Europe. This shift from
philosophy as a way of life to philosophy as a theoretical discipline is
celebrated as the birth of modern Western philosophy. By the end of the
18th century, philosophy had become an academic discipline, with only
academics functioning in philosophy departments being treated as
philosophers. With colonisation, these European ideas started influencing
public discourse in the rest of the world. Viewed against these standards,
Gandhi did not qualify as a philosopher.”[iii] According
to him Gandhi was a philosopher who revived, ethics-led philosophical way of
life as a substitute for metaphysics led philosophical way of life.
Who was true philosopher according to Plato? He laid
down certain some moral (or affective) prerequisites for being a true
Philosopher rather than a Sophist. i. Detachment from worldly goods (not
tempted by wealth, reputation and fame, good connections, creature comforts,
social standing, etc.) (Phaedo, 64D-65A and Apology, 29D-E
& 36B-E).ii. Singleminded and singlehearted devotion to the truth and
wisdom (unity or integrity of life) (Apology, 41D-E)iii.Willingness
to stand in opposition to the "common wisdom" (courage) (Apology,
28B-31C) Intellectual humility (docility but not gullibility) (Apology,
23B) iv. Sense of being called (vocation) to the practice
of a way of life (Apology, 37E-38A). [iv]Based
on my readings of Gandhi, I think it would be quite appropriate to describe him
as a true philosopher according Platonian sense and not a philosopher
who was interested in pure theory because he was basically a
man of action. Action was utmost priority in his philosophy of life.
Gandhi was not an academic philosopher and was not interested in preparing a
treatise and an “ism”. In his letter to Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, on
September 16, 1934, Gandhi wrote, “The fact that I have affected the thought
and practice of our times does not make me fit to give expression to the
philosophy that may lie behind it. To give a philosophical interpretation of
the phenomenon must be reserved for men like you.”[v]
The main theme of this
National Seminar is Convergence in Philosophy and I happened to be the first
speaker to reflect on the theme ‘Gandhi as a Philosopher: Convergence of East
and West’. From the concept note I understand that this seminar is an attempt
to intertwine ideas from diverse disciplines including Gandhian studies with an
aim of providing integral approach to philosophical discourses. Gandhi had
integral view of life and life was not compartmentalized into water tight
compartments. He wrote:” I claim that human mind or human society is not
divided into watertight compartments called social, political and religious.
All act and react upon one another.”[vi]
He further stated “Human life being an undivided whole, no line can ever be
drawn between its different compartments, not between ethics and politics.”[vii]
Gandhi had open mind and he was ready to accept whatever good in all
cultures and civilizations. It is evident from the well known quote “I do
not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I
want the cultures of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as
possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any. I refuse to live in
other people's houses as an interloper, a beggar or a slave.” [viii]By
accepting everything good in other
cultures his approach was an integration and refining and enriching his own and
not giving up and embracing another one. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan has rightly
pointed out “It is a foolish pride that impels some of us to combat all
external influences. Every spiritual or scientific advance which any branch of
the human family achieves, is achieved not for itself alone but for all
mankind.”[ix]
It was Rudyard Kipling who said “ Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat;But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!”[x] Is it true in the case of Gandhi is the moot question? Gandhi himself dealt with this question when he was invited by the Peace and Arbitration Society to speak on the theme “East and West.” Gandhi in his speech at Hampstead, London on October 13, 1909 referred to the lines in Kipling’s poem, that “East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet.”[xi] He considered that this doctrine as a “doctrine of despair, and inconsistent with the evolution of humanity.”[xii] It was almost impossible for him to accept a doctrine of that nature. On the contrary he supported Tennyson's vision of the union of East and West. He believed that it was because of this vision that he had "cast his lot with the people of South Africa, who were living there in very great difficulties.” [xiii] He thought it would be possible for people of East and West to live together in perfect equality. If he was a believer of Kipling’s doctrine, he would not have lived in South Africa.
In his letter to H.
S. L. Polak from London, on October 14, 1909 he wrote that meeting was a splendid success. He put some insolent questions were put on the
South African situation and some of the conclusions he drawn are relevant to
theme we are discussing. Following were the conclusions:
“(1) There is no
impassable barrier between East and West.
(2) There is no such thing as Western or European
civilization, but there is a modern civilization, which is purely
material.
(3) The people of Europe, before they were touched by modern
civilization, had much in common with the people of the East; anyhow, the
people of India and, even today, Europeans who are not touched by modern
civilization are far better able to mix with the Indians than the offspring of
that civilization.
(4) It is not the British people who are ruling India, but
it is modern civilization, through its railways, telegraphs, telephones, and
almost every invention which has been claimed to be a triumph of civilization……
(7) East and West can only and really meet when the West has
thrown overboard modern civilization, almost in its entirety. They can also
seemingly meet when East has also adopted modern civilization. But that meeting
would be an armed truce, even as it is between, say, Germany and England, both
of which nations are living in the Hall of Death in order to avoid being
devoured, the one by the other.”[xiv]
Wayne Holst in his write-up ‘Gandhi—Man
of the sacred and secular, East and West’ wrote “A true opposite to Kipling, Gandhi
succeeded in leading his fellow-Indians to self-rule (Swaraj) from imperial
Britain in 1947. This historic event occurred not through force of arms, but by
virtue of a politics informed by a brilliant integration of Eastern and Western
thought: ethics and duty, economic prosperity, democracy and the fulfillment of
basic human pleasure through the pursuit of spiritual transcendence—a blend of
the sacred and secular.”[xv]
He further said “Gandhi was trained and experienced in both Western law and
politics. He had studied and worked in England and South Africa before
returning to India, and was able to communicate clearly using Western and
Eastern mindsets”.[xvi]
In Gandhi’s
philosophy of life we can synthesis or convergence of East and West that
makes him a unique philosopher in his own right. Gandhi condemned modern
industrial civilisation in his seminal work Hind Swaraj . His
criticism was not because it was Western or scientific. On the contrary
it was mainly materialistic and exploitative. Speaking to the Meccano Club,
Calcutta, in August 1925, he said: “Do not for one moment consider that I
condemn all that is Western. For the time being I am dealing with the
predominant character of modem civilisation, do not call it Western
civilisation and the predominant character of modern civilisation is
exploitation of the weaker races of the Earth. The predominant character of
modem civilisation is to dethrone God and enthrone Materialism. I have not
hesitated to use the word 'Satan'. I have not hesitated to call this system of
Government under which we are labouring 'Satanic'.” [xvii] In
his nuanced interpretation the terms should not be understood in the
geographical sense as we often do when we talk of
East or West. How ideas can be differentiated on the basis of
geographical origin of the person? He said “We, on our part, ought to resist
the fascination that western civilization has for us in view of these features
that we observe. At the same time we should remember that eastern peoples have
not been free from comparable cruelty. In fact, we find in the East examples of
greater cruelty than in the West. The only lesson to be learnt is that East and
West are no more than names. Human beings are the same everywhere.” [xviii]Therefore,
he was the view that we cannot distinguish ideas in terms of East and West.
Elena Bitinayte wrote in her article Western Values in M. K. Gandhi’s Social Philosophy. “it wouldn’t be correct to define him as a nationalist because the object of his critique was not West itself, but faults of modernization processes and European colonial politics. Blaming the West in spiritless and immorality, Gandhi presents it as a bearer of modern’s ‘essence’. However, the thinker also distinguishes in Western culture another stratum, which is close to his ideal image of ‘true civilization’. Gandhi finds this stratum in preindustrial period of European history and in contemporary philosophical trends, the members of which criticize changes, initiated by modernization, avoid achievements of technical progress and concentrate their attention mainly on the problem of human moral development.[xix]
Truth and ahimsa were central
to philosophy of life.Gandhi had no hesitation to acknowledge his indebtedness
to the West even in the case of his views on Ahimsa. He even went to the extent
of saying: “I have nothing to be ashamed of if my views on Ahimsa are the
result of my Western education. I have never tabooed all Western ideas, nor am
I prepared to anathematize everything that comes from the West as inherently
evil. I have learnt much from the West, and I should not be surprised to find
that I had learnt something about Ahimsa too from the West”[xx]
He further clarifies his position “I do not think that everything Western
is to be rejected. I have condemned Western civilization in no measured terms.
I still do so, but it does not mean that everything Western should be rejected.
I have learnt a great deal from the West and I am grateful to it. I should
consider myself unfortunate if contact with, and the literature of the West had
no influence on me.”[xxi]
The influence of western
thinkers is evident from the bibliography he appended to his classic work Hind
Swaraj. I don’t think it is necessary to elaborate on the westerners who
influenced him and analyze their influence. In fact Gandhi found his deepest
convictions in their work like John Ruskin’s , 'Unto the
Last'. Therefore, it is quite natural that we see synthesis or convergence of
east and west in his philosophy. It is an interesting area which needs much
exploration and deliberation. I hope my words may prompt you to do further
research in this area.
Notes and References
[i] . K.P. Shankaran Gandhi and the Centrality of Ethics (Edited
by Siby K. Joseph) ( Kochi : Probhodha 2023)p.1.
[ii]. Ibid
p.4.
[iii]. Ibid.p.5
[iv] .https://www3.nd.edu/~afreddos/courses/intro/platoin.htm
[v]. S. Gopal, Radhakrishnan: A Biography, (Oxford
University Press, 1989), p. 138.
[vi]. M. K. Gandhi , Young India, 2-3-1922.
[vii]. M. K. Gandhi, Harijan
, 30-3-1947.
[viii] . M. K. Gandhi , Young India, 1-6-1921.
[ix] . S. Radhakrishnan S. Radhakrishnan, An Anthology ( G. Allen and Unwin, 1952)p.53.
[x]. https://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/poem/poems_eastwest.htm
[xi] . Refer Gandhi’s speech at Hampstead, London, October 13, 1909.
[xii] . Ibid .
[xiii] . Ibid .
[xiv] . Refer Gandhi’s letter
to H. S. L. Polak from London on October 14, 1909
[xvi] . Ibid .
[xvii]. CWMG, Vol. 30 : 27 December, 1924 - 21 March, 1925, p.350 .
[xviii]. M.
K. Gandhi ,India Opinion, 25-4-1908.
[xix] . Elena Bitinayte Western Values in M. K. Gandhi’s Social
Philosophy, Advances in Social
Science, Education and Humanities Research, Vol. 233.
[xx]. M. K. Gandhi,Young India, 11-10-1928.
[xxi] . Refer Gandhi’s Letter to Parmanand K. Kapadia,
October 13, 1928.
Dr. Siby K. Joseph is
Director, Sri Jamnalal Bajaj Memorial Library and Research Centre for
Gandhian Studies, Sevagram Ashram Pratishthan, Sevagram,Wardha-
442102, Maharashtra (INDIA) Email: directorjbmlrc@gmail.com Phone:07152-299788 Mob.9822238341
( WhatsApp) https://sevagramashram.org.in https://nonvpi.in/
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