Q. In your appeal to 'Every Briton' you say: "You
will invite Herr Hitler and Signor Mussolini to take what they
want.... You will give all your 'earthly possessions' but never your
souls or your minds.... You will refuse to own allegiance to them."
Please explain clearly what a Briton should or should not do. I ask
the question because your answer will have a bearing on the duty of
every Satyagrahi.
A.
Not to yield your soul to the conqueror means that you will refuse
to do that which your conscience forbids you to do. Suppose the
'enemy' were to ask you to rub your nose on the ground or to pull
your ears or to go through such humiliating performances, you will
not submit to any of these humiliations. But if he robs you of your
possessions, you will yield them because as a votary of Ahimsa you
have from the beginning decided that earthly possessions have
nothing to do with your soul. That which you look upon as your own
you may keep only so long as the world allows you to own it.
Not to yield your mind means that you will not give
way to any temptation. Man is oftentimes weak-minded enough to be
caught in the snare of greed and honeyed words. We see this
happening daily in our social life. A weak-minded man can never be a
Satyagrahi. The latter's 'no' is invariably a 'no', and his 'yes' an
eternal 'yes'. Such a man alone has the strength to be a devotee of
truth and Ahimsa. But here one must know the difference between
steadfastness and obstinacy. If after having said 'yes' or 'no' one
finds out that the decision was wrong and in spite of that knowledge
clings to it, that is obstinacy and folly. It is necessary to think
things out carefully and thoroughly before coming to any decision.
The meaning of refusal to own allegiance is clear.
You will not bow to the supremacy of the victor, you will not help
him to attain his object. Herr Hitler has never dreamt of possessing
Britain. He wants the British to admit defeat. The victor can then
demand anything he likes from the vanquished, and the latter has
perforce to yield. But if defeat is not admitted, the enemy will
fight until he has killed his opponent. A Satyagrahi, however, is
dead to his body even before the enemy attempts to kill him, i.e. he
is free from attachment to his body and only lives in the victory of
the soul. Therefore, when he is already thus dead, why should he
yearn to kill anyone? To die in the act of killing is in essence to
die defeated. Because, if the enemy is unable to get what he wants
from you alive, he will decide to get it after killing you. If, on
the other hand, he realizes that you have not the remotest thought
in your mind of raising your hand against him even for the sake of
your life, he will lack the zest to kill you. Every hunter has had
this experience. No one has ever heard of anyone hunting cows.
You may find that I have not answered the questions
that you had in your mind. I have made a humble effort and dealt
with your general question by giving you a few-homely examples. I
hope that from them you will be able to deduce answers to the
questions left unanswered.
Dignity of the soul and self-respect are interpreted
differently by different persons. I am aware that self-respect is
often misinterpreted. The over-sensitive man may see disrespect or
hurt in 'almost everything. Such a man does not really understand
what self-respect is. That has been my experience in many cases. But
no harm accrues even if a non-violent man holds mistaken notions of
self-respect. He can die cheerfully for the sake of what he believes
to be his dignity and self-respect. Only he has no right to injure
or kill the supposed-wrong-doer.
Sevagram,
13-8-'40
Harijan, 18-8-1940