Saturday, February 16, 2013
In what ways did London years transform Gandhi’s ideas and activities?
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15 February 2013
Sai
Prateek Narayan
HST300:
Gandhi and Gandhism
Professor
Subho Basu
Essay
1
The then premier and developed city of London was
undeniably a great influence in Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s perspective and
attitude on life and living as a whole. But what is often overlooked is the
magnitude of change that the influence of two historic societies inculcated in
Gandhi, which consequentially transformed Gandhi into a personality that
believed the congregation of all of India would lead to one of the most life-changing
events in India’s history.
Even
as a young child, being the son of a Diwan of a princely state in British-ruled
India, Gandhi was very well exposed to various political intrigues. Coming from
a very conservative family with an amalgamation of Vaishnav and Jain traditions
and beliefs, he was introduced to the process of British rule being injected
into Gujarati life. He was swiftly taken in awe of the British civilization,
which according to him was “the largest city on Earth, the capital of the
greatest empire, and the center of power that was transforming India”[1],
a small country in comparision to India, but nevertheless extended its rule to
various parts of the world. It was the time when the British civilization was
one of the most technologically advanced empires at the time, with the
introduction of the telegraph and the up and coming economic boom, and it’s
rapid growth during the Industrial Revolution. He had gone as far as to
identify London as “the land of philosophers and poets, the very center of
civilization”[2]. It was at
this young age that Gandhi attempted to convince his family to place him within
an English medium school, much to his orthodox mother’s dissent. A few years
down the line, once again he beseeched his family to let him travel across the
Arabian Sea to Great Britain and London, where he aimed to take up law as a
career and study for The Bar.
Out
of the several instances that impacted Gandhi’s life, two such occasions were
comparatively crucial – his introduction to The Vegetarian Society, as well as
the Theosophists of London. Coming from a closely-knit community, where
traditions concerning all aspects of life were of the utmost importance,
Gandhi’s mother and several of the other elders in his caste had placed food at
the top of their priorities. Upon hearing that people could not live in the frigid
climates of London without indulging in meat and alcohol[3],
Gandhi’s mother requested that he refrain from those nonessentials. Through the
travel to London and the first weeks there, Gandhi was satisfying his hunger
only the sweets and fruits he brought along. When Gandhi was made aware of the
presence of vegetarian restaurants in the city, he came across Henry Salt’s “A
Plea for Vegetarianism”, it was at that moment that he decided to be a
vegetarian by choice, rather than only to fulfill his mother’s wish.
During
one of his visits to The Central Restaurant, he had heard about the Vegetarian
movement that expressed the vigor and zeal that middle-class Victorians
admired. Led by the London Vegetarian Society, which not only believed in the
precept and practice of vegetarianism, but also attempted to make the public
more aware of the concept and philosophy of vegetarianism through lectures,
discussions and publishing writings in the newspapers, namely one called “The
Vegetarian”[4]. His inclinations to vegetarianism
coerced him to read various writings about the topic, such as those of many
then contemporary figures, such as Tolstoy, Theoreau and Edward Carpenter. Other
renowned individuals such as Morris and Ruskin obligated Gandhi to move towards
simplicity. The Vegetarian provided an appropriate coverage of Gandhi’s
activities in London. It is clear how much the concept and attitude of
vegetarianism was valued by Gandhi, by the endeavors he made later on in South
Africa. He considered the notion of vegetarianism to be favorable for India, as
it provided a more spiritual focus, one where there existed “people who never
depend for their existence on the blood of their fellow creatures”[5].
Perhaps this opinion convinced Gandhi that the idea of vegetarians being “pure”
would be an advantageous method to congregate the varied Indian communities in
their struggle for independence.
The
other society that inculcated in Gandhi the sense of camaraderie that was
fundamental to India’s needs was Theosophical Society of London, more
specifically the words of Annie Besant. The Theosophical Society in London was
deeply indebted to Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as promoted the understanding
of Sanskrit readings as well as Madame Blavatsky’s writings[6].
Madame Blavatstky was a Russian scholar who was contributory to the restoration
of Theravada Buddhism in western societies[7].
It was due to this interest in Hinduism and Sanskrit texts that Gandhi was
compelled to learn about his history and traditions.
It
was in the late 1880s that Annie Besant announced her conversion to theosophy.
She was known for being quite instrumental in several publicized areas of
interest, one of them being a fighter for birth control[8].
It was thus understood that she was well recognized and regarded by the Indian
society in London. Gandhi’s attendance to one of her lectures, entitled “Why I
Became a Theosophist”, she put forward her concept of man, which very clearly
was drawn from Hinduism. She claimed that man was composed of three levels of
spiritual constituents, which was in turn implanted in a body of four levels of
material components, the former three levels being separable from the latter
until the moment the soul departs the human form. She then began to defend
various Hindu beliefs, such as karma and reincarnation. But what caught
Gandhi’s attention the most, was her affirmation that truth was of extreme
importance compared to all else. It was through Annie Besant that Gandhi came
to discern that “while the West was the world’s specialist in material welfare,
the East was to provide the spiritual foundation that the modern science of the
West lacked”[9].
This in turn led Gandhi to understand that India, more than the rest of the
East, was to be the world’s resource in spirituality. Through theosophy, Gandhi
came to understand that a need for a brotherhood that resurfaced from the
recovery of one of the world’s most ancient religious traditions was imminent.
It
is thus critical to understand that of the several instances that changed
Gandhi’s initial way of thinking were meager in comparision to the impact made
by the London Vegetarian Society and Theosophical Society. It was in the
presence of these societies that he realized in the power of congregating a
group of like-minded people to promote a sense of awareness and through such a
cause, create an equally powerful effect on society at large. I believe that it
was through the understandings inculcated in him by these societies that Gandhi
was able to bring together a vast group of compatible Indians and create an
immense effect of the British Empire’s understanding of the Indians.
Endnotes
1.
Arnold, David. Gandhi. Harlow, England: Longman, 2001.
Print.
2.
Hunt, James D, Gandhi in London. New Delhi: Promilla,
1978. Print.
3.
Besant, Annie. Why I Became a Theosophist. London:
Freethought, 1889. Print.
4.
Jacobs, Alan. Gandhi: Radical Wisdom for a Changing World.
London: Watkins Pub., 2012. Print.
[1] Arnold,
David. "A Diwan's Son." Gandhi.
Harlow, England: Longman, 2001. 35. Print.
[2] Arnold,
David. "A Diwan's Son." Gandhi.
Harlow, England: Longman, 2001. 35. Print.
[3] Hunt,
James D.. "1888-1891: The Student Years." Gandhi in London. New Delhi: Promilla, 1978. 20. Print.
[4] Hunt,
James D.. "1888-1891: The Student Years." Gandhi in London. New Delhi: Promilla, 1978. 22. Print.
[5] Hunt,
James D.. "1888-1891: The Student Years." Gandhi in London. New Delhi: Promilla, 1978. 30. Print.
[6] Hunt,
James D.. "1888-1891: The Student Years." Gandhi in London. New Delhi: Promilla, 1978. 31. Print.
[7] Volume I, The
Theosophist, page 89
[8] Hunt,
James D.. "1888-1891: The Student Years." Gandhi in London. New Delhi: Promilla, 1978. 32. Print.
[9] Hunt,
James D.. "1888-1891: The Student Years." Gandhi in London. New Delhi: Promilla, 1978. 34. Print.
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